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Old 04-20-2005, 11:47 AM   #1  
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I've given up on myself. I can't do it. I don't know how to make myself a schedule that I can stick with. School is stressing me out and all I want to go is have something quick to eat. School will be over in less than 3 weeks.. I've been lucky to get to the gym once a week and haven't even gone yet this week..
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Old 04-20-2005, 11:53 AM   #2  
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Ok Jenny forget about the gym. I lost most of my weight without stepping into the gym. That part will come for you later. As for the quick eats what are you eating. If it's fast food there are plenty of good choices. Wendys has grilled chicken, chili and side salads. Subway is always a great choice. McDonalds has grilled chicken and low fat salads. A personal pizza at Pizza Hut is only 600 calories. There are lots of quick choices that will still enable you to lose weight.

So you don't have to give up you just have to make the choice to do it. Life is full of choices and we have made some bad ones that got us in the shape we are. Now lets make some good ones to get us out of this mess.
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Old 04-20-2005, 12:30 PM   #3  
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Where will you be if you give up completely? I agree with Howie that if you are worrying so much about the gym and you just have 3 weeks left then forget about the gym. He's also given you some great ideas for having to eat out.
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Old 04-20-2005, 12:35 PM   #4  
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Basically, I'm back to eating large portions. Last night for dinner I had 2 cheddarwursts and quite a few french fries (baked in the over). Earlier in the day I had a custard filled donut.

I guess I just stress myself out because I don't have a lot of time with school winding down. I have the stuff at home to make healthy meals but I don't. At home right now I have a freezer with:

Ground Turkey (I opted to buy that instead of ground beef - only 69 cents/lb), Skinless,boneless chicken breasts, fish fillets. I just need to make the conscious effort to make healthy choices.

I guess, I just need a little bit more of all of your kind words of encouragement. When I get comments from people like Howie, I feel like I can take on anything.

When I look past the fact that I haven't been getting to the gym, I realize that I really haven't been doing THAT horribly. I've filled my house with healthy choices. Today with me at work I have a 33.8 Fl Oz bottle full of water and I've already drank half. When I went shopping I bought flavored waters and lemonades that are Calorie free, sugar free, caffeine free, low sodium (or sodium free), non carbonated, zero carbs (can't beat that for 59 cents a bottle).

Sometimes I'm way too hard on myself.
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Old 04-20-2005, 12:41 PM   #5  
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I agree, don't be so hard on yourself. Concentrate on school, but still make the healthiest choice possible. When school's out, you can focus on the gym again.

I'm in WI, too, just outside Milwaukee. If you're close we could walk sometime?
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Old 04-20-2005, 01:18 PM   #6  
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Boy, can I relate to stress eating! I'd usually grab ding dongs, or something like that. I had to find other ways to de-stress, like taking a few minutes to wind down at the end of the day just to sit and relax or take a walk. Sometimes even just venting can help me.

It can take some working with a mood to find out what works. Each step you take (and obviously you've been doing the shopping and planning) is bringing your closer and closer to your goal. We've done threads here with non-scale victories and I think those are great. It can be easy to forget how important each step is in changing a lifestyle--they add up fast!
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Old 04-20-2005, 01:31 PM   #7  
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I agree - don't be too hard on yourself Jenny!

It sounds like you have a stressful few weeks ahead, so go easy on yourself and do the best you can. Getting to the gym even once a week is good considering your workload! The one thing I would say is go easy on yourself, but don't take that as a licence to go mad and eat all the rubbish you've worked so hard to stay away from! (Speaking from experience here!). Just do your best to eat as healthy as possible during this stressful time - and always find some time for yourself each day to relax and unwind.

Love Amanda x
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Old 04-20-2005, 01:37 PM   #8  
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If your fixing bad things at home that are quick then try getting some good things that are quick. I just had wraps with cottage cheese and tomato w/ baby spinach. Really quick and real tasty. That might not appeal to you but you know what I mean. As far as portions try using a smaller plate. I've heard a lot of people have good success with that.

You can do this and we are here help you. It still comes down to you making the choice. No one can be there to do that for you. I know you can do it.
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Old 04-20-2005, 01:46 PM   #9  
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Howie - I totally do the small plate thing!!! I actually put away all my 'big' (standard size) dinner plates, and bought salad/dessert plates to use as my everyday dishes. I also recently bought snack size baggies for my lunch bag. Both of these help you to visually feel full. "WOW! I ate a plate full/bag full of food!!" (that's my internal dialoge anyway ). It's worth a try!
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Old 04-20-2005, 04:53 PM   #10  
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Jenny, just like Howie said, dont try to do it all at once. Get usedto your "diet" first, then later, hit the gym. You can always just go for a walk if you feel like it. Dont give up entirely, you CAN do this!
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Old 04-20-2005, 06:05 PM   #11  
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Jenny, don't give up on yourself......just do whatever you can to make it easy for you to eat healthily - Howie has given you some great ideas. If you can make those healthy choices, you will definitely feel less stressed, and better about yourself. And just because you decide not to go to the gym for a few weeks, don't use it as an excuse to eat badly!

As everyone says, we are all here to help you....
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Old 04-21-2005, 10:10 AM   #12  
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Hi, Jenny! I'm definitely where you're at with the stress eating. It's so hard not to get discouraged! Great advice here, the only thing I'd add is maybe allow yourself "treats" while you get through this stressful time. If you plan to have a candy bar, or whatever, you can adjust the rest of your day accordingly. Good luck--it's almost over!
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Old 04-21-2005, 04:33 PM   #13  
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Jenny - So 3 weeks of stress left. Do you think you can manage to maintain for the next 3 weeks. Maybe scale down the portions? Then when school is out - go full scale???

