Should You Ditch The Diet This Christmas?

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If you are still counting calories during this festive season, then you might just miss the boat called life.  This is the season of parties, celebrations and special moments with loved ones whereby it really is possible to have fun and still stay in shape.

Sound too good to be true?  Throw out the million excuses that you can think of for why you cannot keep up your solid exercise routine and you will soon discover that you can continue to slip into your gorgeous party outfits night after night.

It's all about solving the calorie, booze and exercise balance.  Let's face it, who wants to count calories or even consider the fat content of that delicious dessert staring at you?  You have been working so hard all year that surely you can loosen up, be merry, eat, drink, indulge but then be motivated enough to burn it off the next day.

If it makes you nervous to let go, then calorie solve by simply slotting in an extra exercise session.  It doesn't have to be a monstrously long session on the treadmill either.  Perhaps a 30 minute work-out during your lunch break?  Or a short power run before work.  Not only will the burst of exercise invigorate you; the shorter work-outs will also motivate you to invest more energy into the activity you choose.  Taking this break from your usual routine will help you appreciate the change and enable you to enjoy your well deserved party night all the more.


CALORIE BUSTERS

When you are presented with a multitude of yummy dishes to try, why not share them with your neighbour at the dinner table?  This is not just about saving calories either.  This is one smart idea where yes, you do reduce your intake of high calorie foods but you also get to try a lovely range of dishes minus the guilt.  Portion control will never let you down!

Don't forget your veggies.  It may be party season but this is no time to forgo your valuable source of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fibre.  Pile your plate high with vegetables and salads.  It will get you full quicker, reducing the temptation for more.

Once you are full, it's time to have fun, so put your dancing shoes on and hit the dance floor.  

Yes that's right, dancing your dinner off will be great for your figure and will keep you away from that dinner table.  It's so much fun too, so how can you possibly say no?

Try to go easy on the booze or cocktails but if you really have over done it, try not to panic.  Just slot in a short but vigorous exercise date the next day.  It's achievable and your figure will thank you for it!

Enjoy your week lovely readers!   It's the most magical time of the year, so have a blast.


If you enjoyed this post, then I'd love a TWEET or a LIKE on facebook.  Thank you so much!

Your 1500 Calorie Purple Guide To Weightloss

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The nutrition industry has an unsung hero: the great principles of weight loss that everyone refuses to believe in.  Energy restriction coupled with increased calorie burn, truly does equate to weight loss.  You just need to believe the facts, practice and stick to it.

The trousers

If you are wondering what inspired me to write this blog post, I tried to get into my white jeans this weekend.  Sure they zipped up, but my rebellious curves made me look like a pumpkin that someone tried to squeeze through the middle.  Not pretty.  Christmas is under 3 months away so my instincts told me, “I should BE ABLE to get into these comfortably before the party / festive season hits!”

If you too have mastered the laws of nutrition but simply lack the practical tips to put together a healthy eating plan for weight loss; then dare to give this a go.  If variety is the heart of healthy eating, then I’ll be lovingly filling myself with fruit and vegetables for the much needed mineral and vitamins.

I’ll be trying vegetarian recipes and eating my favourite foods such as salmon for essential omega 3 fatty acids and proteins.  I will also be filling up on plenty of slow releasing or low GI (glycaemic index) carbohydrates to fuel my runs.  I love carbs and would not be able to survive more than 8 hours without it (and that’s when I am asleep of course). 

If you have been following me on A Light Perspective’s facebook page www.facebook.com/Alightperspective then you may have noticed that I have been posting pictures of the food I eat.  Feel free to join in and post pictures of your breakfast or lunch meals on the fan page.

So what’s next?  I’ll be posting 1500 calorie eating plans for a few days each week.  I have chosen 1500 calories as I believe that an average woman normally eats around 2000 calories a day.  To facilitate weight loss, you need to cut back by around 500 calories per day for weight loss of 500g at the end of the week.  If you want to eat more, then earn any extra calories by burning it off through exercise.

Quality control

It’s just like anything else, if you want to maintain a beautiful dress, you get it dry cleaned and store it carefully to ensure that it lasts beautifully over the seasons for a timeless piece.  Your body works the same way.  For a high quality living product, fill it with high quality foods packed with nutrition.  Remember to exercise it regularly for a toned and beautiful exterior.

