A quest for the old happy Em

[EmmyLou30]

Finished yesterday on 7 syns so not too bad. Todays plan is the usual alpen bars, apple, some nectarines, beans on toast for lunch and 5 bean chili for tea at Wetherspoons. Should be a 4.5 syns day.

I think today my friend at work is bringing in a black and white print dress she wore in the office last week but it's too big for her now. It's a size 18 so should hopefully fit me ok. Being fatter than someone slimming has its advantages I told her she could look at me in it (assuming it fits) and think wow, I used to look that fat but now I don't! You could see she was thinking 'yay' in her head but said 'don't be silly'. She totally deserves to feel like that though as she's done amazingly well and I really haven't. She did explain WW new points thing to me as that's what she's doing but sounds like the more weight you lose the less food you get so its like some wierd punishment for losing weight that you get to eat even less!? Odd.

 

[EmmyLou30]

Yesterday ended up as a full 15 syn day as I had a packet of velvet crunch and a curly wurly in the evening....the latter in the bath whilst trying out my new waterproof kindle bag When I say trying out I didn't actually dunk it to test it but it did mean I felt ok taking it into a moist air filled room with chances of wet hands and splashes getting on it or even being dropped in the tub. Means I can spend even more time soaking now when I get into a good book! The day was still only about 1200 calories so it wasn't too bad. Scales were still being kind this morning. Somehow I never trust a good loss on Sunday WI until I've seen it on the scales at least one more time ;-)

 

[EmmyLou30]

So far so good this week. 11 syn day yesterday but I didn't have one of my hexB's or either of my hexA's. Today is looking ok, not very nice quorn chilli for lunch (OH picked up the wrong mince last night, it was supposed to be Asda's veggie mince as quorn mince is tasteless sawdust). I thought after 4 years of using it he might have realised we never use the quorn crap but there you go. He had to eat it too so he'll remember for next time ;-) I usually love my homemade chilli but I had to add loads of salt and gravy granules to flavour it which meant more syns :-( Oh well, 2.5 syns isn't too bad. Lots of fruit on the menu today in the form of apples and nectarines (2 of each). The scales were nice to me again this morning and are even reporting a loss since Sunday which could go either way come WI really.

Sunday I'm off shopping with a friend so if I get a loss before heading out that will no doubt make me feel a whole lot better about it. Shopping had got fun again but now with gaining weight back it's not so much, it's a reminder of what I had and how my gains have spoilt it. That said I did get a pair of jeans and a dress from my work mate this week so I've already got my clothes fix for the week I was amazed the dress was such a lovely fit, shift type dresses never usually fit my bigegr top half but this one did, and fitted perfectly over the hips like it was cut just for me. Nice black and white flower print which will look smart for holiday evenings going down to dinner. Bit odd to think I was looking at her wearing it on Friday and it was hanging off her now much smaller body!!

I'm waiting for some of that anti chaffing gel to come in the post at the moment. The stuff for fatties and sporty people (can you think of any other product designed to be used by a more diverse group of people!?). My legs rub when I wear a skirt which is just nasty in the heat but I do like skirts and it'd be nice not to have to wear leggings or tights. So I figured for a fiver it was worth a go....I'll report back when I've tried it.

Right, off for a nectarine I think.

 

[EmmyLou30]

Buying the multi pack of curly wurlys wasn't the smartest idea as I now want to eat them all but yesterday was only one hexB and 15 syns so alright even with the choccy.

Today is looking fairly ordinary. Off to the cinema later to see the latest Bourne film so I'll have to leave syns for a few jelly sweets I think as I know I won't resist the 50p mix up bags they do.

 

[Jane R]

Well done on your losses EmmyLou. You look like you are well on the wagon. Is Asdas veggie mince syn free? I was interested to read your comments about quorn mince as we use quite a lot of it. I am hoping that you will tell me that it is cheaper too! Good luck with your WI tomorrow. x

 

[EmmyLou30]

Hi Jane, yes Asda's frozen veggie mince is syn free and has a flavour on it's own (I can't help but pick at it and eat it frozen while I'm cooking and waiting to throw it in the pan!). I eat frozen peas too, my boyfriend thinks I'm odd. I find quorn on it's own (well the mince anyway) has no flavour. I'm sure a good cook can make a good chilli with it or spag bol but personally I can't! Mine gets flavoured by a tiny bit of chilli powder and the kidney beans in chilli sauce (great syn free find in Sainsburys) and then the gravy granules at the end to thicken it up.

This week was good, another 1.6lb off so I'm back to my 2 stone award and more importantly I now weigh 199lb so under the 200 mark


I did stick to it religiously all week, never ate more than 1200 calories on any day or had more than 15 syns....until yesterday. I had a low calorie lunch planned out in Prezzo where I hadn't been before but my friend was still full from the previous nights meal she'd eaten (I wish that happened to me!!) so we went to subway instead while we were out shopping. That on its own would have been fine of course except my boyfriend wanted Chinese for tea and I'd been working up a sweat in the garden for 2 hours, just got out the shower and was just too tired to cook at 7pm so said yes. It was yummy and I had done lots of walking round shops as well as gardening so it could have been worse!?


