The good, the bad, and what I plan to do about it
Posted: February 11, 2012 Filed under: Broke, Fat, Grad School | Tags: BMI, calories, Debt, diet, exercise, Goal, Goals, grad school, graduate school, plan, Student Loan, Student Loan Debt, Student Loans, succeeding in grad school, weight, weight loss, weights 1 CommentOkay, I admit it, I took the title of this post from a book I am reading, Confessions of a Public Speaker. But when I read that sentence it resonated with me. One reason is that I have been avoiding posting any sort of update until my weight improved. I did not want to start a blog about success and then only write about failure. Coupled with this, a blog about goals in which the writer achieves none of the goals isn’t really a blog I would want to read, let alone write…or is it?
You see, when I started this blog 2 months ago, I knew I would fail – that was part of the magic of writing about my journey. It is a rare person who can set out with a goal and achieve it with no problem and without facing failure. My hope was that I would encounter, and subsequently overcome, many of the common challenges to achieving lasting weight loss, debt reduction/elimination, and problems in grad school. What I wasn’t prepared for was the self-consciousness that would occur as a result of facing these problems and not having any solution other than giving it (the problem) time to resolve itself.
So, I started the blog the week of Thanksgiving, lost some weight, destroyed some finals, paid off some debt and then was hit with my first plateau. I know a month’s work doesn’t sound like much, but when we’re dealing with debt, weight, and grad school, a month’s time is an eternity. After a month of doing pretty darn well (if I must say so myself), I “fell off the wagon.” It wasn’t anything dramatic – it usually never is. I overindulged a bit here and there and suddenly my daily routine of weighing myself stopped. I excused it and said I was on a break and I needed a break and a break is a time for, well, being on a break. I stopped going to the gym as much. I still went but not regularly and when I did go I lack the structure I had just weeks before. Although I was eating mostly what I wanted, when I wanted it, I didn’t have as much energy. No amount of sleep would help me feel rested. I was groggy, foggy, and overall irritable.
The new semester started and I vowed that I would get “back on the wagon.” Well, as it went, I didn’t want to force myself to adhere to a routine the first week of classes. With all that’s going on, I felt it unwise to try to force myself into the gym daily. I did one or two workouts and I was satisfied with that. Added to my lack of physical activity, I was still eating poorly. Poorly in nutritional value, but not in price. Rushed for time, I would pick up something on campus. Packing my lunch, as I was doing in December and only cost me about $1-2 per meal, gave way to $8-10 meals that left me feeling worse physically and emotionally.
If you’re following along and wondering what my title has anything to do with what I am writing, it’s this: this is the bad. The good is honestly my first several weeks of the blog. I was eating well, forming and following plans to pay down debt, lose weight, and succeed in grad school. Now at this point in my story, I am several weeks into a new semester’s worth of classes, eating poorly, not studying, and not working out. So I write a blog post chronicling what I called “my first week back on track.” But, it was a short-lived week that did not translate into any progress the following week. Sure I went to the gym several times and I was eating better – progress, yes. But I was not really back on track. I mean, I still hadn’t gotten back on the scale to ascertain my current state of things. I also wasn’t sticking to what I outlined in that blog post (150 minutes cardio, 1-2 sessions weights, limiting processed foods, paying off debt, studying, etc.). This is some of the good, but it wasn’t and isn’t enough. Which, thankfully, brings me what’s going on now and what I plan to do about it.
Fat
To stick to my original format, I will outline my recent changes in my plan and results from the previous week. In terms of the plan, I am still trying to stick to the 50% diet, 30% cardio, 20% resistance rule in the triad.
Diet
This past week I ate on average 2100 Calories a day. Some days were better than others, but on average I stayed around 2100.
Cardio
I did 150 minutes of cardio. I spread this amount over three days. It consisted mainly of a 30 second jog (5.5 mph) / 40 second walk (3.7 mph) interval for 30-45 minutes, followed by walking for 20-30 minutes. I also threw in a bit of the elliptical machine for variety, but in general it was mostly my jog / walk interval training. This was mainly challenging psychologically. Physically it was tough, yes, but my mind kept wanting me to stop. I think it’s mainly due to the time commitment and being on the treadmill for around an hour. My mind just needs to get used to doing this sort of activity.
