Busy Teacher In Need of Advice/Support

KatyAverill

I'm a first year first grade teacher, and I usually work from 6am until 5pm Mon-Fri. I speed eat during my lunch break because I don't have much time to eat after dropping the kids off and I have to monitor the lunchroom every other day. After school, I'm exhausted. It takes everything in me to stay awake until my husband gets home (at 6:30) and to stay up after that. I've fallen into a very bad routine of getting a latte and a donut and/or a muffin after school. It's junk and it has become a habit. I would love ideas of healthier things that I can look forward to after an exhausting day. I also definitely need tips for dealing with the long hours (60+ hr weeks including planning time) and not feeling like death afterwards. I need to have more energy, feel better, and get healthy. I have PCOS and my husband and I have been TTC for the past 7 months and I know that getting healthier will help. I'm just so exhausted.

girlviernes

Man with PCOS that way of eating is just going to make you even more tired. Could you cook some mains on the weekends? I do some simple recipes and cook about 8 portions, for example chicken + lemon, butter, rosemary, garlic and veggies baked, ground turkey mixed with spices made into patties, etc. Then I mix them for meals with fresh produce and about 1/2 cup of starch (corn, grains, potato, pasta). Allrecipes.com is useful for finding easy recipes and making a shopping list.

skinnyD2308

Yup, the best way forward is meal planning/ prep. Made a huge difference for me. Also plan a snack for after work and pack it with you lunch so you're not stopping for a latte and a donut. How about an herbal tea and a protein-granola bar? That latte and donut depending on size would be about 600 calories, allow yourself a 200 calorie snack instead. Something you like.

Sabine_Stroehm

First, if you're not a member of the PCOS group here, join: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3070-p-c-o-sis

Second: teaching shouldn't be an 11hour day (I'm a teacher). You've got to pace yourself some how. Use your aide better, ask for an aide if you don't have one. Somethings gotta give. And I agree with girlvierness: your "habit" isn't helping. Especially with PCOS. (and let's be real: what happens when the baby comes!)

My hubs and I each work two jobs. We're pretty busy.
We cook a LOT on Sundays. Including things like frozen vegetarian burritos (hubs will make a whole batch of them!). Crockpot meals. There's lots of ways to cook in bulk in advance. If you're trying to conceive, you need to be healthy! Best of luck!

hollyrayburn

And after school pick me up is great, especially for you hard working teachers, God bless you!!

How about having a Baggie of (weighed out) almonds? Or some beef jerky? Do you have access to a fridge at work? Take some Greek yogurt. All these foods are high in protein, which will help with the energy. The latte and donut are carb city. Know how ya feel sooo tired after that huge Italian pasta meal? It's those carbs! Just one small change, like replacing your donut will work wonders. Good luck, let us know how it goes!!

shelldes74

Sister don't burn yourself out. I have been teaching for 6 years. My boss told me my first year to leave it at work. It will be there tomorrow. 11 hours is too long. I mentor a new teacher at my school and I tell her the same thing. I am new to this eating right thing too. Good luck.

drabbits3

Oh honey-I understand! I have been teaching for 13 years--I remember!!! Now I have two teenaged sons and a husband who travels for work all week--I understand busy! What saves me is weekend cooking and making double of everything if possible. Typical items I make are whole wheat-flax banana muffins--easily portable (could sub for your donut!!!), overnight oats--I usually make 3 jars, jar salads--make 3-4. I might put dry beans in the crock pot and make a pot of brown rice for beans and rice lunches. Hard boil a bunch of eggs. I might make a big baked pasta casserole or a pot of soup or chili. My latest obsession is these breakfast egg bake things-layer hash browns, veggie sausage, cheese (or not depending on what calories you want), top with 6 eggs beaten with a little milk. Bake for an hour, maybe more in a 350 oven. Squares of that warm up great for any meal. I probably spend 3 hours on a Sunday afternoon and makes all the difference in the week. I second having baggies of almonds or a small number of crackers already portioned out. Another thing I keep in my desk is healthy multigrain instant oatmeal. If I am really pressed for time, I can eat it for breakfast and lunch and certainly on my free periods for a small calorie controlled snack/meal.
And for gods sake leave that classroom earlier!!!!

vgnfarmer

Yes to above posters. I'm a teacher too. I set goals for myself about how long I will stay working. First week leave work by 6, September leave by 5:30, October leave by 5 and so on or one can get into a neverending planning/exhausion. Or maybe you can plan to cut things short a few days a week (Tues/Th) and get workout in instead?
I eat half of my lunch quickly during "lunch" and eat the rest immediatly after the kids go home. This takes the edge off of afternoon hunger for me. I also eat a substantial snack/small meal pretty soon after around 5 so that I can last hunger and energy wise till BF gets home. During lunch I don't check emails or make copies. I sit and relax even if its just a few minutes. Good Luck!

