Hello All,
You know when you realize it's time to change again? I am having one of those moments now. It's not as dramatic of a change as my decision to start my diet in July, or to move to Maryland with Derek... I just need to make some adjustments.
As you may know, I was hell-bent on losing 40 pounds by Valentines day and being 170 pounds. I wound up at about 171.5 pounds, which seemed close enough to celebrate. I got very dressed up and went out to eat at a fancy restaurant. I started out by ordering healthy food... but it went downhill from there. The food was so rich and delicious and abundant that I felt a primal compulsion to keep eating and eating and eating! I am going to lay the scale to rest for a while, but I feel I may have undone some of the progress I worked so hard for - temporarily.
Another setback: My job search. So far, I have only gotten one interview ... which I thought went GREAT! I was so excited about the job and I felt that I performed well. They told me it might be a while before they got around to second interviews for candidates, because the woman who would be performing them works out of state most of the time. So, as I continued to apply for jobs, I held out in hope that I would get that amazing job.... but I didn't, I just found out today by calling the office and asking directly.
So: I am going to make some changes, both to my diet approach and the way I live my life.
1. Eat MORE food. I have recently stepped up my exercise to the point where I am burning over 600 calories per cardio session, which feels great. I also go to the gym almost every day unless I am sick. However, this past month I did not adjust my food intake to meet that reality, and as a result I was starving. I was so focused on not going over my calorie budget that some days I fell asleep while significantly under it. I woke up from dreams about pasta feeling ravenous. I justified this with my desire to lose forty pounds. Well, I didn't quite make it there and then I self-sabotaged when I overate on V day. So: I need to focus on SUSTAINABILITY. Eating enough to keep my body healthy and happy, not feeling like I am going through a famine.
2. Eat MORE fruits, veggies, and protein. I was doing better about this earlier in my diet, but now looking back at my food diaries, I see lots and lots of carbs. They are mostly good carbs like brown rice, but brown rice alone does not a healthy diet make. I need to focus especially on re-inserting green veggies to my diet every single day.
3. Spend MORE time working! Yes, you were right, I need an established structure. I truly do. Realizing that I did not get the job I interviewed with, and am back at square one, really hit hard. So, my days from this next week on:
7-8:30 - Get up at the same time as Derek and get ready to have the day. This includes healthy meal prep, showering, finding workout clothes, deciding what to work on, and eating breakfast.
9:00 - 1:00 - First working session. May work on getting a job (preferably) or art work, but may not doddle.
1:00 - 2:00 - Lunch and food prep for dinner
2:00 - 3:40 - Go to the Gym (That extra forty minutes around exercising is for walking to and from the gym).
3:45 - 6:30 - Second working session. Either swap with first session or continue job search. (I do want to work some art into my days... but I need, need NEED a job soon. So for now I want to make searching for work my job!)
6:30 on: prepare dinner, tie up loose ends, relax with Derek.
I realize this is not a very ambitious schedule. It has fewer working hours than a full time job. I will adjust it upwards if I need to. Sadly, it is still more work than I have been doing of late. When I successfully follow through with this next week, I will be increasing my productivity a lot!
4. Weigh myself LESS often. Specifically: I want to give up weighing myself for lent :) I have eliminated the most dangerous excess weight from my frame - in fact, even if I put on two pounds yesterday (which seems unlikely), I am still thinner than I have been since high school. (pats self on back). So, I want to focus on continuing to kick butt in the gym and really forming a sustainable diet. My weight loss phase isn't over, but I want to underscore to myself that this is not a "diet" in the vernacular sense - it is a lifestyle change. It is something I am doing for myself for the long term, not just a short-term race for a lower number on that scale. Then on April 1, I will weigh myself and hopefully be pleasantly surprised! But part of this challenge: I will not set and obsess over a certain number I want to see on April 1. Rather, I will set the goal to continue losing weight and getting healthier, which I KNOW I can attain.
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Today and this weekend, I am going to work on having better writing samples. Although I write well, I don't really have many samples that are an appropriate length and both generic enough to apply to many jobs and specific enough to be interesting. I am also going to go through my cover letters and make some templates that are engaging. It will be a writing-prep couple of days!
Thank you for reading. This is an important blog for me, and these changes will really help. Hopefully soon I will need to make some more dramatic changes because I will HAVE A JOB, and I will need to work continuing my healthy habits around that ;)
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you are doing great. There is no way I couldn't weight myself everyday, even if I am not obsessing about the number. I need that check-in. Even though I know my body better than I ever have, it helps me just to check in and make sure everything is where I expected it to be. Good luck with that!! Let me know how it goes.
How filled-out are you cover letter templates? It is important that your cover letters are as tailored to each job you are applying for as possible. With all of the job searching I have done, I have never developed a template for a cover letter. Make sure you are reading the ads carefully and that your cover letter addresses the things specifically requested in the ad. Also do the same with your resume. You may want to tweak your resume for each ad you answer. I am sure they teach this in school these days, but a lot of companies use computers to scan cover letters and resumes. They are looking for key words and phrases. That is why it is so important to make sure you are responding well to the specific ad.
I am glad you have a schedule. I think it looks reasonable. I am sure you will be a lot more productive because of it!!
Your blog is great. I enjoy reading it and getting to know you!
Love, Aunt Roberta
Thanks Aunt Roberta!
ReplyDeleteYeah for me, the amount of water I have in my body really fluctuates. It made it look like I gained four pounds right before my period! That was no fun. Anyways, this is just an experiment... if I feel myself sliding off course, I will go back to weighing myself.
You are probably right that I need to focus on tailoring my cover letters more. Part of me is paranoid about making a stupid mistake like a typo, and not getting the job for that reason. Maybe the solution to that is to sleep on each cover letter overnight and then re reading it in the morning.
Have a great day!
I have hired a lot of people and, from experience, a form cover letter not tailored to the job opening is a big turn off. You write well, impress the hiring manager with the fact that you are the right person for that job. You get one chance. That cover letter is as important as the resume. Keep it brief, the first 20 seconds he or she spends reading it is key. Good Luck!!
DeleteAll good plans.
ReplyDeleteThis is a rough economy. You might have to broaden your search and work outside of your field until things get better.
Try fruits, veggies, and protein for breakfast. My smoothie this morning had frozen strawberries, small apple, banana, spinach, frozen broccoli, Greek yogurt, almonds and a 200 mg caffeine pill. I add water and fill up the blender. I drink the whole thing, about three glasses. I am dehydrated in the mornings, so the fluid bolus helps. I won't be hungry again until noon.