Nursing student venting
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I've been an ER nurse for over 11 years and I've worked in about 10 different hospitals.... I was 45 pounds heavier than I am now at the beginning of my career as a nurse. I've never been turned down for a job because of my weight.
Granted, for the last 20 months or so I've been travel nursing and my interviews are on the phone. But I'm also rarely the heaviest nurse working the ER once I get to where I'm going. At 45 pounds heavier when I was interviewing in person - I have gotten EVERY job I've ever interviewed for as a nurse.
I get 13,000 + steps most shifts at my current assignment. About the "physical aspects of the job" - most hospitals nowadays have rules about staff not lifting over 20-40 lbs, so if you have a 200+ pound patient, you had better have plenty of help to move that patient or get a mechanical lift (which don't exist in the ER, but we make it work). They also have slippery slides and all sorts of accessories now.
Don't get me wrong - it's still a LOT physical activity! The current place I'm at does not have a tube system, so every time I need something from pharmacy - it's up and don stairs - at least 10x a shift. And I've worked places where you run your own labs to lab.... again up and down stairs.
With 12 hour shifts and hospital cafeterias serving unhealthy as *kitten* food.... MEAL PLANNING and packing ahead of time is the ONLY way I've been able to make it work.
Good luck with nursing school! I loved it!6 -
I'm an OR nurse in Neurosurgery. Take this time to get healthy. I'm only trying to lose 9 more pounds, I started out needing to lose 26 lbs. I stand on my feet for almost every minute of those 12 hours most days. Nursing can be hard on the body, and anything you can do to alleviate stress on your joints and feet will help you succeed more. When I was going through nursing school, I would study for 1 hour and then walk on my treadmill for an hour. It helped a lot. After my hour on the treadmill, I would eat something and then resume my studies. It kept me focused and helped with stress levels. Good luck, and best wishes!2
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I like to study on the treadmill, personally. I actually find it easier to focus on the book if my body is active. You can get a lot of extra steps that way. I multi-task my exercise whenever possible. Heck, I logged 8000 steps last night because I was pacing during a long conference call!1
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OP as a student is an accelerated nursing program I get it. School eats up a huge amount of my time as well, and after hours of lecture and skills lab the last thing I want to do is go to the gym. However I have found that making modifications to my diet has made a difference. Think through portion sizes on food and what specifically you are eating and find something that manages to balance the energy you need for school and clinical rotations with the calorie deficit needed to lose weight. It IS possible! I do encourage getting a little exercise when you can, it doesn't have to mean going to the gym - sometimes my exercise is taking a 10 minute break from studying to walk around the block. 10-15 minutes of exercise can be a great mental health break in the midst of studying. I've also found that bits of exercise here and there that I can fit in help me attain better quality sleep allowing for more energy to accomplish all the tasks of the day.
Thinking of your diet and exercise as being part of your self-care that will allow you to ultimately take better care of your patients may help you feel less guilty about taking time away from your studies to focus on you.0 -
Packerjohn wrote: »crystalroselynn wrote: »Not sure how you expect to be a nurse (on your feet all day, turning and moving people, doing a very active job) if you don't consider any exercise.....Size (and the health issues that go with it) aside, how do you expect to have the stamina and fitness level a job like that requires?
You CAN fit in 20 minutes a day, and you can walk to and from classes - wont take that long....And as others said, eating less won't take that much time......It sounds like you are looking for excuses.
Ok so first off that came off kind of rude. I know what the job entails. I was just trying to say that school is very stressful and I try to dedicate every minute I have to it. I don't have any spare time where I just sit and watch tv. Yes I can walk class to class but I can't walk from my house to class... That's a very far distance. I know about the eating part. I'm looking for tips and support. Not criticism. Thanks
Do you work in addition to school, care for children or other family members, etc? Typically a full load at college is considered 18 hours and assumed 2 hours of study per hour in class so that gets you to 52 hours, round up to 60, you have 108 hours left in a week.
Not trying to be mean or judgemental, just suggesting that you take an honest look at how you are spending your time. If you are rrally spending all your time with school and can't find time for anything else you may want to get some help with study skills
As has been mentioned, your diet will be the biggest factor in wright loss, but movement will help with calories burned and general health.
Best of luck.
(I have no idea what your life is like) divided by (Let me make some assumptions) +(I'll make the rest up)= you have 1,000,000 hours left to run a marathon!
