Loosing weight while maintaining clear mind for exams (MS1) - possible?

[dushash]

I gained 30 lbs weight for last 2 years (stress and whatnot). I understand it maybe not be the best time to start losing weight, but I just feel really uncomfortable, short of breath when climbing stairs, walking fast etc. This really started to interfere with my daily life and classes. So I already started dieting and exercising, I'm taking it slowly and gradually, but I'm really worried about foggy mind during dieting when your brain still gets glucose of course, but for some reason you are not as clear minded as before. Takes longer to answer questions or read and understand material. I'm just worried this may eventually affect exam grades. I'm trying to figure out how to avoid this while still losing weight? Any tried and proven diets, methods or tricks?

P.S. If an academical decline is not avoidable no matter what - then I'll probably save this until 3rd year

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[Mosonik]

I'm not an expert in weight loss but taking care of yourself now including your well-being, however that looks for you, will pay dividends down the road. But... you are a med student so Ill reason with you like I would my friends or even myself at times. Your preclinical grades from years one and two do not mean what they used to as a pre-med so a little extra time to care for yourself physically is a good thing (aka find an exercise regimen). I also tend toward the old school belief that you'll be at your best when you are taking care of all of yourself and trust me, if your identity isn't tied to your exam percentile you'll be doing yourself a favor and your ego one too. Even so, would it be worth it to you if you missed a few extra questions because of this? You decide.

 

[cbrons]

No not possible

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[Promethean]

So, I put on a ton of weight during my first year. Stress eating, an abrupt drop in physical activity due to sitting around studying instead of doing my previously very active job, and less money for nutritious low calorie foods plus less time for preparing home made meals.

I took the issue to my PCP and asked for help. Diet and exercise are key... but my lifestyle was turned upside down by external stressors that I can't really just ignore. He prescribed a medication that was appropriate for my comorbidities and that helps control appetite. I have found it very effective, as I've been gradually losing weight without feeling hungry all the time. Medication alone is not a solution though. I am also tracking my calories on an app on my phone (myfitnesspal - it is really great because you can use the social media component of it to have friends help keep you accountable.) Tracking my intake (and sticking to a low calorie goal designed to achieve a slow steady rate of weight loss) means that I have to actually think about the quality of the calories that I take in. I know I only have so many to spend, so I make better, more nutritious choices.

I'm also working on increasing my activity level. That is the hardest part, because it requires dedicating time, which is something that I run short on. But... as little as 30 minutes of cardio every other day can be enough to help make a difference.

I'm not saying which medication that I'm using, because I don't want anyone going to their doc asking for a particular med. It is something that takes into account my particular situation and may not be appropriate for others.

Don't do extreme things. Don't aim for instant gratification. Follow the good advice that you would give to your patients. Slow, steady, track nutrition, get accountability from others to keep you on track, move a little more, eat a little less and eat fresher, less processed whenever possible. It isn't easy, but it isn't easy for patients either. Think of this as an opportunity to experience what that is like, so that when you are giving advice, you know what you are talking about, first hand.

 

[Mr Roboto]

Yes it's possible. Build time to exercise into your schedule. Cook healthy, easy meals at home (learn to love your crockpot). Don't eat so little that you feel foggy...

 

[Goro]

Knock off the sugar sweetened beverages, if you haven't already
Make sure you calorie intake is still adequate. Fasting =/= dieting
Try varying your exercise regiment. Even a brisk walk helps.

I gained 30 lbs weight for last 2 years (stress and whatnot). I understand it maybe not be the best time to start losing weight, but I just feel really uncomfortable, short of breath when climbing stairs, walking fast etc. This really started to interfere with my daily life and classes. So I already started dieting and exercising, I'm taking it slowly and gradually, but I'm really worried about foggy mind during dieting when your brain still gets glucose of course, but for some reason you are not as clear minded as before. Takes longer to answer questions or read and understand material. I'm just worried this may eventually affect exam grades. I'm trying to figure out how to avoid this while still losing weight? Any tried and proven diets, methods or tricks?

P.S. If an academical decline is not avoidable no matter what - then I'll probably save this until 3rd year

 

[dushash]

Thanks guys! I'll at least try and see how it will go. I already knocked off all sugar beverages. I'll try to vary my exercise routine from brisk walk to gym lifting. I'm not going too extreme on calories, trying green veggies, fish, chicken and fruits. I'm trying to reduce quantity while increasing quality of food. I'll update in 2 weeks or so, maybe this will be helpful to some MS1 in the future - kinda like a semi-controlled experiment on weight-loss vs academic grades haha

P.S. I suppose eating donuts for glucose bump right before exam is not a good idea?

