I managed to get through last week. It was a struggle though, with lots of morning teas out with Mum (and Dad!), out to the movies and ate chocolate and Games Night (lots of junk!). Chocolate isn’t forbidden, but I do find it hard to control myself with it, so I’ve been tending to steer clear of it.

This week, I’m proud to say I clocked up 5 hours of exercise last week and exercised every single day. I think that is a fantastic achievement! I walked each weekday, did 2 x 30 minute sessions at the gym, did some Wii activity, and we also took our bikes for an hour ride on one of the local bike tracks. I loved it!! B wasn’t as keen, but then, he was towing the kiddie trailer and it would have been a lot heavier. Lachlan wasn’t with us either, so we could go a little faster.

I lost 200g this week, more than I had expected, as on Monday I was expecting a decent gain. Very pleased, though I still have 1.6kg to get to my end of January goal which I have to meet next Tuesday. I thought I had another 2 weeks, not one week! So I think I should revise my goal just a little, or take my own scales for the 31st January, and be more vigilant next month.

The gym on Saturday was great!! It was good to have a “girls” outing. I went again on Sunday morning, and again this morning. I think given time, I would get bored of it, but it would be good for a change, and I’m taking advantage of the pass while I have it. I do wonder if it played a part in my smaller loss though, as opposed to doing purely cardio work (walking!) it included more weights.

This week I’ve decided to follow the WW Fast Start. While I’m not following the set menus etc, I am keeping to the 20 points I’m allowed, maintaining my exercise, and keeping roughly to the points allowances per meal each day (4 breakfast, 5 lunch, 7 dinner plus 4 snacks).

Just something I wanted to share, a response to a post on the WW boards. I posted something very similar about binge eating just as I was starting at WW a few months back! I would still classify myself as a binge eater, as given any opportunity I could still easily polish off a huge bag of chips, block of chocolate or packet of biscuits.

I'm trying a few different things -

1) Avoiding those foods altogether - ie not having them in the house, avoiding them when I go shopping (hard!), and when I'm out.

2) Finding a replacement. I found my most difficult times were in the afternoon as the kids slept and after dinner. So I'll replace it with popcorn, pitos, cut up fruit. It keeps my hands busy. And I count it.

3)Distraction. Getting on the boards, doing some exercise, doing some washing, folding clothes. ANYTHING to keep my hands busy and keep my mind off food.

4) Keeping a journal. Whenever I feel like it, to record my progress, my emotions, how I'm getting on.

I still have really hard days, but it does get easier. Having the accountability of weekly meetings has helped me - knowing if I did have a binge or four that it would show on the scales, and I'm wasting my weekly fees (not something I want to do given that $ are tight).