Just like you have to focus on your studies, you need to focus a on what you are eating. It is not going to be easy to fight the cravings. But you can do it. You have to do it. Your life and livelihood are depending on it.
My experience with college age kids is that they prefer not to plan too much, but you might consider planning what you are going to eat tomorrow. Planning ahead will show you where your downfalls are. You will find yourself saying I would rather have 4 of these than just 1 of those!
Good luck with all.1 -
You've gotten great advice, from people who've successfully lost weight, and kept it off, while managing busy lives.
You're studying to be in health care. I can understand wanting to be healthy. Good for you.
Follow the advice here and aim for way way below a BMI of 35, as 35 is well above the cut off for obese. I'm hoping you meant 25...
You can do it, and have plenty of time. Don't get hung up on "must work out".
ETA: if you're going to have a shake for breakfast, consider switching to a BETTER one with more protein and nutrients. (and look for a better entry for the one you're using, I think it's not correct)1 -
@CoffeeNCardio has a great point about TV. I walk laps around my apt. Complex while watching on my phone. Since I'm usually watching The Walking Dead, etc. I'm usually told I'm very entertaining to watch and my fellow (human) walkers are very helpful when I hold the phone up and ask "Who just died!?!!? I can't look!"
I also do this with rented movies--makes the time fly for me.4 -
You're making me nervous- I start nursing school on Oct 4 and I have a history of emotional eating (stress eating, particularly). I'm trying to lose 10 pounds, but I'm worried I will end up gaining weight. When I used to be in school, I'd go for a quick run every morning. I would sometimes study on the treadmill or stationary bike with flashcards. I'd walk to school. I'd do squats at home while waiting for dinner to cook. Things like that add up and that's what I plan on doing. Personally, fitness is extremely important to me and I'm not willing to sacrifice it for school. Priorities. Put fitness up there with school.2
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OP
you do need to be in better shape to succeed at your career
one thing that bugs me about the hospital is staff taking the elevator 1 floor instead of the stairs.. how about starting there...
my spouse is a Dr and take the stairs all the time
it's a small thing but way to get some exercise3 -
A couple of thoughts. Looking at "OMG I have to lose 9000 pounds or I've wasted 11 years of my life and 3 trillion dollars" is crazy overwhelming. Or maybe I'm just queen of overreaction. But at any rate, you don't have to do it all this week, this month, this semester. When I get overwhelmed, my first reaction (outside of crying) is doing nothing. I have to work really hard at doing *something.
So, start with diet. Don't be all crazy and drop to 1200 calories. Follow what mfp gives you. The fun part is, right now as long as you're as accurate as possible, weight will drop pretty quickly. Then, as you gain some confidence in the process and your progress, more than likely the itch to move will worm it's way in. By then some of the food part will be auto-piloting and you'll have more mind space to dedicate to a bit of exercise. This may be in a month or six months.
Also, I'm big on mental role playing. Look at yourself as your own patient. What would you say to a patient in your shoes? You'd encourage and celebrate steps in the right direction I'm sure! So, you're here on mfp. You're learning your particular food needs. You're working toward nourishing your body in a loving way. How awesome is that?! And, you'll work out a way to fit in some exercise before long, I'm positive. And you'll hit that BMI in plenty of time! Don't let that negative jerk in your head win!5 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »You've gotten great advice, from people who've successfully lost weight, and kept it off, while managing busy lives.
Follow the advice here and aim for way way below a BMI of 35, as 35 is well above the cut off for obese. I'm hoping you meant 25...
)
I am assuming OP meant to write 'under 35' and not 'be 35' - as wanting employees to be a BMI of 35 doesn't make sense.
Neither does wanting them to be 25 - a bmi of 25 is fine but one would hardly expect everyone to be at exactly that.
However expecting employees who will be doing a physical job requiring a reasonable level of fitness and stamina to be under 35 is not at all unreasonable.
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Nutrition is like 90% of it really so aim to be in a mild to moderate (but not severe) calorie deficit, eat as clean as possible, and get enough protein (I recently found out this is very important and its easy/common to get way too little protein). Exercise helps but for now your focus should be diet.0
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You can do it, you have time. Just get started ASAP0
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Wow a weight limit! Than. God we don't have that in the UK. We'd have very few nurses if we did0
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crystalroselynn wrote: »So I'm currently at a weight of 310 and I'm in nursing school. Well Ive been doing some research and hospitals want their nurses to be around a 35 bmi and I am far from that. I feel like I don't have time to work out because of school.
