Gained a little weight feeling hopeless need to vent

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triggerasynapse
triggerasynapse Posts: 15
in Motivation and Support
I’m feeling really frustrated. I really need to vent.I gained a little weight over the past two weeks and I took my measurements and I’ve gone up a smidge in my waist and hips.
This downward spiral started a few weeks ago. The nor’easter that hit took out heat and hot water at my mom’s where I was staying for the weekend. Then the neighbor came to say that the garages were being flooded and we should move the car. We took the elevator down and the water rushed in up to our knees. The power shorted out and we were trapped. Firefighters had to rescue us out of there. It was scary but aside from being soaked, cold, embarrassed and a bit freaked out we were ok. In the 15 years we’ve lived there the water has never reached the elevator, much less been deeper than ankle deep in the deepest spot. Returning to the apartment, we then lost power as well and it was a rough night. Whatever exercise and food I had planned just flew out the window.
The following weekend I had to work both Saturday and Sunday which was then a total of working 12 days in a row. This was tiring stressful and problematic for my ‘diet.’
I moved to the city last September and I live with a roommate and we don’t really have a functional kitchen. I have one shelf in the cupboard and one shelf in the fridge and I can fit 2-3 small/medium containers in the freezer (my roommate has specifically asked me to not buy any frozen meals because there isn’t space for them in the freezer). I don’t keep food in my room because I don’t want any bug problems and the room is often above 85 degrees, so I don’t think anything would keep well there. The oven is used for storage space and the range is small but ok but my roommate’s pots and pans are…not really useable- the non-stick surfaces are coming up. I tried to cook some scrambled eggs once and half the eggs were stuck to the pan I couldn’t get them off until I stuck the pan into the sink and scrubbed that way. I would buy/bring some of my own, but there isn’t any space. My roommate is a little bit special when it comes to the kitchen/cleaning stuff, but otherwise she is very nice and understanding and we get along well. If I could afford a better living situation I would already have changed it. The only real issue I have with the place is the kitchen situation. So unless I win the lotto, this is where I’m going to be for at least another year or so.
Through January I was eating out for lunch and dinner every day. Given the circumstances it was all I could do. There was also an unbearable smell in the fridge that seeped into everything I put in there-luckily my roommate went away and I threw out everything she had that was spoiled and scrubbed the whole thing down like it hadn’t been –what looked like at least 5 years. Now that the smell is gone and the fridge is useable, it’s better.
I got sick of eating out and decided I would learn how to cook. I made a few attempts in the city, but found the only thing I could really manage was to travel to my mom’s (~2 hours away via public transportation), use her kitchen and then haul my meals back to the city every week. I could make about 6-8 meals a week and then just pick up some fresh fruits and veggies in the city. I’m not even complaining about this. I decided I was going to commit to eating better and the practically immediate results were rather inspiring.
The problem is that since the nor’easter and then working through last weekend, I made it to my mom’s this weekend, but I just didn’t have it in me to go grocery shopping or to do any cooking. My mom and I spent a lot of time finally cleaning up after the nor’easter and we just ate out for 4 meals this weekend. So I’m back in the city now and I don’t have a single home-cooked meal and I am feeling very discouraged about how I could even figure out how to cook anything with only a microwave and a pot for boiling water. I’m sad about losing the progress I’ve made and not having a solid action plan to get back.
Has anyone lived without a functional kitchen? Is there anything I can do beside eat out every meal (I’m not ready to start a raw food diet right now-I’d like to eat my idea of normal). Due to some complicated issues I can’t go home and cook until the weekend of the, 17th, so it’s a long time before I can go to my mom’s and cook again.

Replies

  • tutujoli
    tutujoli Posts: 104 Member
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    Woah! That's a lot to deal with all at once.

    Can you buddy up with a friend and do some cooking ahead tha way? I would stalk craigslist for a dorm fridge w/a freezer. They show up all the time SUPER cheap.
  • karenjoy
    karenjoy Posts: 1,840 Member
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    you can cook loads with just a microwave and a hob (I assume that is what you mean by a stove top?) You can steam veg in the microwave, or boil them. You can scramble eggs in a microwave, cook all sorts of things on the stove top. Look for recipes online for stove top dishes. I lived for 3 weeks with no kitchen other than a microwave with 3 children and my husband and managed to cook all sorts of things. It takes some patience and inventiveness, but it is possible. Your situation sounds not ideal, could you not get a small fridge in your bedroom if space in the main fridge is an issue? like a mini drinks fridge? it would give you room to store extra food in your room. I suggest you get a decent frying pan, you could keep that it your room too if your room mate has issues about stuff like that. Try not to get down hearted as all you will see are reasons why you CAN'T do something, look for solutions that are possible and you will be just fine. :-)

    http://busycooks.about.com/od/onedishmeals/a/moreskilletmeal.htm

    http://busycooks.about.com/cs/onedishmeals/a/skilletmeals.htm

    http://community.tasteofhome.com/forums/t/74220.aspx

    http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/preparation/stovetop-recipes
  • tayner
    tayner Posts: 372
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    there are alot of options, you just have to be creative. First off, eat a nice salad every day, for lunch or dinner... that is the perfect place to start.. no cooking required, and you can just buy the bagged mix if you'd like...

    second, use the internet... find microwave recipies... they are out there and usually quite simple... http://www.hungry-girl.com/hgsearch.php?keyword=microwave for example.

    and stop with the excuses... you might think of them as reasons, but really, they are excuses. Not saying they are not good ones, but they are still excuses. If you really want this to work, make it work....

    and good luck to you
  • junipuni
    junipuni Posts: 264 Member
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    First of all, give yourself a break! That is a lot of stress to deal with in a short period of time. And that's not even talking about the living situation you are dealing with on a daily basis. If you absolutely can't cook and have to eat out until you go to your moms again just make the best choices you can.

