Weekly Update
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– Dare to dream: the Times Online chronicles the rise of the public trophy wife.
– The WSJ rounds up the best and worst jobs.
– WSJ's The Juggle ponders how to fit exercise into an already packed schedule. (We've already weighed in with advice on diet and exercising, but were thinking of doing a post on easy, low-cal and cheap things to bring to work for lunch — if you have any favorites, send us an e-mail at editor@corporette.com) Meanwhile, the WSJ advises how to keep your New Year's resolutions, and the New York Times lists the 11 best foods you're not eating.
– Lifehacker digs deep and finds the best times to buy anything. Meanwhile, the WSJ has a listing for the best wines of 2009 under $10.99. Nice!
– Finally: if you'd be so good as to nominate us for a 2010 Bloggie, we'll be your best friend forever: http://2010.bloggies.com/
I usually bring a bag of food to work at the beginning of the week that has a “salad in a bag” or two (there is one at Ralphs with spinach, feta and dried cranberries that keeps the whole week even if it is open), some lunchmeat, and a few pieces of bread and maybe an avocado and some cheese and a few apples or some grapes. Then I leave it in the fridge at work. Most stores also have tomato bisque or squash soup in the cartons and I try to keep a carton of that in the fridge too. People don’t steal that kind of stuff and it gives you options, and you can put it all together on Sunday.
Also I keep a few packets of instant oatmeal (Quaker makes a low sugar kind for the dieters) in my purse for emergency food and a 12 pack of dCoke in the trunk of my car. I throw one into my bag the fridge on my way in in the morning and cut down beverage costs (also no one takes a single diet Coke, when they might if you had more).
Another girl at work keeps the frozen steel cut oatmeal that comes with frozen berries from Trader Joes in the freezer at work – it always looks tasty.
(I’m in law school and really trying to minimize debt, if this looks a little extreme. It works though!)
In the past eight months I’ve taken off over 30 lbs. and now am at the weight I was at in law school (yay).
I rented an apartment a mile and a half from my office and I walk both ways every day, regardless of the weather and with rare exceptions – i.e. if I’m running really late for a meeting. That’s a solid 45 minutes of fast walking per day. I’m in much better shape than I was when I used to rely on public transportation to get to work.
I also make lunch for four days on Sunday and bring it to the office with me on Monday. A favorite is tuna salad on crackers with avocado. Having 4 days worth of food means I don’t get too tired or lazy to make lunch the night before and end up buying, and I get one lunch out per week as a treat. I also usually eat breakfast at the office, and I keep Quaker High-Fiber Oatmeal and several varieties of tea in my desk for that purpose. The high-fiber oatmeal really fills me up.
If I’m starving on the way home from work, I make a point of walking a route that takes me past places with to-go salads rather than fast food.
I’m jealous! (But still going to try to copy) I’m in the deep south with a 30-60 minute commute and nothing but fast food and drive thru BBQ joints. Since I’m still in law school, one of my goals for next semester is parking across campus and hoofing it. If you can do it in a suit, I can do it in jeans!
Yes, I grew up in a similar area and it’s really rough to be healthy there. I didn’t really learn to eat healthy and exercise for fun until I was a senior in college or so, but once I started working full time after law school that all went out the window. You can do it! I mentioned this on the weekend thread – I use fitday.com to track my calories, nutrient balance and exercise. Highly recommend it.
Good for you! That takes such hard work and everyday focus. I lost 20 lbs a couple of years ago and, sadly, have gained half of that back. I am getting back to tracking what I eat every day in a log – it really seems to be the one thing that works best for everyone. It is just so hard to get to the gym and work a 10-12 hour day – I like how you incorporated exercise into your everyday commute. Maybe I can do something similar – walking part of the way before hopping on the train, maybe.