RodaRose

Also, hire someone to clean your house once or twice a month.
That way you can have some time to cook and care for yourself.

leeleerowe

I'm also a new teacher and I'm a grad student. At the beginning of the school year, I worked around 70hrs a week. Adding in grad classes on top, I didn't have time to do anything. After feeling like my fitness level was down, I have recently made some adjustments to my schedule. I now leave work around 4/4:30, and I only allow myself to work a maximum of five hours on teaching stuff during the weekend. Two days a week, I stay until 5:30 for longer prep periods because my evening classes are close to where I teach.
Things that helped me:
- cutting back hours
- Switching my morning coffee "breakfast" for a homemade protein smoothie. It holds me off AND curbs the want for something else (coffee cake)
- Walk 10-15min before going to work. I've worked my way up as I've gotten used to it.
- Three evenings a week, weight train/run
- Push-up/jumping jack competitions with students.
- Cook crockpot meals during the weekend

Good luck!

Marianna93637

I'm also a teacher, and this is my 3rd year, but every year seems like the first planning wise, because we keep the same kids (continuation school) so I can't teach the same things for at least 3-4 years. I don't spend nearly as much time at work as you, but I know how you feel. We just started school 2 weeks ago and I already fell into a bad habit of not eating anything during the day other than coffee with creamer, or something small like an apple or a banana, or drink smoothies if I make them (but they're low in calories so they're not really enough).
When I come home I eat, I end up right under 1400 calories, and most of my calories are consumed after 2 pm. The good news is that I log everything, and i don't eat bad food (no junk, fast food, donuts, etc).

So here are some of my advice that I'm also going to take for myself lol
- when you cook dinner, always cook more, and you can take leftovers the next day. You can also make another serving and freeze it, so some other time you can just grab it and heat it up.
- Make a huge salad and fill 5 small tupperware containers, so you'll have a salad for every day at least. You just have to grab one every morning. Keep a bottle of salad dressing in your classroom.
- buy granola bars, protein bars, trail mixes and other lower calorie healthy snacks, and keep at least a week's worth in your desk. Portion out crackers, dried fruit, etc and prelog them. You can keep them in your drawer for quite a while in ziplock bags.
- try to make smoothies the night before, they're best when made fresh, but honestly they'll be fine for 2 days or even more after. They're easy to consume, you don't have to sit, etc., but can be very filling and nutritious. You could just make them with protein powder and almond milk (or whatever other kinds of liquid)
- is your school ok with you eating in your classroom? If so, don't be shy and drink a smoothie, or eat a granola bar while the kids are working, you don't need to rush and you can eat before you get very hungry or exhausted.
- have lot of water at school, keep a few bottles and if you have a fridge, keep them there.
- if you have a fridge (I bought one last year) it makes a lot of things easier. Store yoghurt (non fat Greek is best) and it will be there when you need it.

My main issue now is that I'm too exhausted to go to the gym, I should be there right now taking a Zumba class, and I'm too tired

You probably have to eat more. When you work as a teacher, you're on your feet all day long and you burn a lot ore calories. I started logging right before Thanksgiving and in 3 weeks (right before winter break) I lost 8.5 lbs. I was eating 1400-1450 calories / day, very little exercise. Then during winter break i reduced my calories to 1300 and started doing a lot of cardio: didn't lose not one lb in 3 weeks. We went back to school, upped my calories to 1400 and lost 3 lbs in the first 4 days.
So you might not be eating enough and that's also a reason to be tired.

