Undeserved recognition is like meringue – briefly sweet and then gone.

Probably more than other babies, I was born wanting to be famous. This led to lots of tantrums and a precocious childhood. I think what drew me to working in media was this need to be seen by many. And, over more than twenty years working in the media, I’ve had a lot of attention. In most cases, it was because of who I worked for, rather than what I personally achieved. Recognition was a bit like a meringue – large and lovely for a few moments in the mouth, a few seconds of lingering sweetness and then hunger for the next one.  The recognition I’ve received recently for shedding 70kg and transforming my life is, by contrast, a huge steak dinner – the feeling of satisfaction stays and stays.

The long lasting pleasure of being recognised for something that I have actually achieved is worth so much more to me than just being recognised. Although the debate about the appropriateness of commenting about the way people look is for another time, I get a buzz being told how good I look.

Perhaps the scale is different but you, like me, could feast on the positive attention you’d receive if you got yourself into better shape. The risk is pretty small as few people, in my experience, anyway, will tell you when you aren’t looking good but the reward, if you believe you deserve it, is wonderful.

Change is not easy. But it isn’t impossible and it begins with a decision that you will make your health your first priority. The rest, and the accolades, follow from that first decision. Once you decide to do it, you find the route that best suits you – will you take a zero-cheat approach as I have or go for the 80/20 rule – eat and exercise optimally for 80% of the time and allow 20% cheats.

This weekend past, while not cheating in my book, did come with more calories than usual and the scale proves it. More important for me though is that this morning’s mountain hike was more difficult than before. I think it will help to keep more stringently to my eating plan if I remember that the impact of living off-plan is greater than watching the needle move on the scale – the real impact is not feeling as strong and well as I can.