Week 19, day 130

Despite a few hiccups this week, I'm feeling back on track, and as of today have lost a total of 14.2k since October 1st, which is 0.76k per week. One of the hiccups was that work was very short-staffed on Friday, so I ended up working nineteen hours, from 1PM to 8:30AM. That would have been potentially bad enough because of the difficulty squeezing in time to walk, but it also coincided with the departure of several staff, which meant a party - baked berry cheesecake (which I don't even like), two kinds of chocolate chip biscuits, and a tray of very delicious profiteroles replaced much of my regularly scheduled intake, in part to help keep me awake. I've certainly realised how much a role being well rested plays in resisting temptation, too.

I've also had a night out - last night I had dinner with friends, only one of whom knows I'm losing weight. From a menu filled with delicious options I chose a very nice lemon and garlic marinated chicken breast (from which I removed the skin) on a bed of roasted parsnips and carrots, drizzled with pomegranate syrup. It was very delicious and though undoubtedly higher in calories and fat than if I'd prepared it myself, it was delicious. My Weight Watchers-graduating friend told me later that it was the best dish on the menu in terms of weight loss, which was good. I passed on dessert, wine and a hot drink, and we even skipped out usual appetiser of eggplant chips, so all in all a good night out nutritionally.

Today, sadly, was less good - I had lunch with friends, where the grazing menu included home-made sausage roll slices, mini blintzes with sour cream and smoked salmon, and chocolate ripple cake, And tonight I went to Taco Bill with another friend. I'm quite pleased with my order - I went for a salad topped with grilled beef, foregoing not only cheese and sour cream but also the salsa and corn chips served as a free appetiser. However, I did also have a frozen strawberry margarita - it was delicious!
And not only did I walk there (about 25 minutes at a fair pace) but on the way back I alternated walking with a few (very brief) spurts of (very slow) jogging. Perhaps it's time to think about doing the Couch to 5K program, which Lynn did last year... Alex

Real Age aims for the week:
1. detox your cabinets - not really a problem, especially while I'm with Lite'n'Easy
2. keep walking 30 minutes a day - an ongoing work in progress I've done well this week
3. go shopping - see aim 1!
4. better your breakfast - I have breakfast every day, almost always the same thing, which is low in fat, high in fibre and an automatic part of my day, so done :)
5. check your balance - I do a stretch class every week, which incorporates yoga poses and though my balance has a way to go, I'm certainly improving