Law School made me Fat

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  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    Yeah. I mean I get it. I was a manager at my company and got fat. Everybody does. Experienced managers coming in from the outside usually put on 20. It's part of the culture.

    From there, they break into two groups: people who are able to make and enforce boundaries and people who cannot. Group A is more likely to become successful.

    Fat comes from over eating. Counting calories will help you with this. It takes about 30 minutes a day.

    On top of that, you should be getting 30 minutes of cumulative activity in 5X a week. I'm a mom with two preschoolers and a full time job. I'm either with the kids, at work, or sneaking out of the house to go grocery shopping without "help". I have figured out a program that works for me. You need to find one that works for you.

    One hint: don't focus on "shoulds" if they get in your way. You "should" work out with weights. You "should" eat protein 30 minutes after exercise. You "should" do cardio for at least 30 consecutive minutes. These are nice-to-haves. You can work them in (yay for shelf-stable chocolate milk) or not, but the bigger issue is getting that activity in. Run the stairs at the library, do 20 pushups before bed. Figure it out.
  • Mangopickle
    Mangopickle Posts: 1,509 Member
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    So what's the OP going to do when they begin working 100 hours a week at the law firm?

    This!!!
  • ThisCharmingFellow
    ThisCharmingFellow Posts: 132 Member
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    So what's the OP going to do when they begin working 100 hours a week at the law firm?

    Work 50 and bill for 100? :D
  • courtney123180
    courtney123180 Posts: 86 Member
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    its ok, nursing school made me fat too. i lost 55 lbs after my son was born(down to 147 lbs), in 6 months on WW and no exercise. then i got out of the navy and started an accelerated nursing program, so i completed my bachelors in 3 yrs as opposed to 4 yrs. at the start of the program in may i was 168, eating healthy and going to the gym 5 days a week/2 hrs a day. then by december i was 30 lbs heavier due to my inactivity and eating unhealthy, quick, grab on the go food. so now, i graduated and its time to get my body back.
  • Commander_Keen
    Commander_Keen Posts: 1,179 Member
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    Yea.. Law school made you eat, and get soft..
    Yea.. Law school did that...
  • HikeCalifornia
    HikeCalifornia Posts: 18
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    Obviously most of you have never been to law school. It is brutal. When it is a choice between getting a couple hours of sleep a night or going to the gym, it is hard to stay in shape. So easy for everyone to say just get up a couple hours earlier, workout before class, because you know 2 hours a sleep a night is fine. And there's definitely no stress when your entire semester grade is based on ONE test and who needs to study for that? Go to the gym instead. Right. Law School didn't make me fat,but it sure as hell didn't help.
    If weight loss is calories in, calories out, then workouts shouldn't be the issue.

    signed: I gained about 15Lbs during my Ph.D. dissertation because I ate a lot of twizzlers and combos, and drank a fair amount of beer.

    I got through my dissertation eating peanut M&Ms and mini donuts. :laugh:

    We mere humans are perfectly imperfect and life sometimes interferes with life. OP - good on you for starting your fitness journey!
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Obviously most of you have never been to law school. It is brutal. When it is a choice between getting a couple hours of sleep a night or going to the gym, it is hard to stay in shape. So easy for everyone to say just get up a couple hours earlier, workout before class, because you know 2 hours a sleep a night is fine. And there's definitely no stress when your entire semester grade is based on ONE test and who needs to study for that? Go to the gym instead. Right. Law School didn't make me fat,but it sure as hell didn't help.
    If weight loss is calories in, calories out, then workouts shouldn't be the issue.

    signed: I gained about 15Lbs during my Ph.D. dissertation because I ate a lot of twizzlers and combos, and drank a fair amount of beer.

    I got through my dissertation eating peanut M&Ms and mini donuts. :laugh:

    We mere humans are perfectly imperfect and life sometimes interferes with life. OP - good on you for starting your fitness journey!
    wait, aren't mini donuts messy? Choose clean keyboard snacks!
  • merisaOct3
    merisaOct3 Posts: 197 Member
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    1L and 2L were the hardest years for me and I gained almost 40 lbs from when I started, so 15 lbs isn't so bad! I dropped 20 during 3L, and the rest AFTER the bar exam! I just made it a priority to get back in the gym. Law school sucks, but you made it through! Congratulations! Good luck on the bar exam and getting back into shape.
  • mfp2014mfp
    mfp2014mfp Posts: 689 Member
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    Welcome :flowerforyou:
  • SpencersHeart
    SpencersHeart Posts: 170 Member
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    Congratulations on what you've accomplished so far.:flowerforyou:

    You'll get your weight to where you want with time.

