Less than one week left in the weight loss challenge

So what have I learned so far?

1. Eating healthy and fresh foods makes you crave eating more healthy and fresh foods.

2. Exercise begets more exercise begets more exercise and so on and so on

3. When the brown rice package says 1/4 cup rice = 170 calories, they mean uncooked and were just being idiotic by not putting that warning on the package. 1/4 cup brown rice cooked is actually like 60 cals. Seriously, who puts the nutritional value for uncooked food on the package? Like we really eat uncooked rice?

4. My body actually doesn't need a lot of food to feel great. I've cut portion sizes in half in the case of most of my meals and I feel satisfied.

5. Eating healthy does not mean eating boring. My meals are full of flavour, using fresh and healthy ingredients. I'm still practicing the "ritual" of eating... presentation, sitting down and enjoying every bite of my smaller portion. In some ways, I feel that my mealtimes are more luxurious now then before.

6. I can indulge every so often in wine, beer, vodka, etc... eat steak, chips, potatoes, cookies and STILL lose weight. Don't misunderstand, I won't lose much by doing this twice a week, but with discipline and lots of exercise during the weekdays, I can indulge on the weekends.

7. Wine, steak, cookies, etc all taste incredible when you consume them slowly, thinking about what you're putting in your body and the different flavours that make up the food.

That's it so far.

I've lost just over five pounds as of today but my body composition has drastically changed. My pants from four weeks ago no longer fit the way they used too and some don't fit at all. I'm in my skinny jeans (which happen to be skinny jeans) and have decided that even though this weight loss challenge ends in just under a week, I'm keeping on it. I feel as if I've made a sustainable life change. No, I won't be doing two/day workouts four days a week into perpetuity, but can I handle it at least two days a week with an additional four other days for regular workouts? Absolutely.