Last week I spent some time with my family, which meant taking a break from daily gym sessions with my boyfriend, and from logging every calorie in MFP (a lack of decent wifi range at my parents’ house in the country meant I could barely access the app..). It also meant taking a break from the regimented diet of eggs, protein shakes and quinoa I’ve been subjecting myself to, and branching out into terrifying things like bread and cake.

I say terrifying – I loved every bloody second of it.

I honestly did go home with good intentions – I even took a bag of protein pasta with my in my hand luggage – but a change of pace and scenery took away the need for restrictions and rules. I know that sounds mental, but living in London hardens you, and makes it easier to stick to joyless, heartless diets based on what fuel your body needs, not what delicious treats your head wants. Being in the country, walking along the beach – it all made dieting feel too rigid and unpleasant. So I just went with it – I didn’t log any of my meals, and I just went by how I was feeling. If I was hungry, I ate what everyone else was eating. When I was full, I stopped.

Whilst I was home I ate toast for breakfast every day for seven days. I baked cakes and brownies for my family and ate them with gusto. I drank wine with dinner, I enjoyed fish & chips by the sea, I ate cheese! But I also didn’t sit still. I went for hilly walks and windy jogs and strolls along rocky beaches. I couldn’t work out the bus timetable, so if I needed to be somewhere less then 2 hours walk away – I walked.

I thought I’d feel truly horrendous after seven days of this, but in truth, I felt fine. I was worried I’d put on about four thousand stone and wouldn’t be able to fit into any of my clothes once I’d got home from London, but if anything, my body didn’t change. It maybe softened from not using my muscles every day in the same way I would lifting weights in the gym, but I didn’t look like someone who’d been packing away loaves of bread on the daily.

So maybe giving your body a break will do it some good. Cheat meals are great, but do they really do enough to reset your system? After a week off, I’m feeling good about hitting the gym, and working off whatever I’ve gained in the hope of uncovering something new and exciting underneath, instead of retaining the plateau I’d hit for the past few weeks.

Low carb, high protein is my diet of choice day-to-day, but maybe high carb, high enjoyment is also something I need to factor in every now and again..?