Losing weight during the semester

[TheShaker]

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I was wondering if any of yall have dieted to lose weight during your time studying? I'm about to go on a cutting diet, nothing crazy, just the standard 500 calorie deficit. I know that last time I did it, my mind got fairly cloudy after some time but it didn't matter then since I was just working at the time. Is it a good idea to do this while classes are going on? I'm just worried that an extended period of limited nutrition will affect my performance in school. My school has final block exams about every month so there's never really a good time. Anybody have any experiences to share?

 

[sliceofbread136]

Lost 20 pounds during ms2, didnt feel like it effected my concentration.

 

[gfp314]

This is tougher to do on fewer calories but try to space smaller meals and snacks throughout the day to keep your blood sugar levels up. Good luck!

 

[JP2740]

I am on diet of beer and Chinese food fourth year. Is ok

 

[BrooklynBulls]

Lost about 55 lbs MS2. Gained like 15 back in MS4, stupid interview season. In the preclinical years, definitely possible. Clinical years your free time is more limited and your meals sometimes mandated by whats available or free.

 

[taavi]

Same as sliceofbread - I lost 20 pounds in my first and second years. I wasn't consciously trying to lose weight, it was likely just a result of finally moving away from home and eating better. I don't think it affected my concentration at all, but if you're really trying to cut down a bit, you might benefit more from exercise. Plus it will help with your focus 🙂

 

[JP2740]

Be smart about what you eat and when. A well timed high protein snack will help your mood, energy level, and concentration. Break your meals up into smaller portions throughout the day rather than 2-3 calorie bombs.

"Going on a diet" is not really the way to approach this. "Having" a healthy diet (i.e. developing long term, sustainable health habits) is. Obviously to lose weight, you need a calorie deficit, but you really shouldn't be "limiting" your nutrition. It's about eating smarter and increasing your physical activity level along with it.

Do you even bro-science? Usually when people say cutting diet they're a lifter, should already be a healthy brah

 

[Elevencents]

A 500 calorie deficit should not affect your energy levels or you're doing something wrong. And it's best to not be in a deficit everyday, try periods of maintenance and periods of deficit.

 

[moisne]

Lost 10 pounds or so in 8 months - didn't cut calories. Got off my @$$.

 

[Hospt]

Eat a balanced diet. Your aim should be to be healthy and maintain weight rather than lose drastically by not eating a proper diet.

 

[WhendoIstartfirstaid?]

I couldnt handle focused studying and a 500 calorie deficit.

As noted by previous posters, splitting up your meals and high protein foods is great. I followed that with a ton of oatmeal and veggies to fill up, 300 calorie deficit, and HIIT running 30 minutes in the mornings.

 

[TheShaker]

I think you guys got the wrong message from my post. I'm not doing some kind of crash diet or restricting nutrients with a crap diet, I just meant restricting macronutrients. I'm looking to lose 10-15 pounds over the next 2-3 months, which is pretty standard.

Anyways, it's really strange that you guys don't get the crappy cognitive function. My mind gets slower, I'm more irritable, and my erections suck. I'll take your advice and spread my meals more throughout the day though, I usually just do three meals a day since I hate doing dishes. 😛

 

[sliceofbread136]

I think you guys got the wrong message from my post. I'm not doing some kind of crash diet or restricting nutrients with a crap diet, I just meant restricting macronutrients. I'm looking to lose 10-15 pounds over the next 2-3 months, which is pretty standard.

Anyways, it's really strange that you guys don't get the crappy cognitive function. My mind gets slower, I'm more irritable, and my erections suck. I'll take your advice and spread my meals more throughout the day though, I usually just do three meals a day since I hate doing dishes. 😛

Sounds like you are in more than a 500 calorie deficit if you are that symptomatic. Maybe add a couple hundred calories

Spreading meals is a waste of time

 

[Doudline]

Sounds like you are in more than a 500 calorie deficit if you are that symptomatic. Maybe add a couple hundred calories

Spreading meals is a waste of time

This. A 500 calories deficit is prettty unconsequential -for side effects- unless you're like a 5'5'' 120 lbs male or something.

 

[startswithb]

Damn interview season. All that airport/travel food and free beer.

