Adjustments

**Note: This post is long overdue.  As in I wrote it weeks ago and am just now posting it, oops.  I think I’ve adjusted quite well since writing this post.**

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Life is all about adjusting to the circumstances isn’t it?

If that’s the case I think I give myself a C- for my ability to adjust.  I think I’ve mentioned the fact that I don’t like change, but it’s inevitable and sometime you just have to deal.

Here are some things I have to “just deal with” now that I’m not a student and have a job that demands working more than 15 hours a week.

I no longer have much free weekend time.

Initial reactions included:

• I can’t go to the Farmers’ Market anymore
• No more weekend Rockies games
• No time to grocery shop on Sunday
• Weekend fun is over

Solutions:

• I can just hit up the FM on Wednesday nights instead, or make it there before work since I sometimes won’t have to go in till later in the day
• There’s always weekday night games
• Grocery day will just have to be shifted my day off – it’s okay to start the grocery week on a day other than Sunday 
• I still have lots of time for fun, it may just not all be during the weekend.

Intuitive eating is out the window, strict eating schedules will now commence.

Okay, maybe not “strict,” but much more planned than usual.  This is due to the fact that I now have breaks at work that are specifically designed for snacking/dinner-ing/lunch-ing.  I can’t eat at any old time, I have to wait for my break. 

This means I need to plan ahead and eat small snacks during my shorter breaks so that by the time my dinner/lunch break rolls around I’m not ravenous and ready to chew my own arm off.  Or worse, all light headed and “I can’t remember if you asked for decaf coffee or not, but here’s your drink” feeling.

Solution:

A) Breaking my meals into smaller portions to eat during breaks

and/or

B) Bringing lots of snack bars/homemade trail mixes to munch on  — you know, things that are easy to eat in a short period of time and don’t get me the label of “the new girl who’s always eating weird things in the break room”

I think it’s frowned upon in the blog world where everyone seems to have the time to make their own everything to eat pre-made snack bars, but guess what. 

It’s okay to let someone else do the work for you sometimes. <— I’ll be coming back to this in just a minute.

Having to close several nights a week.

In other words, no cooking of dinners.

This one is such a bummer, I LOVE cooking dinner and was really looking forward to graduating so that I would be home to do so.

Solution:

• Cook dinner, just earlier in the day.  Then I can pack it to take to work. 
• Or, I can start cooking lunch.  Lunch deserves some special attention too, right?

All of which were packed and brought to work.

Oh and remember when I said “It’s okay to let someone else do the work for you sometimes”  This applies to dinner as well.

Turns out Joey’s a pretty messy good cook 🙂

Grilled Farmers’ Market Sandwiches and kale chips.

And so is my mom.  But I already knew that.

Nothing says summer like turkey burgers and a salad bar.

And the professionals are pretty good too.

Greek Salad with shrimp at The Village Tavern.

Temptation at work.

Ummm, yeah that whole unlimited free drinks thing could be potentially dangerous, but it’s all about balance. 

If I want a drink, I make myself one, but I try to keep in mind that there will be PLENTY of opportunities for treats at work, I don’t have to fit them all into one day.

Which leads me to my last topic. 

I need to remember to drink water at work!

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Have I sufficiently bored you with this long post?  And on a Friday no less!  I apologize.  And now I’m off to get my workout on with Lindsay!

How do you deal with change or having to make adjustments to a new schedule?