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teaching and weight gain
Hi all, I hope I am not alone with this but has anyone else gained a lot of weight since starting their teaching job? I am about to start my 5th year and its loke omg what happened. Maybe its the stress of the ecnonomy and cuts, maybe its the not having much free time, maybe its because im a home ec teacher and cook all year long. Over the summer I planned to diet and be healthier instead I am trying on my teaching clothes from last school year and nothing fits. its like ahhh.
Thanks for listeing to me,
Stephanie
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Posted 8/10/12 9:59 AM  |
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Jillybean28
LIF Adult
Member since 1/06 1018 total posts
Name:
Jill
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Re: teaching and weight gain
 My weight changes seemingly year to year; it's always a struggle. At my heaviest I often worried and stressed about standing up in front of the room, all eyes on my, as I lectured. Kids can be cruel, especially high school students in an alternative high school where I teach. If they want to hurt your feelings, they always seem to go for the weight comments. When I was pregnant they thought it was ok to make fat jokes to my face! UGH  I just did my best to feel good about myself and to remember that I was ultimately doing something meaningful.
I do diet and exercise, but I have to say that with our crazy schedule and children at home to boot, the crockpot really helped me. I was/am able to have healthy, homemade meals even on my most hectic days.
Good luck to you! I'll be thinking of you Stephanie. Sending you my very own "weight loss/ will power/ feel good" dust your way! 
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| Posted 8/10/12 10:24 AM |
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teaching and weight gain
Thank you so much for your response. I teach in the highschool too and trust me I know how mean the kids can be. I know I need to figure something out because it is getting out of control. I have been what you would call thin. Im 5'8 and usually kept my weight just below the dreaded 200 lbs before I started teaching. Howver thats long in the past now. Went to the doctors on Wed. and well I guess shouldnt say I was shocked, because I know I gained a lot more this past year but seeing that I weighed 318 lbs was a slap in the face. I guessI was in denial about it for a long time and now I need to change it
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| Posted 8/10/12 1:14 PM |
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NAK729
LIF Infant
Member since 9/11 113 total posts
Name:
Nancy
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Re: teaching and weight gain
I feel the same way! When school starts, my schedule goes all wacky. Between after school meetings, extra help, and tutoring, I don't get home until at least 7pm each night. By that time, I don't really want to cook, but if I do cook, then we aren't eating until 8 or 8:30 and then I still have a bunch of stuff to do before I head to bed and all the wackiness starts again! I know that people say that you have to make time to exercise and eat right, but damn, how do you do that?? 
This is my 11th year teaching and I really just want to fit in my clothes from the start of last year!! I've been trying all summer to eat better and exercise, but the scale isn't moving.
I'll take any and all suggestions!!
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| Posted 8/10/12 2:46 PM |
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SJSM
LIF Adolescent
Member since 1/09 764 total posts
Name:
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Re: teaching and weight gain
How funny! we both have the same name and teach the same subject area.
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| Posted 8/10/12 10:13 PM |
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nel
LIF Adult
Member since 5/06 1173 total posts
Name:
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Re: teaching and weight gain
Posted by NAK729
I feel the same way! When school starts, my schedule goes all wacky. Between after school meetings, extra help, and tutoring, I don't get home until at least 7pm each night. By that time, I don't really want to cook, but if I do cook, then we aren't eating until 8 or 8:30 and then I still have a bunch of stuff to do before I head to bed and all the wackiness starts again! I know that people say that you have to make time to exercise and eat right, but damn, how do you do that??
This is my 11th year teaching and I really just want to fit in my clothes from the start of last year!! I've been trying all summer to eat better and exercise, but the scale isn't moving.
I'll take any and all suggestions!!
It sounds like we have very similar (very crazy!) days. The only way I manage to keep myself under control is shopping for lunch for the week and making it for myself in school everyday (we do have a fridge/microwave in our office), and I also force myself to wake up at 5 every morning to run on the treadmill. (I am so in denial that that's happening again soon...) I run Monday - Thursday and then one weekend day. (You can't begin to fathom how much I love Fridays just because I get to wake up at 5:45.  ) I'd gained a lot of weight in '06, and in the summer of '08 I committed to losing it. I've pretty much kept it off ever since due to the lunches and the running. But it's hard. I wish I didn't have to wake up at 5; that's for sure. 
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| Posted 8/10/12 10:52 PM |
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fdnywife
Mommy of 3 and 4 rescues
Member since 9/09 1841 total posts
Name:
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Re: teaching and weight gain
I dont like to go back to Sept b/c I think I gain during the summer. When Im working and in a routine I dont have a free minute to snack, so I have the typical lunch and dinner. During the summer I stuff my face all day! We do the biggest loser contest during the school year at work too.
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| Posted 8/11/12 9:33 AM |
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PennyCat
Just call me mommy :)
Member since 7/08 19084 total posts
Name:
Jib
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Re: teaching and weight gain
When I was teaching, I found I put on weight simply because I had NO TIME to prepare healthy meals. I was getting up at 5 or so to get there on time.. and then with my 2hr commute home, I'd get home and take an immediate nap- otherwise I just couldn't function for the rest of the night. By the time I got up, I had to do prep work or grading .. and of course I wanted to spend time with my dh. I took in food every night. I wanna say there were 3 consecutive school years where my oven got used only a handful of times.