Back to it today though, cutting out anything but alpen bars and fruit till my evening meal. Sounds ridiculous and silly I know but right now till they fix my medication I need to be this strict/stupid :-( Just hope it continues to work, fingers crossed.

 

[Jane R]

Well done EmmyLou! Thanks for the information about the veggie mince. I will certainly try it. Where are you going on holiday? x

 

[EmmyLou30]

Holiday is a cruise round the Med, really looking forward to it. Our stops are:

	Messina - Italy
	Cefalonia - Greece
	Dubrovnik - Croatia
	Venice - Italy
	Korcula - Croatia
	Corfu - Greece
	Gibraltar Valencia - Spain Just got to get our currency and we're all sorted. Get to use my lovely turquoise suit cases I got for my birthday. Unfortunately I tried on my black dress I wore to the company do earlier in the year (I need it for the formal nights) and it won't do up so it's lucky I have a size 20 monsoon dress from a previous works do (though it's more like an 18). Means I get a second wear out of it so it's not all bad This week I've been doing SW rather than calorie counting and so have eaten around 1400-1500 every day. I totalled the calories up roughly just to compare. So logically that's still diet level but we'll see, it might be too much for me, especially after eating a chinese on Sunday.

 

[Jane R]

Your cruise sounds wonderful EmmyLou. Shame about the dress, I can sympathise with you. You still have some time to make a difference. Hope that your week is going well. x

 

[Jane R]

Where are you Em? Getting a bit concerned. x

 

[EmmyLou30]

Last week or so has been a bit mad with trying to get as much decorating done as possible before hols. It's getting there though and I think I can finally say I can do a passable bead of silicone if you catch me on a good day!! There's been metres of the stuff to replace all round the conservatory so I've had plenty of practice - just two more bits to do and that's that all done. Woodwork is filled, undercoated and ready to gloss, walls filled, painted and ready to paper, then it's the fun bit of shopping for blinds and things

So excited, less than a week to go till holiday. This time next week I imagine I'll be sitting down to breakfast with pastries, egss, toast, fruit and lots of yummy stuff but will also be heading to the gym later to burn it off as it's a day at sea. Still have to get a couple dresses ironed, shoes cleaned and washing done before hols, going to be another busy week.

Last week I lost 1.6lb in the end! This week was a STS but I'm still happy with that. This is the first time in a year I've had losses more than 2 weeks in a row as I had 4 weeks in a row. I'm off to see the specialist on Wednesday too. I'm out for a meal tonight but haven't a clue what that'll be, I'll try to make sensible choices. It'd be nice if I could lose something this week. It's * week this week which explains the sudden need for chocolate last week that I caved into a number of times (that was a nice surprise the week before hols though, I was worried it was going to be right in the middle of it so now I'll have it out the way).

 

[Jane R]

Well done on your losses Em. x

 

[EmmyLou30]

Holiday’s all over with, amazing how quickly everyday life settles right back to how it was before you left and you soon feel like it was ages ago (even though I only got back on Tuesday!). Had my hair cut and coloured Tuesday night so I’m very pleased with that, it can distract the eye away from the 7.3lb I gained!! Admittedly I think that’s pretty good for a 17 night cruise, more may appear by Sundays WI mind you once it catches up to me. That’s about what I lost before going away though so I’m no worse than before those 6 weeks of pre holiday dieting. Back to it now I’m home though and to be honest having had the freedom to eat what I liked (and realising quickly as I always do in such situations that it’s not that amazing really when compared to the damage it does on the scales), I won’t be sad to get back on the wagon now.

The destinations were lovely on the cruise (if a little hot for me at times – my poor bloke had to put up with my moans) and the food was nice. Although not as good as our last cruise I don’t think. We gymed and swimmed on the sea days with the exception of the last few days of the cruise where we were either too tired from all the walking in ports or I was feeling very sea sick in the rough weather on Sunday and Monday ( we were passing through the bay of Biscay at the time – perfect timing right?!).

Big news from my holiday though is that we got engaged!!! He’d brought a ring with him in his suitcase rather than hand luggage in case it was searched in front of me and spoilt the surprise….which then explained why when all but 1 of our cases has made their way to our cabin he was freaking out more than I thought necessary at the time as it was the one with the ring in it! It turned up half hour later. We went to the posh Marco Pierre White restaurant and we were all dressed up nice and he proposed over dinner….which he had a mild allergic reaction to which affected his throat (thankfully not too badly) and had to rush back to the cabin leaving me, his fiancé of 10 minutes, sitting alone with my new ring on my finger to order deserts to go on a tray which we ate later. Memorable I suppose Once he’d thrown up he started to feel much better and was sorry it was memorable for the wrong reasons (it was 9/11 too which I don’t think he realised so it will stick in my head as that date sticks in everyone’s head doesn’t it). Who cares, that date will be replaced with a wedding anniversary in the future won’t it. It’s 2.5 sizes too big so we’ve ordered a smaller one as then if (sorry, I mean when) I lose weight it can be downsized….if we downsize this one when I lose weight it won’t be able to be downsized further. Optimistic of me I know but I have the obligatory bride-to-be diet to do now don’t I.

