Back on track!

LOSS: 4.5 POUNDS

Dear Diary,

I DID IT!!! After a week's hard work (and let's face it, a little of the Fear of God put into me from last week), I finally clawed something back, regained some dignity and the ability to smile at Group again on Monday. OK, so I didn't have the shock, awe and disbelief of the time I lost 8 pounds in one week - but it was still pretty special. Having people congratulate me, seeing Mum's proud smile and the flurry of happy texts that followed from various friends and family members - it was all worth it. Got home, and instead of my usual Monday night celebration-or-commiseration binge fest, stuck to a very modest 4 syn tea.

The week that followed has been magnificent. Managed for the first time in ages to get my Syns down to not only less than 15, but less than TEN a day - something of a record for me! I made HUGE batches of tuna pasta and spaghetti Bolognese to take to work for lunch - following Joan's advice to eat more Free meals. Sadly, the arrival of Star Week set me back somewhat on Thursday, leading to a much regretted "screw this, only a Yorkie, Frappuccino and Macdonald's will do!" lapse - but was straight back on it the next day. One day out of a week isn't at all bad - and more than made up for it with a hot chicken for tea on Friday.

This weekend doesn't seem to be posing any problems so far, I'm glad to report! Today started off with a lovely sunny walk around Bury market, collecting lots of meat and fish for new recipes. Then Joel's dad and brother came round again to do more bathroom work - only instead of suggesting the usual Chinese/Curry for tea (as Joel's dad likes to treat himself in his retirement!), they pitched up with a veritable TON of salad ingredients! Lettuce, chicken, beef, tomatoes, coleslaw, spring onions, you name it. Got quite the surprise - apparently they don't like to eat/cook hot food in this kind of weather, so we tossed it all together and chowed down..... was a lot nicer than I thought! Especially since I'm only used to having salad as an accompaniment, not something I'd normally put time and effort into for an actual MEAL.

Tomorrow I'm going over to visit Grandma with Joel and Auntie Pam. Grandma's recovering from a recent minor operation (well, I say "recovering," she was up and about within 2 weeks!) so the plan is to visit and take her out for lunch - the good news being that, surrounded by a supportive partner and family (all of which are dieting too), I'm sure I can easily be encouraged to make the right choice!

Mum and Dad are currently in France for 2 weeks, so have to make the decision of whether or not to go to Group on Monday. On the one hand, it'd be good to know where I'm up to, and if there's any damage control to do, or further success to log. On the other hand, it seems bonkers going all the way to Prestwich just for a weigh-in, using up Joel's petrol, and paying for class when I'm skint at the moment. May have to come to a decision tomorrow.

Oh, and one last thing to go in the "incentive" pile, as it were. Sian's mum got in touch with me today, regarding her hen do on the 24th of August - apparently the theme is 1940's. So you know what this means - gorgeous hairdo, red lipstick and high heels, and most importantly...... THE DRESS. You know the one I mean. Call up any mental image of a 40's dress and I bet it's the same as mine - low cut, polka dot, knee length, belted waist and flared skirt. Flattering to practically EVERYONE, and inherently prim, yet sexy.

This is the one I have in mind - from Dorothy Perkins. So, there's an incentive if ever I had one - just less than a month to drop what I've dropped in a mere WEEK of hard work - 4 and a half measly little pounds. Screw the tattoo convention - Aug 24th is now the new goal to get back to my 1 and a half stone again. I did it before, so I sure as hell can get there a second time. And as long as I'm down to my 2 Stone by France, then I'll be a very happy bunny!

Xxxxx

Summer Summary

Dear Diary,

Amidst all the moaning and raging yesterday, there's one thing I forgot to mention. One very important thing, actually. It would seem that whilst I'm not losing pounds..... I'm certainly losing inches. In fact, I can now exclusively reveal that I have GONE DOWN A DRESS SIZE!! That's right, I have made my way down from a Size 18 (and the occasional 20) to a Size 16. And it feels GOOD!! Well, mentally that is, I can't actually see any difference myself. Bought a pair of cool linen trousers for work (and for the current heatwave we seem to be having) in a Size 16, so have definitely confirmed that I've gone down, as trousers are normally the strictest indicator of size. Dresses can get away with more, whereas with trousers, there's nowhere to hide.

So yeah, have been feeling pretty thrilled recently. Not to mention I've been getting my legs out properly for the first time in years, thanks to all this sun. Normally I'd put up and shut up - but it's been too damned hot this year, and the sight of skinny women in shorts everywhere was winding me right up. A pair of shorts Alex gave me have been a GODSEND, sneakily hidden under my dresses to allow me to go out bare-legged, but without experiencing that dreaded "thigh-rub" that so many of us have to suffer.

 

Yep. There are shorts under that dress!

