Alright Skinny readers, I need your help. (*Warning* This may sound like a very whiney post, and it kind of is! Read if you dare :) ) I have been is such a funk lately! And no matter what I try, I just can't pull myself out of it...so I am turning to you for help. Here is the deal...
I run 5 miles MWF with my mom. Most the time on T TH I go the the gym and bike or do the elliptical...sometimes I do weights...sometimes I just sleep in and don't go at all. Unfortunately, the only time I have to workout is in the morning and I am really not a morning person- it is always a struggle to make myself get going; however I work during the day/evening and the few evenings I have off I want to spend with my husband, not hitting the gym.
I am not a very consistent eater- some weeks we have great & balanced home-cooked meals and others I get way too overwhelmed and busy and our meals suffer because of it. We don't eat out much- maybe once a week. I do work at home half of the time and it is easy for me to snack, but my portions aren't huge. Days I go to the studio are hard- it means either I eat dinner at 4pm or 10pm. I do eat a lot late in the evenings- not meals, but snacks. I know I shouldn't eat that close to bedtime, however I am always too hungry to just go to bed and hear my stomach rumble.
I don't really have any friends here- my husband is my BFF, however he works long days and we really don't have much time that we get to hang out together. My mom is close and we do a lot together, but she is still my mom and it is just different. All the people in our apartment complex that are our age just want to drink and party...we just don't really fit with them. And all of the people in our ward have at least one kid and so we don't really fit with them too well either. I actually really like my co-workers, however because of our work schedules they are just never really available to hang out when we are. So I don't have any buddies that can help pull me out of this weird period...sure I have goals (please don't forget I am supposed to swim in a river soon!) but they just aren't motivating me enough obviously.
Anywho, so that is my situation. I just feel like I am not making progress- I am not excited about my goals or my workouts or meals. I would love to lose about 10 pounds and just really tone up...but mostly I would love to like getting dressed (no matter what the scale says). Right now it is pretty much the worst part of my day- I loathe looking in my closet for something that is going to make me feel like I look good. So I know, wah wah, but please...I need your help! Please give me any suggestions!
(I promise that next week we will return to our regular upbeat posts with useful information for you!)
8 comments:
A couple suggestions...
As long as you can control the portion sizes...cook big meals and eat leftovers. It's usually not much more work to cook a double batch of something than a single, but it's a lot less work than making the same recipe twice. You can either freeze it in single serving size portions or put them in the fridge. Pack extra veggies and things into your main dishes too, to help with keeping your meals balanced if you're eating on the go and it's harder to have a lot of balancing sides.
As far as making friends...people with kids are actually perfect for you. They'd probably LOVE to get together with other adults to play games and such, but it's hard with kids because they usually go to bed early. If I were you, I'd call up a couple, offer to bring a healthy dessert or something snacky (like that no-fat pineapple cake, veggie tray, etc) and see if they'd want to get together at their house for playing games after the kiddos go to bed. Let me tell you, we'd jump at that chance.
Hey Alex,
I totally know what you mean about dreading your closet. Ugh. (It is especially bad when we haven't done laundry in a while and all that's left in the closet are my skinny clothes that don't fit.) :)
What is it exactly you're hoping for suggestions for? How to make friends? How to be motivated to be healthy? Both? My best suggestion (from personal experience at least) is to spend as much time with Nick as you can and not stress about the time it takes away from other things. When I'm feeling swamped and unmotivated (even if it's just about washing the dishes) and I stop stressing about it long enough to spend some good time with Bryan, I almost always feel more excited to do other things later--to wash the dishes and pick up around the apartment and go for my walk or go to lift weights. Spending time with Bryan tends to get rid of the blahs and make me feel happy. And that just makes me feel more energized. Also, it's one of the only things you have immediate control over! As much as it sucks, you may not be able to make new, perfect friends right away or lose ten pounds right away, but you can always spend five or ten minutes (or more hopefully) doing something fun with your husband.
