working everyday, all day

Saltfae
Saltfae Posts: 82 Member
edited November 30 in Motivation and Support
So, I had an emotionalmy induced hiatus from all things healthy.

I worked two jobs, one full time one part time, and never had the willpower, energy, or time to eat right or exercise. Now that I lost my full time job, i have the time and energy to get back into it. Ive been buying healthy foods and cooking again. Working on the exercise part.

My question is directed to the people who work all day everyday, and are never home. How do you do it? How do you do it? What helps you stay motivated to cook, clean and work out?

I am open to all suggestions, of all types.

Thankyou, and hope you are all splendid

Replies

  • MaternalCopulator
    MaternalCopulator Posts: 125 Member
    www.soylent.com makes breakfast/lunch really easy for me, and I look forward to a good healthy dinner. It's great, as long as you can get over the fact that it's a human byproduct.
  • sunshineraej
    sunshineraej Posts: 89 Member
    Crock pot!!! I do some prep work for meals on Sunday, if I have the time. I have a Weight Watchers cookbook called "One Pot Meals". Every single thing I have made from that cookbook has been delicious! It's become the favorite cookbook of me, my husband and my daughter. There are some items that need to be bakes but pretty much everything else in there, I just put in my crock pot.
  • Karyn1120
    Karyn1120 Posts: 184 Member
    Hi Sun_child!
    My doctor told me to walk -- doesn't matter how fast or how far -- but to do a straight 30 minute walk every day. Don't know if you can incorporate it into your day, but It's been one of the best decisions/commitments I've ever made.
    I also make a lot of my own meals now. Cutting out the processed foods has made a difference both in how I feel and on the scale :)
    Good luck, and feel free to add me as a friend!
    Karyn
  • USAMcK
    USAMcK Posts: 80 Member
    Full-time work at all hours of the day and night and full-time school with lots of homework, here.

    You just get through it. There is no magic, unfortunately.

    Simplify your life and home. Throw out anything you don't use or need. A place for everything and everything in its place. Before plopping down after work, do your 20 minutes of cleaning and get it over with. Do dishes before bed so you're inclined to prepare your meals the next morning.

    Don't sign yourself up for obligations. I love my family but I only get to see them once a week or once every other week. Sometimes just for a quick lunch at home or a stop-in before work. Every two or three months we make big plans. Two weeks from now we're all taking a day trip 2 hours away because the matriarch is in town. We get to spend time with her, the kids, the brothers and sisters and go on an adventure we (my boyfriend and I) will also enjoy. I wish it could happen more often, but, as it stands, that's it.

    Resign your days off to be chore/errand days with some downtime mixed in. On the rare occasion my bf and I have a day off together, we go out for brunch or coffee and bagels then run a couple hours of errands. We pepper in fun pickups for supplies for each of our hobbies and then do the drudgery of shopping for groceries, hygiene supplies, cleaning stuff, etc. Go home, unload, relax for dinner, watch a movie, what have you. Then we get back to what's got to get done. We try to make some time to go hiking with the dog but it doesn't always happen, despite the hiking spot being a 15 minute drive away.

    I've found the most important thing is SCHEDULING. Schedule time for yourself and each other. We cook together and have a cute little dining area where we can eat and transition into our crafty hobbies. He paints his guys for tabletop gaming and drafts his battle plans or plays with his camera and edits photos, I sew or make essential oil beauty products or color. Yes, color. In a coloring book. ;)

    I would say 6 days out of the week are 100% full of things we just HAVE to get done. One day a week is a good mix of chores and errands and fun time. It's not nearly enough but that's how it goes.

    When school starts again in the summer, I'll be back to being overwhelmed and undersleeping. So will he, but it's his first semester back in a decade so he doesn't know what he's in for yet. Couple all this with the fact that I work anytime between 6am and 11pm and he works overnights. :/

    In 3-5 years, we'll both have new careers and new routines that will be stressful in their own ways. But it's either you accept that or go live in a van down by the river... Which we have very seriously considered. lol!