Resistance
I did weight training twice this past week for about 30 minutes each. Both consisted of an upper body workout (mainly biceps and triceps) alternating between opposing muscle groups (i.e. bicep curls following by tricep pull downs). This was the most rewarding aspect of my workouts. I like lifting weights and it doesn’t hurt to have something in your workout that you enjoy.
Weigh-in
So, after a week of pretty decent eating and working out I decided I would finally weigh myself. This was the first weigh-in of the year (wow, did it really take me over a month to weigh myself?). Again, I don’t post my weight, as I am mainly aiming for a healthy BMI. My current weight puts me at a BMI of 34.3, which is .1 higher than my BMI as of November of last year. This is also about 10 pounds heavier than I was around Christmas. So, yes, I have gained weight – nothing I did not know. It’s just good to know where I stand so I can measure any progress or regress I may have from now on.
Broke
My debt has also gone up since beginning the blog. I had forgotten about loans I had accepted at the beginning of the academic year that were distributed for the spring semester. As such, I added $7,000 to my debt. I could have paid off the loan by returning it, but I decided to keep the money. I imagine this will be the most difficult area for me to actually make progress in as a grad student. It’s not impossible, I realize that (or I wouldn’t have started this blog!), but it will be very challenging. I am re-assessing my financial state and plan for debt reduction and will post more about this in the future.
In Grad School
Well, well, well, the grand finale of the three. I have been seriously (yes, I just wrote that) overwhelmed this semester. From a very challenging class, to giving presentations, registering for conferences, submitting abstracts and titles for talks, reading for classes, writing for classes, keeping up with my research, revising my research prospectus (I emphasize “pro” because, well I was under the impression it was something you did before you had done research, not nearly halfway through your projects…I digress), to all sorts of normal, everyday goodies. I have been terribly busy. I’m exhausted and it’s only February. I still have 4 more months of this! Aggghhh! Okay, I’ll stop. The point is, I need a system and a routine to keep this all straight. At least this is what I am discovering this semester. It’s taken me nearly a month to figure this out, but I think I may be on to something. This something isn’t anything new, but I am hoping it helps.
What is the something? A schedule. Not just any schedule, a priority schedule. I can hear your groans and see your eyes rolling from my office. It’s almost cliché to talk about scheduling and prioritizing, but it’s so common it’s often overlooked. My generation believes we can accomplish EVERYTHING without the aid of a real schedule, just as long as we have our iPhones we’ll be ok. This might be true, but I for one need to start prioritizing stuff. I remarked today that I feel like when I get one thing back on track and caught up that I am now behind on at least one other project or class. Trying to get caught up on this other project or class causes me to get behind in five other projects or classes and then it spirals out of control. This, to me, is grad school in a nutshell. I am not saying I can remedy this completely, but I am hoping that prioritizing will help me, in the least, to stay caught up on the most important projects and classes. I know it’s so elementary, and overstated in some great books (see here, here, and here), but it’s so simple it’s also easy to forget about how powerful it can be. I can’t personally claim to have any success with this now, as I am just starting to prioritize today! But, I will definitely post more about how it goes along the way. Hopefully I will have good things to report. If nothing more, it will be another learning experience for me and maybe for you, too.
Wow, I just wrote 1600 words (well, 1600 counting this sentence). I should probably stop now. I have plenty more to say, but I also have plenty more work to do outside of this blog.
Please bear with me as I try to keep you all posted on things. It’s tough, but I also have a commitment to you and to this blog. I appreciate your support and look forward to giving you all an update soon! Have a great week!
Where does the time go?