My second piece of advice is to fly us out there so we can play with you! I miss you mucho mucho and am DYING to go and visit you in your new home and go on outings with you and stuff. Plus, it would be a great deal for you to fly us out there now because you wouldn't even have to pay for a plane ticket for the big O! :) Okay, okay, just kidding. But I do really want to see you.
Love,
Katie :)
P.S. Polly is TOTALLY right about playing games at night after friends' kids have gone to bed. :)
Make sure you have 2 pairs of pants that you like and that fit you well - not too tight, but not baggy and fat looking. Spend money on them if you have to. But I can often find something at a thrift store. If you have pants that fit, everything else seems to go better. At least in my life.
What would you really love to treat yourself with? For me, it would be a new soft nightie or a pedicure. And then treat yourself! You deserve it. You don't have to wait until you lost some pounds or gained some muscles or whatever it is that we usually hold over our heads. We are worthy all the time. (I loved the story from general conference about the $20 bill. Even if it's all crumpled and dirty and torn at the edges, it's still worth $20. Even when we're friendless or pudgy or unmotivated, we're still worth $20!!!)
Transitions suck. The only way through them is through them. Are you getting enough rest? Sounds like your schedule is a killer. I like Polly's ideas about fixing a big meal and packaging the leftovers for healthy dinners when you're away from home. And if the suggestion to get together with a couple after their kids go to bed won't work because of your evening work schedule, then get together with a mom when she takes her kids to the park in the morning. She wants some adult company, too!
hi!i a lso moved from the city i was born to the city i now live-it was 7 years ago.it is quite hard sometimes,and you miss people and places you could nt imagine, but it happens.My opinion on making friends is start smething as a hobby, join a group you like(volunteer),and you ll meet eventually some people that could become your friends.good luck!
I hate cooking regularly, but we've (for our family home evening usually) got out a calendar that hangs in our home in a prominent place and we plan meals for the next few weeks. That way we know when we need to go grocery shopping what needs to be on our list, we use what we have and we plan healthy sides and everything. Its all written on the calendar so that whoever is home first can get started on it. We've both been healthier and I've lost 15lbs since the beginning of the year by doing this.
I hate working out in the morning unless I am not doing anything else until at least noon. (I really like to know I have the time to force myself to do it and am not hurried about it.) I'm with you on that one. However, if you can find a mom that wants to go to the gym or swimming early in the morning before kids are up that might be helpful. My mom did that the whole time I and my sisters were growing up.
it's interesting how it's hard to change what's comfortable, and what we know. no matter how healthfully i've been eating, when i go home or hang out with elise a lot, it's like, candy candy candy! i'm in high school again! because that's comfortable and what i'm used to at home, you know? i don't even really want to change it- just want to eat whatever i want and have it be like it always was. is there any of that factor going on here, like, you're really comfortable with your family and nick and you just want to be really comfortable with them? or is this making any sense?
anyway, just thinking about how it's hard to find motivation when it might change comfortable and happy habits.
i definitely know what it's like to be somewhere new and not have friends to hang out with (depressing). the best thing for me has been making sure that i do things that are productive and make me feel like i'm accomplishing something, and having things to be excited about. and lots of walks. doing things that help me feel like i'm living the life i want to live (or at least on my way).
and, i don't know if you're into this sort of thing, but maybe one of those challenges like body for life would be fun and motivating (after the triathlon, of course). i used to do the workouts--check it out!
if all else fails, go shoe shopping. :)
I could have written this post for you almost word for word. I agree with getting a couple of good pairs of pants that fit well and feel good. I'll add that I personally like to use some cool but inexpensive jewelry and accessories to help me look forward to getting dressed a little more. It takes my focus off the the pants. Besides, and a necklace, hat or scarf fit no matter what.
Also, taking your kids to library storytime is a great way to meet other parents who share your values.
Post a Comment