[coconutmilkosaur]

Since April, I've lost just over fifty pounds. I had struggled with diet/weight loss in the past, but this time something was different: I had signed up for a half-marathon and, for once, felt like I had a concrete (non-weight-related) goal to work toward.

I had been doing really well until two weeks ago, when two things happened at the same time:

1) I majorly injured my leg and was officially informed that I would not be allowed to run the half and
2) I started law school.

Now, with a newly packed schedule and a 3-month ban from any kind of running, I'm finding myself struggling a lot to stay on plan. By some miracle, I haven't really gained any weight through all of this, but I've come to a perfect standstill- I haven't lost so much as an ounce in the last three weeks.

I know that it would be stupid at this point to let a couple of speed bumps derail me, but I'm really struggling to find motivation. Any words of wisdom from people who have been in similar situations would be very much appreciated!

[liliesinmycereal]

One time I had to stop working out because I had overworked myself doing too much Zumba. The only thing that helped was focusing on eating better. My injury was swelling of my knees. They still swell if I exercise too much. I'm struggling with eating because I don't do well when I eat around others so I decided to take a break from eating a lot around people. Good luck!

[lollerskates]

Oh man, I'm in law school now, and I can totally relate to the new stresses/schedule change that that entails. My two cents:

--Watch how much you drink. I know a lot of schools have happy hours or bar reviews every week, so it is easy to drink more than you realize. I found the best way to combat this was to go in knowing how much/if you are going to drink beforehand. I think there is a lot of benefit to going out still, since it allows you to socialize with your class/future law colleagues. But just go knowing that you will only have one beer, or that tonight is all about diet soda and water.

--Watch out for study snacking! I know I got into a really bad habit of snacking whenever I was feeling tired of doing my homework. I found it helped to bring snacks to school so I wasn't relying on vending machines. I also drink a lot of tea (something I never did before). I found the tea would fill my stomach and keep my tastebuds un-bored so that I was better able to recognize when real hunger struck.

--Put your exercise into your schedule and be cognizant of how much you are doing a week. Also, every little bit helps--my first semester I made sure to take walks during my study breaks, or to park farther from campus than I had to to get that extra 5 min of activity in. When I stopped doing that second semester, I started gaining weight :/

Hope this helps!

[coconutmilkosaur]

Thanks!

Lollerskates- Those are awesome tips! I'm definitely a "study snacker" too, so I've been trying to bring things like carrot sticks or fruit with me every day. I'll be trying the tea thing, too- it'd probably help me hydrate more anyway.

[Daimere]

I had to change my plan after I had some life issues get in the way (and this is a few months after I stopped cause of stress). I realized after getting back on a plan, that I started comfort drinking soda. So I switched to sweet green tea. Since you can't really run, can you do walk? Or do elliptical? You could probably do some upper body exercises. But maybe the key is to maintain for a little bit and focus on perfecting just eating at maintenance? Good luck! *hug*

[Suds14]

coconut, i can definitely empathize with you on this one, as i too am a grad student. I am a fan of the strict during the week and a bit lax on the weekends. It's hard too when you are just starting a new school---so many mixers and socials. I know it all too well. I am curious about how you dropped the 50 pounds and so quickly too! You rock! I myself am training for a half in January and am curious about meal plans while training. Any thoughts you can pass along would be great!!! Keep your chin up!