Monday, June 11, 2012

Fat Writer

I'm fat again.

It seems like once every 16 months I go through this phase where I lose the weight and then slowly gain it all back.

I've pinpointed my problems and they boil down to lack of exercise.

Basically, my schedule looks like this:

6:30-9:30am: Get up and write.  Drink coffee.
9:30-10am: Get ready for work.
10am-10:30am: Drive to work.
10:30am to 6:30pm: Work at day job.  Eat lunch, which is usually a sandwich or soup or something that's generally not great for me but not too bad either.
6:30pm-7pm: drive home.
7pm - 10pm: get dinner, watch TV, spend time with Matt and dogs.  This is usually where I go wrong.  I am so tired and hungry that I eat too much and do too little.
10pm-11pm: read and go to sleep.

That's pretty much every day.  On the weekends it changes slightly.  I get up a little later and during my free time I do things like clean the house or wash my car.  But I'm usually so burnt from the week that, after I finish my writing from like 9am to 1pm, I just want to relax.

I know that I need to modify my eating habits.  I usually do well with that for a week or two.  But I fail in that I usually run out of time to prepare my lunches ahead of time.  And by the time I get home, it's too late to make dinner.

As for exercise, I would do better exercising in the AM, but that's when I do my best writing, so I can't sacrifice that time.  If I got up any earlier, I'd have to go to bed earlier and I'd never see Matt, so sleeps later and goes to bed later than I do.

I try to get in the habit of running after work, but I'm so tired that I generally fail at this after a week or two.

So I'm looking for strategies.  Ways to create not just a diet, but a lifestyle that is conducive to being more fit.  I like running/jogging.  Like lifting weights. I have a gym membership at a gym that's open 24 hours.

So far, I've made my writing desk at work into a standing desk so that I'm on my feet for that time.  I can't do the same at my other office, but I try to get up and walk around as much as possible.

Later this week, I'll post my goals and what I'm going to do to achieve them.  Any suggestions from you all would be greatly appreciated!

5 comments:

  1. Can you exercise on your lunch break? Or write on your lunch break so you can squeeze in some morning exercise?

    Preparing lunch ahead of time does help. Also, maybe adding in a healthy afternoon snack would help keep your energy levels up in the evening.

    Even chores like cleaning or yardwork count as activity points.

    I know it's tough losing weight, especially when you're juggling working and writing. My husband and I joined Weight Watchers in January, and it's been very helpful for us. Good luck with your weight loss goals!

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    1. I wish I could exercise on lunch, but I'm salaried and don't often get lunch. I'm lucky in that my boss accommodates my writing schedule and lets me come in late and stay late rather than the normal 8-5, so I usually don't get to take a lunch break. And even if I did, there's no shower around the office, and down here in FL, you're practically soaked when you step outside in the humid head.

      I'm going to plan meals better. Part of my problem is that I get tripped up so easily. If I forget to shop on Sunday, I may not have time the rest of the week, which sets off a chain reaction of crappy eating :)

      I've thought about Weight Watchers. Is it really that helpful?

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  2. I have no idea what to tell you. I'm pretty much in the same boat. My day job is 6AM - 3PM, and there is no time to take lunch. I can, and sometimes do, workout after work, but because of the tiny amount of sleep I get during the week, I'm too exhausted most days. Weekends are an option, but for some reason I can't motivate. I do get a lot of writing done on weekends, which I suppose I should give myself credit for, but it would be nice if I could manage to work out AND write.

    Oh well, maybe someday writing will be our jobs. Except then, there'll probably be even less free time.

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    Replies
    1. Ha! I think you're right about having less free time. I find that I get less done on my weekends when I should have more time to get stuff done. Sigh.

      It's hard when I was skinny for so much of my life. I'm not sure how to handle being overweight.

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  3. I can't speak to weight loss, but when I went from doing manual labor to being a student I amassed some quick and dirty exercise/activity strategies to keep from going stir crazy. The best for me:

    http://hundredpushups.com/index.html

    Pushups, situps, squats, and now they added others and have apps. I just cranked them out in the morning while between coffee apparatus assemblage and percolation. Kick start the ol' metabolism, and gain muscle surpsingly quickly. Muscle eats fat. Also calories.

    During the day if I can get away with it I'll sprint up and down a couple flights of stairs. If anyone catches you say something jargon-y about endorphins, stress reduction, and productivity levels.

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