Girls,

I should also maybe take this opportunity to tell everyone what I have learned over the past year regarding the business of long term healthy weight loss and changing body shapes:

1. A loss of 1% of your weight is what you should aim for. BUT, in the early weeks it is likely to be more if you are losing fluid or have dramatically changed your intake/output.

So if you weigh 80kg, 0.8kg is a perfect loss.

2. If you are in the week before your AF, then it is likely that regardless of how you have been travelling food and exercise wise, that you WILL put on weight. Accept it. Last month I "put on" 2kg, and then on day 3 of AF "lost" it all again. So my advice would be to track your cycle, so that if you put on weight, you can see if it is down to your cycle. If this is the case, head down, carry on doing what works (eating healthily and exercising) and then enjoy the loss a week after AF!

3. CM's lost can be really erratic. There appears to be no rhyme or reason to it. So use it as an INDICATOR only.

4. Muscle DOES weigh a lot more than body fat, so if you DON'T lose weight despite doing a heap of exercise and eating like an angel, do not despair! You MUST trust your bodies response. A week or two later, that heavier muscle will be working in your favour and you WILL get a good loss, as your body is metabolising energy more efficiently. And then you will have an "average" week but show a good loss.

5. If you are constipated, you will weigh heavier. Up to 2kg. No kidding. It only takes a few constipated days to get really "bunged up". My advice would be to take long term approatch: drink 3l water, then have a mild laxative, with the promise to yourself that the minute you are not constipated anymore, to REALLY increase the fibre content of your eating, and to REALLY increase your daily water intake to at least 2l of water a day. (I add physillim husk to my morning brekky every day to avoid this!)