undercover_goddess:

Hi all,

I feel for all of you who have to teach several periods back to back.  I am not teaching this year, but I taught high school algebra last year and I taught 2 periods in the morning and then 3 back to back in the afternoon.  The mornings weren't so bad but going for 3 periods without a bathroom was brutal.  Yes, there are 6 minutes between classes but the halls are packed and usually students detain you, and honestly, I don't think I was EVER able to "dash" to the bathroom between classes.  The way I dealt with it was completely unhealthy, I just never drank water all day long until I got home in the afternoon.  I know my body and I have a pea-sized bladder, if I have a sip of liquid, I have to go ten minutes later.  I don't think I could be taking Alli if I was still teaching this year. 

BTW, it was extremely common for the same students to ask to go to the restroom every day and find them making out with a boyfriend or a girlfriend down the hall !!  Those are the students you stop allowing to go to the restroom. 

I ended up gaining all my weight back last year that I had lost the prior year (50 lbs).  It was extremely stressful juggling high school and my own two children who are in elementary school.  I never felt like I was enough to go around.  That really did me in, and I totally stress-binged all year long!

I wish all of you teachers the best! 

Di

 

Thank you for the wishes.  The students start on Wednesday and I am really obsessing about how I'll get to the bathroom with four solid hours and no break.  We only have 2 minutes between classes and the school is so small that the next class is coming in before the current class has finished exiting.  We are not allowed to leave any students unsupervised in the room or hall.  I really am in a panic.  Somehow it will work out, but i haven't come up with a plan. 

During college, I used to work summers in a factory packing ice cream.  We were members of the Teamsters union and were required to have a 15 minute break every 2 hours.  At 17, 18, 19, 20 that was a nice perk.  At 60, it is an absolute necessity.

Nancy 

Hi Everyone,

I want to remind everyone what the purpose of this board is. People are here to get support, encouragement, and advice. Everyone is allowed to join in on any post, but not for the purpose of putting anyone down or making any rude comments. When posts having headings that clearly state who the post is intended for there is no need for anyone who does not fit into that criteria to go on and say negative things. If you have a thought to share you can start your own post. I would like to see this board remain a safe and comfortable place for people to come to. Remember, you are all here for the same reason so let's work together on this.

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD

I know this is a bit delayed but I hope you have had a great opening,

40 YEARS?? You have got to be kidding. There is only one reason anyone would do that and it is that they have to love their career.

In Alabama you could just about earn 95% of your salary retired after 40 years. Kudos to you...I know you will do great.

PLEASE do not let school politics, student behavior, demanding principals, or all the other things that go with it stop you from achieving your goal. You sound like a person who really deserves to succeed and I believe you will.

After teaching elementary school and junior high for almost 10 years, I now find myself in a preschool! I avoid drinking with the kids at snack time so I can avoid a trip to the bathroom. It is such a drastic change from my summer routine of having a water bottle in my hand all day long! We start next week so we'll see how it goes! I haven't had any TE's so I am not too worried about that, just avoiding a "potty break" during mid-morning! Someone mentioned the higher rate of bladder infections in teachers and I remember being told that when I was in college 15 years ago!

Thank you Betty for your words of support. I just wanted to hear how others are coping who are in the same situation as me. I hope this thread will continue as my desire is still to learn from the experience of others who also teach.

The school year has been going great...the weight loss; not so great.  I've hit a plateau and have purchased the refill pack. I'm going to keep trying to find my way now that I've started back to work and don't have the luxury of more time to plan meals or follow the alli meal plan.

I can do this...and so can all of you who read this.
 

rmaddox:

I know this is a bit delayed but I hope you have had a great opening,

40 YEARS?? You have got to be kidding. There is only one reason anyone would do that and it is that they have to love their career.

In Alabama you could just about earn 95% of your salary retired after 40 years. Kudos to you...I know you will do great.

PLEASE do not let school politics, student behavior, demanding principals, or all the other things that go with it stop you from achieving your goal. You sound like a person who really deserves to succeed and I believe you will.

 

Thank you so much for your kind wishes.  Yep, this is my 40th year.  So far, I like this group of kids and I go home with a good feeling each day (right before I crash from exhaustion).

I have even worked out my 5 periods non-stop with no time to go to the potty problem.  A special ed. teacher passes my room each day before the 4th period and she and the teacher she is headed for have agreed she can stop in my room and give me a chance to run to the bathroom.

The one problem I am having alli-wise is the looong stretch from my breakfast until my lunch.  I am going crazy at lunch eating.  I have put on a couple of pounds since school started partially due to the reduced exercise so I need to figure out how to deal with those two situations.

How is everyone else doing with their diets now that they are back?

 Nancy
 

Not TOO bad Nancy.  I have forgotten to take lunch a few times and have had to search through the cafeteria looking for something; a couple of times I didn't make very good choices. Have managed to lose a couple more pounds since I went back to work.  Unlike HS or elementary school teachers, though, we college teachers have breaks between our classes - as WE move from classroom to classroom  AND of course we can leave the room unattended for a few minutes while we zip across the hall.

Ann

I teach also but follow the alli plan to the letter and do not experience any treatment effects.  Because of the situation of possibly having nature call on me, I use the meal plans offered through alli and sometimes take the same food several days during the week when I find that it agrees with me and I like it.  You can always do a recipe search to find something you like and won't mind eating it several times a week.  My co-workers think I am crazy but I have lost about 25 lb. doing this and don't really get bored because I vary breakfast and dinner so much.  Good luck!!!

Does your school cafeteria have a separate adult menu to choose from?  I'm finishing up my master's degree this semester and am currently student teaching in 1st grade-- the cafeteria at this school offers chef salads and baked potatoes daily, plus a different entree to choose from.  Nice to have alternatives to what they serve the kids.  Of course, I'm running my butt off all day too , and that has given me a lot more exercise.  When I first started there, I heard from a lot of teachers the concern over having time to go to the bathroom, and there is a frightening number of recurrent infections-- UTI's, bladder, yeast, etc.-- among these women.  I have 30 minutes for lunch, and after getting the kids through the line and to their table and then finally going to the bathroom myself, there is maybe 15 minutes left-- not much time to eat, which is just as well anyway.  I have lost 11 lbs since school started 3 weeks ago!  I'm the incredible shrinking student teacher ;)  Good luck to us all.

I'm a high school Spanish teacher and I keep some of those nutrigrain bars in my desk.  I'm usually able to choke one down during passing period if I miss breakfast.  I don't know what your school's policy is on food in the rooms (so that you are good example).  I tell kids they can snack unless it's disruptive  ie. loud, sharing.  I allow them to eat, so I feel like they are OK with me eating a bar while they are coming in--as long as I'm ready to start on time.

Ha ha   Betty sounds like a teacher and telling everyone to play nice.  You go Betty!            Deb

HI Deb,

I have learned from the experts: 13 years in school and 7 years in college :o) 

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD

Your comment about "choking" down a nutrigrain bar has made me laugh.  I usually feel like I'm eating a hunk of sawdust with some of those bars. 

 
I have a group of 3rd graders who don't have lunch until 12:30. This is the last lunch of the day, and so I allow them to bring or give those who don't bring one in a small snack at around 11:15 before they go out to recess at noon. We too are setting an example for eating nutritious snacks. I usually need something crunchy or sweet so I give whole wheat pretzels to the kids or those gummy fruit snack with vitamin C.

Anyway, I snack with them since my lunch is the same time as theirs. I'm starving midmorning, so imagine what an 8 year old tummy is feeling. 

Thanks for the laugh!