Call me crazy, but part of me felt like I was striking a bit of a blow by doing this. People don't always think about it too much, but they have no IDEA of the thousands of tiny humiliations overweight people have to go through every day, let alone in summer. Not being able to get your arms out, because you're ashamed of bingo wings. Having to sit and boil in clothes that are flattering, instead of revealing any body parts. Not being able to go bare-legged because you can't face the rash that generates from the inevitable thigh-rub. Having to hide away in black clothes, because bright, summery colours seem to accentuate your weight even more. Being embarrassed to walk past the constant parade of skinny, beautiful women prancing around in shorts and tiny tops, being embarrassed to even be sweaty in case people assume it's because of your weight, and not just because it's hot.

I don't know, maybe all that's just the way I feel. I don't claim to speak for other people - but as an overweight person, this is how I feel every. single. day. And while it's easy to throw your head back and joyfully declare that "at least I'm doing something about it, now!" it's still a pain to know that there's a long slog ahead, and that it's going to be at least next summer, or even the summer after before I too can strut about in shorts and little tops.
But for the time being, it still felt good to get my arms and legs out at Auntie Pam's on Sunday!




What other news is there? The only three things of note, two good/one bad:

The bad: Having a terrible Jesus-Christ-how-is-that-even-possible? moment when reading about an old school acquaintance's 1.8 stone loss - in a mere 10 weeks - on Facebook. Bearing in mind that the woman in question is bigger than me. Shame isn't a strong enough word.

The good: Being on the bus on the way to work and hearing "Rock ya body" by MVP come on my Ipod. While that may not mean much to a lot of you, it was an insanely popular song that was released in 2004.... and basically the soundtrack (along with Daddy Yankee's "Gasolina") to my, Louise's and Alex's first ever independent holiday to Gran Canaria. Personally, I can't HELP but think of summer every time I hear it - but this time, I was in shorts, with my legs out on the way to work.... and all I could think of was the support my friends have shown me along the way. I know I go on about it a lot, but it really does help!

The good again: Going to the gym in this weather. Yes, I said good. This is not strictly accurate. It's horrible, disgusting, humiliating, exhausting, twice as hard, and it KILLS. But the blissful swim in the pool, the cold shower afterwards, the imperial TONNE of sweat I lost (and therefore pounds, right? Right?!) and the over-whelming feeling of smugness evoked by doing such a batsh!t crazy thing made it all completely and utterly WORTH IT.

Oh, and......

THE BRILLIANT: Going to Mum's shop for breakfast this morning. This breakfast has been planned all week, and for good reason. It consisted of: Bacon, Egg (cooked in Fry Light), Mushrooms, Beans, Tomatoes, one slice of wholemeal toast, and Sausages. Probably should point out that these were specialised sausages that Mum ordered in from a shop in Oswaldtwistle that made Slimming World sausages using lean pork, or something. Anyway, they're Free, which is the important thing. So, to summarise, all of THIS:

..... was only 1 Syn. And that was ketchup.

Say it with me, AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW YEEEEEEEEEEAH!!!

This has been one fantastic week!

Xxxxx

Highs and Lows

GAIN: 3 POUNDS

Dear Diary,

As you see above, I have once again royally screwed up. After all of the whining, self-pitying, motivation and promises of last week - after trying hard to Food Optimise 100% and stick to it, I must have had a severe delayed reaction. Because just 4 days ago, I found myself back on the scales, brimful of confidence..... only to see that I've gone back to a mere 12 pounds total weight loss. Completely gutted if I'm honest, knew I'd mis-behaved but never assumed that it would catch up with me after 3 solid weeks of maintaining......

Decided to allow myself that one Monday night to p!ss and moan, flail about and bawl about how "I'm sick of being so f***ing FAT!!" before gritting my teeth Tuesday morning and swearing to carry on as planned.

The weekend before was a mixture of Good and Bad. Went out for Taylor's birthday on Friday - and whilst a very fun time was had, I stuck to a very modest three vodka-and-diet-cokes instead of my traditional concoction of cocktails, various spirits and cider. Saturday was fantastic, with Joel and I going to see a brilliant play called "The Machine," and then to Tampopos for my favourite Asian Free meal afterwards, for a lovely late tea.





And then Sunday was spent up at Auntie Pam's, who threw a beautiful summer buffet which was all taken entirely outside - and lasted from 1pm to roughly 10pm, as our family do's tend to! Well, technically, everybody else left about 8 o'clock, but Joel and I got asked to stay behind after Mum and Dad left. And it was fantastic - not only did we tan ourselves further by staying out in the garden chugging Prosecco/Diet Coke, but there was just this fantastic sense of school kids being let out of the classroom. Not to mention we left with a metric ton of healthy food and David's old Playstation 2, plus a small TV and about 20 games!