 

[Rekt]

I gained 30 lbs weight for last 2 years (stress and whatnot). I understand it maybe not be the best time to start losing weight, but I just feel really uncomfortable, short of breath when climbing stairs, walking fast etc. This really started to interfere with my daily life and classes. So I already started dieting and exercising, I'm taking it slowly and gradually, but I'm really worried about foggy mind during dieting when your brain still gets glucose of course, but for some reason you are not as clear minded as before. Takes longer to answer questions or read and understand material. I'm just worried this may eventually affect exam grades. I'm trying to figure out how to avoid this while still losing weight? Any tried and proven diets, methods or tricks?

P.S. If an academical decline is not avoidable no matter what - then I'll probably save this until 3rd year

Non-troll answer.

I truly believe it's the only reason I do as well as I do in school. Some people go to class/watch lecture at home then go hard all day long until bed then probably crash and burn before the exam hits. I take a break somewhere in the middle for two hours (heavy lifting and cardio), five days a week. It's 100% worth it. Also, some people don't like to hear it, but how unfit you are can impact how you're perceived by attendings.

 

[Promethean]

Thanks guys! I'll at least try and see how it will go. I already knocked off all sugar beverages. I'll try to vary my exercise routine from brisk walk to gym lifting. I'm not going too extreme on calories, trying green veggies, fish, chicken and fruits. I'm trying to reduce quantity while increasing quality of food. I'll update in 2 weeks or so, maybe this will be helpful to some MS1 in the future - kinda like a semi-controlled experiment on weight-loss vs academic grades haha

P.S. I suppose eating donuts for glucose bump right before exam is not a good idea?

Donuts... not so much.

A single donut is not necessarily an outrageous indulgence. Now and again. Tim Horton's Boston Cream is 250 calories. That is 250 fewer calories available to spend on nutritious food that day, and that is significant. But it can be reasonable as a treat.

It isn't a once a week donut in the setting of an otherwise healthy diet that makes anyone fat. It is the steady intake of excess calories from whatever sources that does it.

 

[deleted564680]

Taking 1-2 hrs/day for exercise got me through med school. It's also been a boon to everything in my life in all facets. I couldn't recommend something more.

Also, you should make it a rule to never drink calories - those are empty, worthless, and add up fast.

 

[starri]

I gained a lot of weight in the run-up to Step 1. Faced with the fact that I'm turning 40 in a year and a half, I decided to make a determined effort to lose it starting this year. You can do it. I wish I had more time to go to the gym, but I'm regularly exhausted from clinicals. If you've got time pre-clinical, do it. Get out of your headspace.

Also, skip the pizza at club meetings.


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[ParallelLines]

OP your inner discipline is going to be extremely important as you approach this.

Will you be able to say no to those sugar cravings? Will you be able to will yourself to the gym after lecture?

Stay strong. You can do it!

 

[cryhavoc]

This thread interests me. My goal was to lose 20 pounds but as a year one student I already put on five! So now my goal is to lose 25 pounds.

I exercise regularly but I know from experience that weight loss is mostly what you eat (unless you have the time to exercise all day).

So the goal is to not lose concentration or energy from under-eating but to also be eating at a deficit to lose weight.

I haven't executed it yet but here is my plan.

1) Do not eat foods that don't pay off well. If a banana can get you 30 carbs for 120 calories, it is a way better option than a serving of lays, which is like 160 calories for 15 carbs.

Carbs are instant energy, so get it efficiently!

I plan to eat most of carbs during my most intensive studying of the day.

2) Use low calorie meats, like fish and chicken, and vegetables to stay full.

So basically, whenever I'm hungry and not intensively studying, I want to use chicken or maybe just a plate of steamed vegetables to stay full.

3) Use the calories you burned during exercise throughout the week as a reward on the weekend. Abandon the idea on a med school schedule, you'll walk off 30 pounds. Your diet is your real plan. View the exercise a few times a week as a means of managing stress and keeping muscles alive from studying so much.

