Papillon: an exhilarating moment

for me, anyway, when I stood on the scales and noticed a decrease. Even more substantial than the 0.2 kg I blogged about several weeks ago. I had a real Bridget Jones moment, and after a suitable breakfast of cornflakes and chopped up banana, floated up to the Melting Pot to write, envisaging those flouncy skirts and girlie frocks edging ever nearer, albeit at glacial pace.

We all need feedback, something to encourage us to endure the unpleasantness of hunger pangs. My feedback, as well as the bathroom scales, is straightforward observation of my body. This began in the jacuzzi at the gym a month or so ago. I was lying there, enjoying the heat and the bubbles, staring at my feet, which seemed to have changed. They were now more contoured, the bone structure more evident.

This was followed by bathtime observations of dips in my stomach. Small changes...

As a former dietitian I have blogged about weight loss. In this my umpteenth time to release all this unneeded subcutaneous fat, I am learning what helps and this is what I've learned so far, apart from the obvious reduction in calorie intake:
1. I have to experience hunger in the hours leading up to bedtime.
2. I need to swig down adequate amounts of water.
3. A decent workout on my exercise bike is required - greatly helped by listening to Radio 4, sometimes inspired by the contents of my iPod.

4. Being aware of the salt content of what I eat plays a part.
5. Eating too late in the evening ain't a good idea.
6. And something, which I've occasionally tried, and suspect works, is not to have carbohydrate with your evening meal. A tough one, this. Who doesn't want a dod of mash with their stew or a generous dollop of rice with curry? Sigh...

7. And, of course, keeping my wheat intake low is pretty essential.

Research shows that the amount of sleep we have can influence our weight. Interestingly, too little can be as harmful as too much. As always, balance is required.