Hard part over...

First meeting – check. D walked me to the doors to prevent me from chickening out. Fortunately, the meeting venue is about a two minute (slow) walk from our front door so there is literally no excuse to go, come rain or shine.

It was fine, as these things always are. My weight was, almost to the pound, identical to my pre-op weight last year (the best point of comparison since both are done fully clothed). So I’ve definitely proved that I can do maintenance. It is a small victory, but one to which I cling.

The revised plan sounds quite interesting. Chicken, fish, eggs, fat free plain yoghurt and pulses and now all zero point, alongside the old fruit and veg zero heroes. Hurrah! However, daily and weekly allowances are down. Boo. I still find the Smart Points formula far more restrictive than the old Pro Points one – foods high in fat and sugar are punitively high and the foods that they have selected as zero point definitely suggest that they are pushing people towards a more protein based diet (and I am a self-avowed carb monster). However, I think that this is going to be doable. Many of my favourite meals will likely take up a good two thirds of my daily points allowance, but I can stick to practically zero for breakfast (fruit and yoghurt) and lunch (salad and protein or soup).

Last hurrah supper – check. Pizza, from our divine local takeaway. Didn’t manage to eat it all, so it languishes in the fridge at the moment. Actually, that wasn’t hard at all (although resisting the leftovers might be).

First fully tracked day – check. I came in with two points to spare, which have been “rolled over” into my weeklies (you can now save up to four a day which is another innovation, and most welcome). Fruit, couscous and chicken salad, salmon with pasta pesto. Full of first day fervour, I found it relatively easy to avoid snacks and swiped away the offer of lunchtime fish and chips with nary a quiver.

So – hurdles yet to overcome. I’m away Saturday and Sunday, popping down to London for a night to see friends. It’s a shame that I can’t get one full week of “proper” tracking under my belt, since obviously I’m going to have to make some guestimates away from home. But I’ve already decided to eschew drinking and will just try and make sure that my food choices are as sensible as possible. Hopefully the Scales Of Doom (TM- Peridot) will look favourably on my efforts next Wednesday.