THIS ONES FOR STUDENTS

I'm a full time nursing student taking 19 credits right now and have been successfully losing weight It's hard, but it is possible!

I always had a theory that you couldn't get the grades you wanted AND lose weight!!

I absolutely don't mean to diminish the stress and hard work that students go through on a daily basis. However, there are plenty of people with massive amounts of stress and committment, whether they run a company and have to make multi-million dollar decisions, or a surgeon who saves lives, or the single parent of 3 who is working two jobs, all of whom set their health and fitness to a high enough priority to make sure they succeed.

If you have the tools and the desire, I'm sure you'll make it happen.

I'm a grad student working on grant proposals, comprehensive exams, my dissertation proposal, teaching 20 hours/week (with extra grading here and there), working on a side project another 10/hours week, serving on a couple committees - plus it's a 45min. commute each way to school/work. So, I'm swamped. BUT! I've made working out a priority.

Sometimes I get up really early to get in a jog, and sometimes I only get a 20 min. DVD worth done in the evening. But, that's priority. I find I have more energy and think more clearly if I work out, so I think it's better all around in the long run. As for food, my husband and I plan a week of food on Sunday and take turns cooking. We stick to mostly whole, plant-based foods, and make things in bulk so we can have leftovers for lunches or other dinners.

I also will make a calendar every month that includes what times I'm going to work out (for the whole month) and what I'm going to do during those times, and I stick to that as faithfully as possible.

It's a stress, and it takes a ton of planning, but I absolutely believe it's about what you make priority. You've got this

PS: Also, try to think of times you work out as your "me time." It's such a relief some days to go to the gym or hit the road!!

I lost around 30 pounds in my final year at college - I was so busy that there wasn't time to eat badly! I brought meals with me - I usually had a cookathon at the weekend, and made a week of soup and other meals, froze them and then defrosted and microwaved at school (or heated it at home, and carried in a thermos), and made sure I always had healthy snacks with me (again, this sometimes took a little pre-planning and a few mini-tupperwares for a few days worth of chopped-up fruit). I always made sure I had a small bar of 70% chocolate in my bag as well, so that I had something not-too-bad when the cravings hit, or other things that were more problematic were on offer.

I also started walking to and from school - about 40 minutes each way - which made a big difference, and only added about 10 minutes to my commute, once rush-hour traffic was accounted for. Could you do this? Walking is just as effective as a full-on work-out at the gym, and much gentler to your body and your available time. I also used this time for studying, with notes (or in my case, music - I'm an opera singer) on an mp3 player. Are any of your lectures available to download, or could you record vocab, or formulae or whatever you need to learn, to listen to?

The other thing that made a big difference, to both my weight and my studies, was having a really good breakfast every day - always protein and carbs and often fruit as well. A slice of bacon, 1/2 an avocado and toast, or yoghurt and muesli with berries, or an egg with a slice of toast, or porridge and a piece of cheese or slice of ham - whatever I fancied, providing it gave me protein and carbohydrates to base my day on.

I think that for some people, saying that you have to make it a priority will work, for others, especially if their schedule is a little less regular, as mine was, it's all about the small, sustainable changes - they add up!

I was a full time grad student, with 3 jobs and I still managed to workout 5-6 days a week (sometimes twice day because I was doing insanity before work and class then lifting at night) while watching my cals....I managed to lose 30-40 lb in the two years I was in school...It can be done.

What helped me was planned meals...I would pack my snacks, lunch and sometimes dinner with me. I made all my lunches and dinners on Sunday.

Im a 21 year old nursing student taking a full courseload (30 units), i work part-time about 20 hours a week as well as commuting back and forth from home to school (1h 20m 1 way) and I'm currently in the process of losing weight. The key is SCHEDULE SCHEDULE SCHEDULE. IF you know you have to go to the gym at this time on a certain day, or you have an assignment due, or work to do, you have to plan in between. it actually really helps with time management