Quitting my job has been mightily stressful, but I can't say I haven't enjoyed the vast amounts of free time. I decided before I even quit that I would stay busy and productive working on all my personal projects, and I can proudly say that I've done just that. The garden obviously has been my pet project, but there's also been the wedding planning, starting and maintaining my blog, getting moved and settled in to our basement apartment, establishing an Etsy store with my mom (still in the planning stages), and then there's the continual job hunt. Today commenced the latest and greatest: The Get In Shape and Lose the Pooch Project.

Let me start by saying I feel fortunate to have made it to quarterlife and never worried about my weight. I'm still not worried about my weight. I'm worried about my health, my lack of physical strength and stamina, and the little gathering of chub in my midsection that has come to be known affectionately as "the pooch." Well, I have a semi-legitimate reason to be worried about the pooch... I have a wedding dress I'll need to fit into! I'd be lying if I said my main reason for this undertaking was to improve my overall health, although that IS extremely important to me. Vanity was the real kicker. I have a belly for the first time in my life and it's slightly appalling to me. 

Anywho, I woke up and STAYED up at 7 a.m., and did 30 minutes of a kundalini yoga DVD with my mom. My mom and I then worked until the early afternoon reorganizing the unfinished side of the basement, and bringing things down from the garage. Not exactly an aerobic workout, but we were continually moving, walking, and carrying, certainly burning some calories. I took a break to eat some lunch and take the dogs on a short walk. My food intake really didn't change from a typical day, either in what I ate or how much of it. 

I'm not measuring myself or weighing myself regularly, because I don't want this to turn into a regimen or obsession. I'll know I've achieved my goal when I no longer feel like I have to unbutton my jeans to feel comfortable when I sit.

I am slightly obsessed with reading labels. It's part of my larger obsession with being an educated consumer. I believe you need to know what is in your food and the products you buy. You need to know if what you're buying really is what the manufacturer wants you to think it is. This is especially important now that it's considered cool to be eco-friendly, because so many companies are hyping up their "green" products which really aren't green at all, or the companies themselves are still involved in destructive practices that harm the earth, animals, and people. For example, in the grocery store the other day I saw that Perdue had recently changed the labeling on their chicken parts to say "All Natural, Raised Without Antibiotics or Hormones." The uneducated consumer would likely take a glance at that package and assume these chickens were "organic" or healthier in some way than the "old" Perdue chickens. First of all, unlike for the term "organic," there are no federal rules or limitations in place on the use of the term "all natural." In this case, "all natural" doesn't mean shit. It means that the chicken parts came from a bird, which makes them "natural." Next, take a look at the teeny, tiny fine print at the bottom of the package. It states that federal law prohibits the use of antibiotics or hormones in chickens. Antibiotics and hormones were never the issue to begin with. The issues with Perdue chickens include squalid, inhumane living conditions and slaughtering practices, feed made from ground up bits of OTHER CHICKENS, and the massive amounts of agricultural pollution generated from the factory farming of chickens (and other livestock). In this case, look for chicken meat that has a label stating the meat is organic, the chickens were raised with access to fresh water, fed a vegetarian diet, had room to roam and access to the outdoors, and were humanely slaughtered. Yes, it takes a little bit more effort to be an educated consumer. Research what you're buying before you buy it. You can sacrifice a little convenience for knowledge. Knowledge is power.

We are still a capitalist society and we vote with our wallets, so don't vote for companies that make misleading and deceptive claims, or fill their products with chemical garbage, or use tons of unnecessary packaging.

Read a little bit more here, and all over the internet.