I’m a little late with my week one update, but better late than never.

It’s been an interesting week, some ups and definitely some downs. During the hardest couple of days, I had a big reminder just how much my mood affects what I eat and vice versa. When I’m sad, or down, or anxious, I really don’t want to eat fruit and veg. I don’t want to cook. I want to curl up and eat peanut butter and marmite sandwiches – or crisps, chocolate, ice cream, pizza… Basically lots of high carb, high calorie things that aren’t good for me.

But I managed to resist – for the most part. I did have a bowl of pesto pasta, but I weighed out a proper portion, added some veg and even weighed out my cheese. I also managed to have only one peanut butter sandwich (and even then I measured out my peanut butter). Most importantly, I got back on track.

So – highlights of the week:

• I’ve really enjoyed my smoothies in a morning. Yeah it’s about of a faff to make them sometimes but it’s worth it. I really noticed the difference when I didn’t have one. Favourites so far are the cherry/cacao and raspberry/rosewater/pistachio/cardamon
• I remembered how much I like some dishes I haven’t had in a while – particular favourites include veggie Thai green curry and sweet potato falafel with yogurt and feta sauce
• I’ve enjoyed trying out new recipes – I even made my own red pepper and chilli hummus (which I love).
• I lost 4 lbs in a week. Weight isn’t the primary motive for being healthier, but it’s good to see such a difference so soon (although it does show just how badly I was eating).

I’ve also learnt some lessons:

• Not every experiment is going to be a success – exhibit A: Friday’s green sludge… I now know to only add a small amount of spirulina to my smoothies unless I want them to look like something from a sci-fi film (it didn’t taste bad as such, but I did end up with a green tongue).
• It’s ok to not stick to my meal plan. These things happen – move on.
• Cooking/preparing three meals a day is a lot. I’d planned lots of different lunches – most didn’t happen. Going forward I’m making things in advance so I can have one ‘easy’ meal each day.
• Smoothies seem to be much thinner and easier to drink with almond milk than our usual semi-skimmed. Bonus – it’s lower in calories and sugars.
• Ballet barre workouts make my legs ache – somehow I always block that bit from my memory…

I’m now into week two and things seem to be going ok. I’ve been less prescriptive with my meal planning. I’ve also planned a couple of meals Boyfriend will cook, so it’s not always me in the kitchen. Let’s see how it goes…