The '101 days to change our lives' challenge

Lady_Pink

Looby-Loo - I just wanted to post a message for you as I often find myself in the same situation. I don't do quite the same job as you but it's similar, especially in being at everyone's beck and call. I don't work for the organisation that I'm based in either, so I don't have any sort of say in my working conditions etc.. Anyway, as a couple of people mentioned, working like that will end up making you ill. I've been diagnosed with IBS, caused by stress, and I seem to pick up evey bug going. I'd work from before 8 in the morning, to after 4 in the afternoon regularly without a break, not even to go to the loo. When you factor in the 30 - 45 mins travel time each way, it would make for a long day. My husband pulled me up on it a few times, saying I was going to make myself sick, and sure enough I did. I understand how sometimes it can be impossible to snatch time to eat, but carry a bottle of water with you at all times and have a drink whenever you can - even if it's while going from class to class. Take a lunch that consists of small things that you can eat quickly - ie it's easier to eat a few grapes than it is to eat an apple, you can set a yoghurt aside, make your sandwiches small, take snack a jacks, small fruit juice cartons etc. Would your students be ok if you explained to them that you need to eat while you're talking to them? Is there anyone that could take over from you for 15 mins while you have a break? Sorry if this comes accross as preachy (it used to drive me mad when people said things like this to me!) but I realised that in many ways I was making the situation worse for myself - I could make time if I was strict and didn't thrive on rushing around all the time. I don't know if you're the same as me in that respect?

Anyway - good luck with your 101 challenge - and I hope you've had chance to grab lunch today

tink1981_2

Hi

I know I'm a couple of weeks behind the rest of you but would like to join in this too.

My targets are going to be...

1. Loose 1 1/2 Stone :eek:

2. Get on top of the house work before I disappear completly under the heaps of junk

3. Set budget and stick to it... start using spending diary again

4. Take pack lunch to work EVERY DAY... not just the days I role out of bed in time to throw something together!

5. Read 3 novels

6. Cook more homemade meals rather than nipping along to the supermarket and buying junk food.

7. Set up a efficient filing system, rather than to top of the bookcase and the corner of the coffee table.

8. Limit the amount of time I spend in the pub with my lovely friends... perhaps look for some more healthy activities for us to get involved in. :beer:

9. Plan my time better. :rolleyes:

10. Get in contact with old friends I seem to have drifted from.

Yikes... role on the 20th August!!

Being possitive... new house, new town, new job... I can do this

good luck everyone

tink x

oops_a_daisy

welcome to the newbies


mid week update from me

1. get a job. - got an interview with a recruitment agency next Tuesday - they have a few jobs on their books so fingers crossed got to go back to the Job centre on Friday as they booked the wrong appointment. Have been put forward for another job with a different recruitment agency but less money than I was on so want to hold out for the first agency.
2. Lose 5 lbs and generally get a bit fitter - still managing to get to the gym for an hour a day but havent lost any weight because of the following......
3. Eat more healthily - because of new challenge ( number 5 ) this has gone out of the window and flown away am eating all healthy home made stuff apart from tons of chocolate
4. DD - stage school - still not heard back from the school
5. Quit smoking - Im on my fourth day so am really pleased with that :T

how is everybody alse doing with their challenges ??

looby-loo_2

Hi and welcome to the new folk!

Thank you for the comments which have encouraged and warned me. My husband is always trying to do the same. He hates my job and as he is retiring soon he would like me to as well. He's much older than me and has had two serious illneses himself. We have worked out that from next summer onwards I will reduce hours and earn what we need rather than what we can. That will leave some 'us' time. I've been in this job four years now and only really got it because know one else applied - they advertised twice and then asked me, so hey, I wasn't first choice, but I got landed. I was happier before just classroom teaching without the management bit and go back to that tomorrow if I could.

Anyway, I really tried hard today. It was English SATS and I was supervising four students together with a teaching assistant. One boy was entitled to a 'rest break' so I sent him to get me a drink. (not on his own) So today I had an orange squash! They finished a few mins early too so we had some chilling out time and I remembered my banana. Then the same boy asked if I was allowed to eat in class and I said YES it's my room!

