[Kayhm0711]

Hey guys I was on here a lot over the summer. Last week I started college though and I have been so busy. I have classes three x's a week and already so much homework and a exam already coming up.

Does it anyone else find it hard to diet with a busy life?

I just don't know what to eat but turkey on wheat on the go lol.

I work 32 hours a week, and on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays I have class and work I wake up go to school, go to work, and I don't stop until late at night. I even don't have time to eat. On Tuesdays I have no time between school and work I go straight to work and I haven't been eating until late at night then I feel like bingeing.

I feel awful because I was really serious about loosing weight before but now that I started school I am constantly on the go, and I just don't know what to eat on the go or how to want to stay OP. With being so busy I just grab whatevers available.

I really want to lose this weight. I need to lose this weight. I am out of breathe from just walking long distance and I am not even running. I get winded going up just a few flight on stairs. I don't like the way I feel or look and I want to do something about it I just don't know how. PLEASE HELP!

[PhotoChick]

Does it anyone else find it hard to diet with a busy life?

No, because this IS my life. It's not about "dieting with a busy schedule". It's about making my LIFE work - which includes eating healthily.

Ok, so that sounds a bit smug. The truth is, that it took me a while to get to that mental place where I realized I wasn't trying to fit my "diet" into my "life". It's one of those things that I can't tell you when or how I got there - it just happened. Like one day when I was a sophomore in high school I just suddenly "got" grammar. Or when I was a jr in high school I just suddenly "got" trig. I don't know why I "got" it ... and I don't know why it was so hard to "get" it before. But I did.

I work 32 hours a week, and on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays I have class and work I wake up go to school, go to work, and I don't stop until late at night. I even don't have time to eat. On Tuesdays I have no time between school and work I go straight to work

I own my own business AND starting 3 weeks ago I took on a 30 hour a week contract job for the winter (slow season in my business). I get up at 7:30 every morning. I go to sleep at around 3:30 every morning. I shoot weddings, engagements, and portraits every Friday, Saturday, Sunday. I coordinate educational events for other photographers. I write databases for small engineering firms on the side. Plus I keep up with my bookkeeping, marketing, scheduling, etc. I average 75 billable hours a week (either to a client or to my business), plus keeping up with my house, shopping, exercising, etc., etc., etc., etc.

About once every six weeks or so I crash and sleep for an entire weekend. Then I wake up the next Monday and start all over again.

The thing is ... this is life. There will always be things that will mess up your "routine". Maybe it'll be a new job. Maybe it'll be a new relationship. Maybe it'll be kids. Maybe it'll be family. That's life. You have to figure out how you're going to live your life AND still be healthy. Notice, I never said "and diet".

The way I eat and the way I exercise is now part of my life ... it's not something that I have to work in or work around.

Now, mind you, that doens't mean I'm perfect. I have my days off (whooo boy!) and the times that I don't eat so well. I have days that I'm exhausted and I just don't make it to the gym. But those days/times make up around 15% or less of my whole life. The rest of the time, it's just ingrained. It is what I do to live.

Part of being successful on this journey - I'm firmly convinced - is making these changes a part of your regular life, instead of a "diet" that you try to incorporate for some period of time.

Eventually, like grammar, like trig, like a lot of things ... it'll just happen. And you'll realize that you have a different life and you aren't really sure when you got there. But it's awesome being there!

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[Beverlyjoy]

Transitions can be stressful. School, homework, job, tests - these things are the new 'normal' for you. I can understand how it's harder now as you transition into your new routine. It might be helpful to do alot of planning of meals. If you do this - at least you'll know what you can eat at your meals and have the foods available.

I too struggle when I am extremely busy - but, it's planning ahead that has really helped.

Good luck...you CAN do this!!!

[Teeni]

I can really relate, I just started my second semester of classes, and I have yet to find a free day. I have classes 4 days a week and do homework till midnight every night. On my days off from school, I wake up start my homework and work straight through till midnight. I am living off coffee right now, only thing that keeps me moving, probably not good. So yeah only free time I find is after midnight in the couple hours before I must head to bed. Which I usually spend curled up on the couch half dead. It was like this my first semester too, at least at the beginning. But as I got used to the schedule, fell into a system of sorts, learned where I was overdoing my schoolwork and adjusted I became less exhausted and more focused. Give yourself time, before you know it, things will get easier on you, as your mind and body adjusts. If you cant get exercise in try fitting little things in your routine. For example, I try to take the stairs when traveling to my classes, sometimes its tough, just makes me all the more thankful to make it to the classroom and a chair I take short walks, like out to the mailbox in the middle of my homework, gets a lil walking in as well as help get some blood flowing after trudging through some tiring reading or such. I am dead tired right now, but I just tell myself give it time, If I hold at my current weight right now, thats fine just keep from gaining, in a week or two things will balance out and Ill fit that exercise in. Just whatever you do try not to give up, your exhausted, worn thin, but as many have said what doesnt kill you will only make you stronger. Good luck

