How to Gain Weight in Med School without Sacrificing Grades or Step I?

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thedoctor8706

thedoctor8706

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I've always been a skinny guy, but recently I just feel unhealthy. I was 6'8" and 185 lbs coming into medschool, but since starting i have been losing weight slowly. Then a bit ago, I ate some bad rice and was hospitalized for a pretty bad B. Cereus infection, after which I dropped to 162 lbs. Since then, I haven't been able to gain weight no matter how much I eat. I see so many threads about gaining weight since starting medschool, but I just keep losing it.

I realize this isn't necessarily a health forum, but since we are all in the same boat, I'm wondering what kind of suggestions you guys have or if you have been through something similar. I'm in my second year, so I obviously don't have much time to devote to working out and/or eating all the time, so how do I get around that, especially with a lot of my time devoted to studying for Step I?

Any input/tips/tricks would be appreciated! Especially if it's more creative/helpful than "dude, just eat more." Thanks!! 🙂
 
This is both an incredibly simple yet complex matter, that I fear few on this board are capable of correctly answering. You sound like a newb, and I'm afraid there is a chasm of information to cover in order to give you a proper response. Also, you need to further specify on what exactly your goals are and what your current diet, exercise program, sleep schedule, etc. are like.
 
Maybe you should go see your doctor. As you know, unexplained weight loss can be an indication of serious medical conditions like cancer. Barring something bad going on, it's pretty easy to gain weight. Donuts and Micky'D's will do it in short order assuming you have a fairly sedentary lifestyle (not that you should eat that crap lol).

Also you aren't supposed to ask for medical advice in this forum and your post is pretty borderline. But seriously please go see your primary care physician and talk to him/her about this.
 
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DreamingTheLive said:
This is both an incredibly simple yet complex matter, that I fear few on this board are capable of correctly answering. You sound like a newb, and I'm afraid there is a chasm of information to cover in order to give you a proper response. Also, you need to further specify on what exactly your goals are and what your current diet, exercise program, sleep schedule, etc. are like.
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I am definitely a total newb as far as that goes haha, just thought some other students who have noticed weight loss issues who may have ways that they make time for study and staying healthy. I'm not trying to bench 300 lbs or anything, just trying to feel healthy and energetic, possibly getting into that healthy BMI range. I'm 25 and married, so I'm not trying to increase my dating game or anything. I eat a fairly typical western diet, I sleep around 7 hours a night (feels perfect to me), and I don't have a workout program, but I do stay fairly active in a an intramural team or two every quarter (water polo, softball, volleyball, etc). Plus I memorize best by walking with my notes so I tend to walk quite a bit. I wouldn't call that exercise per se, but it's definitely not something sedentary haha. But I understand what you mean, maybe I'll seek out help from a dietician or something after 2nd year is over. Just wondering if anyone else felt the same way in the mean time. I just see so much "I can't stop gaining weight since med school started" but not much about losing it.

Textbookversion said:
Maybe you should go see your doctor. As you know, unexplained weight loss can be an indication of serious medical conditions like cancer. Barring something bad going on, it's pretty easy to gain weight. Donuts and Micky'D's will do it in short order assuming you have a fairly sedentary lifestyle (not that you should eat that crap lol).

Also you aren't supposed to ask for medical advice in this forum and your post is pretty borderline. But seriously please go see your primary care physician and talk to him/her about this.
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I actually have spoken with a physician, just to see if there was anything going on, but there isn't any specific medical reason why I would have difficulty gaining weight, other than I'm just one of those skinny guys. Which is why I thought to post here, I figured there must be others that were in a similar situation as this forum is filled with other medical students who may or may not have secrets or tips that help them deal with time constraints and staying healthy. Sorry if I broke any rules, I thought it was more of "life in medical school" question rather than seeking medical advice. No harm intended. 🙂
 
Do you snack while studying..? Easy way to pile in calories 🙁
 
LOL my problem is completely opposite, I gained like 5 lbs since started med school 🙁 try stress eating
 
Cheese and nuts always worked for me. Go for the calorie-dense foods and increase your caloric intake that way. I always have trouble increasing the volume of my intake, so I go for fatty, yet not nutritionally void, stuff. Try to sneak in extra healthy fats, like nut butters and olive oil, into your meals and snacks. Trail mix is the ultimate weight-gainer, yet still fairly healthy, snack. I mix up a variety of nuts, several types of dried fruit, and some dark chocolate pieces. Those are some tasty calories.
 
Izanami said:
LOL my problem is completely opposite, I gained like 5 lbs since started med school 🙁 try stress eating
Click to expand...