Everyone said, "you'll gain weight interview season." I didn't want to believe it, but I did. I'm a girl, and after interviews + the holidays I gained 6-8lbs and could barely fit into my pants. It was awful. It took about 2 months to lose.

 

[startswithb]

I think you guys got the wrong message from my post. I'm not doing some kind of crash diet or restricting nutrients with a crap diet, I just meant restricting macronutrients. I'm looking to lose 10-15 pounds over the next 2-3 months, which is pretty standard.

Anyways, it's really strange that you guys don't get the crappy cognitive function. My mind gets slower, I'm more irritable, and my erections suck. I'll take your advice and spread my meals more throughout the day though, I usually just do three meals a day since I hate doing dishes. 😛

Erections, you say?

 

[seminoma]

I am on diet of beer and Chinese food fourth year. Is ok

Doing this as an MS2, for the most part. Doing fine.

 

[D1stant]

I lost 80 pounds when I was repeating MS2... i.e sublimation?

Then I failed the Medicine course when I "Discovered" the Gym...

True Story.

 

[JP2740]

I lost 80 pounds when I was repeating MS2... i.e sublimation?

Then I failed the Medicine course when I "Discovered" the Gym...

True Story.

I laughed reading this.

 

[NontradCA]

OP, have you tried genetics? I'm almost done with MS-1 and I've been able to stay in shape and pretty trimmed without doing much of anything else.

 

[Neutropix]

Eat 90% paleo.

 

[Promethean]

Eat 90% paleo.

Yeah, but where can you buy organic, free range paleos? Hunting them yourself is pretty frowed upon, I've noticed.

 

[eefen]

Best way to know is try it and see what happens. You should be fine - 500 calories (or you could shoot for 20-25% off of your TDEE) isn't really a huge deficit.

One thing that might help is cycling your calories - check out this calculator. This might help psychologically and also may prevent some of the hormonal fluctuations you have experienced in the past. You might also consider setting a limit to how long you'll go for - for example, diet for 12 weeks or so, see where you are at, maybe slowly reverse diet back up to maintenance over the next couple of weeks if you are feeling crappy or progress has slowed, and then eat at a deficit again once you've "reset" your body.

Make sure you are getting enough sleep. That can significantly impact your weight loss.

Also, you might like this: http://www.dysgraphicmusings.com/2014/07/staying-fit-in-medical-school.html

 

[Neutropix]

Yeah, but where can you buy organic, free range paleos? Hunting them yourself is pretty frowed upon, I've noticed.

That's where the 90% comes in. Make of paleo what you will but no other eating choices have allowed me to stay as lean and in shape as I am. I've always lifted weights and did cardio but the introduction of paleo into my diet made me much more well rounded and turned me into a beast. I also eat oatmeal and drink protein shakes. The main ideas is that you will most likely eat much less sugar, salt, and carbs. I think the trick to it working is that you can eat as much meat and eggs as you like. It keeps me satiated. Once again, make of it what you will but it worked for me when nothing else did; that includes counting calories religiously w/ deficit and unholy amounts cardio.

 

[DeejayDO]

I was wondering if any of yall have dieted to lose weight during your time studying? I'm about to go on a cutting diet, nothing crazy, just the standard 500 calorie deficit. I know that last time I did it, my mind got fairly cloudy after some time but it didn't matter then since I was just working at the time. Is it a good idea to do this while classes are going on? I'm just worried that an extended period of limited nutrition will affect my performance in school. My school has final block exams about every month so there's never really a good time. Anybody have any experiences to share?

You can lose weight without limiting your nutrition. I personally follow a paleo/specific carb eating plan due to food allergies, celiac, and what makes me feel good. I still get all of the nutrients I need, something I feel is VERY important when you are being taxed mentally in medical school! My body actually can't even handle more than about 20g of sugar a day. Anything with added sugar makes me physically ill (I see this as a positive!). Try limiting or removing "bad" foods first, like added/refined sugar, processed/packaged foods, etc. I bet you will find yourself with more energy and losing weight!