Regardless of whether you want to LOOK good for your age or improve your risk factors for disease, you will enjoy feeling lighter and healthier after shedding a few pounds if overweight.  Or maybe like me, you may just be aiming to shed a few pounds to simply look good in your clothes.  Remember, as long as your weight loss goals also envelope the principles of healthy eating, then you will be on the road to a slimmer and healthy you.

So let’s get started.

Breakfast

1 cup of reduced fat milk

½ cup of cooked oats

½ small banana sliced or ½ cup strawberry halves

125g fat free yoghurt

Use this portion of milk to make a cup of tea or coffee.

Mid-morning tea

20 grapes

Cup of tea made with reduced fat milk

Lunch

Sandwich – make your own using 2 slices of wholegrain bread that’s high in fibre.  

Aim for >5g/100g or see my article Are You Carb Smart?

Fillings

60g mozzarella

Tomato slices

30g avocado to spread

Fresh / dried herbs OR salad leaves

Plus

120g pottle of reduced fat yoghurt (or save for later)

1 large orange

Cup of tea

Mid afternoon snack

Cup of tea or use the orange or yoghurt from lunch if you have saved this.

Dinner

1 portion of Aromatic Mediterranean Chicken & Courgette Rice With Smoked Paprika.

1 serving of fruit salad (for recipe ideas see Lazy Fruit Salad.

Plus

Extra vegetables on the side if still hungry such as green beans, broccoli or a simple salad of tomato and cucumbers.

Drink – plenty of fluids to stay hydrated.

Purple Tip

These are only tips to give you ideas of what a 1500 calorie eating plan looks like.

Don't forget to fit in at least 30 minutes of exercise such as walking, jogging, cycling or sport.  Whatever you choose, enjoy, have fun and remember the successful dieter continues the principles of healthy eating for a lifetime.

What are your tips for weightloss?  Do comment below lovely readers, I do love hearing from you.

To Eat Or Not To Eat – Pizza Or Glass Of Water?

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How do you cope when you rush out of an extended meeting that’s lasted for hours longer than anticipated?  It’s 3.30pm, you’ve missed lunch and there’s just a great British pie or pizza with soggy chips that the cafeteria will rustle up for you.  What do you do?  Do you gorge on the calories or skip it and survive on air and water until dinner?  Let’s discuss!

The good news is you are probably not alone.  This happens to everyone from time to time, but if this is a regular occurrence, you may need to do something about it.  Even so, let’s face it; if you haven't planned for this and don't have a delicious sandwich waiting for you in the fridge, then your options are pretty limited. 

Scenario one: you stuff yourself and feed your screaming tummy.  Scenario two: you choose to brave it and drink another glass of water as there really isn’t anything suitable to eat.

Sounds harsh but I believe we’ve incited a fierce debate.  It’s a little bit like weight cycling or yo yo dieting, whereby you lose weight and then regain it all over again in the space of a few days.  Did you know that some studies quote that fasting and feasting may affect your resting energy expenditure?  

Weight loss as a result of skipping meals may make you feel giddy with joy, but you may also experience a decline in your metabolic rate.  Worse, a high proportion of this weight loss may in fact be lean body mass rather than fat mass.  Not all studies are in agreement with these claims but the impact on state of mind and your food choices at the next meal as a result of skipping meals may in fact be pointing the finger towards an unhealthy diet and lifestyle.  

What's more, I can’t imagine that you will have energy for an intense hour of swimming or cycling after just a glass of water for lunch as fuel for your planned after work activity.

So if it's not scenario two should we settle on scenario one?  You decide to buy a slice of the cheesy gooey gluttonous pizza. OK, perhaps it’s only gluttonous if you go for the chips too.  And that’s exactly it, choose a small portion of what’s going on offer and top up with fruit or low fat yoghurt (instead of the soggy chips as extra) to keep you going till your evening meal.  This ensures that you are not filling your body with unnecessary calories just because you are raving mad with hunger.

Scenarios two is certainly not recommended but if you are beyond hunger, choose something light even if you only do choose a piece of fruit, cereal bar or a bit of toast.  

Be sensible and you may wake up in a weeks time finding that you have successfully managed to shed another pound.  Why?  You made the smart choice of eating to hunger instead of overriding the hunger cues.  It may not have been the most healthiest choice, but you chose an acceptable portion size which meant that you still had the energy for the planned after work exercise plans.

Purple verdict?  It’s possible you may disagree, but I say eat it and have the glass of water too.  Slot in an exercise session to work it off then forget about it.  Tomorrow’s another day.

