vacherin

It depends on your personality - I'm afraid I still struggle to shake the mindset that one tiny morsel of something naughty has "ruined everything". I would LOVE to be able to enjoy certain things in moderation, but they sort of send me down an all-or-nothing path that I always regret. Luckily I am on a low carb diet where…

Hi Emily To be honest, I think a totally fat-free dinner is impossible to make, unless you just ate boiled sweets or fruit (and would be completely horrible as well). I think you can still have your cheese. In fact, I'd say the pasta had more potential for causing problems than the cheese ... x

Thanks for the replies, everyone! It was a strange year. There was never a point where I thought, "This is easy" - in fact, the so-called easy bits were really bits where I forgot I was abstaining because I was busy with other stuff. But - at the risk of sounding like a massive cliche - if I can do it, then I truly believe…

Hahaha! By the way, I love your cute kitties!

A bit of both, really, Mockchoc. I needed to lose weight (although didn't lose masses because I took in sugar to compensate for the alcohol), I wanted to set myself a challenge for which I was wholly responsible (none of this "I will lose Xlbs in X weeks" stuff), and I was starting to feel that I was reaching for alcohol…

I think you looked good before as well - but congratulations on all your hard work!

Run for the hills, honey. I was in a similar situations several years ago, and unfortunately any man with kids will always put them first, irrespective of whether their needs are actually greater in the given situation, and who will always take their word over yours even if they're talking rubbish and you're the rational,…

Hi everyone! It's coming up to 9 months without booze for me (and for Opal24 as we started at the same time). Unlike Opal, however, who is a good girl, I am naughty and have actually been missing it more and more as time has passed! I went through a phase of not minding being in pubs and not drinking, but somehow, now that…

I think it depends what you buy, and where you shop. Organic meat and fish are quite expensive, but things like pulses and veggies are pretty cheap, especially if you buy them from the market and not all packaged up in plastic from the posh supermarket. I do think that special diets can be expensive, though. Gluten-free…

Have you tried psyllium husks? They are good for either constipation or diarrhoea, strange though it sounds. Mix 1/2 a teaspoon with a pint of water, and glug it down straight away followed by another pint of water. It's important to glug the mixture down straight away and not leave it standing around otherwise it will…

I also lost weight by cutting carbs. That said, after doing so I initially got very depressed even though I had nothing to be depressed about. I think carbs have their place for people who don't need to lose weight and are just maintaining; however, they don't agree with some people who are trying to lose weight. Must…

So you've met her too, huh? She gets everywhere, doesn't she? What a shame so many people have to experience this. I, too, have a friend to whom I was very close until I made the decision to give up alcohol this year. The little digs and narky comments don't come so frequently now because I see much less of her…

I like you.

Are we allowed boys AND girls?

Today I'll stay on track because my legs are so sore from my run that it hurts to get up and walk to the kitchen.

Hahaha! Great post - and you look fantastic.

Wow, Jesse, that sounds delicious! I also have an event (like the OP, can't really call it a race as I will be plodding undignifiedly rather than racing) in the near future and am interested in learning how to fuel properly. I have been on a low carb diet for a month or so to shift the pounds, and I am looking to introduce…

Wow - you really know your stuff! I thought I knew a lot about tea, but you are spot on - hats off to you! I get my tea from www.teapigs.co.uk - it's a bit pricier than regular tea, but the difference in flavour/quality is astounding. I was recommended it by a friend, and I thought, "Surely all tea is just the same" but…

You are a courageous lady - it's relatively easy to post "before" pictures when you also have "after" pictures that clearly show results, but far more difficult to post pictures when you are starting out. I don't really have any "before" pictures as most of them went into the bin (!), but I do have a couple of "before"…

When I lived in my old house, I was occasionally joined on my laps of the local park by a little Jack Russell dog. No amount of calling from its owner, or faster-running by me, seemed to get it away from me, or me from it. I nicknamed it "the pace-setting dog" and after a bit the owner (who was not a runner) just waited…

They don't have to be bad for your diet if you only have them once a year! I still intend to have cake on my birthday. Mmmm ... caaaake!

My husband buys me pineapples instead of flowers, because they look just as nice and you can eat them. One day he texted me to say he had a surprise for me, and I thought, "I really hope it's a pineapple." In fact it was ... 2 pineapples!

It sounds foul! Sorry but I think you'd be better off having a piece of actual home-made cake. I firmly believe that calorie-free fake sweeteners and "diet" foods do more harm than good, either because you feel you're entitled to eat more of them on the basis that they're low-cal, or because your body doesn't understand…

I went to a couple of kettlebell classes, then once I'd memorised the moves I bought my own kettlebells and use them at home. They are great! BTW, you don't necessarily HAVE to have weights to do strength training - you can still do lunges, squats, press-ups etc. without them. Just don't use champagne bottles as hand…

I would say either Winona Ryder or Christina Ricci for you? Am I right? During the late 90s I was mistaken for Mel B from the Spice Girls. A LOT.

Not very healthy, but ... I discovered that Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur makes a lovely ice cream topping, after an accidental spillage!

Love, love, love Halloween ... although here in the UK the dress code has to be scary. We Brits can't quite get our heads around brides, Peter Pans and Aladdins trick or treating (although I am sure you will all look awesome). We only do witches, vampires, zombies and suchlike. I think I will just be myself. Last year I…

Oh my God, you look fantastic! Seriously - just wow! I really enjoyed reading your story, especially how you started exercising - just goes to show that "exercise" doesn't have to be endless iron-pumping and suchlike. You started with a small goal but made sure you bettered it every time. Amazing!

When I mentioned Bono/U2 to a class I teach, only to be met by blank faces.

I would disagree that it's ALWAYS about calories in versus calories out (this works for some people, not everyone). I think weight loss without exercise is possible but I found it very hard - painfully slow, really tiresome having to scrupulously watch what I ate, and you don't really get the toned lean look that exercise…