Vanessa Pringle: Week 12, Round two of a cold

Well here I go again, round two of a cold and, so far, the sore throat and coughing has been going on for six days, leaving my nose looking like Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer again - definitely not a foxy look.

I have no idea why I have got sick again but, seriously, I'm becoming a hazard to society. I am starting to stress as it's my second to last week and I have not been to the gym for five days.

It is so frustrating losing all these precious hours of exercise, I really can't waste a second; there is definitely no time to get sick as a mum, student and weight-loss columnist who has to stand in a bikini next weekend.

My measurements have seen me lose another 3cm off my thighs, which is great, and 1cm off my arms, with the full and final measurements being divulged next Saturday.

Last week's efforts consisted of walking into the shops confused, trying to work out what size and style suited my shape, putting on jeans that flared in all the wrong places or didn't pull up at all and others that stuck to my butt like glue.

This week was awesome as I finally found a pair of jeans, thanks to Tara from Just Jeans. She had me totally sussed by the second pair and I was out the door smiling from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat.

I am sure most people can relate to me when I write about how hard it is to find a good pair of jeans that fit and don't accentuate all the wrong places.

I really am feeling so much better about my legs and lots of people are commenting on how much weight I have lost in such a short time.

Refresh Beauty are so lovely and supporting me by giving me a hand-sprayed tan next week. Hopefully that helps me to lose an extra kilo or two for the photos.

I will let you know all the details of what it is like as this is my first time, but so far I have a choice of their disposable g-string, bring my own or wear a bikini - so I've opted for the disposable g-string.

I get to go home without a bra on as I don't want to risk any tan getting on to my nice white bra, so will be praying I get home without stopping.

Another huge event for me this week was learning that I am not the only one in my family who needs help losing weight.

I had a huge wake-up call this week when I took my dog, Monty, to the vet. Monty is a chihuahua who used to be 3.8kg and somehow in six months he has put on 2kg and looks like a corgi.

It really isn't a laughing matter but I couldn't help but giggle as here I am writing a weight loss column for myself and my own dog is obese.

My lovely vet, Peter, said that his first weigh-in is next Thursday, so I have started taking him for daily walks and put him on low calorie dog biscuits, so fingers crossed he loses a gram or two.

My eating has been rebellious this week to the point where I thought, stuff it, I am going to have a trim, decaf latte at Deckchair, and, boy, was it sensational. It gave me that boost to get through the rest of the week of my eating, which is getting boring and mundane.

No wonder people quit on their meal plans, diets and fads because they are not sustainable forever.

I say go the regular exercise, eat in moderation, no carbohydrates after 2pm and drink 2-3 litres of water a day.