I have been so busy this week with working hard and socialising too much and in between times being a Mum which means dieting has taken a bit of a back seat.  It shouldn’t do but it has because when I am tired and/or stressed I am weak willed.  Lately I have been stressed and tired so not focusing properly on dieting.

It has not all been a disaster.  This was a lovely breakfast – porridge made with coconut water and cooked with toasted coconut with a heaped tsp peanut butter.  Really yummy. I have been loving working in Central London.  Yesterday I went to the Japan Centre. It was a supermarket full of Japanese products.  I have never been in there before and I was not sure what most of the products are for either but I am intrigued to try some of them. I had walked down to Piccadily Circus to get to Wholefoods Market.  I still can’t believe I work just 10 – 15 minutes walk away from such a famous place. Hello Eros. I selected a mixed salad bar which you pay for per 100g.  I tried a tiny bit of all their grain based salads and then added a falafel (not very good – too dry), some humous, sunflower seeds, pecans and green leaves. As usual I ate at my desk which was fine because I would rather spend my lunch hour walking around. Most of the salads were tasty and it is good to know this is a reasonable walk away. The coconut and strawberries were good to munch on during the afternoon.  Despite that, “dinner” was a disaster; 3 glasses of wine and a packet of biscuits! Today was a stunningly sunny morning.  It was very cold and frosty but sunny with a bright blue sky which is one of my favourite types of weather.   I was in London early and enjoyed seeing the sun beginning to glow over Trafalgar Square. Such a beautiful building and it was lovely to be there early before it was very busy. Confession time.  This has been my recent major weakness.  Monmouth Coffee Shop sells amazing coffee with whole fat milk and the best almond croissants on the planet.  Literally the entire planet.  They are crisp yet chewy, buttery and sweet and oh so moreish.  So very moreish.  I must stay away as this is not a healthy breakfast plus it must has millions of calories. I was out looking for birthday presents today.  I have 2 friends with special birthdays tomorrow and being in this part of London makes going out shopping for gifts a real pleasure.  A 5 minute walk from the office brings me to Covent Garden. I found a good card shop but returned to Monmouth St for the gifts. There are so many charming streets to walk around I almost get over excited and can’t choose where to go. This is a fab’ find.  Timber Yard is exactly my kind of a coffee/breakfast/lunch place.  Good food, relaxed vibe and somewhere you want to sit and relax in. I did really badly today.  I had a caramel brownie as well as a fattening sandwich. It was very attractively wrapped. Croque Monsieur, eaten at my desk.  Naughty but nice. So what can I do to get my diet mojo back?  I can do this.  I can make myself a promise that when I have lost a stone I can go in to this fabulous shop and buy myself an outfit, or two.  I could buy practically the entire shop as I like nearly everything inside.   I obviously can’t afford it all and have no need for that many clothes but to motivate myself, I can choose an entire outfit which can include shoes, socks or tights and a scarf to accessorise what ever I choose to buy.

This is the window of Gudrun Sjoden , a Swedish designer’s shop.  The goodies inside are mainly clothing but there is a homewares range too.  I love the organic cotton fabrics, funky patterns and colours which range from very bright to muted.  I  REALLY want to buy things in here so when I am a stone lighter I will be skipping in one lunch time to choose.  In the meantime, I bought 2 gifts for my 2 friends in here.  

I must remember to hand them over!