The Great Body Overhaul: Day 1

I am hijacking this blog for the next 52 days to deal with a pressing issue: my weight.

Since returning to northwest London in August and rediscovering my party spirit, I have gained almost 30lb. I am not happy about it! My clothes don’t fit.

So, until May 31st, this blog is going to chart my efforts to shift some of the excess before actually going to a Weight Watchers meeting and subjecting myself to the weigh-in.

• Long-term goal: Shift 5st
• Medium-term goal: Shift 30lb
• Short-term goal: Be slightly lighter in 14 days' time

Progress so far
Well, technically, Day 1 was Monday, but it was rather stressful – my first day in the new job and then an argument with my housemate. I ended up getting takeaway and drinking a martini. Whoops!

Tuesday, I arranged to meet some friends for a drink – but a meeting at work overran by ninety minutes, so drinks became dim sum and some cake Emilie had brought for me.

Wednesday, once again, I ended up going for dinner with a friend, followed by total surrender in the form of coffee and cake. And I announced over a lime and stem ginger brownie that I am giving up on going out for the next fortnight to try and concentrate on healthy eating. I’ll give it about that I’m skint, or something.

Today has been pretty good. I didn't manage to get out for a run this morning as I got home later than planned last night and was somewhat tired, but I used my extra minutes wisely by cleaning the kitchen. Tonight I'll try and do the same for my room!

Foodwise, I have been quite well-behaved:

• Breakfast = Chocolate Weetabix and skimmed milk (5 WW points)
• Lunch = homemade sushi and salad (7 WW points)

One huge difficulty I have is drinking enough water. A fitness professional advised me to aim for 3l a day and most days I have trouble even managing 1.5l. It's not even that I don't like water, I just don't often feel thirsty and find remembering to drink really difficult. I have had some success this week making sure I drink half a litre before leaving for work, but remembering to drink after that is still a battle.

This evening's big challenge will be going out for a drink with my housemate. She has brought a bit of drama into the flat recently and wants to talk about it. My plan: stick to two light drinks and go home after about an hour.

Explanation of absence

O, I am such a terrible blogger!

Where have I been?

Well, at the beginning of March I gave up my job, which you would think would give me loads of time for blogging, but it didn’t. I was out partying with friends and enjoying life! 

I went to the theatre; I met up with people I haven’t seen in ages; I discovered iPlayer and 4oD and caught up with all the TV shows my friends have been on about; I knitted; I went to the cinema; I sat in pubs and parks in the afternoon and watched the world go by; I read large, long books.

And then, I got a fantastic new job. Well-paid, intellectually stimulating and a ten-minute walk from my flat. I couldn’t ask for much more, really. Oh, except for nice colleagues. And they are: lovely. 

Curiously, any ability I’d had to sit through a TV show evaporated the day I started the job, and so did all the time I’d had for reading and knitting: I now walk to work so there is no ‘built-in’ culture time in my schedule!! On the plus side, I don’t have to leave home until 8:30 in the morning, so I can probably reinstate my ‘sacred hour’ for reading or writing, although so far I’ve been using it to listen to Radio 4. 

So, that’s just a quick update about where this blogger has been…