For weight loss and fitness journey

I have GOT to do something about my weight. I am so super frustrated that I have put on 25 pounds since July! I don't think my eating habits are that bad. It's true, I have to eat cheap a lot and cheap food tends to be more fattening. It's also true that I have to eat on the go a lot and fast food is DEFINITELY fattening. I'm not big on sweets but I do eat them sometimes. My biggest weakness is carbs. I love bread and pasta! And I DON'T like a lot of vegetables and I know that hurts.

As far as exercise goes, well, I try. I usually make it to the gym 1-2 a week. It's been hard being in graduate school, having two kids still at home, working full-time, being involved in church, etc. It's hard to do all that and find time for exercise. It seems that EVERYTHING has to be a priority and juggling priorities isn't easy. Some weeks I do better than others.

I have tried the vitamins, weight watchers, green coffee beans, slimquick, ace...I drink a lot of water and for awhile I had given up soft drinks. But I stay hungry all the time. And I'm getting older so my metabolism, what little I had to begin with, is slowing down. It's time to get serious. I can't afford Jenny Craig or Medifast and I've tried JC and Nutrisystem before anyway. They don't come to your house and pry the cookie dough out of your hands at midnight so why pay them the big bucks?!

I know all the things I'm supposed to do and not do. It's just hard. I had AMAZING will-power during the fast at the beginning of the year but I don't know what happened to it.  And so much of our lives revolve around food! There are always cook outs, eating out, parties, celebrations, it seems every day is an excuse to eat and eat well.

So I don't know how I'm going to do it just yet but the time has come for me to get serious. I know the first thing I am going to do is to regulate my sleeping patterns. They say that if you get at least 8 hours of sleep a night, you burn more calories during the day. And now that grad school is out for the summer, I shouldn't be up late working on assignments. And if I want to be at the gym by 5 a.m. (working out early is supposed to jump start your metabolism for the day) then I need to be in bed every night by 9 p.m. Even though I don't have a reason to be up, it'll be easier said than done getting myself down. I'm a night owl by nature.

So I'm taking the next four nights to try and get that going. And after that, we'll see what the next step is.