are you a student and a VFer?

[susan p]

In a community this size I bet there is a reasonable contingent of student exercisers, am I right? If you are a student, check in here! Tell me what you are studying, and how long you have to go, and how you fit in your workouts.

I worked part-time on prerequisites for a couple years and then started full-time nursing school in January of this year. I had a couple of personal habits that are very precious to me that I wanted to maintain life balance with, one of which was exercise. I have done pretty well. First semester, Jan-May, was pretty easy. This semester not so much.

First semester I continued to work out 5 times a week. This semester, it's more like 3, but I AM HANGING IN THERE. I have clinicals 6 am to 2 pm on T/Th, and my clinical paperwork takes me about 6 hours each of those nights. MWF I have lectures so of course I have papers and projects and presentations and readings and studying and tests. I'd say I put in an average 60 hours per week on school. T/Th I just can't work out. My feet hurt too much from clinical to make myself do it!

However, I do think that school has been good for my NEAT factor. Walking across campus with a heavy backpack three days a week (and walking on the floors during clinical!) adds a lot of steps to my day. It's sort of an assumed thing that you gain weight in nursing school and so far I have not.

If you are a student, check in and let us know how you're doing!

[Taramisu]

I am...I also work full time, so I am quite busy. I still try and exercise here and there but it's sporadic. This semester has especially been busy for me but it will be over mid-December and then I can breathe for a little while, pulling three classes this semester plus a prior learning assessment. If I get any exercise in, it's during the weekends. During the week is tough. I am still managing to maintain a recent 45 pound weight loss by continuing to monitor what I eat.

I should have my two year degree in the spring, and then it will take me another 3 years to complete my bachelors degree in accounting. I will be scaling back a bit going forward so I am hopeful to get more exercise in, and especially yoga which I really need more of.

It's hard though, especially with working full time, almost feels like I have two full time jobs sometimes. I attend class Monday and Tuesday nights and the third one is online which helps but I have found doing online classes, you almost have to be more organized and disciplined in a way. Once I have the two year degree I won't have any more online classes, they will either be in person or hybrid (blended). I have had quite a few online classes during my stint at the community college, they are handy and can be quite convenient in many ways, not necessarily less work though, but you can be flexible in when you do the work.

Someday though, I will be done and you will be too. Hang in there!

[susan p]

Students?? Posting on VF???

AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT.



(just me and Taramisu? Really? Taramisu, it's crazy but a good life, eh?)

[gmfreund]

I WAS a student and a VFer! It made a huge difference for me, getting through grad school while being healthy. I was the rare exception - I finished my degree healthier than when I started.

[txfitmom]

I am currently a student yet again. Right now I am learning medical coding and working on a graduate certificate so I can sit for an rhia exam. I also will be taking coding exams for cpc and ccs. If that wasnt enough to put on my plate I also am finally going to sit for a clinical lab science cert exam. To make a long story longer basically I finished an accelerated lab science degree last year but did not find a job in the lab right away. Instead I took a job in the hospital that has flexible hours..I analyze electronic medical records and do chart audits. Even though I am more interested in coding more than the lab now I decided to go ahead and take the cert exam so I can have more job options...kind of a backup plan.

School and work keep me seriously busy, but somehow I still fit in homeshooling my kids, cleaning the house, and a little bit of exercise. Still got to fit in vf here and there. Now back to studying!

[Taramisu]

Originally Posted by gmfreund

I WAS a student and a VFer! It made a huge difference for me, getting through grad school while being healthy. I was the rare exception - I finished my degree healthier than when I started.

I will be ecstatic the day I can say this, but I still have three years to go. Ah well, I will get there eventually.

[Laura S.]

Are there any younger students? We used to have some high school and/or college students here.

I got my masters while I worked back in the 90s. Anyone who works and goes to school at the same time has my admiration. It's HARD!

[Vintage VFer]

I went back to college when I was in my 30's. I was working graveyard shift and then had a long commute to my classes after work. The campus was large, so I got a lot of walking in. Plus, I added a few fitness classes to my schedule.

It was hard, but I knew I wanted to keep up with exercising.

[Demeris]

Originally Posted by Laura S.

I got my masters while I worked back in the 90s. Anyone who works and goes to school at the same time has my admiration. It's HARD!

I did this, too. It was very hard, and my fitness went to heck. By the time I'd finished the master's, I had gained 30 pounds. It took me 10 years to get my fitness back.


I want to add that I'm humbled by you who are working and going to school and keeping your fitness goals in sight.

[Sophie]

Originally Posted by susan p

Students?? Posting on VF???

AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT.

aren't you also a homeschooling parent? I'm in awe, Susan (but then I usually am )