Did you know that you can subscribe by email?  Enter your email address directly on this blog to receive other nutrition tips directly into your inbox.

If you enjoyed reading this article, then please do share the purple love with a TWEET or a LIKE on facebook.  Thank you so much.

Model Behaviour: How To Maintain An Accurate Food Diary

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If you are serious about weight loss, then you should be devoted to your food diary.  There is a growing body of evidence indicating success with weight loss in individuals who adopt the model behaviour of recording their intake in a food diary.

If you are not entirely convinced read Why Food Diaries Are A Girl's Best Friend.  Food diaries really can be key in ensuring that you achieve your short and long term goals.  We would all love a girl friend to encourage us through our weight loss journey, but when a friend isn't available, rely on these diaries.  The great thing about food diaries are that even when your mood changes and you abandon your diary, once you confidence and the courage to continue with the weight loss journey, you've always got your diary to refer back to.

The diary is a fantastic tool to verify what worked for you in the past and what didn't.  So if you are feeling inspired and want practical tips for completing an online food diary, grab a cuppa and let's go through a day's entry together.

Once you have created an account with myfitnesspal (or a similar online diary), you will notice straight away that you can log your food intake under the headings; breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

I am going to start today's entry with Breakfast.

Breakfast is a classic example of how important it is to read the nutrition tables at the back of any food packaging.  If you eat cereal like me, it really does pay to screen your cereals.  If you feel bewildered and are unsure which cereal brand to choose, read this short guide to make the selection process crystal clear: Breakfast Attack: How To Screen Your Cereal.

I find that the suggested serving sizes on breakfast cereals are completely unrealistic.  Who actually only ever eats a tiny 40g portion?  I would be starving and eating my arm by mid morning if that was all I ate.  What I suggest you do is to weigh your morning cereal just once,  so that your diary entries are as accurate as possible.  

I have chosen a cup of milk as I use this in cereal but also for cups of tea through-out the day.  I never add sugar to tea therefore to save time, I simply add this as a single entry.  I will choose 2 teaspoons of sugar and 2 x 1/2 cup of cooked oats.  Equally, you may be given the option of selecting 1 cup of cereal.  I have not weighed my cereal recently, therefore I prefer to overestimate.

Let's move onto lunch.  Today I ate mash with mackerel in a tomato sauce, a monstrous bunch of grapes and a pottle of reduced fat yoghurt as a snack later in the day.  I grabbed this from the hospital cafeteria therefore I really am clueless for exact weights.  I will need to estimate portion sizes.  After navigating to 'lunch', type in the food item that you would like to search for in the search box.  I typed in mash potato and selected the first option.

I chose 2 servings of mash as it looked like a large portion (from memory).  I've entered the mackerel to what I felt was the best match in the search field.  I am half way through completing the diary.

Before amnesia conveniently strikes, I better enter the 5 fun sized chocolates that I ate today.  What a dreadful day to reveal my diary I am thinking...  I checked the labels and each fun bar consisted of 40 calories.  I have therefore entered 2.5 servings as each fun bar on this particular selection provided 80 calories.

Had I not checked the labels or the calorie content of the actual product before eating, on entering 5 x 80 calorie fun sized bars, the diary would have falsely given me a higher calorie reading.  

My rule is simply not to fret about each and every single calorie but I also like to be as accurate as possible.  The idea is to record your intake to get a sense of how many calories are remaining in the calorie bank that day.  For example, if your diary tells you that have met you target for the day but you are still hungry, then you know to reach for the darling clementine and not for seconds from your evening meal.

Don't forget to record your exercise or activity for the day too.  I personally ignore all other columns (carbs, fat and protein).  Having said that, watch for trends.  Are you regularly exceeding one macro nutrient and under achieving in the other?  For a detailed review of your food intake, consult a dietitian.

I have completed my diary in full for you to view.  Click here Food/diary/GirlnThePurpleDress.  Don't forget, you will need the key purple.


And so my lovely readers, a quick example of how to complete a food diary.  Next time, we'll go through how to enter a complicated recipe.  Have you got tips on entering your intake?  How do you monitor your intake on a weight loss plan?  

Do comment below, I love hearing from you!

Do SHARE with a TWEET or a LIKE on facebook.  I appreciate your support.