As far as planning: just in case you haven't met, let me introduce you to www.teacherspayteachers.com. it's full of lesson plans, activities, unit plans, everything. There are things for purchase of course, but there are TONS of things for free. It will save your life, and there are more things for elementary than anything else. I teach high school and I still find good stuff all the time.
And the things you would pay for, you can buy a 1-2 month unit with everything (all activities, assessments, presentations, everything) for $3-5. It's a life saver.

arditarose

Ugh. I'm a certified teacher but not using my degree, I was seriously about to start looking for jobs in the public school until I read this post...sigh.

I completely understand you about wanting yummy satisfying snacks when you're that exhausted. I needed one today. I ate a whole bag of beef jerky. Got some protein and I think the whole bag is only 240 calories (I also had a hot chocolate and 2 wedges of laughing cow cheese ha! Great "snack"). Anyway, I've learned to make a snack go a long way, that was basically a meal. Instead of getting the donut or muffin, I got something I could equally enjoy for about the same amount of calories, but that was basically dinner.

jaimekbee1219

I'm an aide in self-contained ABA - but also a home ABA therapist with a one hour commute and grad school (thank god for online learning!) so I get the long days and bringing work home with you since I write the programs for one of my clients. Oh and I have PCOS.
- I second the recommendation of the PCOSis group. I've learned a lot there and it's just nice to have a supportive community of women who understand how much PCOS sucks.
- I also second weekend meal prepping! I'm kinda at a loss right now because I cracked the ceramic part of my crock pot AND I'm attempting (poorly) to do LCHF... But when I was better at things I would make a big pot of soup on Sunday. And pasta sauce. I'd also cook a grain that way I could just add whatever meat and/or veggies I wanted during the week. My husband works nights (and is also in grad school) and I get home at 8pm three days a week so I try for simple. Cooking for one is never fun for me so making big batches of food on Sunday works better.
- I recently made egg and veggie muffins as a low carb snack for when I get to work. I froze the whole tray of them and just nuke them for 30-60sec when I get to school. String cheese is also a great snack! I used to bring a jar of almonds and dark chocolate but we're nut free this year...

Good luck!

Xiaolongbao

Another teacher chiming in here.

I prepare all my food on weekends. I take my lunch every day. There was a reasonable investment in plastic containers to allow this to happen but I've been using the same ones for years now. It's a bit of a joke where I work because I eat a LOT and subsequently drag massive amounts of food to work on Mondays. I do that because virtually no-one else uses the fridge (we get free lunch as part of our package, I just chose not to use it) and it clears out my home fridge. In other schools I've had to take in lunch every day.

Every day I eat a pretty large salad (so 5 decent sized containers) and something else (eg last week it was a baked potato each day, the week before an egg/zucchini/carrot bake). That's my main lunch. I also have a few pieces of fruit. A boiled egg and lots of nuts available each day. The fruit has to either be quick to eat (eg banana) or prepared so I can eat bits at a time (eg a cut up apple so I can eat a bit in 5 seconds and then eat the rest later if needed). Right now I'm doing the Whole30 but if it wasn't for that I'd also take a container of chickpeas each day (which I cook myself from dry). I can easily shove a spoonful or two of those into my mouth in a minute or two if I'm hungry.

Like I said I eat a LOT. But it's all pretty healthy.

It's a vicious cycle. The healthier you are the more energy you'll have to cope with the hours. The more energy you have the easier it will be to be bothered to prepare healthy food.

First year teaching is pretty rough. It will get better. I'd never claim that it turns into an "easy" job (I'm in about my 14th year... the fact I can't exactly remember probably means I've been doing it too long!) but the longer you do it the more confidence you have and the more you're also able to streamline your own procedures etc.

Good luck. (oh and what is TTC?)

Anahita_Swims

I love all this advice... about not working as hard clearly its very different there not only do lessons all need to be at least good at my school marking has to be both regualar informative and a dialogue between the teacher and the student so im a maths teacher if i set 10 questions and the pupil gets them all right I'm questioned on why i let my pupils do work that is to easy. if they get some wrong you have to identify the error explain it give and example of a problem worked through correctly then give the student the opportunity to have another go... this response much be done and acknowledged. all errors must be tackled in this way... and as i said if pupils get it all right you asked why you gave the child work that was to easy!

now i have 7 classes of 30 and you have to do this every week for each class that you see for 3-4 hours a week.... oh and you must set a homework that has to be teacher marked and differentiated.