Stress eating. Non stop snacking. Those help
 
Go to costco, buy chicken thighs (.99/lb) packs. Force yourself to eat a whole pack a day (~170g protein) and potatoes/rice with it. I'm actually trying to gain weight myself, not as tall as you but above average and same weight.

Get a weight lifting buddy and workout 3-4 times a week, 8-10reps/3-5sets per exercise for hypertrophy.
I gained 10 pounds (mostly muscle) since I found a workout buddy at the start of med school.
 
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Head over to your local health food store and pick this up. 900+ calories per serving and it's formulated so you don't feel too nasty or bloated. If you can down 2 servings a day with your normal meals, you'll be on "dat ghost bulk brah."

pGNC1-5718219dt.jpg

pGNC1-3939469dt.jpg
 
Thanks for the replies everyone! It may seem like common knowledge to some, but for me it's easily overlooked. I appreciate the insight. Just wish I had more time for the gym. Like I said, I don't really care if I look bulky or not, just wanting to feel healthy in the midst of 2nd year's overload. 🙂
 
I was a personal trainer for a few years before i started med school. Pm me if youd like some advice man...i cant say that anything WILL work but i can give you advice as long as you take it as advice and not a service or anything

guess i should edit this as it looks a little creepy...

lol feel free to pm or ask questions. i don't know the sdn rules about giving out advice since this used to be my job so i don't want to overstep my boundaries...but feel free to ask.
 
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kautionwirez said:
go to costco, buy chicken thighs (.99/lb) packs. Force yourself to eat a whole pack a day (~170g protein) and potatoes/rice with it. I'm actually trying to gain weight myself, not as tall as you but above average and same weight.

Get a weight lifting buddy and workout 3-4 times a week, 8-10reps/3-5sets per exercise for hypertrophy.
I gained 10 pounds (mostly muscle) since i found a workout buddy at the start of med school.
Click to expand...

do you even lift!?!?
 
You gain weight in med school like you gain weight in any other setting - by eating more calories than you burn. If you can't do this despite high calorie intake, then you need to see your doctor.
 
Drink beer, eat fast food, lift heavy, no cardio.

Repeat qd.
 
kautionwirez said:
Go to costco, buy chicken thighs (.99/lb) packs. Force yourself to eat a whole pack a day (~170g protein) and potatoes/rice with it. I'm actually trying to gain weight myself, not as tall as you but above average and same weight.

Get a weight lifting buddy and workout 3-4 times a week, 8-10reps/3-5sets per exercise for hypertrophy.
I gained 10 pounds (mostly muscle) since I found a workout buddy at the start of med school.
Click to expand...

He's already gotten B. Cereus... He'd be shooting for Campylobacter Jejuni next.

In all seriousness I think a sedentary lifestyle and eating terrible food would fix the problem (which is what a lot of med students do anyway)
 
Went from 135 lbs to 150 lbs during my first year (5' 6"), then trimmed to 140-144 lbs for the remainder of med school.

I did a 6-7 day split initially then went down to a 4-day split at the later half of the year (my first lifting buddy insisted on overtraining, which I do not recommend). I don't do the 5+ meals and I didn't use protein shakes until after MS1, but the shakes helped me out quite a bit.

Lunch and dinner always involved either chicken breast, turkey or tuna (for each meal). A secondary benefit to that is you'll be developing stronger culinary skills just to keep things interesting.

tl;dr: Get a regular workout buddy, protein shakes, and lift. Sedentary lifestyle could work but lifting things and putting them down is much more fun.

Edit: Limited my diet to chicken breast, turkey and tuna only for MS1. Once I started throwing in protein shakes, my diet diversified quite a bit.
 
FSU2013 said:
Hot wings and beer worked for me.
Click to expand...

Right? Anyone else who sits their happy ass on a tread mill several times a week wanna tell the OP to piss off? :laugh:

Sent from my DROID RAZR using SDN Mobile
 
I guess the one area I am struggling with in this is fitting in time. I'm not afraid to lift or do work, I'm just barely having enough time to get stuff done everyday as it is. I'm not talking about "OMG I haven't done 600 qbank questions today!?" but just the general course load. I must be doing it wrong, but any time I spent at the gym in undergrad meant blocking off an hour and a half to get changed, go to the gym, workout, go home, supplement, and shower. I just don't know if I can afford devoting that much time. Not that I don't want to, but I guess I'm wondering how you guys balance? Maybe I'm just lacking the structure I need to be efficient, and I need to figure out a better routine, but ya know?

SpecterGT260 said:
Right? Anyone else who sits their happy ass on a tread mill several times a week wanna tell the OP to piss off? :laugh:
Click to expand...

