I’ve discovered the benefit of keeping online documents: it’s easy to see what you’ve done right and wrong over a period of time.

The week that I had the most encouraging weight loss:

• I ate porridge with blueberries and yoghurt for breakfast every day.
• I ate filling cauliflower and potato soup for lunch every day.
• I ate lots of different dinners but all with a bit of protein and carb and a lot of vegetables.
• I drank only one glass of wine all week.  I think there might be something in that.
• I drank a bottle of mineral water while watching tv at night.
• I snacked on Ryvita and cream cheese and fruit.
• I had my usual 5-6 cups of tea and coffee – with and without caffeine.
• I stuck to cappuccinos when I was out and counted for a full fat one rather than resent a skinny one.

The surprising thing is that I didn’t get to the gym that week – which worries me a little because I don’t want to lose muscle rather than fat.  However, I did walk on four days.  Still – I’d rather have a lower weight loss and a better shape.

Besides daily wine, what else wasn’t on the menu?

• butter – but I had olive oil every day.
• sugar in any vast quantity
• cheese – though I did have super parmesan reggiano  on a couple of meals.  I don’t count light Philly as “cheese”.  It’s something else altogether – a non-offensive dry cracker prevention system maybe.
• crackers other than Ryvita.  To quote Donna, “I can one and two point myself to death with crackers.”

OK, I’m sitting here thinking, do I want to lose weight more than I want to drink wine?  It’s a serious question.  For the next week I’m going to say Yes.

Do I want to exercise more than I want to hibernate?  The honest answer is No – but- I want to lose weight more than I want to hibernate so I’ll go.

Do I want to be free from journalling and measuring more than I want to lose weight?  Hmmmm – Yes – but for the next week I’ll sacrifice the freedom to grab to food and eat it for the freedom to zip up my jeans.

It’s all about choosing between freedoms.

I just read over the menu again and I’m happy to say that it’s all food that I’d eat even if I weren’t trying to lose weight.  It’s all tasty and filling and colourful.  So my challenge isn’t so much what but how much.