Thus, say you burn off like 800 calories throughout the week exercising. That is what you got if you go out to drink or something to spend. Or go out to eat. Or even jsut want ice cream on the weekend. You can find many flavors where the whole container is like 800-1200.

4) Stick with it. This plan works over time, not immediately. 1 pound a week for 6 months gets me to my goal (24 pounds). But only if I don't deviate from the plan or binge eat.

So summary:
1) Calorie efficiency/using carbs during study times.
2) Fill up on vegetables and low calorie meat during in-between times.
3) Use exercise mainly to distress and use the accumulated calories for your weekly reward.
4) Stick with it.

Aside: IF you can handle plain food, you can eat healthy with little cooking and on a budget. Instant oatmeal. Instant rice. Fruit. Frozen vegetables. Frozen chicken breasts (can make a large amount at once). Canned tuna.

Etc. Drink a lot of water too.

 

[Seth Joo]

I gained 30 lbs weight for last 2 years (stress and whatnot). I understand it maybe not be the best time to start losing weight, but I just feel really uncomfortable, short of breath when climbing stairs, walking fast etc. This really started to interfere with my daily life and classes. So I already started dieting and exercising, I'm taking it slowly and gradually, but I'm really worried about foggy mind during dieting when your brain still gets glucose of course, but for some reason you are not as clear minded as before. Takes longer to answer questions or read and understand material. I'm just worried this may eventually affect exam grades. I'm trying to figure out how to avoid this while still losing weight? Any tried and proven diets, methods or tricks?

P.S. If an academical decline is not avoidable no matter what - then I'll probably save this until 3rd year

The best thing is to cook your own meals, avoid eating fast food, junk food(chips, cookies, ice cream, etc), HFCS beverages, make sure you eat protein at every meal, fresh fruit and vegetables at every meal and do not skip meals. If cooking is too hard, try one of those ready made meal delivery services in your area wherever you live.

Heavy exercise is not necessary, be moderate, but eating right is needed if you want to lose weight.

Oh and do not skip meals, because that will lead you to consuming something unhealthy and then gaining weight. Especially breakfast and lunch.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

I gained 30 lbs weight for last 2 years (stress and whatnot). I understand it maybe not be the best time to start losing weight, but I just feel really uncomfortable, short of breath when climbing stairs, walking fast etc. This really started to interfere with my daily life and classes. So I already started dieting and exercising, I'm taking it slowly and gradually, but I'm really worried about foggy mind during dieting when your brain still gets glucose of course, but for some reason you are not as clear minded as before. Takes longer to answer questions or read and understand material. I'm just worried this may eventually affect exam grades. I'm trying to figure out how to avoid this while still losing weight? Any tried and proven diets, methods or tricks?

P.S. If an academical decline is not avoidable no matter what - then I'll probably save this until 3rd year

I lost about 40 lbs during my 3rd and 4th year from a combination of improved diet and exercise.

The most important thing I did was to stop drinking calories. Quit the soda!!! The weight just started falling off once I did that. The rest involved going low-carb and bumping up my vegetable intake.

You should know that you will feel BETTER after doing these things for a time. There may be an initial 'dip' when you start exercising - I remember some tiredness/brain fog etc especially if I'd pushed it too hard - but this tapers off within a month or two (at most). After that, aerobic exercise will seem energizing and will actually improve your focus and memory (I can both vouch for this anecdotally and point to studies that confirm it).

You need to do this in the long run for your own vitality and health. Don't be like the doctors that suddenly drop dead in their 50s of an MI. (Sadly, there are many of them.)

 

[n3xa]

So summary:
1) Calorie efficiency/using carbs during study times.
2) Fill up on vegetables and low calorie meat during in-between times.
3) Use exercise mainly to distress and use the accumulated calories for your weekly reward.
4) Stick with it.

Aside: IF you can handle plain food, you can eat healthy with little cooking and on a budget. Instant oatmeal. Instant rice. Fruit. Frozen vegetables. Frozen chicken breasts (can make a large amount at once). Canned tuna.

Etc. Drink a lot of water too.

Yeah, eating like a bodybuilder certainly helps the budget and the waistline. Just don't go super overboard with the tuna.

I had a really bad experience with a well-known stage prep coach / over dieting in medical school, complete with rebound weight gain. So I ate enough to maintain my weight and slowly built up my weight training routine before trying to diet again. There was a little group of us who would do pushups in between lectures. Scale-wise I'm down 10 lbs but went from a size 12 to a size 6.

