The archive
Everything I've written
The whole diary, newest first. 56 entries and counting.
2026
The Best Calorie Counting App in 2026 (What I Actually Use Now)
After six years of starting and quitting food logging, I've finally landed on an app I stick with. Here's my honest, lived-in take on the calorie counters worth your time.
Best Calorie Counter Apps 2026: My Reviews After Living With MacroFactor, Cronometer & MyFitnessPal
My honest 2026 reviews of the best calorie counter apps after actually living with MacroFactor, Cronometer, MyFitnessPal and PlateLens. The short version: PlateLens is the one I kept.
The Best Calorie Tracking App After Testing the 5 Most Popular
I spent a month logging the same meals across the five most recommended calorie apps. The TL;DR: PlateLens was the only one I didn't quit — here's the full story.
Free Calorie Tracking Apps With No Subscription (What's Actually Usable)
Most 'free' calorie apps are really free trials in disguise. Here are the ones whose free tier is genuinely enough to use — and the one I landed on.
The Emotional Side of the Scale Nobody Talks About
Losing weight was never just about food for me. It stirred up old feelings about my body and my worth that no meal plan ever addressed. Here's the honest version.
Tracking Without Letting It Take Over Your Whole Life
There's a line between tracking that helps you and tracking that quietly runs you. Here's how I tell the difference, and how I know when it's time to stop.
The Day I Stopped Sorting Food Into 'Good' and 'Bad'
For years I split every food into two piles: allowed and forbidden. Here's how dropping that one habit did more for my eating than any rule ever did.
Why I Stopped Chasing Perfect and Started Chasing Consistent
Every time I aimed for perfect, I lasted about a week. The boring, forgiving, good-enough version is the only thing that's ever actually carried me through a year.
2025
The Creamy Tomato Soup I Make From a Few Tins
Better than anything from a carton, made from store-cupboard tins in under half an hour. My simple roasted-tomato soup and the trick that makes it taste rich without cream.
Photo Logging vs Typing It All In: What I Reach For and When
I've logged my meals both by typing every ingredient and by snapping a photo. Each has a place, and after a lot of meals I've settled into using both on purpose.
How I Stopped Fearing Fat and Made Peace With Olive Oil
I spent the low-fat years afraid of avocados and nuts. Here's what I came to understand about healthy fats once I stopped treating the whole group as the enemy.
Food Logging Finally Became Effortless (and I Stopped Quitting)
I quit food tracking more times than I can count. What finally made it stick wasn't discipline — it was getting the effort low enough that there was nothing to quit.
The Day I Realized Maintenance Was the Real Goal All Along
I spent years treating losing weight as the finish line. Learning to see maintenance as the actual destination quietly changed how I do everything.
Grocery Shopping With a Plan Quietly Changed How I Eat
I used to wander the aisles and come home with random things and no actual meals. A short list and a few simple habits turned that around more than any diet ever did.
The High-Protein Snacks I Actually Keep Around (No Powder Required)
Not an aspirational list — these are the real, slightly boring snacks that live in my fridge and stop me raiding the biscuit tin at 4pm.
Sugar vs Added Sugar: The Difference I Wish I'd Understood Sooner
I used to lump all sugar together and feel guilty about fruit. Here's the simple distinction that finally let me relax about some sugars and pay attention to others.
How I Got Back on Track After Regaining Some Weight
A hard winter undid a chunk of my progress, and the old me would have given up entirely. Here's how I came back without the spiral of shame that used to sink me.
Setting Up a Tracking App the First Time, Without Getting Overwhelmed
The first time you open a food tracking app it throws a wall of settings and goals at you. Here's how I'd set one up now to actually stick with it past week one.
2024
How I Handle Holidays and Travel Without the Guilt Spiral
Trips and holidays used to wreck both my routine and my head. Here's the relaxed approach that lets me enjoy them now and slide back into normal afterwards.
How I Stopped Crash Dieting and Actually Kept the Weight Off
Four rounds of losing and regaining taught me that the diet was never the problem. Here's the unglamorous approach that finally held.
The Hydration Habit That Actually Stuck for Me
I knew I should drink more water. Knowing did nothing. Here's the small, slightly silly system that finally made hydration automatic instead of aspirational.
What Finally Made Fiber Click for Me
I spent years nodding along to 'eat more fiber' without really getting why. Here's the small mental shift that turned it from a chore into something automatic.
Why I Gave Up the Whole 'Cheat Day' Idea
Cheat days felt like freedom, but they were quietly keeping me stuck in a punishing cycle. Here's why I dropped the framing entirely and what changed.
Logging Homemade Meals Without Losing My Mind
Tracking a recipe you cooked from scratch sounds like a nightmare of weighing every ingredient. Here's the shortcut-heavy way I do it that keeps me sane.
How I Plan the Week's Meals Without Overthinking It
I'm not a spreadsheet person. My meal planning is loose, repetitive, and a bit lazy — which is exactly why it's the version that finally stuck.
The Make-Ahead Egg Muffins I Grab on Busy Mornings
A tray of savoury egg muffins on a Sunday means a proper breakfast all week. Here's my method, the fillings I rotate, and how I stop them sticking.
2023
My Lazy Weeknight Lentil Soup (The One I Make on Repeat)
One pot, pantry staples, barely any chopping. This is the soup I come back to when I'm tired, broke, or both — and it never lets me down.
How I Learned to Judge Portion Sizes by Eye
I never wanted to weigh my food forever. Here's how I taught myself to eyeball reasonable portions using nothing but my own hands and a bit of practice.
How I Log When I'm Eating Out (Without Ruining the Meal)
Restaurant meals used to blow up my whole tracking routine. Here's the relaxed, good-enough approach I use now so dinner out stays a pleasure, not a math problem.
What I Learned from a Three-Month Plateau
The scale stopped moving and I nearly threw the whole thing in. Here's what was really going on, and how I waited it out without losing my mind.
The Breakfast Habit That Quietly Changed My Mornings
I was a coffee-and-nothing person for years. The small breakfast I finally settled into didn't just feed me — it changed the whole shape of my day.
The Budget Roast-Veg Traybake I Live On at the End of the Month
When money's tight and the fridge is sad, this is what I make. A cheap tray of roasted vegetables that turns into half a dozen different meals.
How I Finally Started Reading Nutrition Labels (Without Going Cross-Eyed)
Nutrition labels used to be a wall of numbers I scanned and ignored. Here's the handful of things I actually look at now, and the rest I let go.
Slow Weight Loss Is the Only Kind That Ever Stayed for Me
I used to chase fast results and then watch them evaporate. The boring, slow version is the only one that ever actually lasted. Here's why I gave up on speed.
2022
What I Do When I Forget to Log (Spoiler: Not Panic)
For years a single forgotten meal would topple my whole tracking habit. Here's the small mental shift that turned forgetting from a crisis into a non-event.
How I Eat Out Without Feeling Like I've Derailed Everything
Restaurants used to feel like a trap I either avoided or 'gave up' to. Here's the calmer middle ground I found after a lot of overthinking.
The Smoothie That Finally Actually Fills Me Up
Most smoothies left me hungry an hour later. This is the one I rebuilt to keep me going all morning — and the four things I learned to always include.
Protein, Finally Explained the Way I Actually Needed It
Every protein article I read either treated me like a bodybuilder or a fool. Here's the plain-language version I wish I'd found when I was confused.
The Sheet-Pan Dinner That Saved My Weeknights
One tray, one oven, almost no washing up. My go-to sausage, chickpea and vegetable traybake — and the small habits that make sheet-pan dinners actually work.
Weighing vs Eyeballing Portions: What I Actually Do Now
I used to think you had to pick a side — weigh everything or guess everything. After years of tracking, I land somewhere messier and more livable in between.
Why I Stopped Weighing Myself Every Day
The morning scale ritual was quietly running my whole mood. Here's what happened when I finally stepped off it — and what I do instead now.
Carbs Were Never the Enemy — Here's What I Got Wrong
I cut carbs, feared bread, and felt awful doing it. Here's what I eventually understood about why carbs aren't the villain I'd made them out to be.
What I Learned When I Finally Paid Attention to My Late-Night Snacking
I assumed I had no willpower in the evenings. It turned out my late-night snacking was telling me something — I just hadn't been listening.
2021
My High-Protein Pasta for Nights I Want Comfort Without the Slump
Pasta I can eat on a busy week and still feel good after. A creamy, savoury bowl built around cottage cheese — yes, really — that comes together in one pan.
The Two Habits That Finally Stuck (After Years of Ones That Didn't)
I've abandoned more healthy habits than I can count. These are the only two that survived a real, messy, unglamorous year — and why I think they made it.
How I Learned to Understand Macros Without Obsessing Over Them
Macros sounded like something only gym people needed to care about. Here's how I got the gist without turning every meal into a spreadsheet.
Barcode Scanning Tips That Saved Me a Ton of Logging Time
Scanning a barcode feels like the easy button for tracking, until you scan something and the numbers are clearly wrong. Here's how I make it actually reliable.
Eating Enough Protein While Losing Weight (Without Overthinking It)
The thing that made losing weight feel less like deprivation wasn't eating less — it was making sure I ate enough protein. Here's how I actually did it day to day.
How I Meal Prep on the Days I Can't Be Bothered
Real meal prep, for me, isn't six matching containers on a sunny Sunday. It's the low-effort version I can pull off when motivation is nowhere to be found.
The Big Pot of Chili I Batch-Cook Every Month
One enormous pot, a freezer full of dinners, and a recipe I've tweaked for years. Here's my bean-heavy chili and exactly how I store it.
2020
Do You Actually Need a Food Scale? Here's My Honest Take
I resisted buying a kitchen scale for ages, convinced it was overkill. Then I caved, and I have thoughts on who genuinely needs one and who really doesn't.
The Mindset Shift That Finally Made It Click for Me
For years I treated weight loss like a punishment I had to survive. The day I started treating it like something I was doing for myself, everything got easier.
What a Calorie Actually Is (And Why I Stopped Being Scared of the Word)
For years I treated calories like little villains on a label. Here's the plain explanation that finally made the word feel useful instead of frightening.
The Overnight Oats I Stopped Skipping Breakfast For
I was a chronic breakfast-skipper until I found a jar I actually looked forward to. Here's my no-fuss overnight oats, and the small tweaks that made them stick.
How I Finally Started Drinking Enough Water (Without an App Nagging Me)
I tried reminders, fancy bottles, and willpower. What actually worked was much dumber and much more reliable — and I wish I'd found it years sooner.
Why I Started Tracking What I Eat
The slightly embarrassing story of how I went from never thinking about food to writing down every single meal — and why it stuck.