3/1/12 247.2
Pounds lost doing SpireSpire: 78.1
Pounds lost in March: .7
Pounds lost in April: 3.5
Pounds lost in May: 7.0
6/1/13 157.9
6/8/13 158.3
6/16/13 156.7
6/23/13 154.3
I need a reward for hitting that milestone... any ideas for a way to treat myself that doesn't involve spending money? It's tough because I'm already very indulgent when it comes to things like bubble baths and me-time and the simple joys of life.
So, having completed my first full week of work (last week was mostly a handful of hours here and there), I can lay out the pros and cons. I've decided not to share the name of the weight loss clinic where I'm working either here or on Facebook, for reasons which will become fairly obvious if you read on. I think it's a good idea in general to keep my professional life somewhat compartmentalized- but this job is going to have an impact on my weight loss (as any job would), so I do want to be able to write about it from time to time without fear that someone should do a something-search for my company and come across my blog. Aaaaanyway.
Things I love:
1. I'm not doing what I pictured myself doing when I first got the job (counseling patients regarding their weight loss, weighing them in, etc)- my title is "Patient Liaison" but it might as well be "Receptionist". But that is a-ok with me. I know from job search experience that titles like "Sushi Chef" and "Director of Parish Life" and "Patient Liaison" may sound cool and be fun to throw around (I have to admit that for the brief period of time when someone asked me what I do for a living and I got to say "Oh, me? I'm a sushi chef"- that was pretty sweet)... but they do not get you in the door anywhere else when it's time to move on. I will gladly claim that "receptionist" title, because I came across lots of job listings for reception/administrative work that sounded interesting but required direct experience. I'm getting that experience here, so that'll be nice to have in my pocket down the road.
2. In most of the positions I've held over the years, I either struggled with feeling like I wasn't living up to expectations, or with the sense that it didn't matter how well I did my job because the whole venture was doomed to fail. But I'm good at this. I can already sense how much my work is helping the clinic run more smoothly, keeping patients happy, allowing the doctor to focus on the clientele and bringing in new people. I love going home feeling like I worked hard and it made a difference- but it's also the kind of job where I don't have to take any work, or any work stress, home with me. It's a stable company and there's room for growth. The doctor is talking about eventually moving me into an Office Manager position, which would likely come with a nice raise, and another great resume title.
3. The clinic is so busy that there's not really time to go off and take a solid lunch break, and if I do actually get to leave the office for a break, it's usually around 2 or 3, too late for lunch. So lunch is a rushed 10 minutes in the little back room. You might think it's odd that this is under the "things I love" category, but what it means for me is that there's no time for temptation. If I had a whole hour, I'd go sit in my car and eat my packed lunch and feel sorry for myself that I couldn't go to a restaurant. As it is, I pack a small lunch every day, usually a hummus-and-carrot pack or a frozen Lean Cuisine, and I have just enough time to eat just enough food to make my belly stop rumbling, and that's it. Over time, it may help me get back to the root of what food is for, or at least ought to be: fuel.
4. There's a water cooler and a bathroom ten feet away from me at all times. :) I totally slacked off on my water drinking while I was working the sushi job, with the following excuses: the water where I worked was unfiltered and nasty-tasting, I spent lots of time in the car while on the clock and no time to stop for a potty emergency, and the bathroom was pretty far away from my work station (and my brain and bladder need to work on their communication skills). But now I have no excuse. The water's right there, the bathroom's right there, let the 75-ounces-of-water-a-day regimen recommence.
1. I'm not a big believer in the effectiveness of our services. If you feel like looking into it, we prescribe a lot of HCG (a hormone pregnant women produce to convert extra fat into energy to nourish the baby), Phentermine (appetite suppressant), lipotropic injections (supposedly metabolism boosters), laser liposuction and detoxifying body wraps (both of which seem to be a bunch of hooey from my limited perspective). One of my duties is to go through our old files and make "cold calls" to patients who used to be with us and stopped coming, to find out why and see if I can get them to come back. In most cases, I totally understand why before I even get them on the phone. Our services are expensive and the food programs that complement them are extremely low calorie and I understand why someone would get frustrated if they're not losing more than a half a pound or so a week while following the plan. Some of our patients will pour all this money into these treatments and see no results at all. Maybe I just haven't been there long enough, haven't come across enough people that have really benefited from what we do, and I'll be changing my tune in a while. We'll see.
2. I have to fight against the tendency to be internally smug about the fact that I've lost my weight without medical intervention. I find myself judging our patients for wanting an easy way out and disgusted that they can afford to pay so much to try to find it. I don't like some of the things that go through my head, working on this job, and I need to humble myself. Which is no fun at all.
3. I got totally spoiled by my sushi chef hours. Granted, it was seven days a week and that part was rough, but I was done at 1:00 pm with practically my whole day ahead of me. With this job, I have to leave the house at 7:30 and work until 6, then drive straight to rehearsal until 9:30 and get home around 10:30, drop into bed, get up and repeat. Not much time at home, less time with Chris (thank you God for sending me a Theater Dude so we can at least be at rehearsals together), very little time to clean the house- and no time to work out. Last summer I kept a similar schedule but was able to make myself go out and jog after rehearsal. This summer, I'm just not as fired up about it. I don't know why... when I do get out there, as I did a pathetic one time this week, I do well, my speed is good, my endurance is decent and I feel great when I'm done. But the rest of the week, we pulled into the driveway after rehearsal and I just went 'Ugh. Bed." If I don't turn the ship around soon, I'm going to be jog/walking the 8K I'm doing in three weeks, and that's not what my goal was.
But all in all, the good outweighs the bad, and there are even more good things that are too boring to write about- good pay, nice coworkers, health insurance soon, flexible hours for theatre, blah blah blah. I hope to stay here for a while.C
Okay, that's enough for now. Happy Eat All the Things Day! (What, it's not a national holiday? It totally should be.)