Deployment and Newlywed Weight Gain!!

This morning as I stepped on the scale I cringed. I had gained 7 pounds due to all the holiday festivities these past two weeks, on top of the weight I had gained during M's deployment and after!!!

When M' deployed my goal was to keep myself as busy as possible. On top of my already full time job I added two other part time jobs to my schedule. Basically I worked 8am-midnight. My full time at the police dept was second shift. I was warned when I started that by my second year on the job I would start to gain weight. When I asked why, all the police officers said it was because of the shift in general. Having to eat at 8:00 at night and drinking soda to stay awake wreaks havoc on the body. Add to that deployment stress and also working with three pregnant women who constantly brought in food for the office, it wasn't long before I gained ten pounds.

M's deployment was rough on us. We were newlyweds who were spending our first year apart.we had to figure out everything over the phone and through email. Needless to say we were awful at communicating and instead of focusing on the other person, we became two selfish individuals. We fought constantly about anything and everything. I was stressed to the max! I had read somewhere that when you are stressed you gain weight differently. As someone who luckily only gained weight evenly I started to gain weight in the worst area a woman can, my stomach. My once flat tummy now had a pudge!

So before M returned I hit the gym hard and dieted like no other, finally losing the weight I gained. That didn't last long however, after months of eating rice and beans, M wanted to eat anything and everything. Chinese, mexican, burgers, you name it. He was always wanting to eat out. I went along with it and worked hard on choosing healthy portions and meals. I figured once I moved down to NC I would lose even more weight since I wouldn't be working second shift anymore,not to mention that my main cause of stress, the deployment was over!

I was wrong. For the first few months, I did good. I hit the post gym with the hubby and started getting on a routine. However once my work schedule changed, I was unable to fit in working out. I fell into a work out rut. A friend of mine joked that just like the freshman 15 in college, I was starting to gain the newlywed 20. And I was shocked to realize it was true. Now since M was home we had fallen into the comfortable routine of being with each other, eating out and even just snacking when watching tv at home.

I need to get back to the gym and start living healthy. My resolution this year is to give up soda, eat right and hit the gym.

How did everyone else deal with deployment stress? Does anyone have good diet tips? Please comment and let me know!