Dear Diary,

The absence of my journal in the last Health edition does not mean that I was not taking keen notice of my new lifestyle. I was just busy with all the happenings at school. We had Mico Week, which culminated in the honouring of batch 153 'the gilberties'. I spent that weekend at home. I was concerned about this and so were Ms Thompson and Dr Wynter - we were worried about me going home to mommy's home-cooked meals. My mother, however, was a source of help as she stocked up on the all the right things.

I returned to the hostel Sunday evening (March 22) and settled in. That Monday morning, I was alone on my exercise routine as most of my training colleagues had not yet returned to the hostel. The following day, however, I had a full house. This is one of my biggest motivations - my colleagues. I shouldn't mention names for fear of people feeling left out, however, Kadesha Henningham is one of my most reliable exercise partners. She is always saying, 'See you, tomorrow' after each session.

On Wednesday, March 25, we had bonfire night at school. The Marcus Garvey Club, The cadets and UNESCO were in charge of that event. I am a member of the Marcus Garvey Club, however, that night I was there to enjoy myself. I danced to the drumming of the Kingston Drummers and I enjoyed the food (don't raise your eyebrows, I only had a piece of roasted salt fish and roast yam and I was really watching the salt). The week ended well. I am still staying away from rice (especially white rice) and taking extra servings of vegetables instead of rice.

Fighting cravings

The real test came the following week as a result of cravings around the time of my cycle. I managed to substitute the things that I would normally eat with things which Dr Soares-Wynter (my nutritionist) had suggested. I stocked up on fruits and raw nuts, however, the resistance broke down. On April 2, which was sports day (kudos to Buxton House, they won) I had all the 'wrong' things. I had a coffee strip, a piece of muffing, which my friend, Taneille, was eating, and I had a half container or so of Red Bull (maybe a little less). I felt so guilty and what made it worse, I could not do my full routine of exercise because of some problems with my knee.

When I spoke to Ms Thompson the following Monday (April 6), I told her about the bingeing. She encouraged me and said that I should not go on a guilt trip because of that.

High Self-esteem

With all the bingeing, I was somewhat reluctant to weigh myself. Ms Thompson had promised to leave a scale for me, which she did. I went into the bathroom so that just in case I had gained weight I could maybe cry and no one would see. To my surprise, I had lost four pounds. I came screaming out of the bathroom with the scale in my hand showing all my unit 14 mates that I had lost weight. I called Ms Thompson and I was so overjoyed that I could hardly tell her why I had called. She was so happy and kept on encouraging me.

My self-esteem is so high right now that not even words can explain. I had made a commitment to myself a long time ago that if I ever reach the 200-pound mark (I am now exactly 200 pounds) I would never turn back and that's a commitment that I am going to keep!

Send feedback to Tanny at yourhealth@gleanerjm.com