Alright. So it's been an up-and-down 2 weeks past the big run and I've been trying my hardest to stay active. This week's blog is titled "Downhill Slide" for 2 reasons.
#1. I'm on the downhill slide with getting my schoolwork done.
#2. I'm sliding backwards downhill in my workout and weightloss plan.
Anyone who wants to be my shrink after reading all this and analyzing and understand exactly what the hell I'm talking about is more than welcome to. Capiche?
The exciting thing is that by April 23, I should have all of my work turned in for me to graduate with my master's in the beginning of May. However, the work includes finishing a draft of an academic article-worthy paper between 20 and 25 pages long (still working on it so I don't know what it will be yet), 2 written exams based on 15 books of information each, and an oral exam based on those original 30 books plus 10 more for my second minor field in history. All of that within 5-6 weeks!! I'm about to go out of my mind! So I have cleared my schedule of all things fun in order to complete this in a timely fashion. There is a backup plan should things fall slightly behind which would just push me graduating at the end of May instead of the beginning, but who the hell wants to put this off??? I just want to be done with it and move on and for once in my life NOT be in school I've never had that feeling and probably won't know what to do with myself when it's all over, but for the love of God, I'm tired of having these things expected of me when I don't even give a CRUD about it anymore. Just tired of the constant stressor in my life. Ready for the job and real life thing.
So yay for being on the downhill side of that!!
HOWEVER, being in the middle of this school crunch has definitely pushed me back into my old habits when my life was consumed by school work. Now I have no time and am willing to just buy food (never as healthy) instead of cook it for myself (don't feel so bad about leftovers). I have learned about myself that I can only handle so many priorities and certain priorities absorb more effort than others. With schoolwork being my #1 priority, diet and exercise have begun to "slide downhill" (see what I did there...all comes back to the title). I have noticed that when I do go and workout a little, it clears my head and sets me straight for doing better schoolwork, but I've always had this mentality of "you shouldn't be doing anything else until this is done," so I feel guilty when I leave schoolwork to go do other things, which means I can't even really enjoy the breaks I do take. Like right now, I'm thinking this will definitely be the shortest blog to date just because there is sooooo much I need to be doing right now.
I did run on Saturday morning on an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day and it was soooo worth it. I also went to a class last monday that was a full body workout step thing (very similar to bodypump that they have at Gold's Gym). And there have been several times I attempted to eat healthy this past week. My weakest points are dinners. Breakfasts and lunches have always been somewhat set, but dinners are the biggest trouble for me. I know I should be able to be satisfied with a microwave dinner and all that, but I think I've just rewarded myself with food for such a long time when I've been working on schoolwork, that I'm quickly falling back into that again. I've kept from buying anything really bad to have around, which has been helpful, because should I want something really bad, I wouldn't be able to have it and my guilt kicks in and keeps me from running out to buy anything else, however, weightwatcher cakes were not meant to be eaten in groups of 3-4 at one sitting. Know what I mean?
So I'm kind of stuck in between not wanting to fall off the deep end after coming this far, but also wondering if letting myself go just a little bit during all this would really kill me if I definitely make up for it when it's all over. I know I shouldn't think like that, but that's what's going on! It's keeping me from going off the deep end with my diet and it's also keeping me working hard at school. So who knows, maybe this is more of a compromise than anything? I hate compromising my health, though.
Such a conundrum! Any words of wisdom or advice would be helpful, especially if you've been through something like this before. I'm tired of craving oreos because I finished another paragraph. Oh those silly habits! Why did I do that to myself?!
Christmas card
12 years ago
do a quick, simple workout in the mornings. i, personally, am NOT a morning person. however, i have made the commitment to start getting up an hour early and doing my daily reading and prayer AND working on my abs. i figure as long as i'm up, i might as well work out. secondly, i can pray and meditate while i'm doing my ab work. so it does two things at once, really. PLUS, i feel better during the day if i do it. it's just that desire to stay in bed that's getting me. but maybe if you got up just a little early everyday and did some quick cardio or something, you might feel better about your workout because you'd at least be doing SOMETHING and, hopefully, there would be the added benefit of clearing your mind for the day. i'll let you know how mine goes...
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sarah! Even 10 minutes of running helps, and you already said it helps clear your head. Buy frozen yogurt or Yoplait Delights instead of weightwatcher treats or cookies - it's more filling. If you feel you need to treat yourself, buy a *healthy* Subway sandwich for supper. Another good rule for snacks is stick to 100 calories. You can do school and stick to your workout and diet at the same time - and in the end you'll feel better about what you did. You don't want the added stress of not feeling good about your body on top of schoolwork. You look great, too! Your face has skinnied up so much!
ReplyDeleteHi Lindsay! i know exactly how you're feeling. When I was finishing up grad school working out was always getting pushed to the wayside - but in order to stay on track, I just had to make the effort to schedule my workouts into my day religiously. I would go to the gym every morning (at the ridiculous hour of 5 am, but nevermind that) because that way I would get the workout I needed done and out of the way and it was too early to really have a conscious though of "Oh, I should be reading/doing homework/writing/studying/etc. instead," plus it's not like I would be up doing work at that hour anyways, I'd just be sleeping. So, I wasn't detracting from school-work time, just extra sleep time.
ReplyDeleteThat helped me balance things! Maybe it would work for you too!
You're looking great, by the way! Way to go!
Hopefully we'll get to run the October Disney Half together! Whoo hoo!!
- Jamie S
Wow! Y'all are AWESOME! Thanks for the encouragement and ideas! The early morning workout thing sounds like a FANTASTIC idea. I used to go swimming then, but I think a run would be better now. And it's true, it would be more stressful feeling bad about myself on top of school work. Plus, now that I think about it, this will probably add a little more structure to my schedule.
ReplyDeleteY'all rock my face off! And Jamie, I'm SO planning on going even if I have to sleep in my car. I'm hooked!