[Iconised Ghost]

I can totally relate, my uni year has been insane so far. But i think you have to find a balance- yes you want to do well for your future, but im not going to have much of a future if i had kept going the way i was weight-wise Its about balance. My papers are important, but so is my health. You have to make time, because it IS impossible to find it

arg sorry! I just saw this thread in the live feed thing on the front page, and thought it was interesting. Didnt mean to post where i didnt belong >.<

[griffogrubb]

I can definitely relate to the feeling of too little time. I have classes start at 8 or 9 o'clock everyday during the week and I'm typically not done to 5 or 6 every night. I volunteer for a few hours a week at the local hospital and I also work 25-30 hours every week. I still exercise 60-90 minutes a day 6 days a week and don't really ever go off my diet anymore. You just have to sit down and workout your schedule, I know I had to. That's the first thing I did before school started this semester, I looked at my schedule and made the time for my workouts. I also usually take one day a week, usually saturday morning, and prep my food for the week. That way I'm not stressing about what I'll have to eat, if I'll have time to make something or whatever. Sit down and take a look, figure things out. If you really want it the time will appear and you'll make it happen.

[Pandora123a]

This can't be a diet for me, it is my way of life. I work a 60+ hour job, volunteer, and have many family commitments. I eat out about half my meals.

Working exercise into your life is a great idea...no time for the gym? Park farther, take stairs etc. It is not only a calorie burner and fitness inducer, but it helps with memory and learning! (I used to walk the stairs at a job, I would walk a flight and then take the elevator, eventually I was able to walk 11 flights of stairs, in less time than it took to wait for the elevator and ride!)

Figure out eating out strategies, or quick home strategies. Last week I bought a roasted chicken at Costco for $6. It gave me (and my husband) three quick, cooked meals...and we didn't use it up by any means, just decided we wouldn't be home enough to finish the rest. Pre-made salad bars are expensive, but if time the is the priority you can do well. (Hint, don't add the dressing and the salad stays nice, or buy your greens from the at the regular price, and use the salad bar for the stuff that is a pain to cut or that you only want a small serving of.

The reality is, as long as we think of diet and exercise as being "outside" our normal lives we don't have a chance...life will always get in the way. I think the thing that has always sunk my "diet" efforts in the past is exactly that, once I wanted a life that was larger than diet...well I couldn't sustain whatever crazy program I had started!

Good luck, you can do it!

[5aday]

This past year my work days have been very long and often outdoors in parks or attending community meetings late into the evenings. Planning and creativity have helped me. Also taking baby steps. I focus on eat 5 fruits and veggies every day, drink my water, take the stairs even though I can mostly only go down the stairs I have many trips down to the car for meetings so it adds up.

If you have a car pack a cooler with snacks or meals that you can eat between work and school or even in class. I do not know your plan but some snack ideas that i use are
fruit- apples, nectorines, already peeled organges, grapes, cherries, sliced melon, pineapple and mango
veggie- carrots, bell pepers, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes,
crackers or bread and hummus or arichok and red peper brushetta or cheese
sandwiches with lean meat- get creative if you like and use differnt breads and spreads
granola bars- check the sodium and fat count some are just like eating a cookie

You can also check out options at resturants and find some that fit your plan so you have a few safe go to ideas when time is short but you have to eat. I do not eat much at traditional resturants so I am not a good resource for that.

I would love to see other ideas of what people eat on the go. (sorry about my spelling I can not get the spell check to work)

[jeniansmom]

Just an idea that has been working for me at work:
Figure out some snacks that are on plan for you and put them in individual serving containers (I've been using snack size baggies), and keep them with you. Try to come up with things that don't need to be refrigerated if you're going to be on the go all day.
That way between classes (or even in a class depending on your prof) you can have a healthy snack. This way your body is not going into starvation mode and it might help keep you from feeling like binging at night.
You can keep water with you too.
Being on campus is a great way to exercise too. Try taking the longest route between buildings. If you drive there, park as far away as you can and make sure you have to go back to your car for things. Use stairs instead of elevators whenever possible.
Just thoughts. I too am working on making this a lifestyle no matter what is going on in my life. I'm still in the honeymoon phase though, I still have the challenges of first TOM and first holiday season to deal with. Wishing you luck. It's not an easy road to get started on, but I think it levels out over time!