It's definitely doable. Best of luck to you.

 

[crazy87]

Yes it's possible. Work out for just like 30 mins 3x a week, maybe work up to 5. And diet is huge. Eat a lot more fruits and veggies. Find out what works for you but if you cut out certain high calorie foods that you tend to overeat and replace with a ton of fruit and veggies, you will eat less and lose weight. At least that was my experience.

 

[Elevencents]

Fruit = sugar. Sure it is packed with vitamins but you should not be over indulging on fruit if you are trying to lose weight. I only use fruit to gain, I cut out all fruit when cutting.

 

[Seth Joo]

Yeah, eating like a bodybuilder certainly helps the budget and the waistline. Just don't go super overboard with the tuna.

I had a really bad experience with a well-known stage prep coach / over dieting in medical school, complete with rebound weight gain. So I ate enough to maintain my weight and slowly built up my weight training routine before trying to diet again. There was a little group of us who would do pushups in between lectures. Scale-wise I'm down 10 lbs but went from a size 12 to a size 6.

It's definitely doable. Best of luck to you.

The upside of eating like a bodybuilder is that you do not need to have real cooking skill to make your own meals. Don't have to be Anthony Bourdain or Gordon Ramsey. The simpler the meal, the better it will be for you, there is a long time blogger who used to say the better it tastes more likely its not going to be good for you. Restaurant meals and fast food tends to be bad for your waistline and your overall health because its full of ingredients that adds unnecessary calories.

At the other end you don't need to listen to people like the Food Babe that pick apart every single little ingredient in foods.

 

[n3xa]

The upside of eating like a bodybuilder is that you do not need to have real cooking skill to make your own meals. Don't have to be Anthony Bourdain or Gordon Ramsey. The simpler the meal, the better it will be for you, there is a long time blogger who used to say the better it tastes more likely its not going to be good for you. Restaurant meals and fast food tends to be bad for your waistline and your overall health because its full of ingredients that adds unnecessary calories.

At the other end you don't need to listen to people like the Food Babe that pick apart every single little ingredient in foods.

That food palatability reward hypothesis.

You don't, but chicken breast definitely became a lot more tolerable once I ditched the george foreman grill and started wrapping my chicken breasts in a folded foil pouch to keep it nice and moist in the oven.

Fruit = sugar. Sure it is packed with vitamins but you should not be over indulging on fruit if you are trying to lose weight. I only use fruit to gain, I cut out all fruit when cutting.

Fruit is actually a great way to get in carbs on a cut because of the water content, provided you don't go overboard on the total calories.

 

[Seth Joo]

That food palatability reward hypothesis.

You don't, but chicken breast definitely became a lot more tolerable once I ditched the george foreman grill and started wrapping my chicken breasts in a folded foil pouch to keep it nice and moist in the oven.



Fruit is actually a great way to get in carbs on a cut because of the water content, provided you don't go overboard on the total calories.

You can eat whole chicken if you avoid other bad things like chips, soda, ice cream, assorted junk food. The fat content actually curbs cravings. High protein diets actually help you lose weight and keep it off versus high carbohydrate diets. Also some of the most overweight and unhealthy people I have met are vegetarians.

People assume vegetarians and vegans are healthy, LOL, many of them compensate for the lower protein intake with a much higher intake of carbohydrates and fats, and that is a formula for weight gain.

 

[n3xa]

You can eat whole chicken if you avoid other bad things like chips, soda, ice cream, assorted junk food. The fat content actually curbs cravings. High protein diets actually help you lose weight and keep it off versus high carbohydrate diets. Also some of the most overweight and unhealthy people I have met are vegetarians.

People assume vegetarians and vegans are healthy, LOL, many of them compensate for the lower protein intake with a much higher intake of carbohydrates and fats, and that is a formula for weight gain.

Yeah. You really don't see people overeating chicken, which is why I always chuckle a bit when my male colleagues try and add in a protein shake or eat more chicken as a means to try and increase calories / clean bulk / lean gains and then either complain about the struggle or just stop trying altogether. Lather, rinse, repeat.

My favorite go to chicken recipe once I hit clinic involves just dumping in chicken breast into the slow cooker on low or high (nothing else), then afterwards shredding it with a fork and mixing in a package of ranch dressing mix and franks buffalo sauce. Meals for days.