Week 21, day 144

Real Age aims:
1. don't get too hungry- not an issue with Lite'n'Easy: there's always something in the fridge, and I even find it a struggle sometimes to get through everything. I suspect this will change when I drop down to the 1,500 calorie program full time (instead of dropping down to it for weeks when I want to keep some calories in reserve for special occasions). And when I'm finally down to the 1,200 calorie program things will be harder still, but by then I'll be at my goal weight, so hopefully I'll have adjusted to a lower intake by then!
2. keep walking, count steps instead of minutes - I'm not quite there, but I've certainly noticed that I'm doing the same distance in less time, and adding distance to make up the time, which I suspect is much the same as the RealAge aim.
3. stock up on 'fire extinguisher' foods - I've got a stash of nuts, which put out the 'fire' of hunger in a healthier way, but am rarely hungry, even though I've dropped Lite'n'Easy to five days a week; on the other days I'm making good choices, and eating regularly.
4. satisfy all your senses - the walking's helping me reconnect with the outside world: I usually read while I walk, and while I'm waiting for and on public transport. THough I'm still reading while we're in transit, I now pace while waiting for the tram or bus, which adds incidental exercise and keeps me in the moment, and I can't maintain a four-k+ pace while reading so instead I focus on the weather, my surrounding, the sounds and smells around me and the sensations under my feet and on my skin. I've also started regularly exfoliating with gloves and yummy-smelling scrub in the shower, and rub cream into my skin before bed reminding myself of my actual dimensions. I think I have visible collar bones!
5. have a day off - like last week's stress management aim, this is advice I really have to take on board. There's never going to be a time when I have fewer things to do - this has to be something I decide to do for myself. Sadly, not this week.

One of the things I'm finding most useful about these weekly aims is that they let me reflect on how I'm going, and I think I'll return to it once I transition into a maintenance program. And that day is going to come, even if it's a long way off. - Alex