I can't fully blame the job for my weight gain ... I was also loaded up on fertility drugs.... However, I have stopped teaching AND stopped fertility drugs and between the two, I lost all the weight!
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| Posted 8/11/12 1:03 PM |
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rsquared
Sweet P is here!
Member since 4/11 2026 total posts
Name:
R
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Re: teaching and weight gain
Posted by fdnywife
I dont like to go back to Sept b/c I think I gain during the summer. When Im working and in a routine I dont have a free minute to snack, so I have the typical lunch and dinner. During the summer I stuff my face all day! We do the biggest loser contest during the school year at work too.
I have so much more time to workout in the summer, but I am such a boredom eater. I snack all day! Plus I am home with DH who likes to eat and I end up eating like him. During the school-year, I have night class two nights a week, so I get vegan food or something healthy, but when I am home with the hubs, I cook and eat a lot more meat, cheese, etc. I also snack less when I am teaching-who has the time to eat! I end up working on IEPs or compliance stuff during my lunch and doing lesson planning, etc. on my prep, so I am lucky if I get a chance to eat a real lunch. While I probably eat better during the school year, I hate it in terms of exercising. I leave the house before 6 and get home around 5, so by the time I get home, I am shot. I force myself to get a workout in, but its really tough sometimes. I am physically so drained from the day, commuting, etc. I didn't really factor it in my workouts too, but my commute has a lot of walking/stairs, and being home, you don't burn as much.
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| Posted 8/11/12 2:41 PM |
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drpepper318
MIR MIR MIR!
Member since 6/07 8274 total posts
Name:
me
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Re: teaching and weight gain
When I was teaching, I'd always put on some weight during the school year, due to stress eating after work & also during the summer, I'd just have much more time & energy to work out. But even now that I'm not teaching anymore, I find I still gain weight in the winter & lose it during spring/summer, so I guess it wasn't the teaching alone that was making me fat!
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| Posted 8/12/12 7:08 AM |
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sarahbelle
Little drummer boy
Member since 5/05 2377 total posts
Name:
Sarah
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Re: teaching and weight gain
A few years ago, a group of us got together and created a weight watchers group. A meeting leader came at 7 to weigh us in and hold the meeting. It was much easier than going to a center and created a supportive community in the school
Do you think any of your colleagues would be interested?
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| Posted 8/12/12 2:26 PM |
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CAMCaps
Live Laugh Love Run
Member since 6/07 4922 total posts
Name:
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teaching and weight gain
I think the most important thing is to get yourself into a routine during the school year and to stick to it. I know easier said than done, but that is what is key.
For me, I am a creature of habit. I (more or less) wake up and go to bed at the same time every day. I run/workout after school M-Th and then also go for a run on Saturdays and Sundays. I say start out with small goals, go for a walk in the evenings. If no one will go with you, grab your cell phone and chat with your friends or family as you walk. Also try to prepare your meals ahead of time. I make sure I do not bring junk food with me because I know I will eat it. Also make sure you set up times to eat. So many of my colleagues say they never have time or they forget to eat. Schedule it. You can easily snack on a granola bar, banana, string cheese, when grading papers.
You have 3 weeks of summer left - you still have time to start on a new path. It takes 28 days to make something a habit.
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| Posted 8/12/12 7:49 PM |
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Jan1975
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Member since 8/09 3846 total posts
Name:
Sarah
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teaching and weight gain
This year I am going to keep my fridge at school stocked with lettuce and veggies so I can make a salad everyday. Perhaps bring in tuna or something to spice it up. I feel if it is already there (stock in on Monday), I have no excuse. I also like to snack, so I always keep yogurt or almonds around. It is hard, I gained 10 lbs this year after getting back to my pre-baby weight! I am so angry at myself. I have done nothign this summer. FYI There is a groupon on NYSC that i am going to get today lol!
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| Posted 8/13/12 11:19 AM |
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rsquared
Sweet P is here!
Member since 4/11 2026 total posts
Name:
R
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Re: teaching and weight gain
Posted by SweetApril
This year I am going to keep my fridge at school stocked with lettuce and veggies so I can make a salad everyday. Perhaps bring in tuna or something to spice it up. I feel if it is already there (stock in on Monday), I have no excuse. I also like to snack, so I always keep yogurt or almonds around. It is hard, I gained 10 lbs this year after getting back to my pre-baby weight! I am so angry at myself. I have done nothign this summer. FYI There is a groupon on NYSC that i am going to get today lol!
I used to keep my fridge stocked with those small things of brown rice and on Monday, I would bring a container full of rinsed black beans and I would eat rice and beans with hot sauce and an avocado for lunch (almost) every day. I would bring a coconut yogurt or a shake/smoothie for breakfast. It ended up being so cheap and easy. I also make a big pasta or quinoa salad with tons of veggies on Sunday and bring that for lunches all week sometimes. I also have at least one of the Amy's frozen things in my school freezer, in case I forget lunch, so I don't end up eating by school (which is bodegas, McDonald's or Little Caesars). My students eat snack and I always buy some extras to have for the kids who never have one from home, so its hard not to pick on animal crackers, fruit snacks, etc. That is my one weakness.
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| Posted 8/14/12 11:59 AM |
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