9 Things I've Learned in 1 Week of Healthy Living

Dear Sweet Hubby and I have adopted a healthy lifestyle, and we've made it through the past week pretty well. We've had a few stumbles but we know that is natural, so we have kept on with our new eating and exercise routine. (Although to be completely honest, I've been doing better exercise-wise than he has. lol.) So, here's some things I've learned this week:

1. Breakfast really is the most important meal of the deal. Before this week, I'd hear that and say "What. Ever." :) But the day I skipped breakfast I shoved 6 gluten free chocolate chip cookies in my mouth before noon. Yep. Breakfast is worth it. 
2. Life without caffeine stinks...the first few days. And there will be stumbling days. I was doing great, until yesterday, when an unexpected call from Dear Sweet Hubby that he needed to be picked up because his brakes went out on the way to work set the "caffeine-monster" to work on my head. :) I wasn't even stressed, but by the time I picked Dear Sweet Hubby up, I had a caffeine-craving from heck. I got a Dr. Pepper. And paid for it. Blech. At least my body isn't in cahoots with my brain on this. :)
3. Trying new foods is essential. I thought I din't like strawberries. Then I tried one while cutting them up for LBB. And bam...I was surprised by how much I actually liked them. Maybe it's me being less picky. Maybe it's me knowing that without candy, my sweet options are pretty limited if I only eat apples. But either way, it's for the best. Fruit is GOOD. Candy is not. :) 
4. Being healthy takes time. Lots more than grabbing a Dr. Pepper and a bag of chips for breakfast. There is meal planning for every day of the week. Making breakfast and lunch when I used to skip them eats up time. And that whole "exercise" thing? I am terrible at slotting time for myself during the day...I let LBB eat up a lot of it. But, it's been rewarding to take 5 minutes before bed to sneak in a few more situps. And throughout the day, I sneak in little things to tone up while I'm doing other things.
5. When you take out the nasty food, you find great substitutions. We loved Dr. Pepper. But...the ingredients label is nothing short of scary. I can't believe I've been dumping that many chemicals into my body. However, just saying we were done with it doesn't make that soda craving go away. So, we figured out a great compromise. Natural soda! Reading the ingredients doesn't make your cringe, and goodness, it is good. We have tried two brands so far...the first one I can't remember the name of (but it was super delicious), and this brand: Boylan Soda. Oh. My. Goodness. Yum. Sure, its a bit pricey, but we decided that Friday night we would get to have an all-natural soda as a treat. So, we buy one 4 pack a payday and still spend WAY less than we did on Dr. Pepper.
6. My dad is right: Hydrate, hydrate hydrate. Water is literally my new best friend. I start feeling a headache? Water. A little worn out? Water. Hungry but craving cruddy food? Water. It's been working so well so far. 
7. Eating healthy gets a bit expensive. I totally should've started this on a payday that wasn't so tight money wise, but I'm glad we did, and I suppose that the money we spent on soda can just go to regular, good food. It evens out, mostly. :)
8. We have decided to reserve eating out for vacations only (and even then we plan on getting food at the grocery store for sandwiches and whatnot.) But here's the funny thing...Burger King's wafting aroma of delicious burgers is never more tantalizing than when you are swearing off fast food. :)
9. Once you read one ingredient label, you become obsessed with all the others. And then, you become shocked at the junk we put into our bodies without even thinking twice. Our new motto: Simple ingredients, delicious food, better life. :)

This past week, while full of challenges, had been very "freeing." We fell better (for the most part, minus this lack-of-caffeine-induced sleepiness) and feel more active. I couldn't be happier that we have decided to live healthier...I want to pass on good life habits to LBB and if he sees us shoving junk and drinking chemical water, what is he going to do as he grows up? 

What have been your "healthy-living" challenges and rewards?