Kitty has Moved!

Well, it's been a very long time since I've posted anything on here. I moved back to Oregon. YAY!!! It is so gorgeous here. If I had a camera I would show you. It's green and sunny today and there's a little bit of a breeze. There's no place like home, am I right?

I moved here in January and am doing some temp work. It's pretty awesome. I work on a computer and listen to NPR all day and make the most per hour that I've ever made. The bad part is that sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours has some downsides namely,

1. If I don't work on it, my ass will get flat
2. I don't move around as much so I have to compensate in some areas. 

Moving was apparently a little more stressful than I thought it would be. From packing up all of my stuff and drugging my cat in order to take her on the plane (which didn't work) to Rick's mom and all the delicious food she makes, I gained 20lbs within a month of setting up back here. Here's why:

• Rick's mom is was very Meat and Potatoes. I had to express a concern for a lack of vegetables based meals, which we are still working on. We've been having a lot more stir fries.
• For the first month and a half I was getting rides everywhere and eating a lot more than I should not making very good choices about what it was I ate. 

What am I doing to remedy that?

1. My work provides its employees with complimentary bus passes to get to and from work. So now I wake up at 6:00am and take the max/bus to work. I walk from the transit center to the gym and sometimes from the library to the gym. I walk anywhere from 1 to 2.7 miles a day since I have chosen not to get a car.
2. I joined a gym, LA Fitness, and go anywhere from 2-5 times a week. I like to focus on weight training (I recently squatted 135lbs, not my best, but not my worst) and using the stair stepper or elliptical for 20-30 minutes. Recently I started doing Bodyrock.tv workouts as a warm-up. At least, I intended it to be a warm-up. I was so tired afterward that we decided to call it a day.
3. I think I am consuming too much food. I can probably drop down to half of what I have been currently consuming and be fine. The only thing I refuse to give up is my Starbucks snob drink in the morning. 
4. Since I listen to NPR for 8 hours a day, I've become very interested in the food authors they bring on to interview. I am attempting to find a guide that suggests a minimum amount of what nutrients I need and trying to incorporate mostly plants into my diet. A lot of the books I am reading are not very definitive in their recommendations. I'm a toying with the idea of hiring a nutritionist, but don't want any extra expenses until after I have my loans paid off. 
5. I bought an electric yogurt maker so I can have my yogurt without sugar that's not been disclosed on the label, thank you very much. 
6. I am thinking of getting up a little early and dedicating 20 minutes to jumping rope.

I think part of the reason I am so drawn to a plant based diet is because everything I have read advocates that plants are much much better for you. (Quite obvious, really.) I also like that it's a lot harder to contaminate foods in their original forms, versus very processed foods.

I feel like I am rambling, but there you go. 

What are you doing to change your diet and activity levels. Any advice?