Day 43 - A backward step

Despite sticking rigidly to my water diet again this week - bar one sneaky cup of coffee at a cafe - I have managed to let 1.5lbs slip back onto the scales. I have a feeling last week's fish and chips may have had a delayed effect as I had a fantastic weigh-in the morning after I ate those. Ooops. And my Tone class was cancelled AGAIN today so I am sacking it off for Thursday's step and aerobics workout, which a fellow (very polite) gym member said is really effective.

This is also my final week before I break for Christmas. I have a night out planned and it's also my birthday soon so there's no way I'm sticking to soft drinks. Sorry, I'm just not that dedicated. But I will try not to overeat over Christmas and bear in mind that those three and a half pounds I've lost are NOT to come back on again.

As if I needed any reminder of how important it is not to pig out, the bridal shop rang today and left a message on my answerphone saying they needed to speak to me. 'Oh my god, the dress is in,' I thought, at first with glee and then complete dread. I do want the dress in my possession as soon as possible just to put my mind at ease but I am currently 4.5lbs heavier than the day I got measure for it. I know it's eight months off the wedding and I should have plenty of time to lose it by then... but what if they wanted me to go in for a fitting? The thought of the assistant squeezing me into that frock and asking 'Are you sure you ordered this size?' had me feeling so repulsed that I vowed there and then to sew my mouth up over Xmas.

I picked up the phone and with a trembling whimper said: 'You wanted to talk to me?' And the assistant informed me that the groomswear prices were going up in the new year so I should come down and order it as soon as possible. PHEW! I had bought myself a few more weeks and, hopefully, months in which to get my behind into shape.

In a vain attempt to claw back some pride, I will do another weigh-in in 2 days' time, after the much-hyped step class. Let's hope today was just a 'fat' day...

The plan (First Post)

Having been a yo-yo dieter since the age of 17, I have, at the grand old age of 27, come to the conclusion that I must be doing something wrong.

I've tried everything: SlimFast, cabbage soup, the British Heart Foundation's 3-day diet (for obese people who are awaiting surgery and desperately need to shed a few pounds before doctors risk opening them up), Slimming World and, more recently, WeightsWatchers (WW), which worked.

It worked so well that I lost 20lb in three months and I thought I'd cracked it. With an impending wedding (August 2010) I rushed to a bridal shop and got measured up for my dream dress. Then, I promptly put 7lbs back on.

I know why, it's becasue I ate too much. There. I said it. No excuses... like the ones I've been using for the past few weeks, as my clothes got gradually tighter and I started catching people taking sneaky "is she pregnant?" glances at my swollen tummy. It wasn't because my WW meeting closed, or that I have been stressed after my cat went missing and we agreed a sale on our house. It wasn't because I decided to cut out sugar and my body was adjusting. It was because I ate too much.

So here's the plan... this weekend is my final blow-out. It's my fiance's birthday on Monday and we've already had a wine and takeaway to celebrate, not to mention a generous slice of the Nigella Lawson Malteser cake which I so lovingly baked for him. There's a day out shopping to come (with obligatory slap-up lunch) and a family party (complete with sausage rolls). Then that's it. I'm back on the wagon.

But this time it's different. I propose, stupidly or otherwise, to only let 1 drink pass my lips until I break for xmas week. And that's H2O. Corporation pop. Yes, water.


Whether at work, home or out on the razz, I promise I will only let water pass my lips. I will, of course, curb the biscuits and eat healthily too, but I really feel my system needs a good washout, a cleansing, detoxing rinse of the soul. So, from Tuesday 27th October 2009, I am The Watergirl.