New Trials, New Tribulations

I got a job! Yay! I now work a pretty much full week, which means no more sitting at home, eating the day away. Excellent. But with the new schedule and life style come new challenges. Eating a healthy, filling lunch when I sit and eat at my computer at work is the first one. It's been a looong time since I've packed a daily lunch and quite frankly, I never really did it in the first place. My mom did. By the time I got to Jr. High I was buying my lunch and I never really looked back. So it's a habit I have to get into, and I have to start doing right. I technically have access to a microwave, but I'm never going to have the nerve to use it, so it's refrigerates only. Which means buying ahead, planning ahead, which will be helpful in the long run, but only if I can talk myself into doing it smart.
Challenge number two is not letting myself have a daily coffee or whatnot. It's not necessary, I've never had the need for coffee, but it feels so right with going to work in the morning! Things I need to keep reminding myself of: they are empty calories, and it's expensive! I might have a new job, but I'm not suddenly swimming in cash.
Challenge number three, and here's the big one, is eating sensibly when I get home. Since I haven't been making sure I get a good, healthy lunch and a light afternoon snack, I'm starving by the time I get home, and I eat dinner. And I snack. And then I eat a bowl of cereal. I've talked myself into the "I'm home from work, I'm exhausted, I'm just gonna crash" mentality, and really, it's bull. I work for 8 hours a day, yes, but it's not mentally strenuous, like teaching, and it's not physically strenuous, I sit at a desk. It's answering phones and filing and data entry. All stuff that I can do and come home energized from. But I'm not, I'm coming home and eating and then going to bed. Which brings me to...
Challenge number four, exercise. I'm not. At all. It's dark when I get home so I'm not going for a walk, which is a bummer for both me and Plato. I tried getting up a half an hour earlier, and guess what? It's dark! We're headed for longer days, so this wont be a problem in another month, but for right now, I need to tell myself that exercise is not an option, it's a must.
So here's the plan. Healthy lunch and snack, exercise, healthy, proportioned dinner, rest, sleep. No more nights where I do nothing but watch tv. I can read. I can write. I can call up good friends and have a long chat. It'll be good for me.

In the month of January I lost 3 lbs. Not quite the 5 I was aiming for. But I'm not going to try to make it up this month, especially since it's a short month. Nope, I'm going to aim for 5, like always. I just have to get to work.