The Problem and The Solution

First, I'd like to point out that I a) changed the header so it is prettier and has less ugly pictures of us, and b) I have updated our pot and the cheats based off of our discussions weigh in thread on FB. Now back to your scheduled post.

I have one big problem when it comes to losing weight, and that is my surroundings. For those who don't know us irl, Jana, Amy and I met working at the movie theater in my hometown. The other two have since left to persue bigger and better things such as school and careers, but I'm still working there (nearing my 5 years guys, kill me now). Last spring I was given a "promotion" of sorts, which added to the amount I was already working. So needless to say, a significant portion of my week is spent there. Being as movie theaters don't exactly cater to the health concious people out there, I fell off my health kick pretty hard come summer.

On my breaks I'd get pizza, fries, nacho's, hot dogs, coupled with coke or some other unhealthy beaverage. You know those things that just don't help when you're trying to lose weight. And since I was working there so much, I never had evenings off to go to the gym, so I ended up not going at all for the final 5 months of my contract.

In September, however, it got a little worse. I started an internship, which had me travelling to Toronto for two days a week. While I'm there, we go out for lunch (which usually is burgers) and for dinner the night I was there, we'd always get pizza or wings. I'd also grab McD's for breakfast when I got off the train. I had, until that point, kept the 30 pounds I'd lost in January off, but since then I've gained back half of it. Hense why I'm determined to do this again, but right this time.

It also doesn't help that I live at home with my parents. While I'm generally good when it comes to snacking and breakfast/lunch, dinner is always a time where I over-eat. I like pasta. A lot. And as I'm a picky eater that's what my mom usually makes for me. But since I'm from a bigger family, our portions are usually on the large side. On top of that we have bad snack food just sitting there, waiting for me to eat it. Its hard to resist tempation when all you want to do is take that bag of chips and destroy it.

These are all factors as to why I've recently had a weight gain. But I'm slowly gaining control of the situation.

I went out grocery shopping with my mom on Saturday. I grabbed a bunch of healthy snack food that I will actually eat. I LOVE Special K granola and fruit snacks. They're just enough to be satisfying and their only 100 calories or less. I also got some 100 calorie fruit cups, some 100 calorie chip bags for those emergencies, 100 calorie microwavable popcorn with butter (which is awesome fyi) and a giant $13 bag of grapes. On top of that I picked up some healthier foods for me to eat. I stocked up on SmartOnes microwavable dinners, which really helped me last spring when I was losing weight. They're great for bringing to work to have for lunch/dinner. I also got ingredients to make small ceasar salad wraps, which a yummy.

My mom (who recently lost 50 pounds) is helping me by making me smaller portions and making sure that she makes me veggies (mostly brocoli because its the one veggie I LOVE). She's also trying to keep temptation foods away (though she can't do that all the time since my dad has similar tastes). It really helps that she understands what I need to make this happen.

One issue I do have is working out. Last year I had a gym membership and for a while I was going 2-3 times a week. But as I don't drive and live out of the city, it was hard to get to. I eventually started doing home workouts, which were great, and I loved them. But then summer happened and I got so busy that I didn't have time to work out everday like I had been. I still don't have much time, but that's not the only reason why it's difficult for me now.

Last spring, my grandmother (who had been living in our basement) got really sick, and ended up moving in with my Aunt who could take better care of her because she's a super of an apartment building, where as my parents both work out of town. This meant that I had the entirety of our basement to work out in peace. I eventually moved my room down there, which gave me more space and privacy. However, this past fall, my brother and his family were forced to move in with us, so he could afford to go to school. His family (wife and 3 kids) took the upstairs, while me and my parents are now in the basement, which really isn't big enough for the 3 of us. We're still very cluttered because of the move so there's no where for me to roll out my yoga mat or exercise ball and do a helpful work out. I'm trying to do some stuff, but needless to say, it's difficult.

On the upside though, my jobs do help to keep my active. I have to climb steps several times a shift at the theater. I also do a lot of walking when I got to my internship. So at the very least I am doing small workouts a three of 4 times a week, even though they're not as intense as the ones I was doing last year. Its still good exercise.

Anyway, I added another dollar to my cheats. We had a staff Festivus party at work the other night, so I ended up eating more than I should have that day. It happened to be the day before our weigh-in, so I only went down almost 2 pounds. I'm not too concerned. I've been weighing myself daily and since that day, I've already lost another two. So if I can keep what I'm doing, especially now that I have good food around me, I should be able to catch up.

Holy wow this turned into a long post. Haha.