wagwaan?: Tuesday

It's a good job I enjoy my work - because my Christmas holiday is over tomorrow. Back to the treadmill at 2pm. I'm quite looking forward to catching up with my colleagues, and I'm nicely rested now, so it's all good. I was so exhausted just before Christmas I was really desperate for a break. Now to plan the next one. I have a week off around my birthday next month and I'm thinking about where to go. I've had invitations to Paris and Switzerland.... Oh the possibilities!

Today I got up and blitzed my bedroom. Although I'd unpacked on the day I got home, the suitcase had been left out and I hadn't hoovered, so I did all that. Then it was over to the hospital to catch up with Dr O, and then on to coffee with my new friend L. Well, his name is actually W, which is the same as my ex, so I told him that could be a bit of a problem. His family all seem to have nicknames so I said I'd use that instead, so L it is. He doesn't seem to mind. Well, that's what he says anyway.

We have started the New Year on a pretty healthy footing. I seriously need to get a handle on consistent healthy eating. I do manage to do pretty well overall - until I get the munchies and give in to my cravings. The tool that really helps me stay on track is the Myfitnesspal app. I use it to enter my weight, what I eat, the exercise I do etc. There is a huge database of foods already entered, so it's easy to quickly add what I eat, and if I'm out and about and decide on a snack I can even use the barcode reader.

When I started using it last year I entered my starting weight and how many lbs I wanted to lose a week (I chose a healthy 1-2lbs), and it calculated how many calories I needed per day. I know what a healthy diet is, but I sometimes crave something 'naughty'. With most food in shops and restaurants having a calorie value on the wrapper, or indeed on the shelf, I find that counting calories works for me because I don't want to waste the ones I can eat. I assume it's the same with Weight Watchers points - you don't want to waste valuable points on something that might taste good but won't keep you satisfied for long. Today, for example, on my way home I stopped for a coffee and was tempted by a lemon dessert pot in Pret a Manger. Until I saw the calorie content on the shelf in front of me I could fool myself that it was healthy....ish. Then I saw the 3 figure value and came back to earth with a bump. And chose a pack of rice cakes instead. Patted myself on the back there, and when I finished inputting my values for today was rewarded with being on target. Long may it last.

The good thing is that if you finish inputting and you are under your calorie target, the app gives you a good talking to and tells you that it's not healthy in the long run and that your body could go into starvation mode, and what the minimum healthy amount of calories is. I lost about a stone in the Autumn and although I went off the rails a bit with some of the shock news I got in November, I am happy to say it hasn't all gone back on, and even then what went back on over Christmas is now off.

So there you have it. My New Year plans are on track for health (check), finances (check) and socialising (check). Not a bad start, 8 days in!