And now for a very quick word...

If there's anyone out there reading this, I really hope you'll excuse the radio silence over the past few days. I left for Italy at the crack of dawn on Friday morning and, on my return home last night, discovered I had a shortened deadline for a piece that was due in at the end of the week but ended up having to be submitted today (such are the joys of freelance life).

Anyway, I've been slaving over a hot computer (in a very cold room – I can hardly feel my fingers as I type) and have got the damn thing in on time. I promise that I will devote tomorrow morning to updating this blog with the various accounts of my exploits (culinary, exercise and travel) before I head off to a major tasting of Australian wines in the afternoon.

In the interim, I would just like to announce that my weight is now down to 90.9 kilos. To be totally honest, it was down to that before I left for Italy. However, the fact that it is holding steady at 90.9 kilos is a bit of a personal triumph in the face of onslaughts of ravioli, risottos, polentas, cheeses and charcuterie, not to mention an unending stream of Valpolicella, Amarone and Recioto. But I don't want to spoil a good story, so I'll tell you all about that tomorrow.

Stating the bleeding obvious

At risk of stating what should have already occured to anyone with an ounce of logic, never ever go food shopping when you're hungry and tired.

I didn't have much of a lunch today because all I had in the fridge was some hummous, which I ate with a slice of untoasted wholemeal pitta bread. I was on my way out the door to a tasting, and was running late, so had no time to prepare anything more satisfying and nutritious (although hummous and wholemeal pitta makes a good snack – it keeps you full for a fair while and has lots of fibre).

So – another big tasting. Bibendum, one of the UK's biggest wine merchants, holds an annual tasting – and it's vast. They'd hired out part of the Royal Academy complex off Piccadilly. There must have been several hundred wine producers there – all of them with at least a couple of wines each. Of course I didn't taste everything there. In fact I spent most of the time doing interviews with wine buyers and sommeliers – I'm behind schedule on a couple of deadlines, both of which I need to meet before I head off to Italy early on Friday.

By the time I left, I was feeling tired and emotional, and for once I'm not using those words to mean that I was drunk. But I also knew there was nothing in the house for dinner. So I stopped into an M&S to grab something to cook tonight. But because I was so tired and because I hadn't eaten well, my blood sugar had dipped, and all I wanted to do was to grab one of the delicious-looking pastries. Either that or slump down in a corner and cry.

You'll be glad to know I didn't do either. Mark and I ate tuna with a soy and citrus sauce, egg noodles and stir-fried veg for dinner. And very lovely it was too.

The weekly weigh in

Despite the temptations of the past few days, my weight is down again this week. The scales now read 91.6kg – in old money terms, I've lost nearly half a stone. What's more, people are starting to notice. The start of a diet is tough – you're adjusting your eating patterns and, quite often, feeling deprived – and until the new regime kicks in, there's very little gratification. But when you start to feel your clothes getting looser and people start to notice that the pounds are dropping off, it acts as a positive reinforcement.

At the moment I'm feeling very positive.

Just say no

When I was small, my mum taught me that I should always finish what was on my plate – although I never quite figured out the relationship between my leftovers and the starving children in India, Cambodia or Biafra (or the various other causes célébres of the day). What was true of meals at home was doubly so of special occasion meals, such as those eaten at friends' houses or at restaurants.

Fast forward 30 years or so and the result of this indoctrination is an adult who eats out a lot and still finishes everything on her plate, even if it's the second five-course meal of the day. The consequences have been inevitable.

I'm lucky enough to have a great job that allows me to travel a lot. Furthermore, once I reach my destination, my hosts fall over themselves to show me a good time. I get taken out to great restaurants or get treated to meals en famille with great frequency. Fantastic bottles of wine are unearthed from their resting place in the cellars, the table groans with all kinds of prestige foods and meals last a minimum of two hours, if not well into the night.

I'm certainly not complaining (although by the time I get home after most trips I crave fresh vegetables and simple dishes – prestige meals don't tend to run to greens and fruit in most cases), but it's very difficult to say no if your hosts are putting on such a show of generosity. And, if everything's laid on (rather than ordering from a restaurant menu), it's difficult to ensure that appropriate food is easy to come by.

I knew well before I got on the plane that last week's trip to the Minervois and St Chinian in southern France would be a test of my resolve. Sure enough, shortly after landing, we were whisked straight to a wine tasting at Homps, once an important loading point for barges travelling along the Canal du Midi. In addition to the wines we were to taste, a table had been set with platefuls of local salamis, olives, cheeses, breads and pastries. Have I mentioned how hungry you can get when you're tasting wine?

Over the course of the next couple of days, we went from one eating opportunity to another, including several lavish meals. But I've learned one vital lesson. Contrary to what I'd been taught to believe, the sky doesn't land on your head if you leave some of the food on your plate. You can ask for the steak to come without the cream and mushroom sauce. And you absolutely must say no to white bread, dessert and other foods laden with simple carbohydrates (see above for the dessert that got away, a parfait flavoured with Muscat de St Jean de Minervois, a dessert wine – sob).

I managed it all last week and, while I regretted saying no to some of the dishes I would have enjoyed, I consoled myself with the fact that I wouldn't have enjoyed them half as much as I'd have regretted eating them by the next day.

A couple of slip-ups – and a test of my willpower to come

Yesterday morning passed in a blur. I had another session with James, then went straight out to Delfina Gallery, where I was helping judge some wines for Imbibe magazine. Somewhere along the way, though, I forgot to organise a packed lunch.

Predictably, come lunchtime, I was ravenous. Lunch had been laid on, of course. You don't invite 25 of London's top sommeliers, plus half a dozen journalists, to a venue, ask them to taste 100 wines each and not feed them. They simply wouldn't turn up. So in came the sandwich platters... There were sarnies with chicken, salad, avocado and mayo; airy ciabattas with parma ham and grilled aubergine; luscious-looking baps with smoked eel and horseradish – and, strictly speaking, I shouldn't have touched them.

I did, though. I looked for brown bread rather than white, and took the top layer of bread off so that it was an open sandwich. Plus, whereas a few weeks ago I'd happily have hoed in to a good sandwich and a half, this time round I went for half a sarnie and some of the fruit platter (which I would previously have ignored). I have to admit that I nearly caved in when, around tea-time, one of the sommeliers walked past and said: 'You absolutely have to try the little chocolate cakes – they're delicious.' But, I'm proud to say, I resisted temptation.

I nearly blew it today, as well. Today's tasting venue was Lords' Cricket Ground, where the annual New Zealand wine tasting was being held. I'll explain about these generic tastings at some later date, but suffice to say there was an awful lot of wine packed into one room. The lunchtime baguettes looked almost as tempting as the Pinot Noir, but I managed to restrain myself, largely thanks to a decent breakfast (a tub of M&S pineapple, mango and passion fruit, with a dollop of my usual Greek yoghurt and a sprinkling of nuts and seeds).

On my way home, I managed to pick up a butterless sandwich with roast beef, tomato and horseradish on multigrain bread from a St John's Wood deli called Panzer's (a favourite of mine, mainly because it sells the best hand-sliced smoked salmon in London).

Tomorrow brings a new challenge. I'm off to the Languedoc in Southern France for my first working wine trip of the year. Not only will I be tasting a lot of wine, I'll also be visiting an olive oil-making co-operative and eating at a number of great restaurants. It'll be interesting to find out how I handle this trip as it will set a precedent for all the other overseas work trips I take this year.

Weigh-hey!

This morning was my second official weigh in (OK, so I've cheated and peeked a couple of times over the course of the past week. Predictable, huh?)

I climbed on the scales, held my breath... A drum roll, please, ladies and gentlemen... My weight is down to 93 kilos exactly – down 1.4 kilos from last week.

I don't expect to keep on losing weight at the same rate, but it's certainly a good start.

Breakfast

A mate of mine lost loads of weight last year, and when I asked her what her secret was, she recited the old saw about eating breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.