 

[Neutropix]

You can lose weight without limiting your nutrition. I personally follow a paleo/specific carb eating plan due to food allergies, celiac, and what makes me feel good. I still get all of the nutrients I need, something I feel is VERY important when you are being taxed mentally in medical school! My body actually can't even handle more than about 20g of sugar a day. Anything with added sugar makes me physically ill (I see this as a positive!). Try limiting or removing "bad" foods first, like added/refined sugar, processed/packaged foods, etc. I bet you will find yourself with more energy and losing weight!

I wouldn't say I'm limited in my nutrition in any way. So if you could elaborate on that one. I also take a lot multi vitamins and fish oil.

Yeah sugar is the devil for my body and research is coming out that it causes hormone fluctuation, brain swelling, and more.

In any case, I have plenty of fun in my diet, I just use the paleo template, so to speak.

 

[DeejayDO]

I was responding to the OP and quoted them, not you, Cpt Ahab. They thought that a calorie deficit meant not getting enough nutrients which is simply not the case.

 

[jqueb29]

Don't starve yourself. Your brain overwhelmingly prefers glucose; it can do fine on ketones, but it takes it a while to acclimate to them. Eat healthy and work out.

 

[Pasmal]

Been cutting -400 to -600 /day (2230kcal out of a 2730kcal TDEE) and lifting 3-4x/week for 2 months ish, have lost 12 lbs. First week without carb binging sucked but I give myself a break every week or two and eat more carbs than I probably need. It still comes off in the long run and my concentration has been good. Definitely doable if you want to make it happen. I advise cooking meals way in advance so you're not wasting time trying to make sure your cals are decent (I do macro so I have to hit my numbers every day, not sure about paleo)

 

[NontradCA]

That's where the 90% comes in. Make of paleo what you will but no other eating choices have allowed me to stay as lean and in shape as I am. I've always lifted weights and did cardio but the introduction of paleo into my diet made me much more well rounded and turned me into a beast. I also eat oatmeal and drink protein shakes. The main ideas is that you will most likely eat much less sugar, salt, and carbs. I think the trick to it working is that you can eat as much meat and eggs as you like. It keeps me satiated. Once again, make of it what you will but it worked for me when nothing else did; that includes counting calories religiously w/ deficit and unholy amounts cardio.

Jesus...

I don't know which is worse. Missing the joke or the infomercial like response.

 

[Neutropix]

Jesus...

I don't know which is worse. Missing the joke or the infomercial like response.

Ouch.

 

[DeejayDO]

Jesus...

I don't know which is worse. Missing the joke or the infomercial like response.

It's ok, he didn't read my response either and thought I was answering him. (which is fine, I get the enthusiasm) Your joke did make me laugh, at least!

 

[caxoo]

Lose weight? Why would you want to lose weight? Your body is perfect there's no need to lose weight. Shame on you for perpetuating unrealistic sexist objectifying standards

#Everybodyisbeachready

 

[seminoma]

Lose weight? Why would you want to lose weight? Your body is perfect there's no need to lose weight. Shame on you for perpetuating unrealistic sexist objectifying standards

#Everybodyisbeachready

Lol bro...

 

[Pasmal]

Lose weight? Why would you want to lose weight? Your body is perfect there's no need to lose weight. Shame on you for perpetuating unrealistic sexist objectifying standards

#Everybodyisbeachready

Not sure if srs

 

[CherryRedDracul]

Lose weight? Why would you want to lose weight? Your body is perfect there's no need to lose weight. Shame on you for perpetuating unrealistic sexist objectifying standards

#Everybodyisbeachready

 

[TheShaker]

Lose weight? Why would you want to lose weight? Your body is perfect there's no need to lose weight. Shame on you for perpetuating unrealistic sexist objectifying standards

#Everybodyisbeachready

You're right, I just ate 2 buckets of ice cream, 5 boxes of oreos, and now my BMI is 45. Don't blame me, blame muh genetics!!

 

[Doudline]

While I disagree with these recommendations, there is little evidence that a high body weight/bf% causes illness. There's a ton of confounding factors. (Correlation, however, sure.)

There oughta be a shift from the promotion of weight loss to actual healthy habits.

 

[seminoma]

While I disagree with these recommendations, there is little evidence that a high body weight/bf% causes illness. There's a ton of confounding factors. (Correlation, however, sure.)

There oughta be a shift from the promotion of weight loss to actual healthy habits.

