Today’s the day! I stepped on the scale on 01 January and that started the clock.

Today is the first day that I am actually doing something about it! And I have to say that it felt good.

In terms of food:

• Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and a glass of tomato juice
• Lunch: Chopped tuna salad and a lime dressing
• Dinner: Chicken Capri and a salad
• Snacks: Some celery and a wedge of cheese (South Beach Diet makes a big deal about Laughing Cow Cheese. We don’t have the “light” variety in Sweden so I just bought the full-fat version…a 20kcal difference for those that are interested)

So eating wasn’t all that bad actually. What I feel the most is the absence of fruit and milk. As someone who ate fruit almost every day, it feels different to not eat any. With regards to milk, I am used to having lattes (coffee or chai tea), whereas now I am drinking coffee and tea just black with no sugar or sugar substitute. That is strange as well, but I remember reading somewhere an advert that encouraged us to occasionally drink coffee as it was originally designed, before we added milk, cream, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, etc, etc. And with Nespresso, there are flavoured coffee caspules if I absolutely need it.

I did feel a bit hungry towards the end of the night, but nothing that water and tea couldn’t fix (I suspect this was more because of the workout than anything else). I was determined to be finished eating by 21:00 (9pm). Even if I am not following Intermittent Fasting just now, there is something to be said about not snacking right up till bedtime.

In terms of exercise:

• 15 minutes on the elliptical
• One hour spinning class

I get it, that this exercise isn’t muscle-building, and I know that I have to add that in, so my plan is to focus on that tomorrow. I know I need both to reach my goal. In fact, spinning is one of my favourite activities and the exercise I most often do (I checked the stats with my gym’s fitness app), so for me it will also be about diversification if I want to make the difference. Especially since I am a bit concerned that my body might be used to the effort I put into spinning class already…we’ll see.

I achieved my exercise goals, and I was way under my calorie limit (the more I read the more I realise this is not necessarily a good thing…I need to be mindful of this).