Total Solution My Exante journey..

[womble35]

I always find that places like asos and boohoo have lovely stuff but sometimes have odd 'fashionable' details that make them difficult to actually wear! What kind of dress are you looking for?

Either navy (I love navy) or cream, at least knee length and unfitted around the lower tummy (i.e. either an A-line, draping, peplum or clever pleating). My lower tummy is definitely my problem area since having a baby!! The search continues...

Forgot that I had drinks last night with the nursery mums, but I was very good. I had a couple of pints of soda and lime. I know lime contains citric acid that takes you out of ketosis, blah blah, but it was nice to have something different to diet coke or water for a change!

 

[womble35]

Ok so managed to find a dress on Friday... got this number from Phase eight:

It's actually lovely on, but have decided I'm going to have to rip out the lining as it's quite heavy and might get a bit warm otherwise!

I was so naughty at the weekend again... there was a lunch at church to celebrate the queen's birthday and I had a delicious slice of cake... it was quite a big slice! Accompanied by 3 glasses of red wine!!! I felt absolutely rotten afterwards though, and my tummy has been doing somersaults ever since. That'll teach me! I also have 2 client lunches out this week, but am going to focus on damage limitation and order lean protein and salad and hope that doesn't cause me too much damage. And no more wine.

 

[enlightenme2]

We go to Ascot each year - not a particularly big fan of horse racing, but I love people watching!!! We are incredibly lucky that we are members of the Royal Enclosure so the people watching is particularly special

I'm customising my own hat this year... not sure whether that is a good idea or not. Basically, I'm planning on stitching some coral silk flowers onto a ivory hat, and wearing with a navy dress, coral bag and whatever shoes I decide to wear. And then maybe a coral pashmina...

Perhaps I'm being a bit ambitious with my recovery period... my health insurance has said they will pay for me to stay in hospital for 3 nights if needed... which is quite tempting as it will be like a mini-break (hopefully with lots of pain meds to ease the pain). But think my husband will freak out at the idea of managing the house / toddler / life admin for 3 whole days, so should probably try and recover at home instead

There is NO such thing as home recovery with a child! I remember having surgery on my right hand for carpal tunnel and remember my daughter (4 yo at the time) jumping up and down the bed and touching my hand and trying to see if it "hurts"

 

[womble35]

There is NO such thing as home recovery with a child! I remember having surgery on my right hand for carpal tunnel and remember my daughter (4 yo at the time) jumping up and down the bed and touching my hand and trying to see if it "hurts"

Crikes, that sounds to be exactly what I'm faced with!!! And my son still comes into our bed at night and just loves to kick me in the ribs all night. Think I'll be pushing for all three of those nights in hospital, otherwise I'll be finding the key to our spare room so I can lock myself away!

 

[nattyclare78]

Hi Womble, that dress is beautiful!
Hope you are ok x

 

[womble35]

Thanks Natalie, I hope you are doing ok too.

Don't know what's wrong with me... I was doing so well yesterday but then when I got home I ate so much stuff I shouldn't have. I'm going to have another gain this week at this rate! Furious with myself, but determined to make today a 100% day...

 

[nattyclare78]

Do you think it is because you know the op is coming up? You know you will be eating? The closer my holiday gets the harder this diet is. I just want to eat!!! x

 

[Darcy15]

Lovely dress

 

[ImLosingWeight]

Hope your 100% day went well!

 

[womble35]

Lovely dress

Thanks Darcy! I unpicked the lining last night as otherwise it's going to be very warm, so was a bit nervous I would ruin it. But actually still looks ok and is much more comfortable to wear. Can't take it back now!

Hope your 100% day went well!

Thanks, it sure did! I was STARVING in the afternoon, but managed to resist temptation, despite being in town and having to walk past various food outlets.

I didn't manage to get the scales out to weigh myself this morning.. partly because my son was insisting I played trains all morning, but also partly because I think I want another day to make sure any water retention from my 'extended' weekend has a chance to disappear. Will be weighing in tomorrow instead, so fingers crossed.

Got my lips done yesterday - I'm assured by my husband and au pair that they look fine, but because they are much bigger than I am used to, I think they look MASSIVE!

Anyway, off to meet a client for lunch (checked out menu, going to have fillet steak and salad). Luckily he's a new client so won't notice the lip transformation (I hope!). Have a lovely day everyone!

 

[nattyclare78]

Ooooh does it hurt having your lips done?

steak and salad sounds amazing! Hope you enjoy it! x

 

[womble35]

Ooooh does it hurt having your lips done?

steak and salad sounds amazing! Hope you enjoy it! x

It does hurt a bit, but it's really not that bad. My initial swelling has all gone down now and I'm quite pleased with the results - they aren't too big at all.

