Day one down..

So day one of diet plan check!

So far not too bad, the only cheating that has occur ed was a few mentos on the bus home after the gym. :)

First day back at the gym after 3 months was pretty tough going though I admit. I'm not sure what possessed me to launch straight into a full on Zumba class with an instructor that had obviously tried to break into Bollywood at some point but instead had resorted to teaching a medley of shimmies and salsa wiggles to to post work gym goers. I actually really enjoyed the class (while trying to not to giggle with pure spectacle at just how enthusiastic the teacher was with his gyrating hip thrusts). Feeling a little achy today though. Hopefully make it to the gym again tonight (if i can stop walking like an 80 year old woman).

On the food front it's also been fairly healthy, mostly thanks to my nifty food diary I've been keeping. Thanks "My Fitness Pal"! http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

It's not often I actually find a tool that has aided weight loss but I have to say, rather than spending money on signing up to weight watchers I really do recommend giving a food diary such as My Fitness pal (which is free) a go first. You just put in your details such as weight, height, weight loss goal etc (admittedly rather painful to admit how much i currently weigh) and it tells you how many calories you should aim to eat a day. You can also keep track of the exercise you're doing and try to estimate the calories you're burning. This way it takes into account the fact you can eat extra calories if your burning some at the gym. Simple maths really!

This is probably what helped me loose the weight on my last attempt. I read somewhere that 3500 is the magic number of calories. Every 3500 extra you eat you gain a pound. Every 3500 extra you burn you loose a pound. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calories/WT00011

Ok so it does sound a little simpler than it is in real life but it at least soon helps you realise how manay calories there are in the things that you eat and that you can kid yourself that a chicken ceaser salad is healthy because it has the word salad in the title, but dressings really do have calories. :(

P.s cheating is not advisable. To make this work you have to add every single item you out into your mouth onto the diary. This means drinks, tea, coffee, fruit juice (a terrible offender of mine with between 100-200 cals per glass for some juices) because this is where the hidden calories lie.