That’s my cue!

OK so when I started this whole weight-loss journey I decided that once I got to my ideal weight I was going to get rid of all my “fat” pants and buy jeans that actually fit. This would be my indicator or sign that I was gaining too much weight again if those new pants start to feel tight.
Well, this morning it happened. It’s been a while since I weighed in so I weighed myself and came in at 166.5 pounds. OK, so I’ve gained 6.5 pounds. That’s not a lot but let’s backtrack for a minute.
Recent life changes
Recent life changes have made a huge impact on the way I’ve been eating. About two months ago I started a new job and we had a new baby. At first the new job was a little boring so I would find myself eating a lot of snacks in the car while I’m riding around with the person training me and every day I would try to add more snacks to my bag because I would be running out. Then after the job started about 15 days later we had a new baby my sleep pattern started to change and I could definitely feel a difference in my gut when I would go to bed or eat too late I would wake up and feel like I was still full and my body hadn’t fully digested that food.
Up until this point I had actually managed to maintain about 160 pounds. I wasn’t overheating and I was just maintaining I was finding it to be quite simple. My weight range was between 158 and 162 pounds.
Now the bad habits have started to come back in. I have been eating lots of candy every day. About two weeks ago I started drinking soda again. That’s a really bad habit! But for some reason because my stress level has started to rise I just want to self medicate by eating whatever I want.
OK so this is that point right? This is the point where I need to continue to make a decision do I want to reverse the small amount of damage I’ve done and start eating healthy again lose that weight and then maintained properly? Or do I want to keep eating poorly and go in the wrong direction?
The pants indicator is really working I can feel it today I feel bloated and heavy already it was hard to talk in my shirt and I think with it being fall in turning to winter it’s going to be even harder to eat right.
OK so here’s the challenge to myself and everyone who struggling get back on the bandwagon or if you haven’t started your weight-loss journey jump on the bandwagon and now!
Read some of my blog post about tips and tricks on how to get started and start maintaining or going towards a healthy weight.
Somethings I’m going to implement right away:

Start tracking calories today. You need to establish that baseline of where your calories coming from? And how many are you putting into your body the way that you’re choosing to eat today.

Number two. I’ve started to eat a lot of processed foods and too much bread every single day. I have to get away from that and go back to the good habits I had before of raw fruits and vegetables – bread one time per day. Maybe some oatmeal for breakfast? And just general better eating.

Three. Ditch the soda habit right away. not a good idea! Not only are you drinking way too many calories but the sugar is so bad for you and you know it! (i’m really talking to myself here) you’ve learned so much! Why would you turn back now? (answer: stress) but that’s not the right answer and you know that if you keep eating poorly you’re just going to feel worse in the long run not better.
Somethings that I’m not gonna be able to change:

OK so the baby is still fresh she’s a little one and she’s not sleeping as well if she could I don’t have control over that right now so I’m just going to have to do the things that I can change (diet, maybe some exercise) and when I can get back into the routine of going to bed at a normal time sleeping through the night and waking up to go to work then I will make that change.
Two. As far as the job thing goes… It’s going to get better so I can’t let that control me. For a while I was doing really good about packing my lunch every single day and not eating out. I just need to get back into that and not be so darn lazy.

Insert into beginning of article:

At the beginning of my new job I was packing my lunch every day. I had a list of the foods that I was going to put into my lunch and most of them were low-calorie or in general just better for me. But,

Because my work schedule and sleep schedule our harsh on me right now I stopped packing my lunch every day and I’ve been eating fast food way too much.
Other potential changes:

My wife said that after the baby was born she wanted to lose weight too. We haven’t talked about it too much because of how stressful everything’s been, but now would be a good time for us to start to have that discussion and see if we can make some small changes family wide to eat healthier.
Make sure to comment below with your personal struggles whether you haven’t started yet or if you’re having trouble maintaining. Let me know if it’s something you’ve been able to overcome and maybe let us know how you managed to overcome it.