Help I am to busy to lose weight
 

[COLOR=Indigo]Hello I need someone's advice bad. I am a 25 yrs old 300+ female, and I have to much on my plate. When I say this I mean not only when I have a chance to eat dinner sitting at a table but in my day to day life. My responsibilty include working 40+ hours, trying to be a good christian which is more important to me then anything, going to school fulltime , taking care of my 15 yr old sister and my grandmother who is not in bad health other then the uasual problems a 79yr old would have. I am now in the process of planning a B-day party for her, which takes alot of time. I find myself eating fast food everyday , because I have no time to cook real meals. I am at home probably 10 hrs in a day. I sleep 6 if i am lucky. I can not even make time to sign up for a free workout membership that my city offers, so I will not even think about trying to fit excersise into my week. I have trouble organizing my time. I need so much help in fixing my bad ways that it scary. I hate to complain like this because this is not like me but my friend says good things about this site, and I am praying that someone can help me in any kind of way.

I'm sure there are other people who will have a lot more idaes and helpful suggestions for you, but I just have to ask this.....
When your health declines, and -heaven forbid- you fall ill, or are simply too tired to carry on this way, who will take care of your sister and grandmother?
My advice is include your sister, I have a 15 year old sister who spent the summer with me. She loves to cook if I show her how and what to make. Get her involved, it will make you closer and you'll be teaching her healthier ways. I think its a great opportunity! My sister came to the gym with me also.
You do have a heafty schedule, but you need to make the time for yourself before you drop.
Best wishes...
Tammy

patrice,
you do seem to have so much on your plate (no pun intended) it is all about the choices you make though. if fast food is your only option right now then maker healthy fast food choices mcd's has some nice salads with a lf or ff dressing, subway also comes to mind with several salads to choose from and some lower fat subs. i think your first step is to take a little time for yourself and plan your day. healthy meals don't have to be time consuming but they do require some forethought and planning. i also work 40+ hours a week, have 3 kids that are very active in sports and school etc etc. i pack a healthy lunch for myself to take to work everyday (sometimes i prepack it on sundays for each day of the week so i just have to grab and go) i also think about breakfast in advance and make sure it is easy enough so i don't just skip it. make just one change at time and the rest will follow. good luck to you!! take care of yourself first, it sounds like alot of people are depending on you.

Patrice,

You don't have to cook to eat something healthy. If you have a fridge at work, that would be a great place to store food. Otherwise you can either buy a small ice chest or insulated lunch bag and use refreezable ice packs. Some foods you can make to take with you that are easy:

- low fat or non fat Cottage Cheese
- 100% whole wheat sandwich with no mayo, mustard, sliced turkey breast, sliced tomatoes, whatever else you want
- Grape or cherry tomatoes in a baggie
- Celery and PB
- Hard boiled eggs
- Albacore tuna salad

What I generally do is I cook food ahead of time and always make leftovers whenever I cook. When I have more time on the weekends, I generally cook stuff for the week. If you have a crockpot, you can throw some ingredients in it, leave the house, come home and food is served.

For exercise, if you have breaks while you are working or at school, go for a walk. If you have a desk job or a job that has some lulls, you can do desk exercises or exercises where you are at.

You will have to make some time for eating right and exercise though, hope this helps.

hmmm. patrice... my heart goes out to you. i have similar issues - a fulltime job, some volunteer work, some freelance, and the care of my elderly mom with alzheimers.

