I have managed to maintain a regular amount of exercise recently and I am mainly feeling the benefit.  It is becoming easier and that makes it more enjoyable and I am grateful to have had the time to devote to it.  But I do find it makes me hungrier so I have not been as good at eating this week.  I am finding this a real challenge so I think I need to plan to eat bigger quantities of the speed and free food I can eat when following the Slimming World plan.

I have had a lot of fun with exercising too as I have combined it with socialising.  Yesterday I walked along the river and round Bodiam castle with Lucy, which is a delightful walk.  Bodiam Castle is managed by the National Trust but you can pay £3 to use the car park and do the walk without having to pay £9 which also gives you access to the inside of the castle.  Their facilities are good as they have a coffee shop and nice loos too!This is such a pretty castle.One day I should go inside.We went from Bodiam to the gym as we are both members of the same health club and had a swim, a sauna and a relax in the jacuzzi.  I swam 50 lengths (1 km).

In the afternoon I did another walk, because although I had enjoyed a walk round Bodiam castle, Milton (the dog) had not, so I picked up Harvey from school and we walked from St.Leonards to Bulverhythe.  That took my walking total to over 10,000 steps.

It was a windy day so the kitesurfers were out.  It looks like fun but I wouldn’t have the confidence to try that.  

I always enjoy a walk beside the sea, even in the wind.My socialising continued in the evening as I went to the White Dog in Ewhurst Green for a drink with Lucy and Clare.  It’s a very traditional English country pub.  I had one half pint of stout (Smild) which had 4 syns and 2 lime and sodas which I think are 3 syns each.  So my fairly abstemious night out was a whopping 10 syns!

Eating was not a disaster but not great either.  I had a smoothie for breakfast and for supper.  I made them both with 2 bananas, cashew milk, peanut and seed butter, cocoa powder and sea greens.  I also added a pear for breakfast.  You have to add syns for a smoothie but I don’t understand how many so will ask my consultant about that at the next meeting I can stay at.Lunch was delicious and full of nutritious vegetables.  I made a stir fry with brown Basmati rice and all the left over veggies I had in the fridge, plus a large leaf of green kale and half a large green chilli.  I also added half a packet of Taifun smoked tofu with almonds and sesame seeds which is my favourite tofu.  I can eat it from the packet it is so delicious.  Lunch was 6 syns for 1 tbsp oil and the tofu is 2.5 syns per 100 g which is half a pack.  Only plain tofu is free, unfortunately.

Daily syns total is: 18.5 + smoothies

• Smoothies = ?
• Lunch = 8.5
• Drinks in pub = 10

So I didn’t actually eat much, I exercised a lot and was over my syn allowance which is frustrating.

Today I did more moderate exercise; I walked 11,000 steps (over 7 km) as I walked in to town and around the shops as I had several things to buy and errands to run.  I had a really bad night’s sleep and felt exhausted today so I comfort ate which I can’t seem to stop doing.  I do choose much better foods than I used to.  Once I would have bought chocolate, cakes, crisps, cheese and other high fat foods.  So I am doing much better but still have a way to go.

For breakfast I fried up some boiled potato and vegetables;  6 syns for 1 tbsp oil.By lunch time I was making slow progress with my errands and popped in to a Moroccan restaurant on George Street where I had a huge bowl of humous with pitta bread and olives. No idea how many syns in that lot but far too many.  Ditto the vegan Turkish delight I had afterwards!The very cloudy morning turned in to a very warm and sunny afternoon so my walk home was very enjoyable.  I still find the climb up from the Old Town very hard work but it is steep.  And long.Worth it though, both for the exercise and the views when you get up to the West Hill and again along St Mary’s Terrace.  I can see my house in the distance.Nearly home.I made a lentil and mushroom bolognaise for supper but I wasn’t actually hungry so I didn’t eat anything.  I did however have a small bowl of CoYo vanilla yogurt with 3 fresh figs.  10 syns for 100 ml of the yogurt.Not a great day for eating.  I hope I get a better nights sleep tonight and that weigh day tomorrow shows me a small loss.