Dieting, making changes, and studying

So, I've started up using My Fitness Pal again, and by starting up, I mean I have totally already started falling off the wagon... It's because I tend to want to not admit to myself what I'm eating, or feel guilty/ashamed of what I'm putting in my mouth. But, I should still be 100% honest with myself.... I just am having difficulty with it. :( I am making a concentrated effort to eat better, and I think it's apparent to me and my coworkers, but once I get home... it's like no holds barred. Especially if I've got chocolate there. And if I don't, I'm moaning and whining for it... Sooo much chocolate addiction!!

Speaking of which - caffeine and soda. I have been able to cut back on soda to approximately 1 serving (bottle or glass) a day. Which is pretty great, IMO, considering where I've come from. The soda I've been drinking is 80% caffeine free. However, I am still needing caffeine a goodly amount - I am always so tired, whether from lack of sleep or depression or medications. So tired that I have problems staying awake driving on my commute - which is only half an hour! Both the morning and evening commute. I have tried a lot of things, and am still trying to figure out ways. It's definitely a struggle.

Thankfully I am drinking a ton of tea and water, so that's good. However, I'm not being discerning in my tea necessarily - that is, not check to see if it's decaffeinated or not. I have a lot of tea I've had for some time, so I'm not really investigating it excessively. Also, a lot of labels don't say if they are or aren't! I am a notorious label reader, so this lack of info is something I definitely take notice of.

And then on to studying. I have been thoroughly reading the information that was given to me at the nutritional information appointments I've had, highlighting, making copies to put in prominent places, etc. There are so many important pages that it's hard to keep track! But I am definitely paying very strong attention, and focusing in on that protein. I've been puttering around trying to find samples (whey protein isolate), but it's not cheap... And neither are the supplements themselves. So I definitely want to try samples! When I can find them, they are usually $3-ish apiece. Which is a tad frustrating, since I don't have that kind of money to try a bunch of samples of things I might not like! I will probably need someone to gift me protein supplements in the end anyway. :( Oh, this is so not cheap. Maybe eventually, but sure as hell not for the first year or more.