Because experience gives the best lessons, a short summary of things that lightweight rowing has taught me.
2. Your weight is an empirical measurement of your gravitational pull, not a value judgement
3. Bad days happen. Wallow in self-pity for approximately half and hour, have a little cry, get over it and pick up where you left off.
4. If in doubt, vegetables.
5. Use MyFitnessPal as a tool, not as a crutch. If you don't think you can go without it for even a day, stop using it.
6. Be patient.
7. Understand the difference between long term and short term weight loss. Eating brown bread, vegetables, salty soup and drinking lots of water will make you heavier the next day, whereas eating overcooked white pasta and ice cream will make you light. Unless you have a proper weigh in, go for the fibre.
8. Do you remember hearing about that one lightweight who didn't weigh in because she ate a 400kcal slice of cake five weeks before the boat race? No? Me neither. Because it hasn't happened. Have some cake every now and again.
9. Weight loss happens overnight. Weight gain happens during the day. Chill out and step away from the scales.
10. Learn to recognise when relationships with food become unhealthy and do something about it. Go eat a doughnut, a croissant or a Cornish pasty and understand that it's okay. Talk to people about it, you're probably not the only one and it helps to know that there are other people out there.
11. Enjoy your food. Add spices, herbs, seasoning. Try out different types of vegetables and grains. Eat slowly and appreciatively.
12. Keep hydrated
13. Always keep a tin of basics rice pudding around. You never know when you might need it.
14. No one ever got fat from eating too many carrots. That said, your hands may start to turn orange.
15. Fruit and herbal teas are a godsend.
16. You don't need refined sugar as much as you think you do.
17. Stop eating granola
18. Spend more time finding out about salads, vegetables and decent nutrition - less time reading cake recipes on BBC Good Food.
19. Some days you won't eat enough, other days you will eat too much. You can learn from both of these.
20. When it comes down to it , you will weigh in. You might not win the boat race. You should spend significantly more time working towards the latter than the former.
