This semester is just kicking my butt! I work 12 hour shifts and have school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I spend my weekends cleaning house, running errands and doing school work. I have very very little down time. I've done ok with keeping my weight steady this semster with short walks when I have time, portion control and meal planning.

But, I have a really stressful week coming up and I've been slipping into old habits, comforting myself with donuts and cupcakes. My partner and I have to go to court this week, we are sueing a contractor who damaged our home almost 2 years ago. The scary part is that he is counter sueing us for $100,000 and we are scared to death. It's HIGHLY unlikely he will get anything at all from us because we are not at fault, but it's still terrifying to think that if by some stroke of injustice he won that judgement we would lose our home.

I know this too shall pass, but right now it's weighing heavily on me and I'm seeing it on the scale.

Shannon

Aww I'm really sorry to hear you have so much on your plate right now! I definitely know where you're coming from, reaching to the sweets for a boost but instead try somthing that is proven to lift your mood: exercise. I'm sure you're well aware that it gives you an endorphin (sp?) boost and it also might make you see more clearly when things are foggy after 12 hour(!!) shifts or school.

Good luck on your court battle, I hope it all works in your favour.

Gaaaahhh! With that much stress I'd probably be eating the trim off the walls and moving on to the wallpaper!



Have a food plan--that may be a saving strategy. Get some stress relief in other ways. Do you exercise? Meditate? Dance?

Good luck with the lawsuit!!

Jay

I do exercise as much as I have time, which isn't much I'm afraid. I walk on my days off and on days I work I lift free weights and ab work at home. When I'm at school and work I park as far away as possible so that I get an extra bit of walking in.

It all helps me to clear my head, but as our court date gets closer my anxiety gets higher.

I keep telling myself that if I can just get through this month it will all be ok. I have surgery at the end of the month and once I get through our court case and my surgery it will be much easier. Also, at that point there will only be 5 weeks left of the semester and that will be a big relief.

Shannon

It seems like right now, there's alot out of your control/power. School schedules wont change because it's causing you stress. Our justice system wont be put on hold because its to stressful and you're at a big point in school yanno? SO take control of areas where you can. Plan your meals for the week. Make sure everything is precut, prewashed, premeasured and in baggies/containers, so when its time to eat you have it ready to go. This is an area noone but you has any control over, so maybe it will help with the stress. I know for me, anyway, when my life is insane and then I have to think about how many carbs/protien/fat grams I need to eat per meal that makes it way to easy to grab quick, crap food. So doing everything ahead of time gives me no excuse and gives me alot less stress and guilt over everything. Good luck!

Agrees w angihas...you need to take control where you can. There's nothing you can do about the court or school. So feel good about taking control of one part of life....you eating. Make a little time to go and get healthy foods. Plan your meals for the week and shop. Then you'll have meals ready/thought out. I definately recommend some yoga or something to help relieve the stress. I can't imagine what you are going through...but hang on. Don't let the crap get you down. Overcome this month and take charge. Find ways to relax at least a few minutes everynight to help give you the mental break. Maybe journal your thoughts/frustrations/fears and maybe that will help take the stress off. Good luck and hang in there!

Is there any way to cut back, somewhere? When we were involved in our house-related lawsuit (seller failed to disclose leaking roof & foundation problems), I found I couldn't do as much as I could when I hadn't had that stress hanging over me.

It may be tough, but is there any way you can cut your hours at work for now? Can you relax your housekeeping standards for now? During midterms, finals, and major reporting deadlines at work, our house doesn't get cleaned. The rest of the time, it gets "good enough" clean - keep the floors from getting sticky, wipe down the kitchen counters after dinner, swish the toilet on Saturday morning, and call it good. There will be time for better housekeeping when I've got less on my plate.

Set aside a few hours a month to do nothing. Rent a movie, take a long bath, read something for pleasure. (This only works if you can convince yourself to temporarily "forget" your pending homework.)

Those things, and taking as many distance ed (online, telecourse) classes as I can is the only way I can keep up, honestly. That, and the realization that I don't have to be perfect - I just have to pass.