Posted: January 22, 2012 Filed under: Fat | Tags: diet, exercise, Goal, weight, weight loss, weight loss triad, weights Leave a commentI haven’t published anything in quite sometime. Not only this, but the holiday season / break from classes brought with it a diminished and almost nonexistent workout and diet regimen. Alas, all is not lost: classes are back in full swing and with that comes a more “normal” schedule.
I gave myself the first week of school off from trying to stick to any regular exercise or full adherence to a diet. That meant this week was my first full week back with my diet and exercise. How did it go? While on break I read a book entitled “The Weight Loss Triad.” I have read many, many weight loss books over the years. This one does not particularly stand out from the others, except that it breaks it down into three areas. The author says that successful weight loss is 50% diet, 30% cardiovascular exercise and 20% resistance training. He goes on to discuss how these three things work (i.e. diet’s main goal is a steady blood sugar to prevent cravings and energy loss; cardiovascular exercise is where you burn your calories; and resistance training is crucial for adding muscle and keeping your metabolism high). I’ve heard these explanations several times but for some reason they really stuck with this book. The author suggests men aim to get 150 minutes of cardio and 2-3 resistance sessions a week. His diet is very similar to the Sugar Busters diet and I highly recommend you check that out as well. Essentially, I am trying to do what this book says to do: 150 minutes of aerobic exercise, 2-3 sessions of weight training, and a diet high in vegetables and fruits and low in processed and refined foods.
My stats for the first week are:
- 180 minutes of cardio, which consisted of three 31 minute walk/run sessions, immediately followed by a high-speed walking session. For my walk/run, I did a 20/40 interval (20 seconds run, 40 seconds walk) for 31 sets (31 minutes).
- 30 minutes of resistance, which was only one session of upper body weight exercise. I alternate days between cardio and resistance, and I started back working out on Tuesday and took Friday off, so I only got in one resistance session.
- I have incorporated more fruits and vegetables into my diet. I haven’t done much specifically in terms of changing how I eat. Overall I am trying to keep my caloric intake around 2000-2200. I will start back this week recording what I eat.
- I haven’t weighed in yet. I am waiting until next week to do so. I don’t want to be discouraged while I am getting back on track!
That’s about it for now. Here’s to a great week!
How are your goals turning out so far this year?
Financial books and classes beginning
Posted: January 6, 2012 Filed under: Broke 2 CommentsWe’re not even a week into the new year and I’m already for classes to be finished. This is sad considering they haven’t even begun! I’m just beginning to enjoy my break and it’s nearly over. Oh well, at least it’s been safe and productive.
Part of my break has involved a bit of reading. Most of it has dealt with investing and finances. So that my reading does not go to waste, I thought I would provide a recap of what I have read and learned these past few weeks. They are listed in the order that I read them. However, I would suggest beginning with Lynch’s book first, then working through them in the order listed. Enjoy!
Financial Books
Understanding Stocks by Michael Sincere
Sincere’s book provides what I consider an excellent overview of the stock market. I began the book with very little knowledge of stocks and finished it with a greater understanding of the entire market. I would like to re-read it soon.
The main things I got out of it include selling a stock when it drops 10%; selling 30% of your positions if your stock rises by 30% (I would probably sell 50% of my holdings at least); and do extensive research before buying any stock (technical and fundamental analyses).
If you’re like me and you’re interested in the stock market and have very little knowledge of anything related to it, I definitely recommend giving this book a read.
Learn to Earn by Peter Lynch with John Rothchild
When beginning to invest, Lynch is one of those names you hear all the time. This was the first book I have read by him and I am looking forward reading others. Having been written in 1995, the book is a bit outdated, but the concepts and general information hold true today. The book is a great primer on the stock market, business world, and investing. It contains good information about funds (investing in a mix of small cap and large cap, possibly investing in a S&P index [large cap] and a small-stock index [small cap] to get good exposure to both. There is good discussion about dividend-paying stocks.
If you have almost no knowledge on business practices and the business world overall, I would recommend you start with this book. It can seem a bit elementary at times, but if you can look past it (I believe it was written with the high school student in mind), it is a great book.
