I do like the way the Traffic Light system shows at a glance whether you are staying on track. I finished the month with no red days. This means that I either stuck to the diet or it was a permitted S day when snacks and sweets are permitted.

I'm actually finding that it's an easy diet to stick to, partly because I am allowing myself a small dessert, as long as my main meal is well within the single plate size. But partly it's because I'm applying the Kaizen principle of making the changes slowly and getting used to one step before moving on to the next. So for the first 4 weeks I just focused on No Snacks and didn't worry too much if my meal was still rather too large. After 4 weeks, I stopped feeling hungry mid-morning and mid-afternoon (the danger point for snacks). So now I'm being a little more rigorous with the portion size at meal times. It means it's taken 5 weeks to lose 2lb, but as I'm not that far off my target weight and only need to lose 12lb in total, I can afford to be patient.

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Today I will be out in the jungle back garden again trying to restore some order and hack back the long grass and weeds. By some miracle, the weather is still gorgeous, despite me finishing work on Wednesday. (Normally that's the signal for the heavens to open.) Also rather unusually, it's the western side of the UK that is currently basking in sunshine while the normally warmer and drier SE are shivering and getting their winter clothes and waterproofs out again.

Yesterday, after I had cleared the top part of the garden, I brought the cheap plastic patio table out of the garage and reassembled it. Then I sat for a while reading and drinking a cup of tea. It was blissful! I can't remember the last time I've managed to do that. I think I'm going to enjoy being retired. :)