    You can do it. just keep chugging along. Keep your kitchen clean and buy healthy groceries. Count your calories and log everything. Work out when you can. Sleep as much as you need to whenever you get the chance. Make time for yourself and the restorative activities. If you don't MAKE time, you'll sure as hell never FIND time.

    Cook chicken from frozen on 400F for an hour on a roasting rack so all the juices drip off. Roast your veggies or a potato in there, too. Keep meals simple. A meat and a veg. Do 2-minute soba noodles once in a while with some tamari and peanut butter and lime juice. I sweeten mine up with a Tbsp. of coconut palm sugar and chop in some green onions with a pair of scissors. Snack on ready-to-eat produce like carrots or apples or bananas. No cooking required. Get a stick blender and blend up a scoop of unflavored, unsweetened protein powder with almond milk, some stevia and whatever fruit you like. Frozen blueberries and spinach is a favorite. Weirdly, add a Tbsp. of cocoa powder and a few drops of peppermint extract and it tastes sort of like an Oreo. Very weird and very good.

    Basically, develop recipes that are quick and easy and require less clean-up. But DO clean up before bed. ;)

    Hope these suggestions help and get ya thinkin'. Cheers. ;)
  • distinctlybeautiful
    distinctlybeautiful Posts: 1,041 Member
    My schedule just changed, but before that I was out of the house at 5am and back home between 6pm and 7pm.

    I never really cooked though. Breakfast was almost always a protein bar and a piece of cheese; morning snack was yogurt with granola; lunch was a protein shake; afternoon snack was cottage cheese, sometimes with a veggie mixed in. Those were all eaten out of the house. It wasn't difficult for me to do that because I was going to have to pack lunch one way or another. Weighing everything was tedious sometimes, but I like numbers and data. That made it easier. Dinner was really my only unplanned meal, on work days anyway, and even for that I hardly did any real cooking.

    As for working out, my situation was unique. The hubby and I share a car and both worked on base fifteen miles away from home. He had to be there at 6:00 and I at 8:00. Going home after dropping him off would just have been a waste, so I really didn't have anything to do but work out. I did cardio and stretching in the mornings, and after a while I found that I really looked forward to waking myself up that way. Then the hubby and I would lift after work.

    I think what's been the most motivating is seeing the progress I've made. I got some momentum going. I don't want to lose the progress I've made, and I'm excited to see what else I can do!

    I know my situation isn't typical, but now that I've written it, here are the generalizations I take from it. Remind yourself that you're going to have to eat one way or another. You're going to have to put energy into planning your food intake one way or another, whether it's planning and making time to drive through somewhere or planning and making time to pack food. With exercise, I'd say finding someone you enjoy working out with and who's similarly motivated is a huge help with consistency.
  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
    I just lost 3 day weekends every week, bumping from a 40hr week with one whole day just to myself (my partner worked on my day off), now a 50hr week. I keep my life simple, I clean as I go and I prep food in advance (but also keep it very simple). My biggest pet peeve is a dirty kitchen so that's my priority. If nothing else gets cleaned but the kitchen it was a successful day.

    On the weekend I cook a big batch of chicken breasts and chop them, divide into 200g baggies. Then I can add a salad or broccoli easily and I call that good. Usually I add a sauce to the broccoli and chicken mix, like alfredo marinara or peanut sauce.

    You just make it as easy as possible when you know you're going to be busy. Plan ahead and prep what you are able. I don't procrastinate anymore, I just do it when I have time.
  • martanner
    martanner Posts: 12 Member
    I get bored so easily when I'm not busy. I work at least 65 hours per week (I'm a first year teacher with a second job). I don't watch any TV. I work out on the days that I only work one job and I cook healthy for me and my boyfriend on nights I don't work at my part time job. That's just who I am... I NEED to be incredibly busy or I'll go crazy. My favorite hobby is buying and selling vintage housewares and collectibles, and I somehow have time for that. Can I ask how old you are? Make sure you get enough sleep so you have energy for cooking cleaning and working out everyday! Find a workout buddy and invite people over so you have more than yourself to cook for... its really hard to cook for one.
  • Saltfae
    Saltfae Posts: 82 Member
    Thankyou all, these were actually really helpful and informative. I'll make a schedule. And I'm good. No soilent green for me.
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