Victim of the grad school lifestyle

malakod

So I started grad school over a year ago. Needless to say, working full time and going to school equals less time working out and eating right. Boy am I feeling it. I have less energy, less motivation, etc. I'm hoping this will help me be more disciplined with my routines and I can get some inspiration and motivation by keeping up with your stories!

NNAhuja

I too am a victim of grad school's unhealthy lifestyle. I work over 40 hours a week in addition to researching and writing a thesis. A lot of the eating I do is from cooking over the weekend or microwave meals or Subways sandwiches. You are not alone

EnjoyTheSpin

You are in good company!

katgirl985

I'm a fourth-year grad student and have gained about 10 pounds a year since starting. :-( Sooooo frustrating! I totally understand where you're coming from.

I've been at it for a while now, though, and have lost about 3/4 of what I gained. And the exercise and eating well helps me have so much more energy and actually feel MORE focused throughout the day. I look at my exercise time as my SELFISH time to take care of myself.

A quick tip as far as preparing healthful meals goes: I only have one day off a week, Sundays. So I've been cooking up a STORM on Sundays and putting the food in the fridge to take for lunches and nuke for dinners when I get home if I don't feel like cooking. Makes eating right MUCH easier! Hang in there!

lizard053

Oh don't I know it! I'm in grad school too. I have carved out an hour every morning and more in the evening 3 times a week for exercise. Other ways to boost movement through out the day, is find little ways. Take the stairs more. Move around consistently between classes. Stand, rather than sit, when you can. During class you can do ab exercises without anyone knowing. I do them when stopped at a traffic light! Take time on the weekend to cook for the week. Or if you cook dinner, cook extra and freeze as single portions for later on.

maddymama

I did this for a few years, too... I had a full time job, full time grad school, coached a team, swam on a team, and was planning a wedding. It was a crazy few years.......

My secret.... make ahead meals and freeze them. Make quadruple portions of healthy dinners, and freeze three....then reheat when needed. If you grill chicken breasts, grill a few extra, slice and freeze, and top a salad with them later. Use a crockpot to simmer healthy veggie soups all day, and eat with whole wheat bread. Take healthy snacks with you (I wish I had know about Lara bars)... apples, oranges, nuts, etc. They are much better for you than what's in the vending machines.

When I didn't have to worry about being stinky I would run the stairs in my building for ten minutes once every hour-- I would study for an hour, run for ten, study for an hour, run for ten, etc. That worked wonders for both clearing my mind and for mini-workouts.

You can do it, it's tough, but doable.

lorification

Hi, another grad student. I'm in my 3rd year of a PhD program. I managed to lose the weight I've gained since starting grad school, but now I'm working to lose the weight I gained in undergrad. It's a slow battle. For me, it meant an entire lifestyle overhaul, specifically doing my best to maintain a regular schedule. My days on campus are crazy and never the same, but I try to keep the amount of time I spend on campus the same - being here from 8-5 or 9-6, depending on when my classes end. I pack a salad for lunch every day (greens, tomato, carrots, celery, a form of protein - hardboiled egg, chick peas, chicken, etc., and some dressing or hummus) which is usually between 300-400 calories and greek yogurt. If I'm really hungry, especially a day that I have class, I'll eat a luna bar, too.

In addition to cooking extra meals so you have the leftovers, planning dinners ahead of time is crucial. For example, I knew that the dinner I wanted to make tonight has brown rice, so I cooked the rice last night so I wouldn't have to wait 40 minutes for it to be done tonight.

Breakfast is easy - I have a green smoothie almost every day, which I make the night before and keep in the fridge. I don't use any frozen ingredients, so this works just fine for me. Sometimes I have steelcut oats for breakfast, I make these the night before and reheat the next morning. You can add any nut butters, fruits, cinnamon, etc. to steelcut oats to make them more exciting.

_HeathBar_

I start grad school for my PharmD this fall. I'm hoping to continue exercising and eating right even with a busy schedule. Feel free to add me if you'd like some support.