I am about to start grad school in about a month and and concerned that the new schedule will interfere with my exercise and diet. Any suggestions for keeping my weight in check?

I was a full time grad student. I would say to take advantage of your flexible schedule and use it to fit in exercise and meal prep and planning. Now that I work full time, I look back on being a grad student and wish I made better use of my schedule. When I finally got my act together as a grad student, I learned to wake up at a regular, earlier time just to exercise, instead of sleeping as late as possible and still get to class on time. Or if you have a big gap between classes, take advantage of that time!

I lost more than 50 pounds as a grad student, so it can be done!

The grad school experience is different for different people. Like Amy said, there can be some flexibility in the schedule (you're not stuck somewhere for 9-5, that's for sure), but I personally found that my presence was required in the department much more often than my official schedule would suggest. Most graduate students are extremely busy and overworked- I got through the first few months by thinking of it as training for a marathon (exhausting at first but results in greater endurance).

It's very easy to let your work become your life in grad school, and for a lot of people that's a good learning process. However, if you're going to have another priority, like losing weight, then you need to carve time out for it. In my experience, it's all about making cuts and choices- there's always more work that needs to be done or things that should be read, and you're always going to have to choose what's most important at the moment. One good piece of advice that I got early on was that you're not going to be able to complete all of the readings you're assigned; you simply have to pick the most important to you or to completing the project you have to present. It's the same with exercise- you're going to have to chose which things are more important than exercising, and which are less, and sacrifice those less vital things for exercise (e.g. reading the whole book in-depth vs. reading key sections, scanning the rest, and using the extra time to go for a jog).

However, some people have a relatively easy time with grad school- they're usually in programs that are focused on occupation (e.g. some health care programs) and have more free time. It's all relative to your department, your school, and your own work ethic.

Also, I would recommend setting a sleep schedule right away. You absolutely need to sleep the minimum your body needs in order to feel alert, and to do it EVERY day. That means spreading out the workload and not pulling all-nighters, which are fairly useless in grad school anyway. For me that means sleeping from 11-6 every night (some nights 10-6, some 11-7). If you're very careful about sleep, then everything else will be easier, including finding time to exercise.

Even without weight loss, you also need to make sure you're eating well. It's extremely important that you're getting adequate nutrition. Moderate exercise can also greatly improve your school performance.

It's a bit nerve-racking at first, and a bit of an adjustment, but I love being in grad school and I hope you find it as enjoyable as I do.

I was a full time grad student with two internships. I made sure I included exercise in my days even if it meant waking up early!!!
I did at least 3X a week.

I finished my Master's last year and I managed to lose a little weight in grad school despite the crazy program I was in!

First off, I was in an accelerated program so I finished my degree in one year, versus two or two and a half, and I worked full time one semester and then student taught full time one semester, worked part time AND took a full load of classes! Ahhh! I also made sure to go to the gym and NOT eat loads of junk food. I can't say I got plenty of sleep though...

Exercise was a priority in my life. It was like a class—I couldn't miss it for something frivolous. I was running from work to class to the gym and then home for a late dinner, but I managed to lose 8lbs and NOT gain any of it back by the time I started up again in May.

I bought lunch as little as possible (didn't have the money anyway) and I always had breakfast. I would prepare my lunch the night before or in the morning and take it with me. My family would often grill a lot of chicken one day (we still do) so that there was a lot of leftover for lunch throughout the week.

Just plan ahead! Make sure that exercise and eating right are as important as your degree. Don't skip exercise unless absolutely necessary. This means even planning your study time around it!

Thank you for your suggestions! The last time I was in school, my eating habits were pretty bad, with a lot of junk food snacks on the go and fast food late at night. I can get hyper-focused on academic tasks, to the detriment of other goals. It helps to have a plan before the semester begins.

I agree with the others. I've got 5 weeks of my masters left. The flexible schedule gave me a lot of time to focus on making my own meals and getting out there to exercise, especially walking to and from school. I've lost nearly 20 lbs in the last 4 months so it's working even through some hiccups.

You should think about stocking your fridge at the beginning of the week and finding healthy delivery and takeout nearby. I eat a lot of middle eastern food (chicken and hummus!) and indian (i stick to the healthier chickpea and paneer options) and make sure to track your meals with something like MFP. And remember, if you mess up one day, don't beat yourself up. You can get back on track the next!

I'm a grad student and have been for the past 3 years. I've managed to lose, but I've also gained. So the thing is to me, don't forget to make fitness a priority. No matter how stressed you are, make some time to go for a run. And also, don't forget (which is what I did to gain) that you aren't immune to those frequent wine/whine sessions with your other colleagues, and those awful bar foods.

Like everybody else has said, planning and prioritizing are really important.

Also, if stress is a big trigger for you, do what you can to avoid or mitigate it without undermining your academic/professional/personal goals. Although I'm a very good student and enjoy learning for its own sake, I find school tremendously stressful. I'm taking longer to complete my degree and being choosy about what classes I take and who I interact with on a regular basis so that I can get the most of what I want/need professionally and academically, without becoming so stressed I end up over 300 lbs.

Figure out what you want, work hard, and try to stay positive (even if everybody around you is moaning about their more-or-less self-inflicted First World Problems ). Good luck!

I just completed my Masters and I know how tempting it can be to just run to junk/fast food for a quick meal. I gained and lost a lot of weight in the course of my two-year program, and the key to losing it (for me) was careful planning of meals and trips to the grocery store (my least favorite chore), getting enough sleep if possible, and exercise as often as I could. I've seen the highs and lows of diet during my program, with me eating fast food for three meals a day for weeks on end (and feeling awful and sick, of course), to eating low-carb, high energy foods that made me drop weight quickly and feel a lot better. I don't deal with stress well, and my program--like many, no doubt--was very stressful, with odd hours and highly demanding professors. I wish I had planned better to take better care of myself, and you're smart for asking for advice before you begin. Good luck, get plenty of rest, and keep up the good work!

I think that you flat out have to make the decision that no matter how tired, stressed, or busy you are, you've got to make the decision to eat healthy.

I gained probably 50lbs in grad school. I was working full time, had a toddler, and was doing a masters. There were weeks when I had McDonald's every night. I'm not kidding. Thinking back, I should have bought meals and put them in the freezer - even frozen 'healthy choice' types would have been better.

So I guess my suggestion is, try to plan meals in advance to have something waiting for you at home so hunger doesn't win out and you stop for the quick fix instead. Also, make sure you eat throughout the day so that come 10pm you aren't ravenous.