[PhotoChick]

The reality is, as long as we think of diet and exercise as being "outside" our normal lives we don't have a chance...life will always get in the way.

Ok, exactly what I wanted to say, distilled down into one, succinct sentence.

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[Goddess Jessica]

I find the opposite to be true. During the school year, I'm at school full-time and I'm working 40+ hours at work. I stick to my exercise schedule like glue and eating well is very easy since I don't have time to go out.

However... give me a little freedom? I am a goner! This summer was the first summer I didn't take a full-time schedule and I have been the laziest thing!

[midwife]

Ah, busy-ness.

Yep, I'm busy. Working 70 hr weeks (sometimes in the hospital for more than 24 hrs straight), a bunch of kids and all their sports and activities, multiple volunteer commitments--yep, my days off are not really days off---I am even busier on those days than on work days.

I will never find time.

So I make time. My health is a priority and I am far more functional and efficient at a healthy weight and with proper nutrition. Lack of time is simply not an excuse. We all have the same 24 hrs. I know it is hard, and I am not trying to make you feel bad, cause I do understand. I remember grad school while working full time nights and being pregnant and raising kids. It is not easy. But it is doable. You have 20 minutes for a brisk walk. You have 6 minutes in the morning to throw together a sandwich, carrots, fruit. Pre-hardboil eggs and eat those. Those little tuna salad things are another good idea. Spend an hour on the weekend shopping and prepping. Eat good foods and your energy level will go up. I wake up at 5 to run. My sister in law gets up at 4:30 to run. She's crazy....but I would get up at 4:30 too if I had to. Don't let anything stop you! Your health is worth it.

[Lyn2007]

I relate. I am not working right now but I do have five kids and no husband or grandmas or anyone else around to help. With an active 3 year old, middle schoolers, and high schoolers I don't catch a breath too often during the school year. Three of my children have serious medical issues so I am always dealing with that stuff too. It is HARD to fit in healthy eating and exercise. I am so tired at the end of the day I just crash. (And just a few years ago I was working and going to school full time so I totally get the university issue!)

Anyway you said something that caught my attention:

Quote:"With being so busy I just grab whatevers available. "

There's your key. Make "what's available" healthy. No reason to have junk around to grab. It is just as easy to grab an apple or a handful of nuts for a snack as it is to grab a candy bar. You have to take time, sometime during the week... on your day off, or one night a week... and prep some healthy stuff. Make carrot sticks or other veggie pieces and bag them in single serving baggies or tupperwares. Keep them in the fridge to grab and go. Make a some salads, or roast a chicken and baggie up the meat. If you don't feel you can do this, you can buy Lean Cuisine meals to use when you are super busy. ALl you need is a microwave. When I was very busy I sometimes would grab a protein shake for lunch or breakfast. Easy to take with you.

For me, having stuff to grab and go on the counter or in the fridge is still essential. Which is why I have bananas, plums, apples, pears, carrots, low fat string cheese, almonds, peanuts, whole grain crackers, Larabars, Weil bars, and bottled water always on hand. Canned beans are great if you have a few minutes (aqdd them to a salad or a can of veg soup) or get some of those tuna packets you can take with you for protein.

You can do it. It takes effort but it is worth it.

[Trazey34]

For me, life revolves around my freezer LOL. I take some time (not even that long really) on a sat/sun and make a boat load of chicken breasts in various formats (just marinade and put in the oven while I'm doing housework, the time passes anyway right?) so I always have that at the ready (i've tried the packaged chicken strips but they taste fake and vile to me), and maybe a giant pot of a veg soup or something -- that way thru the week, i can make a big salad, pop on some chicken, a bit of soup and voila! works for lunches too, i pop it into my lunch bag frozen and it's ready to go by lunch time in a wrap or something. My OLD way used to be so much more chaotic, get home late and argggh what to have for supper? order pizza i guess! now i can get stuff on the table super easy and quick, and we're all the richer for it

[PhotoChick]

You have to take time, sometime during the week... on your day off, or one night a week... and prep some healthy stuff. Make carrot sticks or other veggie pieces and bag them in single serving baggies or tupperwares. Keep them in the fridge to grab and go.

My grocery store sells pre-cut carrot sticks, celery sticks, and other "snack" veggies. You can even buy apples already cut into wedges. Yeah, it's more expensive, but for the same cost as 4 Snickers bars a week - or a Coke and a bag of chips from a vending machine - you can buy pre-cut veggies if you *really* don't have time.

If you're gonna spend that money on junk anyway, why not spend it on something that's healthy as well as convenient.

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