So that is one day done - 100 to go:T

oops_a_daisy

well done looby loo :T

Karmacat

I just picked up on our thread in Martin's email, and realised that I'm at the end of day 10 already! Eek!!!! And all I can think of is something totally unrelated to what I wrote - if I don't do the washing up now, I'll have to do it at the weekend. Right, enough of being on the computer, I'm off to do the washing up. Goodnight All!

Tete_en_l'Air

Hello everyone,

What can I say? This is such an inspirational thread and you're all doing really well. Even those who have had setbacks/slips are being honest about it and persevering and that's the main thing. So I know I'm a bit late but would love to join in- having to log my progress is just the incentive I need to make some changes.

1) I want to get my overdraft down to £1000.

So that's £700 paid off in 3 months. I've paid off all my credit card debt over the past couple of years and this relatively small overdraft feels like when slimmers say they only have another few pounds left to lose and they just can't shift it. I want to be debt-free by Christmas and I think it's perfectly do-able in my current situation. I am going to keep an honest spending diary so hopefully this will cut the unnecessary impulse-buys. I will take packed lunches to work and stop going into town in my lunch break - those sale signs lure me like a moth to a flame! I will stop spending the "extra" when I look at my bank balance and have more than I thought - just because I'm not at my O/D limit doesn't mean the cash is spare!

2) I want to swim at least twice a week, preferably three times.

I know from experience that if I do this, I don't have to watch what I eat and my body feels and looks great. It's just a matter of getting back into the routine of going. It's addictive though and I know that once I'm back into the swing I won't want to NOT go.

3) I will pass my driving test.

I know this could potentially open up the floodgates spending-wise, but I have a car already which is all paid-for and I feel the extra spending on insurance, tax and fuel (which I actually already pay for anyway while I'm learning in my car) will be offset by the fact I'm not spending £30 per week on lessons any more. I know my driving can be good enough to pass, just need to make sure nerves don't get the better of me. I will ask my instructor to go through some mock-tests with me, I'll research the test routes and possible tricky points and try to get out in my own car as much as possible (poor Dad - I'll turn his hair grey yet!)

4) I will get a secure job.

Either at the place I'm working now or elsewhere, I can't be in-between like this anymore. I am temping at the moment and although I like my job and the people I work with (which I know counts for a lot), I'm on much less money than people doing the same job who are employed by the company. So rather than have my boss keep me on on a month-to-month basis, I need to find out where I stand. I've been there for almost 6 months now and I feel like I should be getting some kind of commitment either way. But then I'm in a quandary because if they say they won't take me on, I'd still rather be working there while I look for another job rather than on benefits, so I don't know whether I should really rock the boat in case it backfires! Augh! Well I have a PDR tomorrow morning so I guess shy bairns get nowt, etc.,etc., so I should just say what I feel and see what happens.

Well, I think that's about it really. Enough to be getting on with! My Day 101 is 19th August, wish me luck! And all the best to everyone else!

:T Yay us!:T

smilyeyes

hi all

I also want to join to that great scheme.

So I want to lose about 5kg weight. I have already started and hopefully finish within that time.
I would like to buy a house and change my job.
There are quite a big goals and I really have to do my best to achieve them.
+Of course there are more like being more confident and make an effort to look good most of time. But with losing weight it will come naturally.

Good luck to everybody.

tigtag02

oops_a_daisy wrote: »

5. Quit smoking - Im on my fourth day so am really pleased with that :T

how is everybody alse doing with their challenges ??

Well done oops - this is EXCELLENT

Ess-six

Hi

I would like to join too please.

My aims for the next 101 days are to:-

1. Lose 21lbs (although I have a 2 week holiday in Greece in June which will be a big stumbling block!). I joined WW on Tuesday - not very MSE I know, but I so need the discipline of an 'official' weekly weigh-in.

2. Save £1,000 ready to pay off interest free credit card bill. Bearing in mind my holiday, I reckon if I can put a third of this amount away from my May, July and August salary then I should be able to achieve this by cutting out unneccessary spending - I will keep a spending diary and plan menu's properly and not half-heartedly as in the past.

3. Declutter, with the help of FlyLady, and list on Ebay my unwanted/excess clothes and books and raise £200 - listing the books isn't so bad, but I find listing clothes more of a chore.

4. Make a start on researching my family tree - which I said I was going to start last Christmas!

Well that's my list, so here goes!

Good luck to all the new starters, and well done to those of you who have a head start and are making fantastic progress.