Eating right/exercise while always studying?
 

Hi all!

I'm new here, I've been using Weight Watchers for about 2 weeks. I haven't been having much trouble with the program overall (food wise) EXCEPT when it comes to school.

I am just finishing my junior year on the road to my BA. I take about 5 classes per semester (19 credits), but I am also a research assistant which takes some extra time too.

All year round, and especially at this time of year (final exams and final papers) I feel like I have no time to breathe or sleep without scheduling it in, forget about exercise!

Any advice for exercise to someone who has ZERO extra time to dedicate to it?

Absolutely! My weight gain came through school and then, ironically, teaching! There is ALWAYS a reason to NOT be fit or healthy, but it doesn't mean it's impossible! Yes, eating healthy while being busy is hard, but being overweight is hard too! Choose your hard!

Try 10 jumping jacks every 30 minutes or having healthy snacks on hand. Just watching your calories makes it easy to not go over board as well. Also, try portioning out your snacks in advance, so it's not continuous eating from, say, a bag of crisps. I hope this helps. Remember- YOUR TIME IS ESSENTIAL! You can do this, no matter how busy you are! If you have time to grab cookies, you have time to grab berries instead! Maybe proactive grocery shopping could help?

You got this! :D

Think back to all those times when you end up sitting in front of the TV for a few minutes or mindlessly surfing the web. That's downtime that you can use. It feels like work, but once you schedule in working out just like studying or work and think of that as your new downtime, it's less of a chore!

I just push through finals week. I don't really eat much of anything because I am so stressed it makes me sick. Exercise is usually walking around. If I'm just studying from notes, I might hit the elliptical or treadmill for a bit. I don't know about you, but mindless tv or internet isn't happening during finals week. If I have that down time, I'm gonna try to nap.

I'm currently waiting on the caffeine to wear off enough to sleep. I had my last final this morning, and I've probably slept all of 6 hours total since Friday. Tomorrow is a rest day for me - sleep, shower, and generally do nothing. Then Thurs it's back at it again. I figure in the grand scheme, the 1-1.5 weeks of finals isn't that bad to skip workouts. If I was eating a lot, I might feel differently.

When I am studying, I snack... I can eat like there is no tomorrow. To stop this, I have to carry carrots/cucumbers/whatever else healthy on me whenever I plan on studying, just so I don't get a bag of chips or w/e else to munch on. During finals, I stop exercising and make sure my diet makes up for it. I'll eat less since I won't be burning off more calories through exercise. Once finals are over tho, I get right back into my exercise routine.

I really struggle with this, too. I have been very bad this month with exercise. :(

Good morning everyone,

Thanks for the responses! You're right, during finals week/month there's unfortunately no such thing as downtime (ie, mindless tv or web surfing). If I do have TV on, it's only so I don't go crazy from the silence while typing a paper lol.

I am glad to see you all understand and can relate. I have 3 more weeks of this! Grr. It will all be worth it, I know, but for now it's just... ugh, lol.

I think the thing I'm having the most difficult time with is not having my go-to snack. When I study or do papers, my brain gets tired quickly and says "Hey, you're hungry and thirsty! Go get something from the fridge!" and I found the way to best combat this was to have a constant flow of sunflower seeds in my mouth so that it was never empty (you know, a handful at a time). Sunflower seeds curbed the hunger and the thirst which kept me focused... but I don't have that anymore because they are SO high in fat! I need to find something that I can eat almost-endless amounts of to keep me focused, and sadly fruits and veggies don't do the trick.

I recently started eating hummus and pretzel crisps (very thin chip-like pretzels) as a snack. I'd like to be able to munch on that while I study but I think it'd rack up the points too quickly (11 crisps is 2 points!). Maybe I can substitute the crisps for a vegetable. Oh man, so much to think about, and my brain is already on shut down mode.

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit junk food! (Airplane movie reference, lol)


EDIT: Sorry for sounding like I'm whining. Actually, I am whining... and thanks for listening! Haha :dizzy:

It's ok to whine a little, we all need to from time to time!

The thing is, life happens. If it's not one thing it will be another. You just have to make YOU a priority. If you don't have the time to exercise right now, that's ok, focus on what and how much you're eating. You can work on fitness after finals ;)

Weight loss is 80% diet, so don't stress yourself out over not working out. But if you need a break take a 10 minute walk. Switch the pretzels out for carrot sticks or celery. Pre-cut a bunch and you'll get a lot more mileage out of 200 calories of carrots as opposed to pretzels. Try dipping them in greek yogurt with some basil or dill in it - less calories and really good. Drink lots of water and green tea!

I know exactly how you feel. School takes the life out of you :( What I've learned is that exercising actually helps me feel more focused throughout the day. Start a routine of working out about the same time everyday. If you wake up and the first thing you do is work out, it's not another one of those "ugh I need to do that" things bugging you on your list. You got it out of the way and you feel focused and refreshed for the rest of your day. (: