I did NOT want to get on the scale this morning. My week of “dieting with a houseguest” did not go as well as I had hoped. The first few days were fine – I went to the gym every morning, and except for one big meal at the most amazing Venezuelan restaurant in Astoria, I didn’t stray from my diet.

But then Thursday rolled around, and I drank a lot. Then on Friday I was starving from being hungover, and once again I ate a lot. On Saturday I was sad so I did a LOT of “emotional eating” – including eating a bowl of ziti for breakfast, lunch, and a mid-afternoon snack. And two chocolate chip muffins. On Sunday I was like “Well, my diet is already f*cked, I might as well eat what I want today and start fresh tomorrow.” And so I did.

Today I did start fresh. I went to the gym this morning, and I haven’t eaten anything bad, nor do I plan to. When I am determined, I can follow a diet no problem. But apparently I haven’t quite mastered the ability to indulge a little bit here and there without totally losing the plot.

At first I wasn’t going to weight myself today. I planned to get back on my diet and wait until Thursday or Friday, at which point I should be back around where I was pre-houseguest. But I decided to bite the bullet and force myself to face up to the consequences of my over-eating.

It was as bad as I’d expected. This morning I was up FOUR pounds. Which, if you’re keeping track, means that after all my hard work of the past few weeks, I’m only down ONE pound. It’s amazing how hard it is to lose weight but how easy it is to gain.

But I’m not discouraged. I plan to do two-a-days every day between now and Sunday, which is when I leave to Australia, and by then I should be back to where I was pre-houseguest. I haven’t quite figured out what I’m going to do in terms of exercise while I’m away. I’m bringing my laptop with me, so I guess I could load it up with exercise videos. But will I actually do them while I’m on vacation?

As the Magic 8-ball would say, “Don’t count on it.”