How I Lost 20kg - The Harsh Truth That No-one Tells You About Weight Loss

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Armand is a young man of 18 years and has battled with his size for most of his teenage life.  Losing weight is not just about reducing his body size, it's about improving his risk factors for disease and changing how he eats.  Keep reading to discover his journey through his weight loss.

How do you feel after losing 20kg?
I feel better.  Life is easier.  It's now possible to play sport.  Even the simple task of moving and just living life in general is easier.  What I really enjoy about the weight loss is that it’s easier to buy clothes.  I have more choice with a smaller size.  Smaller clothes are more trendy and stylish.  I especially love being able to wear my brother’s clothes now that I am almost closer to his size.

How long did it take you to lose the weight?

Two months.  I lost 15kg in the first month and then a further 5kg during the second month.  The hardest part during this process was to not regain the weight.  Losing weight was the easy part.  Having said this, I found the process of weight loss extremely difficult on my body.

What diet did you follow?

The Dukan diet, which originated in France by Dr Pierre Dukan.  It consisted mostly of protein foods for 2 weeks, followed by 2 weeks whereby vegetables were introduced.  I then introduced carbohydrates at lunch, but never for dinner.  For the evening meal, I ate only vegetables and I ate one serving of fruit.  After the second month, I started to increase this to two servings of fruit per day.

I found this diet useful as it was the first step that I needed to start losing weight and decreasing my size.  Learning to control my appetite and portions was the next learning phase.

Did you see a dietitian?

My neighbour and family friend is a dietitian.  I casually chatted with him one week after commencing the diet.  He was not a fan of the diet but he suggested that I continue with the regime since I had already committed myself to this.  

As I was following the 'protein' only phase, he advised me to increase the variety of the foods that I was eating.  He suggested that I cook using olive oils as he explained that it contains essential oils for hair and skin.  He also suggested that I slowly introduce my 'usual foods', with careful attention to portion sizes.  A tip that he gave me was to eat no more than 100g of uncooked pasta or 250g of cooked pasta per day.  As I can eat pasta twice in the same day, this was a very useful suggestion.

How did you find the first two weeks on the diet?

I found that the diet zapped my energy, especially as the Dukan diet consisted of very little energy or calories with limited vitamins and minerals.  Due to my size it was also very difficult to play sport or participate in any type of activity.

Are you currently participating in sport or regular activity?

I play football once a week and I plan to cycle to work.  Considering that I have never played or participated in activity before, I am really happy to be able to join my friends for football.

How did you learn to limit your portion sizes?

On the Dukan diet it was impossible to overeat as I was always full.  I would not recommend this diet if you want to lose ‘a little bit of weight’ for the summer.  This was about a lifestyle change for me and I work very hard to not overeat every day.  This journey is about teaching myself self-control.  This is not the first time in attempting this diet either.  At the first attempt, after the initial loss of 8kg, as soon as I returned to my previous eating habits I regained the 8kg plus an additional 4kg.  

What advice do you want to share with others?

Consult with a dietitian.  They are the experts and I found the little practical pieces of advice really useful and still follow them today.

I feel like my body still carries the 'scars' from the Dukan diet.  I remember days when I could hardly climb out of bed as I felt extremely tired from the lack of energy and calories.

Be sure that you want to lose weight.  For me, I was 30kg overweight and although the Dukan diet is ‘dangerous’ and rough on your body, I believed that it was more dangerous to do nothing about my weight.  I knew that I had higher risks for diabetes and heart disease.  I needed and wanted to take the risks of following the Dukan diet to start the journey of improving my health and reducing my body size.

This is not a miracle diet, I still need to learn how to ‘eat’.  This was especially important after the weight loss as I do not want to regain any weight.  This was the first step and the trigger that I needed to initiate the weight loss.  As I shed the weight, I found that this also motivated me to continue and stick to the diet.

It’s the period after the Dukan diet that’s the most difficult (after the initial four weeks).  As I started to eat ‘normally’ or socialise with friends, I've found that it's extremely tempting to have just that 'little bit more'.  

Always pay attention every single day to what you eat.  Be aware of what you eat and how much you eat.

What further changes do you need to make to your diet?

I need to start eating more vegetables with lunch and dinner.  This is the most difficult change for me as vegetables are time consuming to prepare and they are not foods that I would necessarily choose to eat first.  I do enjoy eating fruit and will continue to eat 1-2 servings per day.

I understand that eating breakfast is something to work on, but breakfast is a struggle.  I really cannot face eating in the morning.  I will work on it!

Do you plan to lose more weight?

