I’m stuck in a rut.

Having gone home and eaten what I liked whilst doing barely any exercise, I came home to London and basically continued along the same thread. I’ve got no motivation to hit the gym, which is in turn giving me no impetus to eat healthily, so it’s all gone a bit wrong. I’m back up to weighing what I did at the end of January, so what’s been the point of the past few months?

I’ve decided that enough is enough, and I need to get my act together.

My excuse recently has been that I haven’t had the time to dedicate myself to staying healthy. But that’s only sort of true. Last week I had dinner plans with family on Tuesday and Wednesday, which meant not only was I skipping the gym, I was also eating more than I needed to. These night out also left me exhausted (honestly, staying awake after 12 is torture for me) so I was in no mood to hit the gym on Thursday. I did it, but I almost definitely didn’t give it my all. In fact, I spent most of the time worrying about how I looked in my shorts, and pointing out my rolls of fat to my boyfriend every time I got to the top of a sit-up. Hardly conducive to intense exercise..

One of the most annoying things anyone has ever said about weightloss is “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” Honestly Moss, have you never had cake? Last week I went to Five Guys with my father and ate enough food for a small army. But I gave myself the benefit of the doubt, because being fussy about what I was eating would have spoiled the night and my enjoyment of the situation. It’s become and unspoken tradition that when my father and I get together for dinner in London, we find a new burger place to try. Okay Five Guys isn’t new, but it was new to both of us, so refusing it in return for a salad would have put a dampener on the evening.

Something else people say is some rubbish about how the ‘bad’ food you’re eating right now might taste amazing, but you won’t remember it in the long run, so have something healthier instead. So if you won’t remember how good that burger tasted, at the same time, you also won’t remember how shit the replacement salad was either, so suck it up and stay on track. Although saying that, I did turn down a pizza in Barnes months ago and got a salad instead and it was so rubbish that I’m still thinking about it now..

And how many memories revolve around food when you really think about it? For our birthday (yes, it’s on the same day) my boyfriend and I went to a restaurant and had an incredible meal that we still talk about today. The waiter brought out a surprise dessert with a candle in it, and although it wasn’t our favourite thing we ate, it’s become a lasting memory and a lovely part of our relationship history.

So whilst the occasional ‘bad’ meal is fine, and won’t turn you obese over night, sometimes it’s just not worth the hassle you’ll give yourself later when you’re trying to log every course you inhaled into MFP and beating yourself up about it, so choose slightly wiser, and treat yourself better (and to something else!)