I guess I'm not the only one who's having trouble posting lately. I thought it was just my connection.
How is everyone doing? Swing by and pick me up too, Apple!!!
Quote:
"I find eating well is really hard when I'm exhausted. I'll either skip eating altogether, which isn't good even if it is lo cal, or I'll just eat mindlessly whatever is easiest. Times like this then healthy leftovers are a lifesaver."
I was supposed to have Friday night off but the phone rang at 11:10pm - only one reason the phone would ring then. So I ended up working with yet another day with only a couple hours of sleep. And I'd promised friends to help clean their garage on Saturday so I worked there till 2pm or so. By then I was one of the walking dead. I slept a couple hours and then stumbled around a bit and went to bed around 8pm. And slept for 12 hours. I'm always a zombie after sleeping so long. So today I'm about worthless.
Anyway, I just got a new Sara Ivanhoe DVD "body tone with weights". I picked up some weights at K Mart. I don't have enough energy right now to get excited about it but I was when I ordered it. Tomorrow I'll be excited.
I've slept away my Saturday mostly . . . getting busy here at home on a Sunday . . . shift work doesn't get ez'ier as you age, I can tell you that. More and more I cannot switch back to days on my time off.
I've had the day off too, and spent most of it playing with the kids. Time well spent.
Now, I'm going to try to get them to help me clean this joint up a bit!
As for food and exercise. I'm about where I have been. Eating well. Not enough water. Not enough exercise. But maintaining my 8 pounds. So I'm happy. I will throw it into high gear here in a bit.
Hope you're all having a fabulous day! Has everyone taken some vacation? So quiet and echo-y in here.
Hi all!! My life's been crazy lately, between work and family reunions every weekend. This flipping back and forth between days and nights is killing me.
So Cicilia, I do Weight Watchers and have really enjoyed it. I've been on it for 1 1/2 years, and when I started I didn't have a clue where to start. Going to the meetings was very helpful. All of the members have different ideas, hints, and tips on how to make the plan work. It's nice to have support each week. I love this site and have got lots of support here, but it is nice to have some face to face support. Especially to celebrate the good weeks. There's meetings everywhere, and ususally they're at lots of different times throughout the week. It's usually not too hard to find one that fits in with crazy schedules. It's basically calorie counting, but the calories are turned into points, making it easier to calculate and keep track of. You get a certain amount of points each day depending on some lifestyle factors, like weight, age, activity level, etc. So you get a daily points target. Then you get an extra 35 points to use during the week in addition to your daily points. They really focus a lot on making this a lifestyle change and not just a diet, which I like. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Hope everybody is having a good week. I have 3 more nights off, before I have to go back to work! So I'm going to enjoy this nice weather we are having. I like the idea about sharing quick recipes. I'll have to think of a few. I often fix a couple of casseroles or crock pot meals and split them into individual serving sizes. That way I can just grab and go. It works well for me.
Hi there! I hope you all don't mind another 3rd shifter dropping in!
I'm Karen and work as a hotel auditor 11pm-7am Sunday-Thursday. Most people when they hear that think/say "Oh great! You've got your weekends off!" BUT I have a gorgeous 2 year old (Johnny) at home so I don't really ever have ANY time off
I've been fighting with my weight off and on for years. Got serious about losing it in February of 2004 - about 6 months after my mom passed away with "morbid obesity" being one of the main reasons given on her death certificate. I started working 3rd shift May 2005 and still managed to do pretty well until I got serious with my boyfriend (Johnny's dad). I got comfortable and the pregnant and have just had a heck of a time figuring out how to do things ever since. I STILL haven't figured out how to work, sleep, parent, eat properly AND exercise but I've found some great support so far here at 3FC and hopefully also just found some with people who have schedules as messed up as mine
Even without all the complication the rest of our lives throw at us, we're already at a disadvantage for losing weight just because of our work schedules. That doesn't mean we can just make it an excuse for being overweight - I think we can all come up for excuses for how we got here. But it is important to keep in mind when you work work work to get that weight off and it just doesn't want to go. According to all the studies, our work schedule really messes with our metabolism. We can eat and exercise the exact same amount as a daytime sister of similar age and weight and see less of a result. One study tracked people after weightloss surgery (I forget if it was sotmach stapling or the one where they remove part of the large intestine) and shift workers had a really significantly higher failure rate.
It's not fair, but it's a reality we have to live with.
I think the "many small meals" thing helps. It keeps our metabolism ticking along rather than the rollarcoaster our schedule wants to put it on. And someone early on pointed out how starting out with some protein helps jumpstart your metabolism when you first get up.
Yesterday I didn't have energy for anything much. I didn't even enter my food into fitday, that would have taken too much thought. But I did toss some very trimmed turkey breast strips into the crock pot along with a packet of taco seasoning. Today I have yummy taco turkey in the fridge. I can mix that with some rice (also cooked ahead, left over from a dish I made for the Church supper last week) and put it in a pita or wrap for lunch. All week long, if I am too tired for anything else, at least I can grab a reasonably healthy sandwich. That and a piece of fruit will keep me going for quite a while.
Aud, instead of saying "no eating when I get in from second shift" (for me it's when I first get in to work for my shift - I go into graze mode!) try to be prepared ahead with something you can eat waiting for you in the fridge. A piece of fruit, a healthy sandwich, or a portion of leftovers.
I only have so much willpower and "behavior modification" in me on any given day. if I can't totally stop the bad habits I can at least make them less bad. At least that's my theory.
2 1/2 hours left to my night and I cannot WAIT for it to be over and done with! I was already having a pretty lousy evening to start out (gained at my weighin) but I figured I would cheer myself up some and order in a nice big salad for dinner from my favorite place ... only to find out that they had closed early tonight due to a fire in the place next door to them! SO I haven't eaten in about 12 hours and it's starting to make me more than a little cranky. The only thing that's even remotely safe to keep in our community fridge here at work is my bottle of salad dressing spray ... and that's only safe because I've written my name on it AND threatened the lives of each and every co-worker that also has access to it. I would have brought something with me but, like I said, I had the big plan for the big salad. Hopefully I'll end up having a bunch of early risers at the hotel this morning and they'll keep me busy enough that I won't necessarily notice the hunger as much.
Karen I love your tickers! Your exercise goals are inspiring! I am terrible about getting the cardio in, you go girl!
Like Vlad, I've also found that many small meals helps. I try not to graze, yet also to not wait and eat too much when I get a minute to finally sit. I do so much better when I'm sticking to my small meals. And I can totally relate to people taking your stuff out of the work fridge. Grrrr!
And don't let that gain upset you. I posted somewhere in this thread about my scale experiments and weight fluctuation. Just stay on your path and don't let the scale thwart you. Ignore that fluctuation. You are on the right road, and you will reach your goal!
I'm also a less bad kind of gal, Vlad. Sometimes I just gotta be human. I find the key for me there is to get right back on my horse the next day. Like tomorrow for instance. We are having our family Litha celebration. We celebrate this longest day of the year on the 24th & right on into the 25th. There will be food, fire pits, margaritas, and a big *** home made slip-n-slide. I am going to be oh, so veryhuman.
But I will get right back on my wagon come Thursday. Yes I will, yes I will.
Aud, I can't switch back and forth either. I am a nocturnal girl through & through. I tell people the only difference between our family schedule and others, is that the moon is up instead of the sun. We likes it that way. I just don't see how you do it, Operator. You amaze me...
Hope you are all having a glorious day! ***MUAH***