My appointment at the hospital went ok, he’s prescribed me Metformin (a diabetes drug) to help with the weight gain associated with my PCOS so fingers crossed that will aid the new attack at the diet. I’m still waiting for them to arrive at the pharmacy but fingers crossed I can get them Saturday.

 

[Jane R]

Many congratulations on your engagement Em and also for the half stone gain. I think that is very acceptable after a 17 day cruise! Have you named the day yet? x

 

[EmmyLou30]

Thanks Jane No, we haven't set a date set yet or made any real plans. I guess you always have a load of ideas in your head from other weddings you go to and we know it won't be big or expensive as we don't have many friends and I at least have a tiny family (his is much larger so it balances out!). I say it won't be too expensive, obviously it will be as it's a wedding!! But I'm hoping to keep costs down as best I can. My bridesmaid is super excited for me and with what she might get to wear of course We're off to the national wedding show at the NEC this Saturday that she spotted was on so it was good timing as it's an annual thing I think. I guess we're loosely thinking next Autumn or the following spring as a good time for both lowering the cost and the heat as I don't want it very warm or sunny. Plus we also need to allow enough time for me to lose my weight of course!

This morning I took my first Metformin tablet with breakfast (I have to make sure I eat breakfast now as it can't be taken on an empty stomach). So fingers crossed they don't upset my stomach or give me any issues, and that they help with my weight of course ;-)

This weeks weigh in was the same as when I got back off my holiday so I'm back to where I was before the pre holiday diet at 14st 9.5lb. I feel a lot bigger too so I really want to get back to it and get that weight back off like I did before holiday.

I've randomly signed up for a 2 hour horse ride in Cardiff across the beach later this month as someone at work organised it. Not sure why I said yes, just thought well I've not done that before and I'm under the 16 stone weight limit so why not. I know it's gonna hurt everywhere afterwards as it'll be hard work but should be fun too. I have a sand phobia too so that's more incentive to stay on the horse ;-)

 

[Jane R]

Well done on your WI Emm. I hope that you enjoy the wedding show. I am excited for you. x

 

[Jane R]

Hey Em, where are you? Hope that you are OK and hope that you enjoyed the wedding fayre. x

 

[EmmyLou30]

The wedding show was great, lots of ideas now. Narrowed it down to two colours (teal or dark pink), think the table favors are decided on too and as I disliked 99% of the dresses picking one should be easy! Colours are obviously unfashionable again now as there wasn't a hint of coloured panels in the dress or embroidery or anything (which is a shame as I quite liked that), lace is all the rage thanks to Miss Middleton (really don't like it myself which ruled out an awful lots of dresses) and strapless seems to be the only option. I did try on one dress which was a random one I actually liked and that was strapless and it looked better on than I thought and hopefully I'll be a lot slimmer by the time I wear one down the aisle! Looks like I'd easily get something nice that looked like a proper dress and not like I'd done it on the cheap for under £400 (which is more than enough for a dress I think!!).

A STS this week which is pretty amazing as I've eaten absolute rubbish. I started my new tablets and they didn't make my stomach too bad, I was pleasantly surprised. I was visiting the little girls room rather more frequently than usual and I did have a bit of a rumbling stomach but more than manageable. It's probably in my head but I did feel like I was less hungry than usual and that foods like porridge which keep 'normal' people full up were keeping me full up longer too. Usually I can eat till I'm about to burst but within the hour I could eat it all over again as I just never stay full. Shame really then that I couldn't get my head in the right place and get back on the diet last week

Today is a new day, getting back on the wagon and fingers crossed the tablets help.

 

[Jane R]

Just checking in Emm, hope that you are OK. x

 

[EmmyLou30]

I was a little better with the diet this week although not amazing. There were a few slip ups with chocolate! I did lose 1.4lb somehow though so that was a ncie surprise I'm now on my full dosage of my new tablets, my stomach seems to be fine and so fingers crossed for another good week with a loss at the end of it.

I walked for hours round Westonbirt Arboritum on Sunday as it was such a lovely day....my legs are still aching! Must have done me some good in that case. This coming Saturday I'm off horse riding so I'll be in far more pain this time next week I'm sure ;-) My family are still taking the mick out of me for signing up to do it, don't know why. The thought of big fat me on a horse is obviously a comical one.