The cliché may well have made me want to roll my eyes to the ceiling. In fact, that's probably what I did (a poker face has never been my forte). But, reluctant as I am to admit it, she's got a point. A good breakfast is absolutely vital if you're dieting. The question is, what kind of thing should I be eating every morning? I need something to give me enough of a boost to my metabolism to see me through the next few hours – without weighing me down and making me feel queasy.

I'll 'fess up now. Breakfast has never really been my thang (apart from the cornbread, bacon and maple syrup I used to serve up on morning afters, back in my single days – never failed to impress, I'm proud to say). I'd rather have the extra 20 minutes in bed, to be quite honest, so most mornings, I start the day with a strong cup of coffee, then find myself grabbing something delicious and totally inappropriate on the way to a tasting or a meeting. Something like a muffin or a croissant. Mmmmm, muffins... At the weekend or on holiday, I've been known to be partial to a kipper or a full English, if I've got time. Sadly, all these options are now out of the question. (My greedy subconscious actually sparked a dream about bacon and sausages last night. How totally tragic is that?)

But there are plenty of options open to me. To start with there's scrambled (or poached or boiled) eggs, served with a slice of toast (toast is just fine – as long as it's wholegrain or multigrain. White is off the menu, and I'd strongly recommend buying a quality loaf rather than a pre-sliced job as the latter are loaded with sugar). If you're going to scramble your eggs, just whisk them gently with some salt and pepper – not milk or cream – then fry them with the merest skerrick of butter.

Most days, though, I've been enjoying a home-made muesli (the commercial ones are too full of sugar, not to mention dried fruit – not a good idea). It's simplicity itself to make, and once you've prepared the basic cereal it'll last for days – you only need a double handful each morning. You can douse your muesli with semi-skimmed milk, of course, but I'm particularly enjoying mine mixed in with a couple of tablespoons of 0% fat Greek yoghurt – and sometimes I add a bit of sliced fresh fruit.

Enough muesli for 10 days or so

200g rolled oats
200g rye flakes
40g sesame seeds
60g almonds, roughly chopped
60g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
200g sugar-free fruit spread
100g All Bran

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark6.

Mix the oats, rye flakes, sesame seeds and nuts in a bowl.

Stir 100ml of boiling water into the fruit spread, then mix it thoroughly with the cereals and nuts.

Spread the mixture evenly out over two roasting tins, then place in oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, stir again, then place in oven for a further 10 minutes. Remove from oven and, if the cereal is evenly toasted, allow to cool. If not, stir once again, and leave in the oven for another 10 minutes.

Once the cereal is cool, stir in the bran flakes, then store in an airtight container.

Last Sunday I decided I'd had enough muesli, delicious as it is, so Mark and I opted for corn fritters, served with ham, crème fraiche and tomatoes. These little fritters are a really nice way of starting the day, especially when you serve them with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. The batter mix is enough to make three fairly substantial fritters – Mark had two and I had one.

This is a good general principle: if you're dieting, but your partner isn't, there's nothing to stop them from having an extra helping of whatever you're eating. There are also ways in which you can add simple 'extras' to a dish for your non-dieting partner – I'll flag these up when and where it's appropriate.
Corn fritters with ham, crème fraiche and tomatoes – makes three

50g polenta
50g plain flour
1 egg (preferably free range or organic)
1 tbsp olive oil, then a scant tbsp for frying
100-125ml semi-skimmed milk
70g canned sweetcorn, drained
1 tsp carraway seeds
3 tbsp crème fraiche
6 slices of parma ham or speck, cut into strips
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pour the polenta and flour into a bowl, then whisk in the egg and 1 tbsp olive oil. Whisk in the milk bit by bit until you end up with a thick, sticky batter. Season well (the fritters can be bland otherwise), then stir in the sweetcorn kernels and carraway seeds.

Heat the remaining olive oil in a non-stick frying pan, then pour in a third of the batter. Flatten it out with the back of a wooden spoon and fry until brown. Flip the fritter over and fry on the other side until brown.

Place on a plate and top with crème fraiche, ham and tomato halves.