Seatbelt extender wake up call

tdh85yzhkc

Hi all, I’m Tammy and I’ve been a member for a while but after this weeks work trip I have upgraded to premium. Was on a flight and ended up in a seat that had a shorter seatbelt. I COULDN’T BUCKLE IT! I was so mortified, that I swore I have to fix it!

A bit about me! I am a finance director for a largish Saas company and I oversee the order to cash process! I work from home but I work ALOT! So I sit all day. At the same time, my husband is currently entering a second year battle with melanoma cancer and just got into a trial at Moffitt which is 2.5 hours from home. Today a day one of the trial and it’s not going to be easy. He struggles with mobility and rightly with anxiety and fear over the outcome. I’m a girl who has been clinically depressed (controlled with medication) for more than half
Of my 50 year life. So I get it. And my own mental state doesn’t help me at all when. Spend so much time trying to be positive for him!
My own health and wellbeing has taken a back seat to his, my now adult kids and my job for too long! I’m one to eat whatever i can get my hands on because I didn’t make time to plan a meal. I don’t know crap about healthy eating and I get overwhelmed thinking about meal prep and meal plans, and working out. But the time I’m done working I just want to sit in the couch and relax.

So I’m short, fat, tired, anxious and aging! ( 5’1”, 240lbs, 53 years old) How’s that for a combo? I have got to get healthy to help support my hubby who can’t control his health issues right now. I have to do better starting NOW! As I type this I’m in the car at 4am headed to moffit in Tampa for the first treatment in a clinical trial my husband has been accepted into.

I need to do this! I need to get healthy and in better shape to be the rock of this family right now. Praying I have the gumption to make this happen!

Lietchi

Well, it sounds like you already have the 'why' part of the journey figured out, great start 🙂

I would suggest thinking of some gradual improvements you could make, to how much/ what you eat and/or your activity level. Gradual changes are more likely to stick for long-term weight-loss than a total overhaul of your life. Especially since you already have a lot going on right now!
Meal prep/meal planning can be kept to a minimum. Heck, even 'healthy' food isn't strictly necessary - just lowering your calorie intake is enough to lose weight.

I don't know enough about your or your habits to give many very concrete suggestions.
But some ideas:
- I suggest getting one of those desk treadmills or under-desk bikes for starters. At least you could get some activity in while working those long hours?
- As for food: with limited time, think of easy options. I have a range of easy microwave meals I can choose from in the supermarket for a reasonable amount of calories. I buy pre-cut vegetables sometimes to save time/hassle. Even takeaway can be an acceptable option: a poke bowl with lower calorie ingredients, a pizza but splitting it over two meals and adding a salad on the side,...
- perhaps don't focus as much on what you should eat less of, and just start by adding vegetables and fruit to your current range of foods for some added nutrients?

Take baby steps, Rome wasn't built in a day 🙂

Trueper

Hi Tammy

I’m sorry to hear this. Everything sounds pretty rough.

I’m coming to end of my weight loss period now, but will always be here as I have to log calories for maintenance purposes as I don’t have a healthy relationship with food.

May I suggest a few of changes you could make that may help you mentality and physically? These are changes I have made that help me. I also work office based.

I go for daily walks of approximately 3 miles. They take me 50 minutes but when I first started they took over an hour. I try and walk at fast pace. I wear a Garmin watch with a heart rate monitor. So I can track my exercise and calorie burn. The plan is to walk with an elevated heart rate. You can wear headphones and have a moment of mindfulness to yourself. With kids and a job I found I had to change my routine and get up at 5am to walk. Which has not been easy but now I enjoy it.

Secondly I have substituted a lot of the daily carbs in my life for steamed broccoli. I buy bags of frozen broccoli and if I was having pasta I would have the sauce on broccoli. Basically I watch my macros. High protein, reduced fat and reduced carbs. Doubt this has helped me stay satisfied for longer.

Finally I also track my weight daily. I accept that sometimes there are ups and downs and it is the overall trend I am looking at.

I hope this helps you. Remember you can always ask your medical practitioner for guidance too.

It is important you do this so you can be strong for yourself and your husband.

Reach out if you’d like to connect. Happy to share my diary with you.

