This is the second week in a row I was mentally preparing an entry to talk about a gain and the second week in a row when I've gotten on the scales and discovered that I didn't need to.

It's great that I've lost the weight, but my eating needs to be looked at a bit. Just a .1kg (.2lb) loss this week, but any loss is a good loss!

Got a new WW leader this week (thank the deities of choice!) and she asked us how much we'd lost. Of course, being the shy, retiring flower that I am, I volunteered (hell, I'd shout it from the rooftops if they'd let me!) She then asked me what advice I'd offer anyone just starting out.

Being put on the spot, I couldn't craft a proper answer, but here I can, so here it is. Now, bear in mind, this is what worked for me. Your mileage may vary. But there are a couple of old chestnuts in there, and they are old chestnuts for one reason. They do work.

So, here's what three attempts, 13 months and 30.1kg (66.3lb) have taught me.

Track your eating. Write down everything you eat. It's easy to say that you're eating well if you're not holding yourself accountable. Snacks slip in. Licks, bites and nibbles sneak in under the radar. Be honest with yourself. If you bite it, write it. Then, if things aren't going so well, you can look back, review what you've been eating and see if you need to modify it.

The water thing. They are not kidding. Start drinking your water. Now. Don't whine to me that you don't like it and it's too hard and you pee all the time. I didn't like it either when I started. I hated drinking water. And I'm still peeing like an over-excited two year old over a year later. But it has been crucial to my weight loss.

It's all about the exercise. My previous two attempts didn't really include any deliberate exercise and my success (or lack thereof) reflected that. It's taken me a while, but I seem to have found the right balance to get my metabolism sufficiently fired up that I usually lose a little weight even when my eating isn't on track. Find what fires your metabolism up and do it as often as you can realistically manage. Don't bitch about not having enough time, if you're serious enough about this, you'll find time. I get up half an hour early to make sure I manage my weights or pilates. You can do it too.

Food is not 'good' or 'bad'. It's just food. Don't put value judgements on what you put in your mouth. Sure, some foods will help you to lose weight more effectively and some foods won't. But they aren't 'good' or 'bad'. When you put value judgements on food, you automatically put them on yourself when you eat them. If Tim Tams are 'bad', then you will believe you are bad for eating them. You will feel guilty and blame yourself and waste a whole lot of energy beating yourself up for 'succumbing' to 'bad' food. It's just food. Get over it.

Above all else, and if you take nothing else from this entry other than this then it's worth it, don't beat yourself up if you fall off the wagon. It happens. Life happens. Habits do not die easily. We backslide, we slip up, we make mistakes. We are human.

Remember that and, when you do have a gigantic blow out, acknowledge it and MOVE ON. It does not mean you are a failure. It does not mean you should give up. It just means you're human. Congratulations. Now pick yourself up and take the next step. I've quoted it before, and I'm quoting it again, but Confucius said it best:

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

You are worth this. You are worth taking the time, making the effort and aiming for your goals. A lot of us don't value ourselves enough and until you do, you'll never dedicate yourself to this journey. I'm worth it. You're worth it. Believe it and you'll succeed.