The Investment Answer by Daniel Goldie and Gordon Murray
Great book! Discusses the “five” decisions an investor needs to make in order to succeed at investing. 1 is picking a financial advisor (independent fee-only advisor is way to go according to the authors); 2 is asset allocation or exposure to risk; 3 is diversification (supports a blended portfolio including exposure to domestic and international stocks and domestic and international bonds. Percentages again will correspond to asset allocation decision); 4 is active versus passive investing decision and almost everyone agrees, and the authors do as well, that a somewhat passive strategy is best (only exception is to take a look at your goals from time to time and to make sure your portfolio still aligns with these goals) which leads into goal 5; 5 is the rebalancing decision, which deals with keeping your portfolio aligned with your investing goals. This could mean that at fixed times you change your asset allocation (i.e. going from a more aggressive allocation to a more conservative one as you get older). All in all, they advocate doing all of this with the help of a financial advisor. Useful asset allocation information is included as an appendix. This is an excellent book!
The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton
Like Learn to Earn, this book is a bit outdated. However, just like Learn to Earn, the principles in this book are not. I found the book difficult to get into, but once I got past the fictitious story-line, I was able to enjoy the book for what it is – an introductory book on financial planning.
With that said, there is not much in the book I haven’t heard before, but I think the genius in this book is the separation of the “pay yourself the 10% first” from the retirement or planning for the future savings He recommends immediately saving 10% and putting into a growth fund (difficult to tell whether or not he advocates a basic mutual fund over an index fund). However, the point remains to put 10% from every paycheck into this fund or a variety of funds (does not have a problem with diversifying your funds, although I would start with one fund as opposed to several). Further discussions involve life insurance (Chilton says term life insurance is best and to make sure it’s also renewable and convertible); discussion on taxes, IRAs, and mortgages. Overall, the book proved quite enjoyable and informative.
Take Away Message
After reading these four books, I believe it is imperative to start investing as soon as possible. The weakness in my reading selection is that none of the books deal with debt and how having debt might affect your investment strategy. I have read other financial books that deal specifically with debt and most seem to advocate paying down or off all of your debt before investing. No matter what your financial philosophy is and whether you agree with eliminating all debt before investing or not, I believe these four books are all wonderful tools in helping you navigate the murky world of investing.
Have a favorite investing or financial book? Please let me hear it!
3 Resolutions for the new year
Posted: December 28, 2011 Filed under: Broke, Fat, Grad School | Tags: 2012, Goal, Goals, grad school, graduate school, new years, new years resolutions, nye, resolutions, succeeding in grad school, weight loss, well being 4 CommentsAs the nature of this blog is self-help, I would be remiss if I did not provide a few new year’s resolutions. Of course, my overall objectives remain to lose weight, get out of debt, and succeed in grad school. However, I would like to provide a few more concrete resolutions as we prepare to ring in a new year.
Resolution #1: Become a runner
I don’t mean I want to and plan on running once or twice a week. What I mean is to become someone who thinks like, acts like, and overall looks like a runner. What does this mean? To me it means continuing to read Runner’s World, continuing to lose weight, continuing all towards being one of those people to which running is not just an activity but a passion.
My resolution involves several clearly defined steps. Some include, in no particular order:
- Going to my local running store and getting fitted for shoes and socks (I have an ankle issue that I believe stems in part to my arch and gait).
- Starting back up with my walk to run program, since I have completely abandoned this before finals began.
- Running (not walking!) a 5K before the spring semester and a 10K before the end of the year (My goals are small, but before now have yet to be accomplished).
- Being able to run for 30 minutes non-stop before the end of April (coincides with running a 5K)
This resolution should help with my goal to lose weight and will provide several mini-goals (remember how I like things in smaller pieces?) to keep me focused along the way.
Resolution #2: Invest in the stock market
Why should I be worried about investing in the stock market when I haven’t gotten out of debt yet? Well, for starters, I have zero investments and have not ever witnessed my money working for me. I am not talking about putting a large amount of cash into the market, but I would like to get my feet wet so to speak with a small amount. The main objective of this resolution is to learn a bit about how the market works, the key terms related to investing and the market, and to give myself a learning opportunity and introduction to general stock investments. Again, as with my first resolution, I have several key goals here:
- Learn key terms and definitions of common investing principles. In this end, I aim to read 1-2 introductory books a month regarding the stock market and financial investments.
- Research and choose a low-cost stock brokerage service.
- Become a shareholder by making my first stock purchase.
- Continue researching and learning about investing, as well as continue to track my own investments.
The goal with these steps is to become familiar with basic investing terms and processes and to get financially involved in the market in a small way.
Resolution #3: Write a publishable journal article in my field
I’m ambitious and would like to have this resolution read “get published” rather than simply “write an article”, but I also realize that this upcoming year will be filled with more classes, more research, my first exposure to conferences, and a load of so much other unpredictable and unforeseen activity, that I will be fortunate simply to write an article, let alone get published. This isn’t to say that I am not aiming at getting published in 2012 and beyond, I am merely being a bit more realistic regarding my ability to get all of this done at the same time. My mini-goals for this entail:
- Reading my recently purchased How to write and publish a scientific paper by Day and Gastel. I have heard nothing but excellent things about this book in particular and look forward to reading it.
- Choosing the focus of my paper and doing a bit more research into this particular area.
- Having a rough draft completed by the end of the summer. I plan on utilizing some of my extra time during the warmer months to focus on the paper. Hopefully, I will have something readable by the end of the summer semester.
The plan is to have a paper complete by the end of 2012 and then getting underway with the publication process by the beginning of 2013.
I hope you noticed that these three resolutions are in harmony with my three goals in this blog. I remain committed to these goals and hope that 2012’s resolutions will only serve to aid me in progressing towards them. I will post more about these resolutions as well as continue to keep you updated regarding my weight, debt, and academics. Until next year, thank you for reading and have a very safe and wonderful new year!
Second Check In
Posted: December 26, 2011 Filed under: Broke, Fat, Grad School | Tags: BMI, Goal, Goals, gpa, grad school, grad school finals, grades, graduate school, holiday, succeeding in grad school, weight, weight loss Leave a commentWhat a month it has been! The holidays are here and along with that comes all sorts of bad decisions. We eat too much, spend too much, relax a bit too much (wait, is there really such a thing?), and generally fall off the wagon regarding our goals. Have no fear, though! New Year’s is just around the corner and with it comes all sorts of good decisions! I don’t think I have to tell you that my resolutions involve my goals and that I will be working extra hard to achieve some of them in 2012. In the spirit of the upcoming new year, I thought I would provide an update regarding these pesky, I mean worthwhile, goals.
Fat
The good news is that the holiday season is nearly over. The bad news is that I have had my share of culinary indulgences these past few weeks. Coupled with finals and all the stress that comes with the holidays, I haven’t been the best judge of nutritional value lately. Fortunately, I haven’t gained any weight. In fact, my BMI is 33.2, which the keen eye and astute observer will notice is a whole .1 point less than my first check-in and a whole 1 point less than my initial BMI! It’s not as low as I would like, but it is progress and any progress, especially this time of the year, is more than welcomed!
How did I keep off the weight and actually manage to shed .1 off of my BMI? I wish it were some sort of magical plan, but the reality is I’ve been sick for over a week. My cold has kept me out of the gym and diminished my appetite so that I have not eaten a whole bunch. I haven’t gone completely without food, either, but my caloric intake has been relatively low. This has allowed me to indulge in the occasional cookie and other desserts without really adding any weight. I am on the mend now and I imagine that unless I being to ease back into a gym routine, the weight will begin to creep back up. So with the new year comes a new commitment to my diet and workout routine.
Broke
Not much to report on this front. Continuing with standard monthly payments and all of that jazz. Hopefully I will have more to talk about soon.
Grad School
Finals have come to an end and my grades have come back. Not all A’s, but I managed to earn close to a 3.7 GPA for my first semester in graduate school! Right now I am soaking up the break from all things school and will be back to the grind next week.
How did I earn decent marks? Time. Time is basically the only real answer I have right now in terms of succeeding in school. You must put in the time. As an undergrad this didn’t mean much to me and didn’t really affect my grades all too much. Not the case in grad school. The course work and all of the other responsibilities essentially boil down to lots and lots of time commitments. I was in the lab on Thanksgiving. I was in the lab most nights until well after 11pm. If I wasn’t in class, sleeping, or driving, I was in the lab. Plain and simple. Now, with that said, I do believe there are certain things that can help and hinder success. However, I am still in the process of sorting this out. Not to mention I have only been a grad student for less than a year now. I have much to learn and much to figure out. In the meantime, time seems to be pretty darn crucial to helping one’s grades and brain in grad school.
That’s about it for now. Hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season! Indulge a little and enjoy yourselves! Thanks for reading!
Finals have finally come to an end and lessons learned
Posted: December 14, 2011 Filed under: Broke, Fat, Grad School | Tags: Goal, Goals, grad school, grad school finals, graduate school, how to relax in grad school, succeeding in grad school, taking a break, taking a break in grad school, weight, weight loss, well being 2 CommentsAs finals end and I am now able to have a bit of free time – there is still research to be done – I am mindful of the many things I have learned. I am not only referencing the stuff in the classroom, but just as importantly, the things I learned about myself out of the classroom. I have learned a few lessons, but more than that, I have gained insight into how I operate. I believe this is crucial for success not just in school or work but also in losing weight and getting out of debt. Knowing more about how I click and function is imperative to me succeeding in every aspect of my life.
Just to highlight a few things, I thought I would share what proved to be the most insightful things this semester.
- Learning is a process. Duh. I know, but what looked daunting, if not almost impossible in August, was realized this week. Not that the material was terribly difficult; it’s just that there was so much of it. I honestly did not believe back in August that I would have learned as much as I have these past few months. What I especially learned from the “learning is a process” statement is that the process proceeds best, at least for me, in small increments. I am without a doubt an incremental learner. The old saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time,” really rung true for me this semester. I have amassed an incredible amount of knowledge, but I was only able to do so because I took small bites.
- How does this apply to weight loss? Aha! You didn’t think I was going to let such a great idea go to waste, did you? A great way to achieve permanent weight loss is to do so slowly, in small increments, over time. The key for this, as with my studies, is to stay consistent. You only get through the elephant if you stay at it. If you quit, he rots and you aren’t able to succeed.
- But what about debt? Small changes or small payments don’t add up, right? Wrong. It all depends on the change, but I believe that any positive change you can implement in your life, whether it’s for debt or some other goal, can bring about a snowball of effects. It is so easy at times to look at the huge mountain ahead (as I did in August with my school work) and, in doing so, be overwhelmed by the mere thought of ascending it. Yet, we can climb that mountain if we continue moving. We must stay consistent with our movements and we must keep going.
- Yeah, you’ve heard this all before and it’s all easier said than done, right? Wrong again. Staying put, down from the mountain so to speak, is not any fun. If it were fun, we wouldn’t create goals to get us out of our current place and condition. If being fat and broke were any fun we wouldn’t care to be skinny and wealthy. You already have the tools you need to move today. You just have to realize it and start moving.
- The process of learning how to learn is almost as crucial to the learning. What I mean by this is that studying and learning material for graduate school is not extremely different from having to so as an undergrad. The consequences of not performing well may be greater (such as losing your assistantship and being kicked out of school…for having a B- average…I digress), but the idea is still the same. What I’m getting at is that if you know what works for you, such as how you learn in this case, then stick with it. I made the mistake of making several erroneous assumptions when I started in August and it took me until mid-November to realize this. One of these was that as a grad student I needed to be a master of the material. Well, maybe one day, but I am just beginning to learn! Not only did I expect myself to master it all, I expected to master it all at once. Stupid, stupid, stupid. This is just like starting a diet and expecting to be your goal weight tomorrow. Just like starting a budget and paying on bills expecting to be out of debt by the end of the month. Sure it would be nice but it just isn’t practical. It also isn’t going to happen. So instead of reinventing the wheel and trying to do it all at once, I needed to go back to the fundamentals of how I learned. I also needed to just pace myself and cut myself some slack in this process.It all takes time.