    Other ideas - buy a small fridge/freezer combo for your room. I would also get your own pots and pans and try to store them either under your bed or in your closet. I had a hard time in college when I was living with 5 other girls and sharing a small fridge and kitchen. My room was small too but I made it work. Got a fridge for my room and everything was organized. I got rid of everything I didn't need and utilized every inch of that room - back of the door, under the closet, added shelves, etc.

    But as far as the weight gain goes - just get back to your good habits and try not to let it bother you. I can't imagine many people that wouldn't gain weight in that kind of a situation. You're doing great so far, you can do this!
  • Leigh14
    Leigh14 Posts: 871 Member
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    My kitchen is fully-functional, but I am not able to use it. I completely understand!! My boyfriend's mother and grandmother moved in with us "temporarily" and have been there for almost 2 years... his mom has completely taken over my livingroom, kitchen, laundry room and downstairs storage. I, too, have to travel to my mom's house to cook (and do laundry). It's a miserable situation.

    Do you work somewhere you could store some frozen meals? Or sandwich fixings? Anything? Or, maybe you could hook up with some friends once a week till you can get to your mom's, go over to their house and cook! Make it fun - maybe have a bunch of people together and cook for everyone, while making a batch of meals for yourself for the next week.

    Good luck!! I know it's hard to live without a kitchen - especially when you're trying to focus on eating better and getting healthier.
  • artsyuno
    artsyuno Posts: 20 Member
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    How about getting a rice cooker? They don't take up all that much space. Not only can you make brown rice or quinoa in it, but many can be used for all kinds of other things, even chicken. I'd make some kind of grain in advance in the rice cooker that you can reheat in the microwave (I keep cooked quinoa on hand most of the time, because it has protein and I can toss avocado or broccoli in it), then use the cooker to make some source of protein and steam some veggies in the microwave.
  • triggerasynapse
    triggerasynapse Posts: 15
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    Wow, you guys are all amazing! Thank you for the support. I feel better and a bit more able to tackle my new challenges now.

    The extra fridge is impossible- it's a pre-war building and I have one outlet in the bedroom-pretty sure even a small fridge would fry it, plus the room is ~6'x10', so there is not much space. It's an illegal sublet (shhh!) so I live in the 'bedroom' and my roommate lives in the other room, so there isn't any common area space and I can't complain about things not being up to code.

    On the plus side- I live in a very safe neighborhood just one block away from a nice park (total motivation to go there) with a walkable distance to work/school, so the fitness portion of fixing my life is built into where I'm living now.

    But I think I can get away with getting one decent pan. Being a novice cook is really challenging to adapt or be inventive! I lived on popcorn, granola bars, frozen dinners and cereal for years because I didn't know how to cook. I'm kind of ashamed of myself for never trying before. Still the links for recipes are great; I never know where to even begin with looking for things to cook because there are so many sources out there.

    I don't have any friends; that's another one of those things I need to work on. I mean I know people, just no one within 150 miles of where I live now. I've never been good at the whole friends thing. I guess that's something else to ask about in another post- are friends really important in losing weight? I haven't told any of my friends or co-workers that I'm trying to make these changes in my life; I'm afraid that everyone will say "Oh you look fine, have some cake." Plus if I did meet people with the same goal I'm worried I wouldn't be good enough to support them on their end.

    Again though, I am so appreciative of the incredible support here. Thanks so much for all the tips and taking the time to read my rant.
  • lculian
    lculian Posts: 313 Member
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    Wow, you've had some major stress in your life! You should be proud of yourself for your continued commitment to wanting a healthier life:smile:

    I recently helped my sister set up a Make shift kitchen, she lives in San Francisco and has no roommate. She has a mini fridge, dorm room size and a sauce pot and a soup pot, You can pretty cook anything with those two pots. We bought her a toaster oven, they are small and cheap and you can cook / bake almost anything you want in them. Cooking may take a little longer than your recipe says, but you'll get the hang of it.

    My favorite toaster oven recipe is a healthy pizza, One pizza usually feeds me twice. I use 1 8" boboli wheat pizza crust, half a pack of holy guacamole(green salsa flavor) half of a red bell pepper that I sautee in a small amount of olive oil, 1/2 lb of lean ground turkey brown with taco seasoning added. I cover the pizza crust with the guac, throw the pepper and taco meat on top and add a small amount of cheese on top, and cook in the toaster oven until heated through. I swear I could eat this almost every day! Half the pizza has about 470 calories and leaves you full!!

    Don't let a fussy roomie side track your goals!!! Lots of luck to you:flowerforyou:

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