Those of you who happen to notice these kinds of things will realise that Friday was the 6 months anniversary for commencing my Lifestyle Modification Project and thus adopting a more me-friendly approach to living.

To celebrate, I had a haircut, so shall duly change my profile pic – again.

Since January 10th, I have lost 4st 7.7lb / 28.9 kilo / 63.7lb

But of course, what I have gained is by far the more interesting: better all round health, energy, confidence and most importantly and above all else, a better mood (minus the extreme fluctuations!).

It is my greatest fear – every single day – that I shall gain all I've lost and loose all I've gained. I mean, if Oprah can't do it, who am I to think I can? But then I read somewhere that 1 in 100 people DO actually maintain their weight loss beyond the magic 4 years. To some, these odds would've been the final nail in the coffin, but to me they are quite uplifting. I must've lost and gained weight at least 99 times by now, so why shouldn't this be the 1/100 where I shall be successful? Besides, the lessons I've learned over the last 6 months have made me believe that it is possible for me to maintain my weight loss. I guess we shall see, but the fact that I am even optimistic, well, if you will allow, I shall relate to you how I have “done it” so far...

The biggest revolution are undoubtedly the changes to the way I think.

It's rather difficult to describe without sounding like I've had some sort of religious epiphany, but I hope you'll bear with me as this is actually meant to be motivational ;)

Many little things began to come together. I was thinking, for example, that the worst thing that could happen to my children would be losing me. So, in order to be a good mother to them, I must look after myself. It's obvious. However, I think many women look after the family before they look after themselves. But as they say on the aeroplanes, if travelling with young children, put your own mask on before tending to them – subtext being that you can't look after them if you've passed out due to lack of oxygen.

Another important lesson also relates to my children. We're quick to berate and condemn other parents for the choices they make for their children – especially when it comes to their eating/drinking habits. Yet, not one day goes by when I see a status update on FB where X says something to the effect of “I'm going to eat a whole giant bar of chocolate” or “I'm going to drink a bottle of wine” and the response is always one of “like” and support. Not having a go or judging anyone. I'm just pointing out the discrepancy. I'm sure if I frequently updated my FB status relating how many bars of chocolate or bottles of soft drinks I was giving my kids... well, I'm obviously just speculating here, but my guess is people wouldn't be quite so supportive.

As it is and even before I started looking after myself, I never let Raven or Arthur eat a whole bar of chocolate - not even a small one (their grandmother is a different matter, but let's not go there). If they have chocolate – or any other treat for that matter – the quantity is minute. 3 winegums, not the whole bag of Haribo Gold Mix. 1 glass of ribena, not the whole jug. 5-6 nachos, not the whole bag. Why shouldn't I be as careful and conscious of my own intake as I am of my children's?

I mean, a whole bag of Haribo is at least as bad for me as it is for them.

Isn't it?

Surely, I deserve the same care as they do.

Don't I?

So, I employ the same criteria for me as I do for them.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Tying in with this I have also learned is that eating right doesn't mean being deprived or eating strange food. I mean, I wouldn't put them on a low fat, low carb or strange powder diet. In reality, I think we could learn a lot about food and not least exercise by looking at our children. But that's a whole different Co||ection ;)

Actually, for the first time in my life, I feel like I'm eating “normal” food – or, eating like I was designed to eat, if that makes sense. As in, I don't think the human body is designed to eat heavily processed food, for example. It works best when we eat 15-30% fat, 10-20% protein, 45-65% carbs in quantities totalling approx. 2000 calories a day (if we're normal weight and average activity level).

The logic and simplicity of how the body works and actually seeing that my body is completely normal and responds very, very well to me eating to its needs – well, that has been the most motivational and uplifting experience ever. And please, please believe me when I say I have cut nothing out of my diet. In fact, I'm not even ON a diet. I still have butter on my bread on a Sunday and I still have cake when offered.

But just like when I go shopping, I eat with an eye firmly on my budget, so I don't suddenly find myself overspending.

I'm very aware that it's the sum of everything I eat over a period of time – not just one cake on one day – that makes or breaks a budget. This is why I keep saying that you should not earn or deserve this or that food or drink but rather keep it as a normal part of your normal diet.

I don't need to be at the goal before I become happy. Maybe that doesn't make sense, but I think a lot of us think “I shall be happy when I have more money / have a bigger house / can fit a size 8.” But doing right by myself every single day actually makes me happy. I'm not a size 8. Maybe [probably] I never shall be. But the knowledge that I give myself the vitamins, minerals, fat, carbs, protein and calories I need to give my body and mind the best possible odds, well – that just beats a size 8 jeans by many, many miles.