BUT.. ya gotta take care of yourself, babe. ya gotta make yourself a priority. i've never met an overweight person - especially a woman - who put herself at the top of her list. and that HAS TO CHANGE. and believe me, it's not like you just flip a switch and SURPRISE - everything magically comes together. it takes WORK. a long series of changes, in food, in exercise, and IN ATTITUDE.

as nelie and and jodi suggested, you CAN get out of the fast food trap.

the key is BABY STEPS. a series of manageable changes that you do bit by bit. if it's a 10 minute walk in the morning, or a commitment to drink water, not soda, you're ahead of the game.

if it's some time for yourself to destress, that counts too.

if it's buying a pre-cooked chickan and combining that with already bagged salad for lunch with some LF dressing, you're doing great.

may i suggest checking out the 100 pound club? a bunch of FABULOUS people, all of whom balance work, family, stress, and their eating and exercise habits.

no matter what you decide, patrice, it's gotta be a series of changes that you can LIVE WITH FOREVER. whether it's WW, sugarbusters, calorie counting, low fat, low carb, ya gotta experiment and find whatever combination works FOR YOU. not for your five best friends. FOR YOU.

keep posting...

All the eating suggestions are good; however, to touch on the exercise portion...

You don't need a "lot" of time to exercise. Get up 20 minutes early and go for a jog. Starting out, it might be more of a walk for a mile, but as time goes on, you'll eventually find you can run 2 miles in 20 minutes. Park far away from all the doors and always take the steps. What do you do at lunch break at work? Can you possibly eat at your desk and go for a brisk walk on your lunch hour? You can get creative and find ways to add exercise into areas you might not have originally thought of.

Have you chekced out The Skinny Daily Post? (I know many of the folks here read that column; I think it's great.) She had a great article last week about choice, discussing how we all choose the commitments we have. No one forces us to do what we do. So if we are too busy to do one thing, it is because we have chosen to do something else instead. Check out the article: for me it was a great oppertunity to really look at what I have chosen to proirtize in my life. As soon as I realized I was responsible for how I choose to spend my time, I felt much more in control of my life and my weight.

Be selfish! It's ok to take some "Me time"
 

Patrice,

I have spent most of my life making sure everyone else in my world is taken care of and in the 15 seconds of silence I get before I fall asleep it occurs to me I had no me time today. As I'm getting older I'm getting selfish and as hard as it is to do you have to build some me time into your schedule. When you first start this, there will be unbearable guilt. So many things you know you should be doing other than taking a half hour bubble bath or whatever it is that floats your boat, but you have to take the time. I am 29 years old and have packed 304 pounds onto a 5 foot 5 1/2 inch frame over the years. The best thing I can suggest is, to start, pick a day of the week and make yourself unavailable to the world. Turn off your cell phone, leave your pager on the bedroom dresser and leave the house. Go to a museum, to the zoo, something --anything that makes YOU happy. Don't worry about what needs to done, who needs you to do what errand..you're off limits for that time. Once you get one day for yourself you will find it easier to steal 15 or 20 minutes for yourself during the week.

As to the food issues, I make my next days food the night before while I'm cleaning up from my supper. It usually works but not always. When it doesn't I to am fast food diva :mcd: . My tricks, when I go to McD's these days I usually get a salad, but on days when I feel like being naughty I get a happy meal. That's right I'm 29 years old and march very proudly up to the counter and order a Happy meal with a small diet coke. There really is enough food there to fill you up for lunch and I give the toys to my 6 year old nephew. So far I have carved 20 pounds off my bod and I'm working my way down.

Another trick I've learned is, go the bathroom upstairs. I know that sounds dumb but give it a try. At work I go up 2 filght of steps to use the ladies room instead of the one right down the hall. At home, instead of using the guest bath I go upstairs to my bathroom. I drink a ton of water, sometimes 96 ounces a day and I make sometimes 10 trips to the bathroom at work alone ( :yikes: probably more information about me than you needed -- sorry). That's 10 extra trips up and down the steps. It doesn't take that much time and it's a good way to stretch your legs.

I'm not sure who said it but there is a quote I found that is now all over my house and office. "Success is not a result of spontaneus combustion -- you must set yourself on fire." There comes a time when you have to put your self first. Your family and friends will understand and support if they are truly your friends.

Hope this helped at least a little and hey it's o'k' to be a little selfish.

Chin up,
Breaking out :cbg: