The long haul

Starting Weight: 14 Stone 11 lbs
Today's Weight: 13 Stone 2 lbs
Total Lost: 23lbs

Can you believe I started this diet in September 2008? (As opposed to all the other diets that I have been attempting since about 2005) I should be the size of a pencil by now.

All those endless months ago, I weighed 14 Stone 11 lbs. 19 weeks of hard slog shrank me down to 12 Stone 9 lbs, and then Christmas happened. I took the stance that life was too short not to enjoy a mince pie and promptly slapped on ten pounds. (Some mince pie!) That same ten pounds have been coming and going ever since.

I justified all this consumption by stating that I had been trying to "not" diet. In other words, I had stopped blogging, stopped completing a food diary and stopped "depriving" myself - if I fancied a bit of butter on my toast, I had it. If I felt like having custard with my apple and blackberries, I had custard. I think I was hoping that the generally healthy diet that I provide for my family, with no sense of deprivation for me, would stop the binge/diet cycle. It sort of worked. I didn't feel deprived! And actually, it seems that the weight I am now is where I would naturally hover if left to my own devices. Trouble is, I don't like that weight very much!!

So it's back to the hard slog. Or at least, a version of it. I am not convinced that the very strict approach is working for me. It works for a bit, but then I get invited out for dinner and the 4% or less fat rule gets broken. This results in a guilt/sod it cycle and I'm back to looking less like a pencil and more like an overstuffed book bag. I need a more relaxed approach - just not too relaxed!!