Except for all the evidence that a 5-10% weight loss in overweight/obese people results in improvements of various measures of health...

 

[Jabbed]

Substitute caffeine for meals. The pounds will melt off.

 

[PL198]

While I disagree with these recommendations, there is little evidence that a high body weight/bf% causes illness. There's a ton of confounding factors. (Correlation, however, sure.)

There oughta be a shift from the promotion of weight loss to actual healthy habits.

lol wut?

there's little evidence that being overweight causes illness, like 25-30 % BF. There's a plethora of research that shows being obese causes illness, like 30+ % BF

what does " actual healthy habits mean?"

I think some guy at 10 % BF while eating ice cream and oreos and counting macros is probably going to be healthier than one at 30 who eats lbs and lbs of whole grains. Leanness is a pretty good way to judge what is healthy or not(probably till sub 10%). Our nutritional palates aren't very demanding or complex.

 

[PL198]

Don't starve yourself. Your brain overwhelmingly prefers glucose; it can do fine on ketones, but it takes it a while to acclimate to them. Eat healthy and work out.

that's a myth. it doesn't take long to acclimate to keto, since your body doesn't want to die...

 

[Doudline]

lol wut?

there's little evidence that being overweight causes illness, like 25-30 % BF. There's a plethora of research that shows being obese causes illness, like 30+ % BF

When controlled for physical activity, nutrition and co? I strongly doubt it.

 

[PL198]

controlled for nutrition? that's not going to happen in the real world as no one is gonna be 40 % BF by eating whole grains and simple carbs. even if they were, I doubt they're going to be as healthy as a lean person who counts macros but eats junk.

the morbidly obese person with meticulous nutrition is a false construct created to try to remove the acceptance of responsibility for someone's condition. I'd love to see an obese person(without medical conditions that predispose, which is a very small number anyway) that eats a solid diet and makes no progress. Never have seen it to this day and probably never will.

 

[PL198]

not to mention the fact that it's called morbidly obese for a reason

 

[Doudline]

controlled for nutrition? that's not going to happen in the real world as no one is gonna be 40 % BF by eating whole grains and simple carbs. even if they were, I doubt they're going to be as healthy as a lean person who counts macros but eats junk.

the morbidly obese person with meticulous nutrition is a false construct created to try to remove the acceptance of responsibility for someone's condition. I'd love to see an obese person(without medical conditions that predispose, which is a very small number anyway) that eats a solid diet and makes no progress. Never have seen it to this day and probably never will.

It rarely happening doesn't make it less relevant.

An obese person who eats a perfectly healthy diet at maintenance will remain obese; if you add regular exercise (while still remaining at maintenance), that person will most likely have average or above average vitals & metabolism. Do you deny this?

If you don't, then it's only logical to advocate for healthy habits, and not weight loss. Healthy habits will work 100% of the time (bar massive genetic predispositions) whereas weight loss will work only in a majority of cases (and not that big of a majority, probably).

(The only intrinsic adverse effect of obesity that I can think of is probably orthopedic issues, and perhaps some heart diseases.)

 

[PL198]

yeah no renal problems, resp problems, none of that

huh, what is the difference between healthy habits and weight loss

you're trying to make a complex issue cut and dry to serve some abstract point

an obese person that maintains their weight eats at maintenance, yes but if that maintenance is 3000 calories of crap then it's not exactly a healthy habit. most people don't like doing cardio, it's way easier to eat 200 less calories than to burn 200 calories with cardio.

eating a "healthy" diet has many meanings to many different people. my point is, someone who eats 3000 calories a day at maintenance probably isn't doing it on chicken and broccoli. they're loading up on carbs.

 

[Pasmal]

Some studies show that MHO (met healthy obese) patients don't benefit metabolically from weight loss (unsurprising), but studies also show they are still at an increased risk of premature disease including CV/resp, malignancy and undeniably arthritis.

While they may be more healthy than metabolically unhealthy obese or lean people, I don't think it makes sense to say that they should be advised to stay at that weight and just focus on eating healthy.

There seems to be a lot of evidence that the lowest risk group is metabolically healthy AND lean, so I don't see a scenario where weight loss would be unimportant in improving overall health just because their risk of disease is "not as high" as we previously thought.