Have been eating rather freely. I now include generous helpings of peanut butter over toasts in the morning in addition to my usual breakfast. In general, have been trying to eat such that I get over my very careful, almost fearful diet. The holiday helped me to ease up somewhat.

The idea is to maintain my weight and increase some muscle mass, while returning to normalcy in terms of eating, which would include the occasional indulgence. It would also mean eliminating an obsession with the diet and replacing that with a balanced mindfulness towards what one is eating.

This may mean I'll get around to eating right rather than eating too little to effectively fuel a more powerful workout, but while trying to find a balance in nutrition I may put on a little bit of weight. Have to be mindful of that and address it if it does happen. More importantly, the comfort one finds in eating well may trigger a return to the bad habits of tending to overeat a bit during meals or during mid-meal snacks. Or worse, to such habits as snacking in front of the TV at night. So have to watch that very carefully.

Have to also be mindful that this eating well diet is meant to fuel the body for an improvement in the workout and in muscle mass. Once that mass is gained, I may have to scale back. Regulate the diet to the activity. This also means I can eat more on workout days than on non-workout days.

Eating well means eating the right kinds of food, good protein and overall, the diet must still be low in fat, refined foods and sugar. Eat more chicken, fish, egg whites and good carbs. That'll help put on muscle while keeping you lean. The occasional, twice-weekly treat should be kept as such.

Also, Smriti and I are trying to cook to stay in a satisfied but healthy state of mind. Just steaming some vegetables yesterday to have with some smoked salmon made for a nice dinner with the soup.