Anybody a teacher?

FabulousFifty

:happy: I bring my lunch and only buy cafeteria food once in a great while. If I pack it the night before I am not rushing around and have time to plan to eat right. I try to steer clear of the lounge area....I try to keep an apple or granola bar to eat at break...and water, water water!:drinker:

My downfall is the hour when I return home from school....it used to be such a habit of junking out and watching TV for an hour. I try to have a healthy snack and something warm to drink...tea or sugar free hot cocoa seems to fill me up. Then I exercise before dinner. It is getting better but this used to be my darkest hour! Has anyone else struggled in that first hour when you get home from school?:grumble:

pocha0704

I just got back to this thread and friended a couple of additional folks. I do think MFP is working for me.

What I've been doing:
Keeping a big water bottle on my desk and drinking from it often. Hit the restroom while classes are changing.
Stay out of the staff room at peak "treat' times (ours is Friday mornings) when I know there will be temptation.
I used to hit the staff room at morning break, now I only go in at lunch.
I bring my lunch everyday now, most days just a turkey sandwich - there isn't time to fix anything fancy.
I've discovered fruit. A box of raisins works to satisfy my sweet cravings.
I've just started to pitch the birthday cupcakes, it wasn't as hard as I thought ("Thanks, Johnny, I'll save mine for after school." Then I pitch it later.)

I've only tried to tame my eating habits and actually have not yet added in exercise. But I guess I'm ready to add that now since I have had a small bit of success on the eating front.

Those are great suggestion! I hate birthday cupcakes!

theseus82

I'm a certified teacher, but still waiting for that dream teaching job! I currently substitute teach and have to avoid the same temptations from the staff room.

Bring your own lunch and consider popcorn. By the time you've eaten your popcorn, your lunch will be over and you'll be back to teaching!

theseus82

Oops! My post got submitted twice!

ilvpsu

THAT is hysterical! I will get that image in my head now...I am a school nurse, so I don't have classes, but I see the treats in the office.....

caitlinclock

I currently am a sub while waiting for that teaching job, too. Some high school must need a math teacher somewhere!

I go to the library instead of the faculty room to get my work done and bring my own lunches to eat. Often times my leftover home-cooked healthy dinners make all my friends jealous.



I also resist all the things students bring in. I thank them and put it on my desk for later but I give it to a friend or toss it when they aren't looking. I tell myself it isn't worth it and I also have used the germs saying on myself more than once.

pocha0704

I'm in my last year of school as an education major. I've been doing placements and I know what you're talking about! Kids bring in goodies and teachers are constantly bringing in brownies, donuts, cookies, and pastries. It's definitely a battle that I have lost more than I care to admit.

You go to UF? I graduated from there. Proteach all the way!

Annie5859

Hi there,
I'm a teacher too. I teach kindergarten. I can relate with the goodie manifestation. There seems to be always a birthday treat a couple times a month.

jerseyshorenurse

Not a teacher, but a nurse. You know, that nurse who's taking care of your mom while she's sick, so you brought in a box of hot chocolate and a dozen donuts from Dunkin for taking such good care of her? And there are multiple grateful family members visiting my unit EVERY day. It's a constant challenge, and I was SO appreciative of the person who brought us a veggie tray last week. Score!

Moral of the story...thank them PROFUSELY, tell them how much I appreciate them thinking of me, and then PALM THEM OFF on hungry medical students, surgical residents, family members waiting for their loved one to get out of surgery...on whomever I can, really!!! Bottom line, once in a while, I indulge. But just say 'no'....most of the time....it can be very empowering! Important key: always having my own meals from home. Being hungry at work is fatal.

rschmmidt

My downfall is the hour when I return home from school....it used to be such a habit of junking out and watching TV for an hour. I try to have a healthy snack and something warm to drink...tea or sugar free hot cocoa seems to fill me up. Then I exercise before dinner. It is getting better but this used to be my darkest hour! Has anyone else struggled in that first hour when you get home from school?:grumble:

YES! YES! It's the hour right after school, whether I'm at school at my desk or whether I'm at home. I need a snack! It's like some kind of strange habit I got into, "I've worked so hard and now I deserve to treat myself." I could eat a whole bag of cookies or pretzels and hardly notice I was doing it. Gone are those days, thankfully. I have also started drinking the after-school tea - it works.

calcote05

I'm so glad things are working for you! It is so hard at times, but I find myself becoming stronger each time I say no or toss it in the garbage. Valentine's Day was AWFUL!! We had candy, cookies, cupcakes, etc. I really wanted a cookie, but I took the leftovers in the hallway and 2 of our male assistants were standing there. I handed them to one of the guys and said, "Run! Run quickly away so I don't change my mind!" He got a good laugh and took them.

Also, we started a biggest loser at work. $10 a person and whoever loses the biggest percentage of weight from Feb.7 to March 7 gets all the cash. It's at $250. We plan to do it each month until school is out. We get daily fitness devotions and motivational stories. We can use part of it for our healthy schools program, but it was set up just to get those of us with a few extra pounds motivated. It is working though!!

anna_b1

I love the idea of a "Biggest Loser" at work. When I broached the topic a few months ago, there didn't seem to be much interest. In fact, only one other person said they'd take part. So, we now do our own "thing". Lately, I've been trying to turn her on to MFP since Weight Watchers online doesn't seem to be working for her.

