I just read my post for 21 February, and have realised that my waist/hip ratio then was .77! If I do it now in centimetres, I get 0.79, rather than the 0.8 I get in inches, but this is a bit depressing all the same. Easter did become a bit of an excuse to stray from my usual treat of 85% cocoa-solids chocolate! The difference between 70% and 85% is basically sugar content.

Despite this, I am still going to focus on healthy food for all the family, because I feel strongly that even if crash diets worked ( I don’t believe they do long-term) children need to see their parents eating family meals. Some people find that they get good results relying on nutritious shakes for the first few days or even a week, but I am going to stick to a food diet!

Days start well, with all of us getting a breakfast with a protein component. I have read that our bodies don’t store protein, and also that too much at one time is hard on the metabolism. Sounds as if little and often might work. We don’t pay any heed to tradition here – I like kippers, but the children prefer fish fingers, and that’s fine by me – I choose the fat they are cooked in (and use very little). My favourite at the moment is to gently fry some courgette (zucchini) cut to rather chunky matchsticks, and as soon as they are beginning to colour slightly, add beaten egg, to make a scrambe/omelette. Soy sauce instead of sea salt on this goes well. Any greens can be used, but leafy ones I add when the egg has just started to cook.

Other kids’ breakfasts include: cheese on toast, bagel with cream cheese and a smoked salmon (a little goes a long way, and it is quite often found on special offer), bacon on a bagel. All simple stuff, which is necessary seeing it all has to be done in short order before the school bus comes.

If smoked salmon is about, I’ll have a bit of that beside scrambled egg – I just love eggs for breakfast, and eggs with fish is great.

I just have to keep up the good work and not reach for the biscuits at work or when I get home late afternoon. Wish me luck!