How did today go???
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Old 04-21-2005, 07:05 PM   #14  
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I understand.

Work and school are on my plate as well. Sadly, my school semesters are 2 weeks longer than most schools, so I have 5 weeks left (plus exams).

Here's the worst thing I noticed about school. The food courts, and cafeterias have some "good" choices but they are few and sometimes REALLY unappetizing. The "fruit bowl" next to the cookies looks like it hasn't been changed since the first day of class. And the salad bar? Well, someone has ransacked it and there's hardly anything left.

My point is that you should always have a healthy snack packed!
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Old 04-21-2005, 11:38 PM   #15  
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Jenny it sounds like you've taken some great steps already! Kudos to you for that! You are beginning to drink water, you've joined a gym, you've stocked your freezer with some healthier alternatives, and you have found -- and, more to the point, USED -- an enormously important resource in any successful weight loss effort: a support community.

Where I think you're misstepping is in falling into an "all or nothing" frame of mind. Sister, I'm here to tell you, "That way lies madness." Don't set yourself up for heartache and disappointment like that. Build on these baby steps by:

1. Acknowledging that the gym probably isn't going to see too much of you over the next 3 weeks -- and t.h.a.t.'s. O.K. Maybe you could commit to going twice? Or even once?? Just for a half hour even, so you refresh your memories of it being a good feeling to work out and won't seem so long ago since you did it when you get back into it 3 weeks from now.

2. Pulling those healthy eats OUT OF THE FREEZER and cooking them so you have healthier alternatives ready-made. A lot of us have a lot of experience with this, so if you need any ideas, turn to us. Additionally, get some other lowfat alternative snackies that are portable, and make a commitment to yourself to turn to them instead of something that you know is fattening, even as it's convenient. After eating the off-plan food you're just as full as if you'd had the on-plan food, but now you're mad at yourself or disappointed. Initially, the on-plan thing might not be as appealing or convenient, but after eating it, your conscience is clean, you feel a stronger and more positive sense of self, and you're making steps to creating permanent healthy eating habits that will show when you're losing sizes and increasing your energy.
3. When you do need to eat a meal out, don't fall into that, "Oh well, I'm not really living on plan 100% now -- or not as I'd envisioned it -- so I'll just eat things that make me happy until I can focus on this full-time 3 weeks from now." Follow Howie's great suggestions above. Additionally, a deli is always a great find, because you know exactly what you're getting, and can create a healthy sandwich and still be full at the end! See, the thing is, these 3 weeks are going to pass regardless -- so in the meantime, why not make a little progress in weight loss and a lot of progress in feeling in control. It's that, or continue with the "all or nothing" gig and gain more weight and find yourself in 3 weeks worse off than you are now, feeling like crap about the decisions you made to eat larger portions of unhealthy foods, and wondering why the **** you did that.
4. At some point your studying in your room now, right? What about taking a 10 minute break twice a day to turn on some music and walk in place, or jump rope, or do jumping jacks? It would help your energy during this stressful time, clear your head for your studying, help out your metabolism, and burn some calories to boot!
5. Even with all you've got going on now with school, it's still possible to really "get in the moment" when you're making a decision about your next meal. Be conscious of what your goals are and ask yourself if what you're eating -- or how much -- is in keeping with what you want the most. Ask yourself if it's worth it. If you're really honest with yourself, you'll know that it isn't.
6. Shoot for "more" right choices rather than "all" right choices in your eats, water consumption, and physical activity. It totally sounds like you're not set up currently to get it all right at present. That's ok, but it doesn't mean you have to have a big plate of a couple of cheddarwursts and french fries. You know? Do what you can, and don't beat the crap out of yourself if you do something that you regret. At the same time, find that balance that keeps you from letting yourself off easy just because it's harder to manage right now. What are you going to do when school starts again in the fall? Or when you're busy with your internship (CONGRATULATIONS, by the way!!) If it's all at the most stressful now, start with a compromised plan (I'm finding I have to do that now, and I feel much better than when I wasn't on plan at all! I swear. ) and then build on it this summer so when school starts up again, you're not right back where you are now, with no coping skills or routines or healthy preferences developed to bolster you and keep you on track when it all hits the fan again.

I really hope I've helped you here -- and that you take all of this in the spirit in which it is intended. None of us got fat with good habits or healthy choices, so there's a real process we each have to go through to put that behind us and move forward into a new, self-loving way to live. Without making any of those changes, you won't develop the skills to weather the hard times and you'll end up with more oversized, unhealthy meals and frustration that you can't manage your time and resources to set yourself up for success.

There's so much information and knowledge here among us. I give you major props for turning to us, but now it's up to you to really listen to what we have to offer and learn from our own experiences. There are folks here who are doing it while working, going to school, raising kids, and finding some time with their spouses or partners!! It can be done! The thing is, just starting out, who the **** KNOWS how to approach the thing and manage their time and organize their foods and eke in some exercise wherever it's possible -- we aren't BORN knowing this stuff! So that's why we're here for one another. We're always learning from others' experiences. But then it's putting it into action, and making the hard choices.

My very best to you -- I know you can do this. You don't know me, because I haven't been very present here for a while, but I used to post quite regularly. I lost 78 pounds in 8 months by consistently making the choices that were in alignment with what I wanted the most. I wasn't perfect, but I kept moving forward.

And you can, too, Jenny.

Take care,
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