Hi, 20-somethings. I know all of us are busy ladies! I'm new to the board but not to healthy lifestyle. I am very stressed out lately. I'm enrolled in 19 hours in college, volunteer at a Hospice, work with kids in a housing project to get them on track, and also work for the state democratic party. It is election year and down to crunch time so that is about 25-35 hours of my week. Working with the kids is about 10. Hospice is about 5, and then school and homework. I love everything I do, but my weight fluxuates dramatically (10-15 pounds!!!!). I also have to take time to work on maintainance of my relationship, which is more difficult because we live five hours apart. I don't mind, it is nothing compared to what other people do, but it does take time and energy. I maintain a balanced diet, and have gotten medically checked out and nothing is wrong. Any ideas on how I could stablize this? After the election things will let up a lot, but I'm running on fumes and nothing can drop because they are all important. I know I need more sleep because I only get in about five hours a night. The two jobs can't go because I need every buck that comes in, but Hospice is also way too important for me to cut back. I'm also a juvenile diabetic on an insulin pump, but it is well controlled (most of the time ) Any imput would be awesome!

bride2bethin- wow! you really do have alot going on right now! I always think i'm busy, but its nothing compared to all of that! My recomendation would be to start food journaling if you dont do so already. I have eaten a fairly "balanced and healthy" diet for a long time, but managed to gain weight doing so because i was still gettin too many calories. And doing this, you must be honest with yourself, because all of those little tastes of things can add up. Also, I don't know what you are doing for exercise, but if you can, I would find some sort of yoga class. I only go once a week, and not only is it excellent exercise, but it also totally helps me de-stress. Good luck! Keep posting!

Wow I must agree with denice that you are one busy woman. I am also busy but not to that degree. I agree that the little things can creep in... for example if you drink a lot of coffee and it's not black, that milk or cream can add up (not to mention the sugar if you use that). Also there could be things you're eating that are not as healthy as they appear to be. A journal is a great way to shed some light on this because you'll see if you're eating more than you think, and if you do it on a site like fitday.com or calorie king you can track your calories (although it's not always 100% accurate). If you post what you eat here at the forum people can give you advice too.

I agree with them about a journal...this is my 5th day of journaling. It's not as easy as it sounds, but it does help. If nothing else I know that yesterday I really wanted a candy bar, but I was like, "I really don't want to write that in my journal" so I didn't eat it. I know you are very busy, but remember that as important as those things are, YOU ARE IMPORTANT TOO!

OMG girl your schedule makes me feel like I am a total couch potato!
Any of my suggestions would be about not overextending yourself or getting more sleep, because too much stress and not enough sleep are both things that even by themselves cause your body to inadvertently produce too much of a hormone that makes you retain fat as a kind of defense mechanism. But I really admire your dedication to all the selfless things you do, and you already said you can't give anything up, so how about a nutrient/mineral boost to help counteract it? I would try taking a really good water soluble multivitamin, and some sublingual B-12. Don't bother with a B-12 pill, they can't be absorbed effectively. Next to a shot, sublingual is best.....the little dissolving strips/pellets/drops are inexpensive and can be found at any walmart, health store, or drug store. I know you already have to have a sensible diet to keep the diabetes in check. I also second trying yoga or pilates. Both are great exercise and good for keeping stress levels down. You can buy a dvd pretty cheap and do it at home when you have an extra half hour, so that having to go to a gym or something doesn't add to your already hectic schedule. Best of luck to you

Thank you for all your wonderful feedback! I'm positive that it isn't diet, because I log and measure everything. I'm not really eating to loose weight, more trying to get it stable. Anywhere I fall on my fluxuation is still healthy, but the fluxuation is not! (I'm 121 this morning according to student health, last week i was 134! I know this isn't real weight loss, and all that can't be water!) I'm definetly signing on for the free yoga classes on campus starting next week, and I'm going to try the B-12 thing. You ladies are wonderful!

13 pounds in a week? Is it on the same scale?
I don't think that's even possible! Have you tried a different scale? Sounds to me like that one's broken That can't be right-a weight gain or loss of that much would have been noticable to you OFF the scale, as in you wouldn't have been able to fit into your jeans last week.
Seriously though, weighing myself at the doctor can fluctuate for me as much as 5 or 6 pounds from my scale at home, because at home I only weigh in the morning with no clothes. Depending on clothes, shoes, what you've already had to eat and drink that day, scale calibration, etc. fluctuations can get kinda wild. You can't let it get to you.....if the number on the scale is important to you (it is to me, so believe me I'm not judging ), get a scale for your bathroom and use it at the same time of day each time you weigh, either no clothes or the same kind. If you still have such a high fluctuation, I would DEFINITELY be concerned about what's going on and ask your doctor about it.

I weigh weekly at the student health center because we are trying to find a pattern, so yes it is the same scale. And yes, my pants annoyingly go from too lose to too tight. :-D I'm getting so frustrated. I just want to stay stable. My diet is consistant, as it my activity, but even if they weren't the week to week variation wouldn't be like this. I do also have IBS-A, but I don't think that that could cause that much extra weight! They nurse practioner is stumped, all my labs are pretty much normal. I really think that it is caused by stress, I'm just not sure how!