Habit is a funny thing.
As everyone following this series (thank you!) knows, I have been whinging about wine and how I can't have any since week one.
Well it's week five now, the alcohol reintroduction week, and guess how many drinks I've had this week?
Zero. No wine, no beer, nothing - not even in the unseasonably early summer weather Auckland has bestowed upon us.
• READ MORE: 'Tess Nichol's boot camp week four: Back on track'
My Shred It diet plan has relaxed now it's week five, reintroducing bread and alcohol and upping the carb allowance as well as offering a range of healthy desserts with recipes included.
I've had none or next to none of any of them.
Shred It is, obviously, referring to shredding inches off your body but it's also about shredding bad habits.
Habits like reflexively reaching for a glass of wine when you get home, or turning to sugary treats if your energy's flagging in the afternoon.
The circuit-breaker of the diet plan has been helpful in rethinking those instincts and weaning myself off them.
I find I'm a little more thoughtful about what it is I'm eating and how it's going to make me feel, especially in my gut.
Unfortunately while some bad habits have been improved, an old one has reared its ugly head again.
Knowing this is week five and I only have two more weeks to actually get shredded, I've become obsessed with my body, specifically how I would like there to be less of it.
I'm sure I'm not alone in becoming preoccupied with looking at my stomach side on in a mirror, trying to see if and how much smaller it is since I last looked (which was likely not more than a few hours ago and probably much more recently).
This has happened every time I have dieted or joined a gym, the niggling feeling of wishing I was thinner running counter to the more conscious part of my brain which knows the results I want are unrealistic and anyway it SHOULDN'T MATTER.
Speaking with the Hits radio hosts Toni Street, Sam Wallace and Sarah Gandy, I find I'm not the only one who has been obsessing about shredding.
Sam admitted he would check his weight up to eight times a day - at least I wasn't that hard out. • READ MORE: 'The Hits hosts Sarah, Sam and Toni share secrets to weight loss success'
On Friday I check in with Lifespark nutritionist Kate Walker, who finds I've lost 200g in weight but gained 1.4kg of muscle - losing just over another percentage point of body fat.
This is a healthy rate of fat loss which is more likely to stay off and it means I'm not depriving my body.
I can't stop thinking about that 1.4kg of muscle.
To be thinner is one thing, but to be shown evidence you're stronger is a much more satisfying achievement.
One more week to go.
The results are in for NZ's top 10 family beaches – vote for your favourite now.