I didn't go for steak and salad in the end - I went for grilled tuna on green papaya salad (a favourite of mine). It was yummy, although a really awkward salad to eat while trying to look professional and chatting to my client... I ended up with a horrific stain on my blouse, right at the front!

So weighed in this morning and 2 pounds lost! Thats ok, given my cake-fest at the weekend. but I do really need to pick things up a bit, as I only lost 6 pounds in total last month - that's less than some people lose in a week on this diet! I must be better at sticking to it.

Getting a bit nervous about the operation next week. Not so much about the operation (I know it needs to be done), but rather the fact i will be out of action on the exercise front for about 3 weeks, and I will probably have to go off plan for a few days immediately after the operation. Once I'm out of hospital I'm going straight back on Exante and my husband / au pair are going to be ordered not to give me any food other than my exante meals. I suppose that's one way to stop cheating! Not sure what the hospital food will be like though... but then I suppose it is only for a few days and I probably do need to eat a proper meal after the surgery to help my recovery.

 

[ImLosingWeight]

Nice about your lips, and pleased the swelling has gone down! Well done for making the healthy choice at your client lunch.

I ended up with a horrific stain on my blouse, right at the front!

Haha. Sounds like something I would do... minus the blouse of course

Well done on 2ibs lost. That's really great, and added on to the 6 you lost last month, so over half a stone.

​

I think it's easy to lose sight of the more convetional 1-2 ib weekly losses, when you are on a VLCD but yes that's a huge combined loss over a half a stone, well done. Before I started this diet, a friend of mine was talking about how he would reccomend losing 2ib a week, with a more conventional route etc (he is a doctor, so generally knows what he's talking about) but of course we make our own decisions. For me hands down, the VLCD and more rapid weight loss is what I'm after, but of course I have a lot to lose... however, the point of this ramble is that, I think it's important to put things in context on a diet like this, and remember most people in the country would LOVE to lose 2ibs regular every week.

Do that for a few months and it'll be amazing how those losses add up

Hope the operation goes nicely for you, and have a great weekend!

 

[nattyclare78]

may have to try the lips!

well done on the loss! especially after the 'cake fest'!
Understand the nerves, you will be back on your feet in no time! x

 

[womble35]

Gary, your words are as wise as your picture suggests You're right, it is really easy to lose sight of the bigger picture, and considering I've had every weekend off plan, my losses are actually pretty great. Yes, they are less than is standard on a VLCD, but it's not as if I'm doing it 100%... Still, I'm usually fiercely competitive, and so want to commit and excel at everything - just not sure why I can't take that attitude to dieting!

Have a work meeting with an old boss of mine today, to potentially get some work from him. I haven't seen him for about 4 years, so I'm rather relieved that I've lost the weight I have so that I am about the size I was 4 years ago! Sounds odd, but of course sometimes I think people judge me based on my size, particularly in the work place. Despite the apparent obesity epidemic in this country, there are very few larger ladies working in finance (although quite a few larger men!) - saying that, there are very few ladies working in finance full stop! But I think the men expect the women to look a certain way, and if you don't fit that mould, then you stick out for all the wrong reasons.

Anyway, fingers crossed the meeting goes well and I get some work out of it. That will be my second new client this month and really set me up for summer. I've also just committed to doing the PR strategy for a charity I work with, so am hopefully going to be super busy!

 

[nattyclare78]

Hope it all went well for you x

 

[ImLosingWeight]

Hey womble, yes these are two people I admire alot, I read the power of now years and years (and years... lol) ago when I was at Uni and had never read anything like it before, really opened my eyes, and I think the Dalai Lama is awesome. I chose that picture here as much to remind me to live in the present moment whwnever possible, and also from some inner desire to be able to cultivate that aura of complete inner peace which both people seem to have surrounding them whenever I see them, a long way away, but the desire is a start I guess

Like Natalie said, I hope your client meeting went well today.

Nice that you are able to enjoy the benefits now of the weight you lost with the boss you haven't seen for a while!

 

[nattyclare78]

How are you Womble? x

 

[womble35]

Hello! Sorry forgot to check in yesterday as busy day at work... I got the work from the client meeting on Friday but have an incredibly tight deadline so bit of a stressful week! I had a nightmare last night that I was so busy at work that I forgot to go to the hospital for my surgery

Weekend was amazing, but totally off plan. Oh well, at least I had fun doing it! But did make me realise that if I have more than a couple of drinks, the diet goes out the window for the next few days. I just get so hungry on a hangover, it's ridiculous. So today is my first day back on 100%, but only for a short stint as I go into hospital for surgery on Thursday!

 

[ImLosingWeight]

Good luck for Thursday, hope it all goes well will be thinking of you. Nice that you had a good weekend, enjoy your 100% day today!