I can’t believe 2012 has finished already.  Where did that year go?

I know it is customary to eat and drink excessively on December 31st and behave oneself from January 1st.  Customary to start the new year with resolutions and good resolve.  However, I am starting early by returning to Weight Watchers, eating healthy food, focusing on losing weight and adding more exercise to my life.  I am starting today.  This temple has no plans for tonight so is spending the day and evening taking care of itself.  A combination of a poorly husband, a tired son, absent daughter and dreadful weather means any plans I had are just not going to work.  So this year I will celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another quietly.  Healthily.  Calmly.  And tomorrow, smugly, as I will not be hungover 🙂

So how did the re-introduction of the old regime go?  Very well actually.

I started the day with a pink grapefruit.

Nothing more, nothing less.  It was juicy and refreshing.

Mid-morning I snacked on an apple and for lunch I made myself a delicious salad.  I would also like to point out that I heroically cooked American style pancakes with bacon for breakfast and spaghetti bolognese for the children.  I did not have even a spoonful of any of it.

I wanted to call this a South Western Salad or Santa Fe salad.  For some reason the combination of beans, corn, peppers, lime and coriander makes me think of the South West as in the South West of the USA, not Devon and Cornwall.  I was pleased with this salad as it was very tasty and kept me feeling full for a long time.

Black Bean South Western Salad

Salad Ingredients (serves 1)

• 120 g black beans
• 1 corn cob, with kernels cut off
• 2 tbsp coriander
• 1/2 a red pepper, cubed
• 1/3 of a red onion, chopped finely
• 1/2 an avocado, cubed

Prepare ingredients and combine in a large bowl.

Dressing Ingredients

• Juice of 1 lime
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil

I kept the dressing very simple.  I just added the dressing ingredients to the salad ingredients and tossed together so it was all well combined.

The end result was one of the most delicious salads I have had for a while.

We have another visitor for a sleepover.  This one is a little black one that sleeps a lot and snores and snuffles about.

Yes, it is Beryl.  We all adore her and are glad she is here.

She is so cute.

Second salad of the day: brussels, mushrooms, celery and cherry tomatoes.  Unadorned apart from a light sprinkle of salt.

Eaten with a jacket potato, butter and Stilton.  A simple supper but one that was festive (the Stilton), healthy (the salad) and indulgent (jacket potato with crispy skin and butter on top).

My daily Weight Watchers points are:

3 – 120g black beans
5 – 130 g sweetcorn
4 – avocado
4 – 1 tbsp olive oil
6 – 128g jacket potato (quite a small one)
4 – 20 g butter
6 – 58 g Stilton

My daily total is 32 so I was perfect today.

This evening I plucked up the courage and returned toWeight Watchers for the first time since September.  I knew it would be bad and it was.  I am too ashamed to say how much I have put on – I will tell you when I have lost it again.  I weigh almost exactly the same as I did this time last year.  So I could look at it and think this year has been a waste of time.  But it hasn’t.  I still weigh considerably less than I did 2 years ago and in general my whole family eats a healthier diet.  I know now what made me go off the rails and over eat.  I feel happy for having pin pointed it and will deal with it better next time. So I have more to lose than I wanted to have to lose at this point in the year.  But I am still better than I used to be so there is progress.

I am pleased to have returned to Weight Watchers.  There is a new lady running it, it is a new year and I am excited about the challenges ahead.

I hope you all have a very happy and healthy new year in 2013.