I successfully achieved 7 days good, healthy eating this past Thursday. My man celebrated his 7th on Friday, due to a error reading labels early on.

Takeaways from the first 7 days:

1) Little to no rosacea. Any redness on my cheeks have pretty much disappeared. (But some breakouts are still occurring, which I’m attributing to hormonal changes.)

2) Dropped the 5 extra lbs of holiday weight that I gained in December. I’m back to my pre-holiday weight, holding at the 145# mark.

3) Hewing close to my calorie cap. Yes, it’s only a number but it’s getting me where I need to go. I’m working on my macro goals and starting to plan and log my meals ahead of time.

4) Spent more time shopping at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods and discovered a wealth of cool snacks and foods. Grass fed and pastured products at TJ’s? Heck yeah!

5) Spent more time reading nutrition labels and researching different additives and ingredients. Definitely learned to stay away from industrial and seed oils, sugars and many of its various forms, embraced more raw foods, and got more selective our current “artificial” sweetener, i.e. stevia.

6) While nearly most of December was spent dining out, the first 7 days was conspicuously marked by eating in. Cooked lots of food, ate lots of fruits and vegetables.

7) Job stress and life stress are major contributors to cravings. When those cravings aren’t satisfied; people get cranky. Trying to get my mate to recognize that when the “meenies” hit, recognize it and do something about it (create new coping mechanisms). For me, I’ve been diverting my energy to exercise and shopping!

8) More sleep!

9) Getting a chance to catch up on my book reading. 

10) Took the StrongLifts Android app for a whirl. So far so good–but what’s with all the annoying pay-for-addons crap?? 

11) Added a new goal to my 2015 objectives: lose 15# in 15 weeks (130-135 by mid-April). I think it’s doable!