Worn out but satisfied

We've just had the weekend of the big barbecue - something I've been dreading. But... it actually went very well.

Lots of work, catering for around 35. Up early for shopping and first bits of prep on Saturday, plus all the usual weekend jobs like the weekly washing and ironing. Then Sunday, with the harder part - remainder of the prep and running up and down stairs a lot with food, plates, odds 'n bits, then the cooking, plating, serving and all the clearing up afterward. Some 'good' food choices to be had, but also lots of opportunity to be bad.

Firstly, avoid the wine and nibbles before we started. One hurdle cleared - good-oh.

Then the main part of the barbie - for the grilled meaty bits, chicken breast strips on skewers, given extra flavour by a lightish soy-honey-mustard marinade and mini-patties of lowish-fat minced lamb given some moisture with mint, spices, garlic and onions. New potatoes (but keep well away once they are covered in melted butter!) and a mixed salad on the side.

Oh dear, then oodles of delicious-looking home-made desserts to choose from, brought by a variety of folk who obviously do not watch their waistline, so most with sugar & fat overload!

The good news? Actually managed to eat sensibly (phew), aided by a timely bowl of fruit and yoghurt just before we started cooking. Drank water through the cooking period and only had a glass of wine when I could sit down to enjoy it. Come the desserts I chose fruit salad (and no, I didn't drink the sugary juice - can't see why fruit needs sugar myself, but there you go) and had only a thin little sliver of the custard tart, leaving the pastry (yes, really!).

I was very pleased with myself, and more so today when I got on the scales to find I'm down to 76kg! That's amazing - at 12 stone exactly it means that my target of 75kg (to be 11 stone something in five weeks time) is definitely on the cards.