I honestly dont know how people do this all with only 3 hours planning and PPA time... Oh and each lesson must have a written lesson plan.

Typically day
5:45 Get up
6:00 Walk dog
6:30 Breakfast / dress etc
7:00 Traveling to work
7:30 30 mins prepping for the day collecting photocopying etc.
8:00 Departmental meeting
8:20 Staff meeting
8:40 Pupil supervision duty
8:50 Form time
9:10 Lesson 1
10:10 Lesson 2
11:10 Quick break for loo coffee tidy up usualy detain a pupil for no homework or lateness etf
11:25 Lesson 3
12:25 Dinner again detail pupils for no homework lateness etc then eat dinner and get ready for the afternoon
13:05 Lesson 4
14:05 Lesson 5
15:05 Revision class for exam students
16:00 Marking
17:30 Home time quick dinner
18:00 Walk dog
18:30 finish marking
19:30: Planning for the next day and writing lesson plans
21:00/23:00 depending on how much work there was to do collapse in exhaution!

twice a week I got to the gym this adds 1 hour and a half into the day...

its alright people saying prep up at the weekend but if you have 7 class and and marking each set takes about 3 hours that leave 3 sets still to do at the weekend because we cant mark on a Monday because we have meetings all evening till 18:00

so thats 9 hours of the weekend gone and then cleaning the house and all the washing and ironing you neglected during the week oh you have only 6 hours sleep in the week so you need to catch up on the 8 hours deficit you have so sleeping for 10 hours each night at the weekend oh yes then you have to do the grocery shopping... and you should work out because your trying to loose weight and its the weekend so you have the time right... thats 4 hours gone so now you have about 8 hours left of your weekend.... do i really want take 2/3 of those meal prepping?


Vent over... its not easy i feel for the OP I think teachers who say leave work at work are very lucky to be able to do that but if you work in a tough school thats under a lot of pressure its just not possible to reduce your workload because I do all the above and im still on a 6 week improvement plan because my marking isnt up to the expected standard....

Its all very frustrating because if you have PCSO here and your overweight you will not be helped to concieve till you shift the weight and remeber PCSO really doesnt like you loosing right

I work out 4 times a week and I do 15k steps everyday I eat healthy and clean which involved a lot of cooking from scratch and yes i only loose very very slowly and water hormones affect my weight a lot. I've lost 7lbs since christmas only

so i suppose the key thing is just keep going done keep junk in the house so your not tempted to snack ill be honest i function a lot on coffee and i find vitamins help with energy levels

jumblejups

I'm not a teacher, and I don't have PCOS - but, I have long days and an autoimmune condition that is negatively affected by a poor diet and by certain foods that I can't have (like wheat) that make picking up foods on the go more tricky. I make food, drinks and snacks at home to take in, but I also wanted to reiterate about finding snacks you can buy and stock up on. I personally couldn't (or don't want to!) find the time to prepare absolutely everything, so I buy pre-portioned foods that work for me and can be taken on the go - popcorn is a favourite of mine, fruits like bananas and tangerines, oat bars, raw food bars (Nakd is one example, no idea if they're an international brand), protein shakes can be good for keeping you full. For something more substantial, like for after work, you can do things like make sandwiches, wraps, filled croissants, and then freeze them; quick to prepare, and if you make a week's worth you can take one out the night before and they should defrost and keep during the day, without too much hassle to you. Also filling foods for lunch that can keep you going without crashing - personally I am a fan of chickpea pasta and sweet potatoes (separately as my carb, not together!), lots of veggies, and some white cheese or lean poultry.
-
Good luck with TTC

Cytrix

I feel you all. The school year is about to start for us here in NZ and I'm determined not to fall into the bad habits I had last year - eating biscuits at morning tea in the staffroom, stopping at the supermarket after work and buying a carb-loaded dinner because I'd feel too exhausted to do anything once I got home, drinking way too many cups of coffee...

