Fair, forty but not fat!

[The Moog]

Thank you - you know it's all of your cheering along that's really making a difference?

I think I'm going to get the small frog bead for the next one. It's an old joke between me and my OH about how you have to kiss a lot of frogs. He empathises more with the frogs than the handsome prince! Thought it'd be a lovely one to have near Valentine's Day.

With a bit of luck it'll not be long now DecemberBride, it's a real motivator for me - I'm wearing the bracelet a lot, so it's a constant positive reminder about "Look what I've achieved."

Thanks so much for all the support everyone!

 

[The Moog]

Feeling lousy this morning. My neck glands are hideously swollen and I can barely swallow. Looks like the menu will be soup and custard today!

On the plus side, my voice is all husky and the hubby is delighted. Men!

I'm dithering about whether or not to try a smaller pair of jeans. I've got a couple of pairs in the next size down - I stashed them in a spare wardrobe 'just in case' (Ha! As if that was ever going to happen without loads of effort). My current pair are definitely too big and I'm having to wear a belt to keep them up.

I'm pretty sure that most of me would fit into the smaller size. The area of doubt is my stomach - which really isn't pretty at all. I think I'm going to be in Bridget Jones big knickers for the rest of my life!

So - do I try or not? I'd be gutted if they wouldn't fasten because of my stomach. But then again, if they do...

 

[The Moog]

OK - I tried. They do fasten up but are pretty tight over my stomach - I wouldn't wear them yet. But I did find an old pair of jeans which are a small fitting version of my current size and I haven't been able to wear them in a while. They fit - and they're even a little loose!

That'll do me Don't think it'll be long now...

 

[xsarahx]

Well done - so nice when you fit in to old clothes!!

 

[The Moog]

There are certain advantages to being ill. I'm down 2 lbs since weigh-in on Friday - which is not surprising considering I can barely swallow! Hopefully today will be a bit easier - I don't fancy talking all day tomorrow with my throat like this!

One more lb and that's 25lbs gone... I can't believe how well this is going at the moment. I know it won't last and I'll be back to stalling and grumbling and fretting all over again - but I'm going to enjoy this dropping of weight while it lasts!

 

[lindseydodd408]

Get well soon moog! x

 

[The Moog]

Thanks I'm thinking about trying to see an out of hours GP today - my throat's in a pretty bad state and it could well need antibiotics, depending on whether it's bacterial or not.

I'm dreading work tomorrow. I really don't think my voice is going to hold up.

Still, the weightloss is good

 

[lindseydodd408]

I hate having a sore throat!!! GP sounds like a good idea, even if it's not bacterial they could give you some awesome pain killers to help take the edge off! x

 

[The Moog]

Feeling a bit better today. Throat is still sore but I can swallow now - which is always helpful!

Nosh du jour
Breakfast: Tea and a go ahead yoghurt biscuit
Lunch: Broccoli and Stilton soup with two gourmet thins. A banana.
Dinner: Mixed leaf salad, spinach, sweet peppers with lemon chicken. Strawberries for pud.

All going well. Hoping to reach a total of 25lbs lost by Friday (although not sure whether weight will climb back on due to the erratic food intake this weekend) We shall see!

Meanwhile, I'm home alone. Hubby has gone to pick up all the kids. It's taking a lot of self-restraint not to crack open a bottle of wine and scoff all the chocolate animals...

 

[The Moog]

Aaaand another day. Rainbow trout on the menu for dinner tonight and some Szechuan soup at lunch. There are a bowl of cherries in the fridge crying out to be eaten too - it would be a shame to let them down

Had a small glass of wine last night, so hoping that's not going to stall my metabolism. It was smaller than a pub measure, so I'm kind of hoping I can get away with it. I don't want to go teetotal altogether if I can avoid it. A glass or two a week would be lovely!

 

[The Moog]

Oooh the Szechuan soup I had for lunch was really, really nice. It's the Ainsley Harriott cup-a-soup one and even on full calories it's still only 80-something a sachet.

Definitely recommended if you fancy something warm and a bit spicy!

 

[The Moog]

Today's menu

Breakfast
Bio low-fat yoghurt with 1/2 banana and 3 brazil nuts
Lunch
Smoked salmon, fresh salmon, prawns and a salmon mousse.
6 strawberries.
Dinner
Mixed salad, sweet peppers, tomatoes and lemon and herb chicken strips.

The diet is still going well. I had a little waver yesterday and ate a 25g bag of light choices pretzels - which at less than 100 cals wasn't a disaster, but it took me up to the max of the calories I'm allowed. It's the first time I've done that on food since I started this, so I'm not beating myself up about it. That's nearly two whole months without snacking. I daren't let it sneak back in as a habit though - now that would be a disaster!

Seeing the physio tomorrow and hopefully getting a gentle exercise plan in place. I'll need to up the calories a little for that so the next few weeks might be a bit of trial and error. Hopefully the weight will keep ticking down - we're not far off two stones gone now

 

[lindseydodd408]

Whoop Whoop!!! Go Moog, you're doing awesome!!! x

 

[The Moog]

I'm starting to feel like I'm getting somewhere and I might actually lose some (if not all) of the weight I'd like to.

I can't even begin to say how thrilled I am about that. I honestly thought even low cals weren't going to work and I'm so happy I was wrong!

I've got everything crossed for Friday and a decent weigh-in. I'm trying so hard not to peek!

 

[The Moog]

Got everything crossed for tomorrow. I know 2lbs have gone - unless something's gone seriously wrong across the rest of the week! Hopefully another lb has joined them just for good measure!

I suppose the one advantage of having a disabled kid, where a specialist babysitter costs £20 a hour plus, is that you don't go out very often. It means that not having a social life is, for once, a good thing! I think I'd be struggling much more than I am if I was faced with a yummy menu in a favourite restaurant.

We've got a weekend away in February, so that's the next potential diet 'problem' and then I'm fairly clear through to the summer and my big birthday weekend away. I'm so looking forward to that - we went to the same hotel for my husband's 40th. Luxury, pamper and sheer decadence in a beautiful suite of rooms... Can't wait! Especially not if I'm going to be back to being a reasonable size by then.

Here's hoping!

 

[lindseydodd408]

Good luck for tomorrow moog!!! x

 

[The Moog]

Thanks Lindsey!

Just got back from my physio appointment and it's looking like it's going to be a long haul with establishing exercise. She's recommended small amounts of tai chi and pilates, twice a week with the aim to build to 3 times per week. Once I've got that ok without knocking myself out, I'm allowed to very gradually increase the length of time I can do the sessions for.

I know nothing about either pilates or tai chi. Anyone got any advice as to which to go for?

Apparently the cross trainer is going to have to wait

 

[The Moog]

Down another 3lbs this week! Only 3lbs left to go until this pesky 2nd stone has gone for good If I'm really good, there's a possibility that it might be this time next week and that would be fantastic. It's more likely to be the week after, but it's worth hoping!

I'm going to target the third stone (and a little bit extra) to be gone before Easter. I can do this. I can.

 

[The Moog]

What have I achieved in the past 8 weeks since starting the diet?

I've lost 25lbs, lost 2-3 inches from all over and dropped a dress size. I'm feeling less tired, presumably from not lugging quite so much weight around (I've lost more than a holiday's worth of luggage!) and I'm eating incredibly healthily.

I've managed to get some of my ongoing health issues under control to the point where I can contemplate doing some light exercise.

Most importantly, I'm not feeling like giving up. I have wobbles, but that's all they are. Overall, I'm doing well and should feel pretty chuffed with myself.

 

[lindseydodd408]

Hurray for you, what a positive and uplifting post, jolly well done!!! x