Like so many others when I get home from school (before my own kids come home), I'm ravenous. I've really had to work not to eat or to have a yogurt and granola bar instead of the grazing I'd do pre-January.

515TeachNRun

I agree with the witching hour being so dangerous right after school! Tea is a great way to stave off the munchies. I have also started to make sure I have a bit of protein then. Some string cheese and a piece of fruit, almonds, etc.

kwardklinck

I'm a teacher too. Sometime, I let myself indulge a little bit, but mostly I'm able to resist the goodies. The trick is to eat enough and to have your own healthy snacks to counteract the goodies we are exposed to.

WA_Teacher

Welcome to MFP!:flowerforyou:

I teach 5th grade and I have told my students that I'm dieting and most understand and won't offer me the cupcakes and cookies. However, when they anonymously leave me little goodies, I give the goodies to our secretaries. As for the staff room, I try to avoid going in there. When I can’t I ask, “is this really worth my exercise calories?”

For me the killer is stress eating that comes with report card time.

Good Luck!

schotas

I teach 3rd grade. I've actually found it sooo much easier to resist the sweets (our prinicipal and asst. principal have chocolate jars outside of their offices) since I started MFP. Since I can only have 1200 calories per day, I always ask myself if "that" is worth the calories. 9 times out of 10 it isn't. I actually haven't had any candy from those jars since before Thanksgiving. Every once in a while I will give into the birthday cupcake, but then I know dinner will be smaller or I will have to run on the treadmill. I've seen people post the quote "Nothing tastes better than thin feels." That is so true, and the more I lose, the easier it is to pass on some of the stuff at school. Good luck!!!

P.S.--I'm fairly new at MFP, I would love to have other teachers friend me!

emailjayne

Hey! I'm new here and I'm a teacher, also! I'm feeling very discouraged and fat these days but know that I need to do something. I'm afraid that I'm going to fail at this, too. I feel pretty successful in all areas of my life except my weight. I'm tired a lot (because I'm out of shape and don't eat well and don't get enough exercise) so when I come home, I plop down for a while to rest before I fix dinner. Then after dinner plop down again. UGH. I feel too tired to exercise and I'm a "comfort food" eater. So.....I get down because I'm too tired to exercise so I eat unhealthy food!! LOL!! I'm a bit of a mess in this area!!

I'm not as much of a downer as all this sounds! I have a great family (7 year old son and husband who is also a teacher) and great friends! I also have a wicked sense of humor and love to laugh!

I've been trying to focus on eating local food and less processed food (although I can't seem to end my love affair with Cambell's Cream of Mushroom Soup for cooking!!). Last year we did a CSA and ate more veggies than we have in a while. This year, we're going to be starting our first veggie garden. I already have an herb garden. I'm learning to be a more adventurous cook but it's hard with a picky son and husband, so I informed them the other night that I'm going to cook what I want and they can eat it or not!

Would be fun to be in touch with other teachers who have robust senses of humor!
jj

515TeachNRun

Welcome!! A friend of mine gets fruits and veggies from a CSA and loves it. It gives her the excuse to try new things.

A great sense of humor is a must is our career! I'm sure your students are lucky to have you :flowerforyou:

emailjayne

Thanks for the welcome, Kaylynne. How long have you been on Myfitnesspal?

nseuell

I teach fourth grade and found it so hard to resist the lounge treats that I started a Biggest Loser pot at work! The school nurse weighs us each Friday for a dollar, then whoever loses the largest percentage that week wins the weekly pot. Here is the great part- bringing treats to put in the lounge costs another 2$ towards the pot! It's helped us all be better and bring in healthy snacks hope this helps, it is definitely not something you are alone in!

ajborthwick

I am so glad to hear that it's the same for you I'm a teacher and the staff room and kid treats are killing me! I always have such great success when I'm not at work, but when is that. I teach grade one/two and unfortunately in a school where many of the other teachers aren't so health conscious. One loves to bake and the others wouldn't be interested in a weight loss group. I would love to swap support with others who are in a similar boat

atrayubrandy

I'm not a teacher yet but I hope to be next year. I'm going to be getting my Master's in Education so I can teach middle school math. I don't know about the staff room temptations yet but I can tell you that where I currently work, the break room is full of cookies, chips, and soda free for grabs. Not only that but we are given donuts every Saturday and people will bake goodies and leave them in the backroom for co-workers to nibble on. With that said, I work with the healthiest eaters in the world (at least the girls are...the boys are pigs). Seriously, though, I work with about ten other girls and seven of them probably weigh less than 130 lbs. Then there's the three of us average sized girls that look super chunky in comparison. :grumble:

rschmmidt

I teach fourth grade and found it so hard to resist the lounge treats that I started a Biggest Loser pot at work! The school nurse weighs us each Friday for a dollar, then whoever loses the largest percentage that week wins the weekly pot. Here is the great part- bringing treats to put in the lounge costs another 2$ towards the pot! It's helped us all be better and bring in healthy snacks hope this helps, it is definitely not something you are alone in!

What an amazing idea! The guys on our staff would totally hate it though!:laugh:

alisonmo

My sister is a teacher and recently lost weight, she said that she let herself eat whatever she wanted but would only eat 1/3 or 1/2 portions of a cupcake or cookie etc........maybe one of your fellow teachers would share halfs or thirds with you???? good luck!!!