Hahaha, in all seriousness though, I get that response a lot, but it is kind of annoying/exhausting trying to eat enough everyday so your pants size doesn't drop every other week. And I'm not trolling, promise, just trying to get some more pounds on! I really appreciate all the tips!
 
thedoctor8706 said:
I guess the one area I am struggling with in this is fitting in time. I'm not afraid to lift or do work, I'm just barely having enough time to get stuff done everyday as it is. I'm not talking about "OMG I haven't done 600 qbank questions today!?" but just the general course load. I must be doing it wrong, but any time I spent at the gym in undergrad meant blocking off an hour and a half to get changed, go to the gym, workout, go home, supplement, and shower. I just don't know if I can afford devoting that much time. Not that I don't want to, but I guess I'm wondering how you guys balance? Maybe I'm just lacking the structure I need to be efficient, and I need to figure out a better routine, but ya know?



Hahaha, in all seriousness though, I get that response a lot, but it is kind of annoying/exhausting trying to eat enough everyday so your pants size doesn't drop every other week. And I'm not trolling, promise, just trying to get some more pounds on! I really appreciate all the tips!
Click to expand...

It's about prioritizing what's most important to you. I have friends like you with the seemingly inability to put on weight. A big reason for this is they tend to forget to eat meals, or think skipping one here and there isn't a big deal. Do it on a consistent basis and well, calories out >> calories in. The smoothie + peanut butter idea intrigues me. I like both but I'm not sure how good they'd taste together.

Gym will help you build muscle mass, but a big part most likely, as I don't know you personally, is you're not eating enough. You should check out a calorie calculator to see how much you need to eat to maintain and gain weight (it's a lot more than you'd think if you're that tall). Are you eating at LEAST three times a day? How much are you eating? These are things you need to think about. It might help if you bought a bunch of snacks (nuts are a good idea, yogurt raisins, veggie platters with dips) next to you while you're studying.

You can't do everything. See where you can trim the time, and be more efficient in other areas. For example, are you the type that NEEDS to go to class, or can you skip and do just as well or good enough (highly dependent on what your goals are, AOA for example, class ranks, school grading systems, mandatory or nonmandatory class), how much sleep do you need, can you listen to lectures at 1.5x or 2x, or can you listen to them while you're traveling, walking, biking, etc to class? You might want to try timeboxing as well. For me, the biggest time sink is having huge blocks of time and not paying attention to how much time I spend per class. You don't need to and cannot spend 4 hours for each class per day. I find that if I set an allotment of time per class it forces me to be more efficient. See what works for you.
 
kautionwirez said:
Go to costco, buy chicken thighs (.99/lb) packs. Force yourself to eat a whole pack a day (~170g protein) and potatoes/rice with it. I'm actually trying to gain weight myself, not as tall as you but above average and same weight.

Get a weight lifting buddy and workout 3-4 times a week, 8-10reps/3-5sets per exercise for hypertrophy.
I gained 10 pounds (mostly muscle) since I found a workout buddy at the start of med school.
Click to expand...

This guy has the right of it( though a pack of thighs a day sounds a little much starting off). Eat at a caloric surplus making sure you get enough Protein Carbs and Fiber, and lift weights. This will help you pack on muscle and some fat in a healthy manor. These are the basics though. There is a lot of information and misinformation (bro-science) so make sure to do your research and do it carefully.
 
EndersRebutal said:
This guy has the right of it( though a pack of thighs a day sounds a little much starting off). Eat at a caloric surplus making sure you get enough Protein Carbs and Fiber, and lift weights. This will help you pack on muscle and some fat in a healthy manor. These are the basics though. There is a lot of information and misinformation (bro-science) so make sure to do your research and do it carefully.
Click to expand...

Heh, the almighty Bro-science. Made me chuckle... I am definitely going to use that.

As IronHeme says, it is all about prioritizing. I can also relate since that is how I felt for most of MS1 as well. You will get better at studying efficiently as the years go on (...and realize that lectures can be pretty pointless at times.)

I have had peanut butter in my shakes and they are delicious. One scoop whey protein (usually ON chocolate or cookies and cream), one frozen banana, one tablespoon of peanut butter and 8 oz of skim milk made up my staple shake. If I was bulking (or wanted an extra treat), throw in a scoop of ice cream and extra unsweetened cocoa powder. Just make sure to wash the blender thoroughly since that peanut butter can stick to the sides.

I can only tell you what worked for me, so hope it helps. My workouts were strictly one hour daily (depending on the split, of course). Changing clothes and showering were usually about 15 minutes maximum.