    I think you already have an idea of what to do...put it into practice (no pun intended...or maybe a little) :smile:
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
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    IMO...only...

    Most of us had excuses at one time or another...at some point through this process we had to face those excuses and recognize our own imperfections.

    For those of you that never used an excuse other than your own imperfections...then I suppose that one would say...you are perfect.

    I admit...I had my excuses...I hid from life after some devastating events...I faced those after many years...I know it was how I chose to face those events that stopped me from living a fulfilling life.

    My success does not depend on whether I had excuses or not...but relies on how well that I am able to face those excuses.

    Does berating someone because they have an excuse help??? I would like to say no...but...there was someone that cared enough about me to be honest with me...it started me down a path to rid myself of those excuses. Notice...I said someone who cared...not sure that comments from strangers on an internet site would have helped.

    For those of that aren't perfect...maybe it helps to remember that once...we probably had our own set of excuses.

    For the OP...I wish you luck...congrats on making it through law school...hopefully now you can evaluate how to get where you want to be.
  • imnotluvinmymuffin
    imnotluvinmymuffin Posts: 1 Member
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    Hi, I totally understand. I just finished my final exams. Over the last four years, while studying accounting, I put on 3 stone. I tried everything to keep the weight off but stress and being locked to a library seat nullified it all. Like you I'm not huge, but I'm looking for a job and I want to look my best. But the biggest change I made this summer was to take my bike outta the shed and cycle to work. When I first started mfp I thought all i had to do was put down the fork. It's so not that simple. You have to exercise. Exercise has to be fun and not a struggle. I hate walking and jogging. Its pointless for me to take them up as ill never keep them up, so I chose to cycle because I enjoy it. CARROTS AND APPLES oh my god its so much better than chocolate. I juice them, slice them, put them in salad yumm and ginger too. Someone told me carrots help you tan but can if you eat too much turn you a bit orange, i dunno how true that is :laugh: . Best of luck with it. (",)
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    From your location, I'm going to guess that you are attending the same university I attended as a graduate student. It has a lot to offer in terms of outdoors activity and the gym is excellent.

    Mens sana in corpore sano should be your project for next year.

    BTW, do you really think you are going to gain 15 lbs of muscle over the summer?
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
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    You can definitely keep up your workout schedule in law school. It certainly isn't going to be any easier when you graduate. Get back to it now.

    That said, I gained 4 inches around my waist in law school. Desk sitting isn't any healthier than library sitting though. Get at it now!
  • LexiMelo
    LexiMelo Posts: 203 Member
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    I gained 10 lbs in law school too, don't worry it's easy to drop once you are done! The key is to find a nice comfy 40 hour a week job where you can take a 90 minute lunch break to workout. Good luck! :tongue:
  • Vnm77
    Vnm77 Posts: 32 Member
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    I can totally relate!
  • FitnessOverFood
    FitnessOverFood Posts: 37
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    Some of these are pretty funny. But law school isn't an excuse. I was purposefully being lazy and using my free time to relax (it's easy to tell who never went to law school or have a demanding undergrad degree - sometimes you have to balance what's important - family, fun, and a lot of beer was a bit more important than working out in the VERY LITTLE BIT OF FREE TIME that you have).

    But I was in shape prior to school, I just kinda let myself go that first year to adapt to the demand of school and understand what it required of me.

    But for those who were "gun-ho" with the "you aren't doing your part stop making excuses", thanks, those were pretty fun to read - as someone who worked out for 5 years straight before going to school - I know all that stuff, but I've heard it in much more PROFESSIONAL ways that were actually motivating. Glad I wasn't depending on any of you to motivate me - that would have definitely made a first timer say "yea, these gym heads are not who I want to associate with".


    For the rest of you that were actually helpful or understood the situation, good to see there are supporting people out there that would actually help those who may really be struggling with weight loss.

    But to all of you - enjoy your exercise and dieting!
  • marykator
    marykator Posts: 20
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    Grad school is keeping me fat! UGH! I feel your pain. But we have to find balance. Hard lesson!
  • SugaryLynx
    SugaryLynx Posts: 2,640 Member
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    Gym heads? I've never touched foot in a gym.

    Some people deliver support in various ways. Tough love or sugar coated, it's all a manner by which to give a push in the right direction. Irregardless of circumstances, at the end of the day, we hold all the power in our hands to change. Sure, I figured you were aware of that but isn't it so easy to lay blame to something else? Kids were my excuse for gaining and becoming complacent. But the stern love of interweb strangers made me realize that the power was left with me.
  • midwestmixtape
    midwestmixtape Posts: 66 Member
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    We have no one else to blame but ourselves. Law School did not make you fat. Engineering didn't make me fat.

    We made ourselves fat.

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