Anyways I'm just extremely stressed out because not only am I in nursing school, but I have to lose at least 100 lbs to even be considered.
Positive note is that I do have 1-2 years to do so.
I started out at 289.5lb (BMI 55)n330 days ago, today I weighed in at 188.1lb with a BMI of 35.9 (even I'm shocked at my current BMI) so it's totally doable. The weight loss will be more rapid for the first few months (I was losing 10-12lb/month) and then taper off (3-4lb/month now), but 1-2 years is plenty of time to make the changes and lose the weight.3 -
You have 2 years to move towards being a healthy weight, which as a healthcare provider you will be grateful for
You have no less or more time than anyone else, no fewer or more stresses. You just need to commit.
You can do it
As an aside I would have been more surprised at them not having a limit than having one1 -
paperpudding wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »You've gotten great advice, from people who've successfully lost weight, and kept it off, while managing busy lives.
Follow the advice here and aim for way way below a BMI of 35, as 35 is well above the cut off for obese. I'm hoping you meant 25...
)
I am assuming OP meant to write 'under 35' and not 'be 35' - as wanting employees to be a BMI of 35 doesn't make sense.
Neither does wanting them to be 25 - a bmi of 25 is fine but one would hardly expect everyone to be at exactly that.
However expecting employees who will be doing a physical job requiring a reasonable level of fitness and stamina to be under 35 is not at all unreasonable.
I'm hoping they meant under 25....1 -
trigden1991 wrote: »It doesn't take any extra time to eat less. In face, it will save you time. All you need is a caloric deficit which can be created through diet, exercise or both.
truth....no excuses. just make up your mind to do it!1 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »You've gotten great advice, from people who've successfully lost weight, and kept it off, while managing busy lives.
Follow the advice here and aim for way way below a BMI of 35, as 35 is well above the cut off for obese. I'm hoping you meant 25...
)
I am assuming OP meant to write 'under 35' and not 'be 35' - as wanting employees to be a BMI of 35 doesn't make sense.
Neither does wanting them to be 25 - a bmi of 25 is fine but one would hardly expect everyone to be at exactly that.
However expecting employees who will be doing a physical job requiring a reasonable level of fitness and stamina to be under 35 is not at all unreasonable.
I'm hoping they meant under 25....
Well OP has not been back to clarify - but expecting all employees to be under 25 is not realistic, or neccesary.
Many people would have BMI of over 25 but under 35 and be perfectly able to carry out the job.
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People on msg boards are so rude. You're already off to a good start by getting on this app so f the haters, you'll find your way. ❤️ good luck0
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CatherineLaurel wrote: »People on msg boards are so rude. You're already off to a good start by getting on this app so f the haters, you'll find your way. ❤️ good luck
Hangry?!3 -
Are you going to a traditional university for classes? Many offer students free gyms throughout campus. If you'd like to increase your exercise, I'd start slow and maybe incorporate your studying simultaneously. Read articles and textbooks on a stationary bike. Listen to class recordings, topical podcasts, or download a flashcard app to use on a treadmill. Perhaps you can do this while you're already on campus and schedule it in like a class so it's a non-negotiable. Exercise is wonderful for stress relief and improves cognitive function, so getting in a few hours a week will likely help you feel better. It will also help you slowly build stamina so you can lift patients and run around for 8-14 hours.
Since you'll have a lot going on, try to focus simply on reducing calories and hitting a moderate calorie goal. You don't have to cut out food you like, just make a plan to include it in moderation. Menu planning might help, or batch cooking so you have portable lunches that are filling and nutritious. Take note of the places around campus that have foods you like with reasonable amounts of calories to prevent spur of the moment splurges when you're rushed and hungry or have to stay late.
A lot of this will be applicable when you start to work as well - having a job with irregular hours and sometimes being so busy that you don't get any breaks can be a shock. Building good eating habits now will help you transition to clinical rotations and your first job too.1 -
tlflag1620 wrote: »crystalroselynn wrote: »Not sure how you expect to be a nurse (on your feet all day, turning and moving people, doing a very active job) if you don't consider any exercise.....Size (and the health issues that go with it) aside, how do you expect to have the stamina and fitness level a job like that requires?
You CAN fit in 20 minutes a day, and you can walk to and from classes - wont take that long....And as others said, eating less won't take that much time......It sounds like you are looking for excuses.
