Hello, my name is Kate! I just graduated from West Virginia University with a Masters in Education and a Bachelors in English, and my goal is to find a full-time teaching position as a secondary education English teacher. Because I have dedicated the last 5 years to a dual degree program, I have had less time to focus on myself. I am nearly sixty pounds heavier than I was when I graduated from high school, and believe me it has been a very self-deprecating and stressful road trying to get myself back to the size I used to be. I wish I could go back in time and slap my senior year self for thinking I was fat then, when really I was at a healthy body weight and looking great!

Now that I am no longer the student, and I am trying to focus my energy on developing a healthy lifestyle so that the weight will come off and stay off. I've been working out almost every day since I graduated, and I'm trying to focus on only buying groceries from the perimeter of the store (not in the aisles, where all of the processed food is) but it's really tough and I find myself constantly searching through my kitchen for less healthy snacks.

I am hoping that by joining this group I can find a little more motivation to get my eating habits and body back on track. God knows I will all of the energy I can get when I finally get a classroom of my own!

Hello all!

I'm very excited to have joined this group. My name is Sam and I just completed my first year teaching! (Celebrate!) I teach English at a Catholic high school and feel so fortunate to be working there during a time where teaching jobs are so hard to find (I applied to over 40 schools before landing this job last summer).

My issue is that during the school year and being a track coach during the spring semester I had no time left! I would even contemplate about working out at 4 in the morning, but I needed to wake up at 4 in order to lesson plan, prepare, or grade for my 3 preps.

My goal this summer is to make exercising and cooking meals habitual. Many nights during the week during the school year I would be on my way from work at 5 pm, or on my way home from a track meet at 10 pm that I would swing by any local fast food place to pick up something really easy. I want to implement daily exercise and meal planning so that when the next school year starts it won't seem as difficult to "change" since the "changes" will already be implemented.

I would love any input you all may have! Especially fast, healthy recipes for dinners. My husband is diabetic; therefore, I would like to cook things that would be great for the both of us!

And a question for those teachers that have been in the field longer than me-- does the 2nd and 3rd year get a little easier? I love my job, but I it was VERY tiring come the end of the school year.

Please feel free to add me as a friend! Positive reinforcement is always the best route to take! :-)

Jaceface27, if I am lucky enough to find a teaching position I will be entering my first year of teaching (not counting 3 years of student teaching.) First, kudos to you for tackling track too. Here's one way that you can kill two birds with one stone. During track practice, run with your team when you get the chance. I know that the track coach at my student teaching placement did that, and he always seemed to stay in shape because he ran just as much as the team.

As far as meals go, I remember when I was student teaching I would always come home exhausted with a huge pile of homework from my students. Is there any chance that your husband can chip in for making dinner? It would give you a little extra time to relax and a little more time to get some of your grading and planning done that you normally have to do at 4 AM.

Hello! My name is Emily and I am blessed to be starting my first year teaching after 4 years of working retail while searching for a job. I know the pain, stress, and dissapointment of not being able to find a full time teaching job. IT SUCKS! I know I am lucky because I worked a job I loved the past four years while waiting, but I started becoming depressed about not teaching. My new teaching job is a PERFECT FIT though, and now all of those "no's" I heard for years finally make sense because I have heard the perfect "yes". My heart reaches out to all of you struggling with finding a teaching job.

Starting in August I will be teaching 6th geography, 7th world history, and 8th U.S. history at an Illinois Catholic grade school. We are implementing Understanding by Design (which I actually learned in college) and starting Standard Based Grading (which is new to me) so lots of newness and stress. Also, I am going through a painful divorce. I weigh more now than I ever have in my life, and I'd like to weigh about 30 pounds less soon.

Hi, my name is Heather. I am working on my masters in education, and start my internship in January. I will be teaching high school English once I am finished with my program. My weight loss goal is to lose close to 100 lbs and then to also tone, and maintain healthy eating and living habits.
I am looking for people who can be weight loss buddies through MFP, and solutions for "snacks" and meals on the go. Since I am a student, and work a full time job, its hard to pack a lunch that wont go bad, and I find I turn to fast food WAY more often than I should between work and school.

Hello everyone! I'm Shana, a second year music teacher. I work mostly with K-8, and am presently working on expanding the program into the high school. I teach band, chorus, and general music as well as give lessons. I love my job and working with the kids, its something I've wanted to do since I was in middle school. My job now is very challenging with being the only music teacher within my district, but I've always been one who has loved a challenge. Starting in January I will be beginning my master's in music education, which I'm very excited about.

Good luck to those of you who are searching for jobs, I know how hard it can be, it took my two years to find mine. That time was really hard for me, I put on about 40 lbs in that time, and I was already overweight. That's why I'm here though

Feel free to add me, and best of luck to all of you teaching.

Hey Everyone!

I'm Angelica and I'm a 2nd grade teacher teaching in Atlanta, Ga. This is my third year teaching and by far the most challenging year yet. My work hours are from 7:00 - 4:00 and work on my Master's degree two days out of the week. I try my best to get to the gym after work, but once I'm on my way home, I'm exhausted and no longer feel motivated to hit the gym. I'm a huge stress and emotional eater, thus since working I have gained 20 pounds. Since being on Winter Break, I have been in the gym every day and eating healthier, but once school kicks back in gear in January, I know these habits will change.

I'm looking forward to meeting all the young teachers like myself, who have advice and motivation for me. Talk to you all soon

Hi guys!

Well, I'm a certified special education and elementary education teacher in Illinois. I'm currently working as a special education TA, and hoping to find my first official teaching job soon. This is my first day on the site and I have high hopes for it. Although I'm only a TA, I struggle managing my application-stress and on top of that I'm taking 9 credit hours towards my ESL endorsement. HECTIC. I guess I'm just looking for some encouragement - from people who understand.

Erin

Hi, I'm 23 and a first year teacher in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I teach 4th grade in a private catholic school in the city. I'm finding that eating a balanced diet is so hard because of how much running around I have to do all the time. It's been a really horrible winter up here with a lot of indoor recess, so nothing like having 10 minutes to eat, gather my thoughts and run to the bathroom. I'm sure I am not the only one in this boat. I'm looking to keep myself accountable for what I eat and some people who know what it's like to be encouragement for me!

Elizabeth

Hi! I'm Jesse, a 7th grade teacher in Monterrey, Mexico! This is my first year teaching and I'm beyond nervous. Besides starting my first year teaching, I'm planning and preparing for my wedding, which will be this December! I'm almost exactly 4 months away from my wedding and I'm ready to make a change. I want to model healthy eating and living habits for my new students. I can't wait to learn about teaching and heathy living from more experienced teachers!