- I am not a genius. There, I said it. No one really has the benefit of being able to say I wrote this (I blog anonymously after all), but I did say it for the record. What I mean is that I need to be real with myself and accept my failures. I am not writing all about what I’ve learned implying that I had a perfect semester. My semester was anything but perfect. Having the idea that I am a genius or something special put me in a place that was really uncomfortable. Anything less than perfect made me want to quit. Anything not up to my standards was disheartening. It was hampering my growth as a student and a person. I will make mistakes and that is perfectly normal and to be expected. My semester’s grades will not be perfect. Some in fact may be less than satisfactory (from the school’s perspective, just to be clear). I am not proud of this but I accept it and will try to learn from it. It’s the same with any goal. You have to accept yourself. I am not giving you a free pass to always have dessert when you know it’s not in your best interest. But I am saying that if you happen to overeat or make a poor financial decision that these events do not define you. What matters more is how you deal with these poor choices and that you examine why you made them or what is going on. For me, it was just accepting that I am a beginner and I have much to learn. No excuses needed or provided. I am a work in progress and this is a journey.
Thanks for reading! I will share more over the coming weeks about my education in all things, not just school, this semester. I also have a weigh-in coming up and will be posting that soon!
End of semester / Holiday / Christmas / Insert Title Here Parties
Posted: December 9, 2011 Filed under: Grad School | Tags: grad school, grad school finals, grad school parties, graduate school, parties, party 1 CommentThere seems to be an endless number of ways in which those who should know better are trying to sabotage the success of graduate students. Take for instance the number of parties that are thrown at the beginning, middle, and ending of each semester. As an undergrad, all parties consisted of a bunch of people gathered at someone’s apartment with tons of cheap alcohol. Attendance was voluntary and no one was ever disappointed if you didn’t show up (hey, more beer for us!).
It is not like that in graduate school. Parties are thrown all the time by the School, Department, or Departmental Club that one belongs to. So, while in the middle of adjusting to my new research, classes, people, places, apartment, etc., I was also expected to attend a beginning of the semester bash – complete with FOOD (noticeably absent from any undergrad parties, but also devilishly present at all grad parties as a way of saying, “Hey, you might not drink, but come and get free food”), liquor (yes, LIQUOR!), beer, and last but not least, EVERY SINGLE IMPORTANT PERSON IN THE DEPARTMENT! They lure you with the free food and hook you with the list of important attendees.
This repeats itself at least once more during the semester. For me, it repeats itself tonight – smack dab in the middle of Finals. What gives? Are the vanguards of the department testing us to see how we handle ourselves in the face of academic adversity, social challenges, and the tempting (oh so tempting!) free alcohol? Sure it’s a Friday night, but come on! I need to study! And I feel bad letting all of the alcohol (did I mention it was free?) go to waste! Fortunately, I am not allowed (doctor’s orders) to drink…a lot. So I will be abstaining. I just find it odd that as an undergraduate, a party wasn’t a party without alcohol. I imagined graduate school parties to be a bit more focused on the people and perhaps the food, but not the alcohol. It’s strange being offered free booze while standing next to several of your committee members (or from a committee member).
All in all, I just find the whole arrangement a bit odd. How about an end of the semester party that happens AT THE END – minus the intimidating and powerful people? Not just before the end. It’s like celebrating the end of the marathon at mile 24. Sure you don’t have that much further to go, but you can’t just up and stop now. There is work to be done and it doesn’t get any easier with these parties in the middle.
Have a graduate school party story to share? Feel free to let me hear it! Thanks for reading!