Good luck!
S

flandersschoolofthought1

Hey Tammy, so nice to meet you. So sorry to hear of your husband’s health challenges. Based on what you shared you are strong and a fighter. I’m here for the same reason as you are gotten older 38 years old now, three babies later I went from a size 120 to 185, it doesn’t seem much but I’ve passed my normal BMI and when you see yourself in pictures and don’t like what you see, it just hits different. Rooting for you Tammy !!!

AnnPT77

tdh85yzhkc wrote: »

Hi all, I’m Tammy and I’ve been a member for a while but after this weeks work trip I have upgraded to premium. Was on a flight and ended up in a seat that had a shorter seatbelt. I COULDN’T BUCKLE IT! I was so mortified, that I swore I have to fix it!

A bit about me! I am a finance director for a largish Saas company and I oversee the order to cash process! I work from home but I work ALOT! So I sit all day. At the same time, my husband is currently entering a second year battle with melanoma cancer and just got into a trial at Moffitt which is 2.5 hours from home. Today a day one of the trial and it’s not going to be easy. He struggles with mobility and rightly with anxiety and fear over the outcome. I’m a girl who has been clinically depressed (controlled with medication) for more than half
Of my 50 year life. So I get it. And my own mental state doesn’t help me at all when. Spend so much time trying to be positive for him!
My own health and wellbeing has taken a back seat to his, my now adult kids and my job for too long! I’m one to eat whatever i can get my hands on because I didn’t make time to plan a meal. I don’t know crap about healthy eating and I get overwhelmed thinking about meal prep and meal plans, and working out. But the time I’m done working I just want to sit in the couch and relax.

So I’m short, fat, tired, anxious and aging! ( 5’1”, 240lbs, 53 years old) How’s that for a combo? I have got to get healthy to help support my hubby who can’t control his health issues right now. I have to do better starting NOW! As I type this I’m in the car at 4am headed to moffit in Tampa for the first treatment in a clinical trial my husband has been accepted into.

I need to do this! I need to get healthy and in better shape to be the rock of this family right now. Praying I have the gumption to make this happen!

I empathize in so many ways, as a formerly-obese, formerly-unfit, cancer survivor and cancer widow. I'm now retired, but back when all that hot action was happening in my life, I was in a high-demand, long-hours stressful job.

I got kinda fit after stage III cancer (and the full-bore treatment) in my late 40s, already widowed. I stayed fat until I was 59-60.

The thing I'd say is that popular culture overcomplicates what we need to do to improve. All of those marketers - the ones making all the noise - want to convince us it's super hard, super demanding - so we'll buy their diet plan, exercise program, supplement . . . or even just let them sell our eyeballs to advertisers. They claim it's hard, but they have the magic solution.

IME, IMO, it's not that complicated. We can do it on our own . . . and it doesn't need to be thar hard, really. Just incremental.

Food: How about a rotisserie chicken (good for multiple meals) plus some frozen veggies, with some herbs or other calorie-efficient flavor enhancement. Easy, nutritious. These days, there are meal services, or even pretty-nutritious frozen meals from the supermarket. Some of them are short on protein or veggies, sure: Add some cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, tuna, whatever for protein; add some extra frozen veggies as a side - you're all set. Hard boiled eggs: Make a bunch, add them to pre-washed salad greens, some cherry tomatoes, with maybe some pumpkin seeds or dry-roasted soybeans for crunch, low-cal vinaigrette dressing. That's easy.

I'm on board with what others are saying about mild exercise breaks in your work day (like a few minutes walk, working up to half an hour or so - bonus points for fresh air or natural light, but walking exercise videos at home are good, too). Ditto for small bits of exercise, or things like the under-desk pedal thingies, or even a standing desk option. Increased exercise doesn't need to be punitively intense to be beneficial. Standing is better than sitting, moving is better than standing - any amount.

Honestly, minimize the gumption - or willpower, motivation, discipline, or structure - that this will take. It doesn't have to be punitive or miserable. Think "how can I make this a little bit better and pretty easy" and build on that incrementally. I'm betting you've done things like this in your career, family life, education and more: Tiny steps that build on each other and get you to a better spot, gradually, over time. You can amaze yourself by how far you can get in that way in a few months, let alone a year or two.

I'm cheering for you to succeed: I'm betting (based on experience) that the payoff will be worth the effort. Hand in there, you can do this!

bobboyardee

sorry to hear about your husband. just sending a virtual hug your way!