Getting It All Out (Well, Most Of It Anyway)

Hello. My name is AL and I'm a foodaholic.
I recently turned 43 yrs old. (ouch!) I am married, and we have three children. We also have three grandchildren with a fourth one coming this fall.
I never really had any issues with my weight until I became pregnant the first time. It all went down hill after that. I had all three kids in less than two and a half yrs. My poor body never came back from that. I have been fighting this for a long time now. (My children are 23, 24, & 25 yrs old!)
Over the years I have lost a few pounds here & there. But some how I always seem to find them again. I have gained 40 lbs in the last two yrs. Thirty of that is from this last year alone. I would like to say "I don't know how that could have happened!" But some how, I don't think that would be a true statement. In fact, I know exactly how it happened.
Let me just back up for a moment to get you up to speed. For the last several years, up until a year ago this past March, I had a crappy factory job. I worked the 12 hour swing shift. One week days, next week nights, then days again--etc. Add that to the hour and a half drive each way, and needless to say, I wasn't getting much sleep. In the winter it was worse. Travel time was pretty much double. By the time I got home, showered, and ate something, I was lucky to get about 4 hrs of sleep before getting up and having to do it all again. Meals needed to be something quick. Usually something frozen to pop into the micro-wave. (Always loaded with sodium) Or a bowl of cereal. (Frosted flakes has always been the only kind I'll eat.) So, with age creeping up on me, so did the pounds.
Then last March I got laid-off. I don't take it personally, 42 other people also got the boot that day (damn economy). Since I was getting unemployment, the first few weeks I just rested (much needed!). After that I knew I needed to start working on myself. Trying to figure out how to shed some lbs. Before I could even get started on that, my husbands company offered me a job. Did I tell you he is an over-the-road truck driver? They wanted me to team drive with him. (I/we did it years ago, but I had to give it up. Leaving 3 teenagers home alone turned out to be not so good of an idea. That's when I got my crappy job, and here we are now.)
Since the kids are all grown and gone out on their own now, I took them up on the job offer. I did it for just over a year. I am home now, looking for a new job (and praying everyday that I find one SOON). But the whole time I was out there, I just kept gaining weight. The downfalls of that job is that all you do is sit, (driving), eat, sleep and sit some more. There was no time for exercising, although I did try to get some walking in when I got the chance. And 90 o/o of the truck stops we went to all had fast food. Totally NOT healthy. The other 10 o/o had sit-down restaurants, also with mostly unhealthy choices.
I tried everything, and still the weight piled on. I was completely miserable in that truck. We mutually agreed that it was best if I stayed home for a while. Poor hubby thinks I am having some kind of mid-life crisis. I am just sick and tired of being fat and getting fatter! At least I hope that's all it is!
So, here I am. Been home about a month now. Tried the calorie counting thing. That didn't work for me. Can't seem to figure out the numbers for everything. I am trying to eat healthier items, plus eating less than I used to. Also, I have one glass of chocolate milk every morning. I don't drink coffee--hate it! Yuck! So I gotta have my milk! Then I drink nothing but water the rest of the day. Seem to be drinking about a gallon every day. I know that's got to be a good thing, right? But now I'm not getting much sleep again, but because I'm getting up to pee all night long. Oh well, I guess that's good too.
I think I have talked enough for now. Will discuss exercise and numbers on the scale ( and other things too, I'm sure) next time. Thank you for reading. Have a super great day!! AL