I would like to lose a minimum of 10kg.  I plan to achieve this by increasing my activity through cycling.  I also plan to increase the portion sizes of vegetables for dinner.  For lunch I plan to eat a serving of meat, carbs and vegetables but with attention to the portion sizes.  I find that it works well for me to eat a filling lunch but a 'light' meal for dinner.  I plan to limit starchy carbohydrates for the evening meal.

What motivates you to achieve your goals?

A friend offered me a football t-shirt from the Dutch team but it's too small for me.  I would like to be able to wear it.  This is one of my motivation.  I want to work on my fitness so that I can improve my performance at football with friends.  Finally, I want people to notice me not because I am ‘large’ but because I am ‘healthy’ and ‘fit’.

My motto

It’s not about motivation but the obligation I have to myself to get healthy.

  

Beer, Butter & Chocolate: The Unexpected Threesome For A Six Pack?

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As promised, an article for Andrew on ‘how to get a six pack on a beer, butter and chocolate diet’.  Isolated case of fearless eating you say?  You may be right, but before you think entirely impossible, apply the principles of moderation and almost anything can be possible.

Right now, my assumption is that Andrew is regularly sweating it out on a treadmill and completing high volumes of planks, plank walks, toe touches, modified side planks, full extensions, v-ups, suitcases and your old fashioned crunches.

Let’s face it; women aren’t the only ones watching their figures these days.  I blame celebrities again (naturally), but with the high publicising of Barbie figures, it’s not surprising that all are feeling the pressure to look good.  If you are serious about ‘feeling good in your skin’, in addition to exercising regularly, a fitness regime that incorporates a healthy, balanced diet can be the winning combo to a lean and beautiful body.

A Scraping Of Butter

The bad news is - if you must have butter, be warned that this is full of saturated fats.  Eat this liberally and expect your doctor to grimace over your high total cholesterol levels and your risk of heart disease.  Team this with regular takeaways, deep fried foods, baking and other high fat products and you are well on your way to an early grave. 

If your heart is ready to acquiesce, then choose margarine.  Based on vegetable oils, this is the safe option.  Rich in poly and mono unsaturated fats, they work hard to combat the damaging effects of saturated fats.  

But before you rush ahead to slap on the margarine, remember that how much fat you eat is equally important, regardless of type.  

If your weight is in the healthy range, chances are that you are already eating ample fats.  A switch from butter to vegetable oils may be all that is necessary to change the ratio of saturated to unsaturated fats.

Breakfast – don’t skip it

Butter addicts, don’t fear.  Reduce your takeaways, cakes, biscuits and deep fried foods and trade it for a scraping of butter.  Then have it with breakfast.  Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  A recent article published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in March this year, indicated that men who skipped breakfast were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.  

A study by Antonogeorgos et al, in Paediatric Obesity, also showed that children who ate breakfast daily were more likely to prevent overweight and obesity.  It should really come as no surprise that eating breakfast will decrease the temptation to over-indulge in high fat & sugary foods later.

If you plan to use your quota of butter for a fry up, then think again.  An interesting article published in ‘Nutrition Research and Practice’, in February 2012, compared Korean and Western diets.  Those who chose ‘potatoes, fruit and nuts’ at breakfast, showed lower risks of high blood pressure and blood glucose levels, when compared with adults who chose ‘eggs, breads and processed meat.’ 

These are just some of the latest findings from around the world.  As it turns out; you can be slimmer and healthier simply by eating breakfast.  Team your breakfast with smart food choices and you’ll also help protect your heart and risk of diabetes.  What’s more, if the thin scraping of butter on your toast encourages you to eat breakfast, then this could be the saviour from a monster munch attack later in the day.

Breakfast suggestions 

• cereal with reduced fat milk 
• high fibre bread with a scraping of butter (or margarine) or other spreads.  
• another delicious breakfast selection is fruit salad with yoghurt. 

Lunching?

Base the rest of your meals around carbohydrates, protein, fruit and vegetables.  Sandwiches packed with salads or soups and pasta salads bursting with coloured vegetables will help you meet your target of five fruit and vegetables a day.  Choose no bigger than a palm sized portion of meat, chicken or fish per day.  Don’t forget that lentils, beans and chick peas are a great alternative source of protein.

Combat Chocolate Cravings

After your gym work-out, why not treat yourself to a glass of low fat chocolate milk?  What a clever way of replacing muscle glycogen stores after exercise.  If you don’t do this, you run the risk of post work-out dives in blood sugar levels (and thus the danger of raging chocolate cravings). 

In addition to restoring the much needed carbohydrates, you’ll find that you’ve just satisfied your sweet tooth and potentially prevented a major pig out.  Have this drink immediately after a work-out (ideally within 30 minutes) for maximal absorption and replacement of glycogen stores.  Eat your evening meal as soon as you can.

What About Beer?

How could I forget!  After your hard work of healthy eating and commitment to exercise, I think you’ve earned yourself a can of beer this weekend! 

If you decide to give the can a miss, I found Delia's braised steak and mushroom recipe online which could also be prepared with beer.  Just go easy on the butter!

Enjoy!


Please comment below, I really love and read all of your comments!

A Chocolate Dilemma: When To Use A Food Diary

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Girls, the most important thing that you need to know about Easter is that we don’t get any slimmer after stuffing our faces with chocolate.  

Today, I am a successful baker (believe me, it took me years to understand that baking equates precision), but alas, I am now faced with a rather monstrous devil’s chocolate cake and an equally luscious lemon drizzled gateau sitting on the kitchen table.

I had high hopes for the four day weekend.  I planned to run 9 kilometres daily in my local park and to eat ‘very healthy’.  My heart even skipped a beat as a vision of me in the sexy purple dress flashed across my eyes.

But, who was I kidding?  The minute I googled “Nigella Lawson’s chocolate cake”, I knew that my fate had been written and set in stone.

There’s a conversation that I keep having with myself that really has to stop.  I warned myself that baking one of Nigella’s delicious cakes would literally be death by chocolate.  And yet, somehow, the she-devil in me won.  I paused.  I thought.  And then I smiled.  “Of course”, I said to myself in confidence, “Of course I will eat only one slice”. 

Lies, lies, lies!

If you are having this same conversation, then stop right now!  A very good friend once said to me, “darling, a minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips”.  Out of the many lessons that I’ve learned in life with regards to looking good is that every woman suffers from the same fatal mistake – denial.  A calorie eaten but never spoken about out loud is a calorie dismissed. 

If this was true then why does my dress stubbornly refuse to get past my monstrous bottom?

There’s only one thing left to do.  The same vision of me in the tight purple dress flash across my eyes – only this time, my heart sinks.  But then I remember what it means to me to look and feel like a million dollars.  A chocolate dilemma today perhaps, but only a small (um, OK a rather large hiccup) in my weight loss plan. 

Girls, the only advice that I want to share with you today is, realise and acknowledge what you’ve done.  I reach for my food journal.  I cringe.  Yes, the precious and hateful diary.  The desire to lie is stronger than ever.  My heart races as calories and numbers get tallied.  “Was it one or two slices I ate hon?” I ask my boyfriend.  A great, GREAT mistake. 

An awkward silence later, I accurately record the actual amount eaten (which I cannot reveal to a single soul).  Uh-oh, here it comes.  I panic and am truly horrified as the total calorie intake is computed.  It has been 24 hours of carnage.  I blame celebrities (naturally). 

No pain, no gain.  Not ideal, but I set the alarm for a Sunday morning run.  You could say that I should just skip dinner and trade it for the morning run.  Lovely thought yes, but I am after all a health professional and the benefits of exercise taunt me (details to be discussed in a subsequent article). 

In some ways I am relieved that I have a plan.  It takes the pressure off from the actions of earlier today.  I am so glad that I am determined.  I believe that the vision of the girl in the purple dress is the catalyst to this inner drive.  The power of visualisation should not be ignored.  I have already shed one out of the five kilograms since commencing the food journal. 

As I recall, I’ve always used a food journal.  It’s one of my favourite but difficult things I use when I am determined to win this battle of emotional eating.  This is certainly not the moment to shy away from reality.  

Most women make excuses when I request that they keep a diary.  It’s easy to see why, but I find that this is one of the most effective tools for weight loss.  The journal will help you explore and nurture the much needed relationship between food and you.  If old fashioned paper diaries are not for you, then look into online journals or apps for smart phones such as ‘MyFitnessPal’ or ‘MyNetDiary’.
www.myfitnesspal.com

So, it may be a chocolate dilemma today, but I would be naive if I believed that any journey was hurdle free.  Soon ladies, I hope I’ll be “shakin’ my ting” in that purple dress.  That’s when I know I’ve really made it!


Please comment below, I really love and read all of your comments!