The Baynhams

This week was awful.

By far the worst week so far since I started this diet.

All day Monday and Tuesday I was tired, grumpy and hungry. I drank tons of water. I even drank carbonated water because it's meant to make you feel fuller for longer. I don't know what made it so hard. Each morning I woke with a mild sore throat but not enough to make me feel I was sick. By lunchtime it had eased only to return each day. On Tuesday I got a coldsore.

I've tried to work out what was so different. It was the first week where the kids were all back in school. Maybe being a little less busy made me dwell more on the fact that I was fasting? I tried to keep my hands busy. I emptied my pantry shelf by shelf, cleaning and rearranging as I went. I emptied and cleaned the fridge and freezer head to toe. I swear the food talked to me. I was like a woman possessed!

Perhaps the small weight loss over the previous weeks was irritating me. So much dedication and only small improvements (despite the sensible me knowing that slowly but surely is the best way) I started to exercise a little towards the end of the week once the fast days were behind me. Some gentle cycling on the exercise bike. Another failed attempt at the exercise ball DVD (Don't laugh!!!)

In order to get my head in a better space I did what I do best and set to making a progress chart to hang inside my pantry door. There is a box for every day to write if I have either done a fast or some exercise. Any day that I do nothing will get an X in it. On Saturday I stood glumly on the scales and nearly fell off when I saw my biggest weight loss so far. My mood lifted and I felt better about everything.

As I look back on the week I can see now that I was under the weather on Monday and Tuesday and probably shouldn't have fasted. My body was shouting at me but my head wouldn't listen. I was afraid that taking a week out would equate to giving up less than a month into a lifestyle I have promised to try to make long term.

And so I look ahead to Week 5, coldsore mending and motivation charged up again and a lovely new chart awaiting words in each days space and not X's...!

Thanks for bearing with me xo