Inspired by this post from Chris Brogan today, I want to take a moment to give much love and gratitude to the people who are helping me through this. As you may have gathered from the lack of posts about my journey recently, things aren't going so well, but I'm fortunate enough to have people to reach out to for help.

Just a quick one before I head off to work. On Sunday July 20th I will be taking part in the Race for Life at Westpoint in Exeter, alongside fellow Slimming World members from my old Monday night group.

Please sponsor me!

I'm doing the race this year for my Mum, who is recovering from bowel cancer, my old pal from Notts Jackie K, who has also kicked cancer's arse and, yes, I'm also doing it for me. Two years ago I signed up to do the race in Nottinghamshire. But I was too unfit to go through with it, so I chickened out at the last minute. Now, over 10 stones lighter and walking at least a mile a day anyway, it seems like a good way to celebrate how life has changed.

I wanted to get a Sports Racer t-shirt but I doubt it would arrive in time for the race. Maybe one of these would work just as well...

Week four in my new Thursday night group, and I'm already feeling the benefits of Katrina's full-tilt, gung-ho, I'm gonna get you to target if it kills me, you and wipes out half of Tiverton spirit. Some Consultants take the comforting, gentle approach which works well with nervous newbies (me, last year). Katrina however, bless her heart, gives it so much passion and welly that you can't help but run out of her group screaming...

Grrrrarrrr! I'm gonna take over the world!

And it's that all-guns-blazing spirit that's going to take me to my target weight of... er... um... haven't quite decided that one yet.

Anyway, on Thursday night I was fired up once more by a 3 and a half pound weight loss, taking my total weight loss back over 10 stone and seeing off almost all of the amount I gained around my birthday. So when Katrina asked who was up for a challenge, my response was...

Grrrrarrrr! Bring it ON!

...hubster and myself took a long, long drive up to Manchester. It was a hot, sticky day and I think Michael would much rather have stayed home and shaved his head with a cheese grater. But because he's my husband, and my best friend and has the patience of several saints, he drove me the 200+ miles up the M5 and M6 for one very special reason. To see this man do what he does best:

Greetings Sports Racers. Sorry, hubster and I are currently working our way through one year of the show with zefrank and it's kind of rubbing off. We've been spending the weekend discovering each other's power moves, which was just as much fun as it it sounds.

Anyway, yes, that diet thing. As you may have guessed from the Take-That-Covered-By-Lolcats title, my enthusiasm for Food Optimising is back with bells on. Really hit my stride last week, but sadly not soon enough to avoid a 3lb weight gain. Bugger. Having decided to take the gain as the ass-kicking I desperately needed, I've been able to stay on plan ever since.

So, armed with a 5lb weight loss target for the week I've been Optimising like a good 'un, and walking further than I have ever walked in my entire lazy life. A total of 10 miles over three days probably doesn't sound like much to real sports racers, but it's a major achievement for me.

Well here I go again with yet another attempt at a full week on plan. Fell waist deep in a bucket of wine and chinese food on Thursday night after group and didn't manage to winch myself out and back onto plan until yesterday. But I'm back in business now, yesterday was a green day and contained my favourites - potato wedges for lunch, and noodles and mushy peas for dinner. All free on green, and all lovely and comfort food-y.

Today, then, is original (or red). I find I get the best results when I stick to a red/green cycle throughout the week. Mixing it up sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. And as Katrina, my new consultant, said at group last week:

> Don't play with the Plan, because the Plan will play with you.

Kicking off another week where I intend to stay on plan 100% no matter what. Now, nobody die, dump me, fire me or do anything else to me that's likely to take me off course, 'k? Ta.

Sunday and Monday saw me backsliding again. Although Monday was really just a Green day with an assload more syns. Today's excuse was that I was considering how Slimming World fits into my life and what I could do to shake things up a bit.

Firstly, I decided to join another group. Katrina runs a class on a Thursday evening that I can get to straight from work, it's a nice walk, and it's over and done with in enough time for me and the fella to still have an evening together. Also, believing strongly that variety is key to the success of this thing, I think the change would do me good. We shall see.

...and on the seventh day, I rested.

Not the spectacular excursion off-plan as done in previous weeks, but off enough for me to enjoy a drink at the aforementioned ditty, a panini at teapots, and a pasty at home.

This week has been an interesting experiment, and one I will continue. It's kept me thinking about my weight-loss mission, food and my lifestyle and for the most part I'm happy with how things are going, but I think it's time for one or two things to change. So for this coming week I'm going to be working on those changes and making the most of what I already know works a treat.

More adventures to be had next week then. But for now, it's time for a break. We'll be right back.

If it wasn't for the heroics of my husband, putting his foot down with a firm "You cannot has takeaway", I would now be wallowing in guilt and prawn crackers. But he pulled me through a particularly murky moment and again I managed to stay on plan all day.

It's how it goes every time. I'm tired, feeling a bit grumpy, and there's a huge great yak in the kitchen demanding some Gillette action before we can get to any food*. There have been many, many times in the past where we would have left the hairy bugger to entertain himself and headed out to the chinese chippy pizza kebab shop.

But Michael stepped in and saved the day. Here's my food diary:

BRUNCH - The legendary Mad Hatter's Brunch which consisted of - eggs, bacon, mushroom, tomatoes, beans (B) and 2 slices of white toast (8 syns).

The brunch saw us through the morning and our 3 mile walk around town. I didn't feel a single hunger pang until about 5ish when I had...