Motivation to get moving

MNgophergirl

MNgophergirl

New member

So here I am a 27 year old who works full time, goes to school part time and is trying to lose weight. I am 196lbs and only 5ft 4in. I still cant figure out how i got this big. I was an active person in my teens and early 20s but somewhere i lost my energy and now it is hard enough to make myself walk across campus instead of taking the bus. I need to lose around 80 pounds to be near a healthy weight and since i have diabetes and heart disease in my close family I need to do this soon. I have tried joining gyms but i cant seem to arrange my schedule so i have the time to go. My day usually begins around 5am and does not end until 10 or 11 pm if I am lucky. I am sure that my job as a customer service rep for a major retailer is not helping any either. I sit at a desk for 8 hours a day and since there is no food allowed in the call center when it is break time i tend to eat a lot and very fast as i only get 30 minute to eat my meal. Then it is off to school 4 days a week for 3 hours a night and sandwiches got old really fast and never kept me very full so I found myself hitting the vending machines. I just dont know what to do anymore. I know i need to lose the weight but I cant figure out the best way to fit it into my already hectic life....
 
By cutting out the crap. Don't even think about exercise right now. Right now the important thing is to cut all that shit out of your diet. If you want to lose weight, you can't get junk food from vending machines. Hectic life or no hectic life, you need to wake up 20 mins earlier each morning and pack yourself a HEALTHY lunch for work/school. It will fill you up a lot more than all the empty calories you get in junk food. Fresh fruit, veg, home-made sandwiches, etc.
It's a start at least. I know this sounds mean, but you have to drop the excuses. You have to say "Yeah, I've got a hectic life, but I want a healthy life." The only person holding you back right now is yourself.

Do you ever get a day off? Or part of a day off? Or are all your days 5am - 10pm? If that's the case, then that's really going to be hard for you but you don't have a choice. You've just got to make it work if you want to lose that weight.

Let us know more about your day to day schedule and we'll try and help you figure something out for exercise, but you'll be doing yourself a favour if you dump the shitty food and make your own.
 
Actually you are already at an advantage in that your call center does not allow eating at the desks. I've seen the size of people who do that kind of work and are allowed to eat at their desks. (At one place I know of the vending machine guys were refilling empty machines about two or three times a week.)

If sandwiches got old, try making different ones. For example, on an off day make a big bowl of chicken salad and take that for a week, then do tuna salad for a week, and so on. Even though I am home all day, I make a big bowl of low fat pasta salad (whole wheat pasta, a can of tuna, a few olives, and low calorie italian dressing) then eat it for lunch for most of the week.

Instead of just packing lunch, throw in some carrots, or other raw veg to grab during shorter breaks to keep you from being hungrier later.

I used to work in a grocery store and the amount of tempting (super cheap) junk that was available played a big part in my weight gain. If I was on a short break it was easier to grab a candy bar from up front than it was to walk to the yogurt section. So I ended up living on the same crap you get from vending machines.

If you can get a handle on not eating junk, even if it takes a little more effort on your part, you'll go a long way in getting to your goals. Not only that, but the lack of crappy food in your system will leave you feeling less run down at the end of the day.
 
Wow, I really relate to your story. I'm 29, 5'5" and started out at 219. Heart disease and diabetes run in my family too. I sit at a desk all day, 40 hours a week. And, while I don't go to school, I do have a daughter, so that keeps me busy after work and on weekends. Oh, and I'm from MN too! lol

I agree with Sunflower in that you have to stop hitting the vending machines. If you are still really hungry after you eat your lunch, pack a larger lunch with healthy foods, fruits and veggies to start. Also, make sure you get enough protein (aim for 85-100 grams daily) and enough fiber. Both of these will help you feel fuller for longer. Do you get 15 minute breaks during the day? Try bringing a few small, healthy snacks like a fruit or veggie, string cheese (you can get the light kind for less fat), yoghurt, etc. That should also help you to not binge at lunch time. Drink a LOT of water!

I'm sure sandwiches do get old. Do you get any days off? If so, make a large portion of something like chicken soup or even just cook a bunch of chicken breasts or fish. If you have a microwave at work, there's nothing stopping you from bringing a chicken breast, a small salad and an apple for lunch, right? I also boil a bunch of eggs on the weekend and have salads (lettuce, carrots, broccoli, boiled egg, unsalted sunflower seeds, fat free dressing) for lunch. You could even prepackage it into several containers so you just need to grab and go (wait to put the dressing on until the last minute though!).

Also, I'd recommend tracking your food on livestrong.com, fitday.com or a similar site. These sites really help you keep track of your calories and see where you are getting these calories from. I've found it helps me a lot with staying out of the junk food. I don't want to add it to the list! Weigh or measure you food and be honest about the amounts. You can lie to the list if you want, but you can't lie to your body. Figure out your BMR too, so you know what you should aim for in calories.

Also, there are a lot of good stickies about nutrition, calories and fitting workout into busy schedules around this site. Check them out, they are really helpful!
 
04/28/10

Ok so I have finally been able to drop from full time to part time but summer term is starting in June so then my time is again eaten up. But for the meantime i do have more time to do well everything. I think I have come up with a good meal plan but i'm not 100% sure.

Breakfast: 6 oz Greek Yogurt and 1 whole wheat english muffin
AM Snack: 1 apple or banana
Lunch: 1 1/2 cup tuna or chicken salad with lite mayo and whole wheat pasta, 1 cup carrots, 1 orange
PM Snack: 1 cup celery or 1 cup mixed greens
Dinner: when i have school 1 sandwich with reduced fat peanut butter and sugar free jam when i am at home 8 oz skim milk, veggies 50%, 4oz meat, whole wheat pasta or brown rice, 1 serving fruit (seasonal)
Evening snack: 1 whole wheat english muffin with reduced fat PB and sugar free jam and an apple or orange

feedback please
 
workouts

Now that I have more time on my hands per se, i have ventured into purchasing the Bender ball program at Target and since it was only $20 if it does not work I am not out any money. has anyone tried this method?
 
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