Day 18 and a change of tack...

So my weight has remained stubbornly hovering between 71 and 72kgs and I'm a bit peeved to be honest.

My diet is blameless: I eat two or three times a day only and this is made up largely of spinach, baked fish, poached eggs, very small amounts of grains such as quinoa or freekeh and tons of salad leaves.

I ate one small chocolate biscuit wafer the other night and I don't even know why - I don't have a sweet tooth. I think I was just feeling rebellious.

I've been doing two Jillian Michaels workouts a day: level one on my own in the mornings (albeit with lots of children milling around), and level two in the evenings with DH after our evening walk.

I've kept wine to weekends (with the odd slip-up on a Thursday, but considering the above this is a small crime overall).

And so, I've decided that while Jillian might be making all sorts of amazing things happen under my skin and in my muscles, she's not doing a whole lot to make me smaller, so I'm going to change direction a little.

And the solution is my old friend, ballet.

I felt as ridiculous as this!

I started ballet classes in my early twenties and it kept me slim and able to spend enormous amounts of time out clubbing, drinking and generally carousing, without ever getting fat. I loved it although pirouhettes on a Saturday morning after a big night out can be tricky.

And apart from the time in my 30s - having just moved to a new city - I rocked up to a so-called 'adult' ballet class, and was subjected to an hour long lesson surrounded by giggling 12-year-olds, (the teacher said the adults would 'be here soon'...they never arrived) I've never had a bad experience in a ballet class. (I'm cringing just writing the above - oh the humiliation of trying to keep up with a bunch of lithe, pubescent girls!)

After baby number four I was topping the scales at 78kgs and decided to go back to ballet, within six months, without any other alteration to my life, I had lost roughly 10kgs. So it definitely works.

I've done the New York City Ballet Workout (see below) many times - I have the book and DVD - but it can be a little tough going for a beginner, but this morning I happened upon Tiffany Rothe workouts, which are short and easy to follow. They focus on a different part of the body each time, so you can pick and choose. God I love YouTube - it makes living in the middle of nowhere bearable!

The thing to remember about ballet is that, unlike our friend Jillian's frenetic workouts, the exercises may seem rather low impact. But similar to Pilates, what they do is strengthen and stretch the muscles to create a toned and slender body. You don't see many female ballet dancers with hulking great muscles now, do you?

So yes I will continue with the hateful level 2 workout with DH in the evenings, but my new daytime regime will consist of gentle plies, tendus and ronde de jambes. Let's see if it makes a difference...

And if you're up for a challenge...try this!