You might even consider morning gym (read: starting 6-6:30AM), which did wonders for me during my first two blocks. You'll hate it initially (warming up is a pain when the weather outside is low-to-mid 30s), but it wakes you up much more effectively than coffee. You also avoid distractions and don't have to fight for stuff. I would come back, chow down some oatmeal and/or shake and then be ready for 8AM lecture.

Bring snacks to lecture. My roommate always brought a yogurt, a bag of unsalted almonds, almonds, peanuts or cashews, and an apple to lecture.

I am a voracious eater, so I tend to cook denser meals. I can send you a few recipes that should bring up your weight (possibly cholesterol). Just PM me.
 
Alcohol and take-out because, dammit, you deserve it.
 
I wouldn't know...I eat like a horse and stay the same 😱
 
thedoctor8706 said:
I guess the one area I am struggling with in this is fitting in time. I'm not afraid to lift or do work, I'm just barely having enough time to get stuff done everyday as it is. I'm not talking about "OMG I haven't done 600 qbank questions today!?" but just the general course load. I must be doing it wrong, but any time I spent at the gym in undergrad meant blocking off an hour and a half to get changed, go to the gym, workout, go home, supplement, and shower. I just don't know if I can afford devoting that much time. Not that I don't want to, but I guess I'm wondering how you guys balance? Maybe I'm just lacking the structure I need to be efficient, and I need to figure out a better routine, but ya know?



Hahaha, in all seriousness though, I get that response a lot, but it is kind of annoying/exhausting trying to eat enough everyday so your pants size doesn't drop every other week. And I'm not trolling, promise, just trying to get some more pounds on! I really appreciate all the tips!
Click to expand...

I understand this very well.
 
QuacksterVu said:
Tapeworm?
Click to expand...

lol, a few of my friends joke around that I probably have a tapeworm in my body that they wish I can give them. I do like to run and swim a lot, so maybe I just counteract it. And when I say I eat a lot, I don't mean guys who say that and only eat <1500 cals...I can hold my own in an eating contest 😀
 
You gotta eat big to get big man. You also have to lift hard, but that's only half the battle. Make sure you get enough sleep so your muscles heal. You'll be a monster in no time. Good luck.
 
Thanks again for the replies; this thread helped push me in the right direction. I have since found a workout buddy (or rather he found me) and I've started doing Stronglifts 5x5. Still trying to master the form, but hopefully this helps. Though I laughed at the idea at first, I have now started going to the gym at 5:30 AM and I find it to be much more efficient since you don't have to wait around to get your reps in. It sucks trying to adjust to a new sleep/wake routine, but in the grand scheme of things it'll be worth it. That and I started using an app to count calories and protein, so I make sure I get enough every day. I'm feeling pretty confident I'll get my weight back up to where it used to be, and then hopefully break 200!

Thanks again! 👍
 
thedoctor8706 said:
Thanks again for the replies; this thread helped push me in the right direction. I have since found a workout buddy (or rather he found me) and I've started doing Stronglifts 5x5. Still trying to master the form, but hopefully this helps. Though I laughed at the idea at first, I have now started going to the gym at 5:30 AM and I find it to be much more efficient since you don't have to wait around to get your reps in. It sucks trying to adjust to a new sleep/wake routine, but in the grand scheme of things it'll be worth it. That and I started using an app to count calories and protein, so I make sure I get enough every day. I'm feeling pretty confident I'll get my weight back up to where it used to be, and then hopefully break 200!

Thanks again! 👍
Click to expand...

Great to hear, man (especially the 5x5 and morning gym). 👍
 
I have to eat 6-7 "meals" a day. It seems like such a waste of time sometimes. It's like as soon as I finish eating it's time to eat again........
 
1) Lift to get stronger. Forget the "I dont wanna bench 300 pounds thing (300 pounds isn't even that high haha, maybe >400) - this will stimulate muscle hypertrophy

2) Take in minimum 4000 calories a day, ideally 4500-5000.

How? Tons of sugary foods. Tons of fast food. Lots of meat/pasta/rice/potatoes. Throw in a weight gainer as well.

Once you reach your desired weight, continue lifting for strength and go to a more healthy diet with 3500 calories for maintenance.
 
TheProwler said:
for the OP: eat big, lift big, get big.
Click to expand...

:laugh: Well put - lift heavy weights (look into something like Starting Strength for a program) and eat a lot including a lot of protein. Shoot for 1g protein / lb of body weight that you want to be at, as I was told - eat for the body you want, not the body you have. Start reading 70sbig.com. Get huge.
 
Nymphicus said:
I have to eat 6-7 "meals" a day. It seems like such a waste of time sometimes. It's like as soon as I finish eating it's time to eat again........
Click to expand...

Please. Eat more calorie dense food then. Add a snickers to every meal. Sigh.....
 
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