“Is it supposed to be this hard?” I whined to my mom in an email on Tuesday night. I remember in years gone by that seniors generally didn’t seem like they were having problems until the second semester, when the crunch really hits. But sure enough, Tuesday afternoon saw me sitting on the floor, looking despondently at the mess in my room while scarfing down Lucky Charms like my life depended on it.

Taking 20 credits, working two jobs, and writing your thesis doesn’t leave for a whole lot of free time, and that’s a pretty hard thing to adjust to. I usually like to procrastinate – I work better with a gun to my head, it seems. But now I have to work in advance, because I don’t have time to do things the way I normally do.

This weekend, I don’t even have time to drink. What is my world coming to?

As for lessons learned these past two weeks or so, I realized the value of backing your sh*t up like your life depends on it. My thesis chapter was due on Monday. I didn’t finish it until Tuesday. Now, because I have an older version of OpenOffice (a free version of Microsoft Office, essentially), when my computer decided to spazz out, I lost 11 out of 12 pages.

Cue comfort food binging. Read More »

All I want today is a doughnut. A big, sticky, sugary, flaky doughnut.

And I’m f*&cking incensed over it.

All I want to do today is be elbow deep in butter cream frosting and rub it all over my face like war paint, while making Indian battle cries over my victory of gluttony.

And I’m so irate over it, that I cursed my salad for tasting like a f*&cking salad, instead of a cupcake.

No, I’m not about to start my period. I’m just being reminded that my eating has to be conscious in order to not fall back into a period of my life that was unhealthy and dark. A period where I let my mind, stress, and brutal standards for myself take over.

I used to have an eating disorder.

Back then, I would never acknowledge that’s what it was, the words too difficult to even think in my head. I never CALLED what I had a disorder. Instead I used words like hardcore dieting, choosing healthy options, and on the bad days I was having a “Free day“- though most people’s free days didn’t include 4 stops to 4 different fast food chains, followed by 2 boxes of cereal, followed by candy bars, followed by liquor, followed by pastries, followed by immobility. And often followed by vomiting. Read More »

I hated diets. Every other week I was going back on one, I swore…until I ate a cookie, or forgot to order my caramel macchiato with skim, or ate a handful of fries at happy hour. Then it was always back to the downward spiral of binging until I felt remorse and a little squishier than before.

Then came Weight Watchers, and I realized that dieting doesn’t have to be absolutely miserable.

I’m not going to lie to you and say it’s all sunshine and daisies. Changing your eating habits is not fun. It takes me a good 2 weeks to get in the dieting mentality, and I bitch and moan during all of it.

I want to eat all the time. I don’t want to look at nutrition facts or give up bagels or happy hour. I just want to feel better and get some sort of instant gratification, which is just not the way the game is played. If you want anything good, you’ve got to be willing to work toward it. And so, you suck it up and deal.

With WW you’re looking at three key nutrition facts: fat grams, calories, and dietary fiber. You’re allowed a certain number of points per day, depending on your weight at present, and you spend them however you want. If you really want that bagel, go for it. It’s 6 points without shmear. Budget ‘em wisely. You also earn more points for yourself to eat by working out, AND you get a weekly budget of 35 Flex Points with the Flex plan, which can be spent however you want in addition to your daily allotment. Read More »

Family obligations are over (phew) and your resolution/diet technically doesn’t start ’til January 2nd (when you’ve fully recovered from all the binging). So it’s time to cut loose and ring in 2007 with a bang.

After all, you’ve been looking forward to an occasion to show off your slinky new holiday garb.But remember that New Year’s Eve is notorious in every locale for record breaking injury, crime and carelessness. Take the time a few days in advance to ensure you have a blast.

After all, who wants to start off 2008 in detox, jail or the hospital?

1) Make a plan. NYE is not the night to bar-hop. With ridiculous cover charges, overpriced drinks and drunk drivers on the roads it’s best to pick a place, get all of your buds to head there and rock the night away.

This also decreases the chance of getting split up. With the disorienting effects of alcohol you want to keep your crew intact to minimize the odds of anyone stumbling into a sticky situation solo.

2) Transportation is HUGE: no drinking and driving. If you all must drink you all must stay put. Period. Do some research: many cities offer free buses and cab rides on NYE. Or, bring a pillow and crash with a local friend. Read More »