Need some advice.

[HurricaneRJ]

Last night I got a call saying that my whole work-crew is getting laid-off.

Now I'm without a job and pretty soon without a place to stay or gas to goto the gym.
I've always had it planned out just in case, but I probably can't afford to loose another 26lbs to get in the Corps. I'm already in debt and with only $470 of unemployment money for 6 months, I can't afford to be in the situation I'm in.
Tried to talk to mom and pops about letting me move back in, but of course no.

I've lost a total 58lbs to where I'm at now and I have to be 227, which means another 26 to go. I don't want to join the Army unless I have to.
For myself personally I've always told people that I was going to be a Marine and now in this situation, time is not on my side, I really don't want to seem like a failure If I join the Army. I can understand if I quit trying, but this is out of my control.

Also I've heard there is a way to switch branches after completing basic training is that true? I know if i switch service, no matter what branch if your going into the Marines you have to do boot camp. (Which I'm perfectly fine with.)

Any help?

[Old Marine]

Find another job.

If you can't handle that, there is always Wal-Mart. Cart retriever $8.00 hr, Greeter $8.00.

Its not a lot of money, but should get you by until you can get your weight down.

[HLeyb]

Don't give up man! You're going to tell me you lost 58lbs just to join the Army. Yea, you've hit a rough patch, but I've always been told it's the way a person handles hard situations that defines his character.

Fight for what you want! Plus if you tell your recruiter your situation I'm sure he'd help you lose that remaining 26lbs in no time, I know a kid from our RSS lost 8lbs just by using some Epsom Salt, heheh.

[Kurby494]

Don't give up man, If you want to be a Marine then you'd kick yourself everyday for joing the army. Just buckle down and refocus. There's allways work around somewhere dont put mental blocks up for yourself by getting demotivated and pessimistic. Just face your problems and keep doing your fitness training, you may wind up losing the wieght quicker than you think and find all this worrying to have been for nothing. Whatever you do don't rush yourself into lossing this weight and end up getting sick or injured, it's not worth the risk to your future goals. Another thing, most of these quick weight loss tricks or crash diets may seem appealing to those who simply don't want to wait through the time to loose the weight sensibly but in the end you end up suffereing in your abilities, drive, and over all health. What's more the weight almost allways ends up coming right back. Whatever you do make sure you do it the right way with permanancy in mind. And keep your head up man, If it wasn't such a hard fought battle then the reward wouldnt be as sweet.

[Phantom Blooper]

When your up to your azz in alligators,it's difficult to remind yourself your initial objective was to drain the swamp! Back up,regroup and get another job! One good thing no job..no food..loose weight!

[grodunt]

Need to lose weight? Run at least 25 miles a weeks. Split it up however you want but so long as you run 25 miles a week the weight will come off. I only had to lose 20 lbs but I did it right by chaning my diet and excercising. Try writing down everything you eat and how many miles you ran and the time it took to run. Also, eating 5 small meal throughout the day instead of gourging 2 or 3 will make a big difference. Johnson you know you want it you've been talking about forever so just get out there and do it. Unemployment is at 4.5% so there's a job out there just find it. It's time to adapt and overcome. Oh and the 31st MEU says hi.

[Sgt D]

The key thing like alot of people mentioned was don't give up. Marines don't give up. If we did there would be no Marine Corps. Heart and dedication will help to mold you into what you are wanting to be. Congrats on the 58 lbs. but you are not there yet. DO NOT GIVE UP! Good luck.

[Marine84]

NEVER give up Hurricane! You haven't lost all this weight to join the Army - WTF? You can always flip burgers at McDonalds (just don't eat them) - hey, it's more than what you're making sitting on the couch. One thing you'll learn about Marines......................no matter what life throws at us, we will always improvise, adapt, and overcome ANYTHING! It might not be what we want to do but it will hold us over until we figure out what we're going to do to fix the problem.

Just take a breath, relax and think it over - you'll be in the Corps before you know it. Then you and your brother can have a little bit of that rivalry that goes on between the branches. SHOW THEM YOU CAN DO IT!

[HurricaneRJ]

Thanks for the moto, yeah I took a nap and did some thinking about it and yeah you guys are right, you don't loose 50 or more pounds to join the Army. I'm looking towards the Wal-Marts, Lowe's, and Circuit City type jobs, hopefully they can pull my application offline. Thanks for the moto, I'm meeting with my recruiter on monday morning to work something out, if anyone can help me out now it would be my Gunny.

[Marine84]

I'm looking towards the Wal-Marts, Lowe's, and Circuit City type jobs, hopefully they can pull my application offline.

Fk that! Get up off your a$$ and GO DOWN THERE! Do it the old fashioned way like a lot of us had to do.

[HurricaneRJ]

Roger that, I'll get on it.

[yellowwing]

Look into getting on a concrete crew. Loading 50lbs of sand and cement into the hopper all day long. And you don't quit until the pour is done.

You'll bulk up and lose 25 pounds in no time, plus make some good money.

[Wolfman07]

If I were you I would find a landscaping job or try to get on a maintenance crew at a golf course. The pay is pretty good and the work is normally hard. I lost almost all the fat on my body one summer working at a golf course just because it was hot as hell and I was busting my ass.

[bgsuwoody]

Yeah I just got a college degree and I am stuck working at Wal-mart for the summer...hell its a job and all I do is unload trucks everyday...you wanna lose some extra weight...ask for an unloading job.