I've been meal planning since the start of this year and I've got to keep it up. I know the main thing for me will be having healthy snacks at work to keep me going - hard boiled egg for morning tea, something to nibble on once work has finished, and drinking lots more water (even though this invariably means having to go to the bathroom far more often!). At least I'll be back into moving more - I'm quite interested to see my step counts from my fitbit!

mezeade

I feel so badly for you guys teaching in the US who work such crazy hours and have second jobs. Wtf??? We have a good Union movement here in oz so teachers are paid well and have decent conditions. Honestly, kudos to you all. Back on topic, I tub up my lunches the night before and also have little weighed bags of nuts for snacks. I also always have tins of tuna and salmon on my desk in case hunger hits or for rare days that I forget lunch because our canteen is awful. I also have a zillion herb teas stored on my desk.....you know how much tea/coffee we teachers go through! Sometimes thirst masquerades as hunger. Also I have a piece of fruit for when the bell goes at 3.15 as I have a meeting most afternoons and this stops me raiding the chockies at the meeting table!! Oh, also hard boiled eggs or roast chicken drumsticks can be prepared at the weekend and are great high protein but low cal snacks.

aubreyjordan

I'm a 3rd year Kindergarten teacher. I understand the drain that age group has on you. I worked similar hours my firs 1.5 years. My first year, I put on a ton of weight, lost it during my second, and now put it back on from the end of the second to now. It can be just so easy to get fast food or stop at the gas station.

I do love coffee, but I try to limit it. If I really need a cup, I'll make it with a little bit of skim milk and Splenda. Otherwise, Green Tea has caffeine like coffee which could help give you that bump in the afternoon. It is also so good for you.

I try to stick with high protein, low carb which has worked for me in the past. In the morning I will try to have a whole grain of some sort. The other day it was an Atkin's Protein Chocolate Chip granola bar. I had not restocked, but they are delicious for only 200 calories and 16 g of protein (I think that's how much).

I am a super picky eater so my meals look pretty much the same every day. But what I do for lunch is either 2 hard boiled eggs or 2 servings of Publix's reduced fat salami. Both high in protein, low in carbs. I pair it with a 80-100 calorie Greek yogurt (Yoplait now has 100 cal Greek Whips which I cannot get enough of!). Then a serving of carrot sticks and light ranch. Sometimes I have a cheese stick. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it is highly packed with protein, so I do feel full (and drink lots of water!)

In the afternoon, during their snack time, I have a serving of fruit. Then after they leave and I do any afternoon duty I have, I will have an IdealShape Chocolate shake with unsweetened vanilla almond milk. With the vanilla, I cannot tell the difference between that and skim milk when mixed. IdealShape has a hunger blocker in their shake, so that will usually hold me off for dinner.

For dinner, I use Tyson's pre-cooked chicken breasts found in the freezer section (I CANNOT stand the sight of raw chicken and will not eat it if I've seen it raw - I know, weird). So I pop 1-2 in the oven for 2 minutes. I have a side of the green giant steamers veggies that you nuke for ~5 minutes and some brown rice I made with chicken bouillon. I make a lot of rice and refrigerate it. When I heat it up, I just add a little water so it will be tender again

Marianna93637

Those teachers who stay after school: you MUST plan a meal for right after school.

Weather your job is easy or tough, you have adrenaline rushing through your veins all day long, and that gives you energy. It takes 27 minutes to subside, and then you crash.
So what happens is that the kids are gone, you have still have all that extra energy, you start straightening up, organizing papers, plan all the things you're going to do and then half an hour later you crash and now you feel hungry, you need something to keep you going.
If you have junk food stashed, or a vending machine, donuts or bagels at the lounge, chances are you're gonna eat a lot of it.

This is when you pull out your extra serving of chicken with rice, or veggies, or sandwich, protein shake, cheese cubes with apples, protein bars - whatever.

I work from 7:45 - 2, first period is 8:15, and they're gone by 1:55. This is a continuation high school, with at-risk students, who have been expelled, locked up, on probation, most in gangs, etc. The administration is awesome, and flexible on lessons (she trusts us to do our best, so we don't need to submit lesson plans, etc), but the students can be very difficult (and they are most of the time pretty amazing). But it can be emotionally exhausting.
I usually stay until 3 (that's when I pick up my daughter from her high school), sometimes I stay until 4, and there are days when I'm out of there right after 2. But when I stay, I'm saved by that extra snack. I have granola bars in my drawer, fat free Greek yoghurt, and low calorie drinks in my fridge (BAI5, if anyone knows what that is, 5 calories / serving, antioxidants, potassium, etc and it tastes great).
So even if I don't pack anything, I have a stash lol