Day 19 (Sixth Post)

I hate to sound smug but I've gone for nearly three weeks now without so much as a glass of wine. One of the most persistent offenders in the dieting world is alcohol - people can't seem to live without it. And of course, I like a drink as much as the next person. I'm certainly not teetotal and don't plan on giving up booze permanently, just for the duration of my Watergirl project. But when we drink our calories we really are sabotaging any other efforts to lose weight.

Think of it like this: what's the worst thing about dieting? I would say, feeling hungry and not being able to scoff treats like chocolate and pizza. But cutting out alcohol doesn't increase your appetite and those calories saved can be 'spent' on occasional choccies and the odd biscuit. Of course, this theory indicates that you're effectively cancelling out the good done by skipping a drink, as you're replacing the calories with food. But, there is a difference between calories gained from nutritional foods and "empty calories" consumed from sources like alcohol.

Say, for example, you shun two standard glasses of wine but eat a Snickers bar for 270 calories instead. There's roughly the same amount of calories in the two but a Snickers bar actually contains some nutritional value such as fibre, calcium and potassium. You don't get this from alcohol – although some alcoholic drinks like red wine can have a positive effect on your health, if you believe the experts.

So you've eaten the Snickers bar and it's stopped the hunger, result. But what happens if you drink the wine? You're still hungry and you're likely to think: 'Sod it, I'll have that Snickers bar anyway,' because now you're feeling a bit tipsy and, let's face it, couldn't give a toss about the stupid diet. So you end up consuming 500 cals and probably more because the bottle is half full (or empty, depending on your outlook in life!) and there's no point in letting the rest go to waste.

Anyway, I'm no nutritionist – this blog is just based on the knowledge I've gathered through the years by dieting and re-dieting, and talking to dozens of women about their experiences. But if you'd like to read a bit more about alcohol and why it's a good idea to cut it out while you diet, read this:www.bbc.co.uk/health/healthy_living/nutrition/healthy_alcohol.shtml

Day 8 (Third Post)

Well, after sticking to my water-only diet for a full seven days, no cheating, I took myself off to the gym for my weekly weigh-in. I was amazed to find that I have lost 2lbs - the first time in weeks that I have actually manged to lose any weight at all.

Now, considering the amount of calories I have saved by shunning soft drinks, alcohol and tea and coffee (with milk), I shouldn't really have been surprised. Having totted up the calories in a bottle of wine (600) five glasses of fresh orange juice (550), and three pints of milk (750), I have saved at least 1,900 calories. And that's before the extras like the odd smoothie and extra alcohol on nights out. I did always drink diet fizzy drinks and low-cal squash, but for people who don't, they could save around 140cals per 330ml can of pop and about 30cals for a glass of squash.

What really surprised me about my weight loss this week was that my diet included quite a few high-fat treats. With it being my fiance's birthday, there were several boxes of chocolates hanging around. So a couple of nights were spent devouring Maltesers and Miniature Heroes. And two scones just happened to end up on my plate yesterday when I was feeling down at one point and need a pick-me-up. Oops...

So I have by no means been an angel on the diet front, and I think this proves just what a big difference the water has made to my diet. I feel much fresher and hydrated than I did before I started and my skin is really clear, which is a relief after getting some whopping zits in the past few weeks.

Spurred on by today's weigh-in, I have no qualms about continuing my water diet and hope that some of you will join me! I've already heard from some women who have ditched drinks, except water, and have seen massive weight losses. Please feel free to leave your comments and let me know if this has worked for you or if you think it's a waste of time!