Health Professionals trying to become healthy [again]!

Hi there! Read your post! I know how you feel im working in a hospital too.. And people esp px do look up to the person whos is educating them.. Do what you preach they said.. Its hatd esp if years of eating unhealthy foods.. Im in the same page as you... But what others said... Determination is tge key... And little baby steps of change at a timeweight loss will not be done overnight.... It took. Years of pillling on... So we need patience of taking it off to be healthy and low risk of of
All the consequences of eating the nit soo good food choices...

I work overnights in a busy ICU. In five years I added 50lbs to the already 30 I was already overweight with. I can totally understand where your coming from. How does it look the overweight RN telling you to lose weight. It has been heard planning lunches everynight and not living on vending machines and time hortons, but I can already see changes. Plus after one month I have no problem turning down the pizza and wings everyone always seems to order. The Sunday morning bagels, now that's a different story. Good luck !!!

UGH! I feel ya! I'm working on my BSN and I've gained more weight in the year I've been in the nursing program than the other two years of college (or ever for that matter). I know it's because of the late night study sessions fueled by junk food and the lack of exercise. This summer I made my mind up to change! I will graduate next December and I will be in the best shape of my life then as well!! All during my 20 10th year of life (I'm not ready to claim 30 yet!)...I'd love some more friends in the medical field for inspiration/motivation so feel free to send me a request

ps. I know all about the hectic days that comes with working in the medical field, I was a CNA for a few years and while I stayed busy running up and down the halls, I ate like crap. It was a miracle I didn't gain a ton of weight then (I blame that on my "young" metabolism...which has obviously slowed down since I'm dangerously close to 30). I am already making plans on how/what I'm going to be eating and how I'm going to be exercising to combat the stress of being an RN...I know it won't be easy but it's definitely possible!

I'm a general surgical trainee (I think they call it 'resident' in the US). Yes, we do work long hours and the lifestyle is not conducive to optimum health. I found that in my first year after graduation I piled on 20+ pounds simply due to the lifestyle. I thought that the fact that I was running around all day, barely eating during the day and the high stress I was experiencing meant that I could eat/binge on what I wanted, including endless curry takeaways. Err, wrong! Over the next year, I decided to lose the weight. Sadly the stress of trying to balance the career, diet and exercise nearly finished me off. I was thin but miserable and stressed.

I hope I've reached a happier medium now. I love to eat and can't function if I'm hungry so I always have a few easy snacks on hand that I can wolf down whilst on the run. I often carry a can of soup in to work that I can heat up and consume in 5 mins. I figure the sodium load is better than resorting to the chocolate vending machines at 3am. I cook in bulk at weekends/off days. Fortunately, in the UK at least our hours are not as bad as say in the US, so for every 90 hour week I'll get one week where I have very reduced hours.

I will often sacrifice social events to go the gym. I don't have a fixed schedule - I fit it around my work which means I'm often there at strange hours. Interestingly most of my peers whinge about being too busy to exercise, but then they spend their free time out drinking/with friends etc. I guess it's all about priorities. I do have friends but they know not to get in the way of my workout :laugh:

Sometimes a curveball gets thrown (yet another set of exams grrr, more job applications, a particularly grim set of nights, a bad day at work) and I do derail every now and again but I guess it's all about long-term consistency.

I admit that I wonder how sustainable this will be if and when I do get married/have a family/become more senior. Whilst most of my peers are slim, the bosses are not (life has become too cushy for them I suppose!)

Holdshand up!!

Yup, midwife over here in the UK (all pregnant women in the UK have all/most of their care from midwives). Midwives have a tendancy to be fat - a lot of them morbidly obese and there we are advising about the dangers of gestational diabetes, moaning about how difficult it is looking after an obese pregnant lady in labour, all the while scoffing the choccies and cakes and junk food that litter our labour ward!! We all make the excuse that it's because we dont get proper meal breaks, work shifts etc etc - but, but - there are also plenty of other midwives/health professionals who are NOT over weight and never have been, so during my "journey" I have not only been trying to lose the weight but also learn and get advise from the people that have never gained in the first place... and you know what it is all about control. .. I could go on, but I am sure all you lovely people know the theory behind it all and certainly dont need a lecture from me!!!...lol

Good luck in your medical career AND in your weight loss

Hahah thought I was the only one who noticed the midwives built like houses :laugh:
Don't shoot me I avoid the maternity ward like the plague. Too much chocolate and too many screaming women

I too am a( mental) health professional trying to stay healthy. I have asthma which has gotten worse in the past year and I agree the medicines are making it hard to lose weight!!! Please friend me if you like so we can support each other. I need support and want to get my asthma gone. I just had to add a new medicine and do not want to ADD things at this stage. I am hoping healthier diet now will help. Have been on MFP for almost 3 years now! It has helped a lot.

I can relate! I worked many years in the clinical lab, regularly worked 8 hour days and was always moving around due to lab testing. I switched to a desk job and gained about 30 pounds. Losing weight with a schedule like yours will be challenging, but it can be done. You have to make healthier choices for your meals and more importantly, MAKE the time to fit in exercise. The exercise is a great benefit for me now because it helps me handle the stress.

Hey all, although I'm not a health professional, I'm a former fitness professional who is trying to get back and struggling with putting the knowledge and info I use to help others to help myself. I've gone up and down for years now and am determined to make the transformation real and permanent this time around. I believe that success comes with support and encouragement and I've found some great friends on here and looking to support anyone who wants / needs it.

Please feel free to add me to your friend list (anyone on the thread) and together we can do it!

I'm not in your field, but of course a health professional has more credibility if s/he is a normal weight. Most people understand that, after education, the most important (and hardest) thing is to find a way to apply healthy eating and exercise habits to one's life.

Good luck.

lol...we need our very own group!!!