And what a disappointment it was! This week I’ve been really focused on healthy eating, cutting down my alcohol intake quite dramatically, drinking plenty of water and keeping up with my exercise routine. I’ve been below 1400 calories every day (but not hugely below – so I don’t think I’m under eating) and have been eating more fruit and veg, plus wholemeal bread rather than white. I’ve probably had about a third of the units of alcohol I was consuming – and so way fewer empty calories than usual. I’ve drunk at least a litre and usually 1.5 litres of water a day. I’ve done DPPY every day bar one. The only thing I’ve not really done this week is walking – a couple of days I’ve come close to my target but I’ve not found a way to fit it into the routine yet.

So a good week and one where I expected to see a good weight loss, at least two pounds. I FEEL thinner, I LOOK thinner so surely I must WEIGH thinner too?

Nope. The scales haven’t moved at all. Not a single pound.

How very disappointing.

Ok it’s time of the month so I’m hoping it’s due to period-related water retention – I do tend to gain, so maybe next week I’ll have a bumper weight loss. And the DDPY is toning me so it could be weight redistributing itself. I’ll get out the tape measure later and see.

But I’m stil disappointed. This is the story of my life – I make an enthusiastic start, lose a few pounds (eight so far), carry on working hard and being good but quickly plateau. Then I get bored, get annoyed, give up the healthy lifestyle, eat and drink what I want – and put back on all the weight I’ve lost, and some.

But this time I am NOT going to do that. Mostly because I actually don’t feel like it’s been hard work. I’ve been eating well, and enjoying my food, and not denying myself things I want. I’ve been loving my exercise and can’t see me stopping that, whatever. I’ve been feeling better for drinking less alcohol and more water – my skin is noticeably less dry and more clear.

I just need to find the missing link. Maybe it’s walking – I’m going to make a concerted effort to hit my (admittedly measly) target of 7000 steps a day over the next week, and try and incorporate a daily walk into my routine, and gradually increase the steps and see what happens. Doesn’t help that I work from home so have no commute, no chance to walk to the bus stop or station or park the car further away from the office than usual. But I’ll do what I can to increase the steps.

And I’ll try and keep positive. I know how easy it is for me to fall off the wagon when it comes to my weight. I need to reinforce the benefits and keep going, no matter how disappointing the results.

Onwards and upwards!