Ok so first off that came off kind of rude. I know what the job entails. I was just trying to say that school is very stressful and I try to dedicate every minute I have to it. I don't have any spare time where I just sit and watch tv. Yes I can walk class to class but I can't walk from my house to class... That's a very far distance. I know about the eating part. I'm looking for tips and support. Not criticism. Thanks
My tip - you don't really need to worry about exercise at this point at all. Ideally? Sure. But weight is lost primarily in the kitchen. Set up MFP to lose 1-1.5 lbs per week, log your food, stick to your calorie goal, and viola! You will lose weight. That's all there is to it. As you get closer to where you need to be, you may find you feel more energetic and you may find ways to work in more activity. But right now the main focus should be on your diet anyway. So take care of that and don't worry about finding time for workouts. Just my $0.02. The good news is you recognized the issue with plenty of time to do someone about it!
This is true and really good advice.
I worked out quite a bit when I was in law school, so I do think it's possible, but if it feels like it's not or you just aren't in the right frame of mind for it yet, don't let that bother or derail you. Focus on the part that doesn't really take time.
I used to get freaked out and stressed at work from time to time, stop exercising, and then feel like I was off plan anyway so might as well just eat whatever. When I gave myself a break and said if I don't have the time I won't exercise and just controlled calories it was kind of a revelation and I felt much more in control (and lost as well as usual). Now that I'm more in the habit again I tend to find exercise helps with stress and benefit from fitting it in (as I think ksharma noted), but it's not something you need to worry about now, and you definitely can lose 100 lbs over the next 2 years without it if you need.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »You've gotten great advice, from people who've successfully lost weight, and kept it off, while managing busy lives.
Follow the advice here and aim for way way below a BMI of 35, as 35 is well above the cut off for obese. I'm hoping you meant 25...
)
I am assuming OP meant to write 'under 35' and not 'be 35' - as wanting employees to be a BMI of 35 doesn't make sense.
Neither does wanting them to be 25 - a bmi of 25 is fine but one would hardly expect everyone to be at exactly that.
However expecting employees who will be doing a physical job requiring a reasonable level of fitness and stamina to be under 35 is not at all unreasonable.
I'm hoping they meant under 25....
I suspect it's a rare job, and wouldn't include nursing, where someone would be required to be under 25 (or not officially overweight) just to get the job. Especially since there are circumstances where someone can be over 25 and still a healthy weight (more rare than some think, granted).1 -
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Hey there! During my academic years my weight have been fluctuating A LOT! I have to say that, you're not always going to find time. I sure didn't. But there were occasions where I was able to work out. Actually, my workouts were very sporadic. I would work out one week or maybe for one month but then a couple of weeks or maybe a month or two later, I didn't have time.
I would give you one advice. Make yourself a schedule. Your education is your number one priority, so don't let that slip up. Losing weight should be on your list of priorities, so make a plan. A study plan and a workout plan on weeks you have time. Try to make a weekly plan each Sunday to lay out your studying and workout times (if you have time for workouts that is).
Also, I find that keeping a diet is really hard depending on how demanding your coursework is. Some people tend to over eat and some don't eat enough. I was one of those over-eaters, usually. During rotations, I'm like a zombie at times. What I did was I did watch my calories, but I wasn't overly strict about it. If I was hungry or feeling tired, I would go eat, regardless of my calorie intake at times because if I don't then I cannot focus on my studies (remember college is your top priority right now). With that being said, I would try to figure out how many calories you take in now and then shave off calories from that slowly, so that way your body will feel it less. You don't have to go by MFP goals. Make your own calorie goal, which is what I did. You have plenty of time to do this.
One thing that's hard for me when it comes to weight loss is keeping the weight off. Which is going to be hard to do as a full-time student. That being said, just keep in mind that even if you have reached your goal, you have to keep going to maintain it. If you drop your weight loss plan all together without having plans of maintaining your goal weight, then you'll gain back what you lost.
It's good that you have 1-2 years to do this. I don't know if you have courses to take in the summer, but if you don't, go harder and more strict on yourself when you're on holidays/breaks. You can start as slow as you need to! I mean you do have 1-2 years
P.S. There are some posters on here who are outright rude. I have met some, just ignore them. I had one guy on here trying to diagnose me with depression lol. Nobody can understand what you are going through, but you. Some people think that if they can do something or if they know some one who did this then everyone should be able to. And there are people who make judgments about you and stereotype you, when they don't even know you. Ignore those types of people. They troll the internet and you will meet some people like that in life. You need positive support right now
You got into nursing school, so you can tackle this. I hope you succeed and good luck
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