First Finals as Grad Student
Posted: December 8, 2011 Filed under: Grad School | Tags: finals, grad school, grad school finals, graduate school, how to relax in grad school, succeeding in grad school, taking a break, taking a break in grad school Leave a commentRight now there are graduate students everywhere who are studying, reading, writing, and gearing up for the grand finale of this semester’s school work. There are also graduate students that are sleeping, cleaning, blogging, watching movies, and otherwise doing anything else that does not resemble in the least anything remotely close to studying. I am one of the latter.
My apartment hasn’t looked this good since my first big cleaning after moving in at the end of summer. My laundry is washing, my dishes are clean, my desk is super organized, all the while all of my school-related duties go unattended. I am taking a break from school today. Well, at least for a few hours. My brain hurts and normally this would cause me to eat myself into oblivion. Instead, I decided that I would clean. After all, my apartment has been feeling the effects of months of neglect. It was long overdue in the cleaning department and I figured it’s better to clean than to splurge on food.
Anyways, as I approach the end of my first semester as a graduate student, I am grateful of the many things I have learned both in and out of the classroom. I imagine I will share these with you over time. One of the things I am learning to do, and it’s contrary to what most people tell you to do in grad school, is to take breaks. Whether it is a few minutes walking outside to get out of the lab or a few hours spent cleaning a neglected apartment; breaks are important to maintaining sanity and your well-being.
I am also discovering that breaks in the normal routine, regardless of how brief, function like a safety-release valve – letting off steam at just the right time. The important message in all of this is to treat a break like a break. What I mean is that you do not overdo it and extend that break into full change in behavior (as in splurging on one meal only to continue splurging for the rest of the day, week, month, etc.). You must also protect the break with your life. If you have planned an afternoon to just relax – then just relax! Unless it’s your major professor or some emergency that needs attending to, don’t let a colleague or anything else steal you from your break.
And this is what I am doing today. I am taking a break!
Thanks for reading! How do you incorporate breaks into your busy schedule?
First Check In
Posted: December 7, 2011 Filed under: Broke, Fat, Grad School | Tags: Goal, Goals, grad school, graduate school, plan, weight, weight loss, well being Leave a commentWell, it’s about time I’ve provided an update regarding my progress since beginning this blog. I must admit,I have been terribly busy preparing for and now taking final exams. I have one more week of finals and hopefully all will be well at the end. A consequence of my less-than-normal behavior is that I have not been monitoring my caloric intake for over a week. I have put a little weight back on that I had lost, but overall it hasn’t been too bad.
Without any further delay, here is an update regarding my goals!
Fat
Since beginning this blog, and despite a week of bad eating, I have reduced my BMI from 34.2 to 33.3. Not bad considering the stressful time I find myself in regarding my classes. Also thrown in there was a weekend of catching up with old friends and watching football.
Although it is finals time and I am stressed to the max in almost every area of my life, I do plan to keep my caloric intake below 2000 calories. I haven’t done this in nearly a week, but it’s time to get it back on track.
I also haven’t made it to the gym as often as I was. I will be back in by tomorrow. I can say it can’t get here fast enough!
Broke
I am still on track with my savings portion of my goals – while paying the minimum monthly payments on my debts. I believe I will have my first savings goal met by the end of the year.
Grad School
Finals are here. No need to say more. Except that I really feel my body needs more time in the gym. It has been nearly a week since I was last in there and despite skipping out on my workouts because of the “I have no time/energy” excuses, I believe I actually feel better, even if a bit more tired, when I am working out.
Added to this, an article in the NY Times recently highlighted several studies that demonstrate the benefits of exercise for the brain (“How Exercises Benefits the Brain”, nytimes.com). Of particular interest to me was the aspect of exercise helping with memory tasks. This makes it difficult to argue against working out for the sake of not wanting to be too tired for an exam!
Overall, I am making some progress in all of my goals. It may be difficult to see the end right now, but the end will get here soon enough.
Thanks for reading!
Fat, Broke, and in Grad School 