3 weeks in

I have never professed to be a writer,  so I feel no real need to apologize for the very minimal content in this blog.
That being said,  I do feel the need to document some of the things I've noticed, learned and accomplished in the last 3 weeks.

• The Food

This whole food, no enriched, no white, no sugar diet is not half bad.
 Yes,  it involves a whole lot more planning and cooking,  but I am truly enjoying the food. I've learned to eat (and like) my salad without dressing.  I'm becoming a proficient label reader.  And I've discovered some new personal favourite snacks :  garlic roasted chickpeas and  greek yogurt with apple butter.

And while I'm enjoying my herbal teas (thankyou Starbucks and your Tazo Vanilla Rooibos )     I really really really do miss my coffee.

• The Exercise

I'm still doing mostly cardio for exercise and have taken to walking on my lunch and dinner breaks when I'm at work.  For me this is a huge accomplishment as I'm used to sitting on my butt and zoning out for 45 minutes twice a work day.     In these 3 weeks I have mastered walking  down and up Brock Hill without having to stop to catch my breath, and I no longer look like I'm on the verge of an  acute M.I. when I finally sit down to eat my meal.

I've also learned that core exercises are going to be the death of me,  and that I really do need to do some weight training.

But all in all,  I've been enjoying being more active in my daily life and I've also noticed on a day when I've done little to nothing,  that my body suddenly begins to crave movement.

SO. WEIRD.

• The Motivation

Coworkers, friends and family have been very supportive in the last 3 weeks.   I can't say that I don't love all the positive reinforcement I'm getting from mostly everyone in my daily life,  nor does it hurt to see the numbers on the scale dropping right along with my jean size.
People keep asking me what my goal is.  I don't really have one that is tied to any specific number or size, but rather my goal remains to be that when I turn 40 in 262 days,  I'd like to be able to wear the bathing suit of my choice and look good wearing it !

• The Results So Far

 Since I started the 8 week challenge October 3, 2011  I have lost 12.5 pounds,  for a grand total of 27 pounds so far since September 7, 2011

The midway point weigh in for the Challenge is next weekend,   so stay tuned for my next update then !