So that takes us back to Monday, and my inevitable foul mood. It didn't help AT ALL that after Group (and on the way home), my Gain was ALL Mum and Dad could talk about. I mean, I know it's a big thing in my life now, but I seriously just wish we could talk about something else for once. I know they care, I'm just getting a little bored of constantly being asked "how I've done this week," and "where I think I went wrong last week" etc.... On the way home, Dad (who clearly didn't get the "tell Dad I don't want to talk about it anymore" message I gave Mum) lasted through about 3 minutes of small talk, before jumping right back on the hot topic. Not to mention I was getting blasted from all angles for my "behaviour" at Auntie Pam's buffet for - SHOCK HORROR!! - eating one halved ciabatta roll and..... oh my god, ONE CRISP AND ONE MINI PRETZEL!! I know, right?! That's not even an exaggeration - I literally had one of each, before Dad started crying "Verboten! Verboten!" at me and frowning. Then I had Mum doing the whole "Should you really be doing that.....?" when Auntie Pam poured me a small glass of Prosecco (which, as you probably know is 4 Syns a glass, i.e: THE LOWEST FRICKING SYN VALUE for an alcoholic drink, bar Vodka and Bacardi) Not to mention the inevitable "Ooh, should you have taken that much?" when I walked out with a serving of ENTIRELY FREE FOOD. Lean beef, salad, tomatoes, peppers, salmon and prawns. Oh, and when dessert came out, all I had was a few grapes, a handful of raspberries, and a TABLESPOON of ice cream. Completely ignored the chocolate eclairs, roulade, and cheese with biscuits. But do you think anyone commended that? Nope, just pointed out the faults.

I mean, for God's sake!! One of the MAIN GODDAMN COMPONENTS of Slimming World is that you can eat hearty portions of Free food and that is FINE. You CAN have a second helpings of SuperFree food, meat and fish. Joan herself advised it at Group on Monday, when I begged to know what had gone wrong - told me that if you eat more Free food, it raises your metabolism. That's what Joan told me, a qualified dietician. I know for a fact that the reason I've gained so much lately is my total inability to keep my Syns below the allotted 15 a day - and it sure as sh!t ain't because I went back for a second helping of salad and fish on Sunday.

And what p!sses me off the most is how people at work and my family (apart from Auntie Pam and Grandma) spend all their time just JUDGING me on every little thing I put in my mouth - EVEN IF IT'S SLIMMING WORLD FOOD!!
Especially the guys at work; "Oooh, are you SURE you should be drinking Hot Chocolate, Katie?" "Well, yes, it's Low Fat Options hot chocolate that I've specially prepared, which is only two Syns." "Yeah..... but wouldn't it be better if you DIDN'T have the two Syns?" "It's only two." "But imagine if you DIDN'T have the two! Then it would be even HEALTHIER!!" "Well maybe, but if I did that every single day, I'd go absolutely stark-bollock mad, craving sweet things all the time, until one day the inevitable pressure of depriving myself constantly will make me completely snap, and go on an epic, pound-piling binge - which is the ONE THING Slimming World advises you against doing." "Hmmmm....." "You don't believe me, do you....?" "Wellllll..... it doesn't make sense to ME, but if that's the way you're doing it....."

Sorry, I'm just so f***ing SICK of people judging me all the time, especially when they don't even understand the rules of Slimming World - and aren't even ON it! - and only go off the whole eat-nothing-and-lose-weight shtick that's been so wrongly peddled for years, as opposed to the SW eat-a-balanced-diet-that-allows-for-a-daily-amount-of-sugar way. I realise I'm not losing weight at the rate I want to, but that's MY MISTAKE, because I've been f***ing stupid, lazy and irresponsible, not because SW doesn't work. It does. IF YOU DO IT PROPERLY.

Ugh, rant over. Had to get that out. Anyway, moving on to more pleasant notes: this week has been brilliant. Slotted effortlessly back into the Slimming ways, and have managed to keep my Syns down to below 15 (and even 10!) Syns a day. Went to see "The Machine" again on Wednesday with Auntie Pam (who was sold after I raved about it on Sunday) - and after spending all day on Google trying to figure out a healthy place to go for tea, eventually settled on fit Italian, Pertutti's. Oh my god. Go, if you are able. Had the same starter as Auntie Pam, which was tomato, rocket, garlic and basil bruschetta. As for the main course..... well, on a normal day I'd have leapt on the Seafood pizza without a moment's thought, but decided to Health it up by getting the same dish - but on Spaghetti instead of Pizza. We also refused desserts and resisted wine - bearing in mind that Me + Awesome Big Sister I Never Had + No-one driving, usually = WINE O'CLOCK! Allowed ourselves to feel very smug indeed, whilst enjoying a lovely, non-judgemental girly catch-up and planning what lovely healthy meals we're going to make/how much swimming and walking we're going to do in France.

Look at that. Seriously!

 

 

So, all in all, this week so far has been nothing short of great. Let's hope it continues!

 

 

Xxxxx

An Excellent Week

Dear Diary,

If I do say so, this week has been INCREDIBLE. With a huge dollop of inspiration in me from last weekend, I set to work much more focused and dedicated. Check it out:

MONDAY:

Made a HUGE portion of healthy veggie pasta which saw me through a tea and 2 lunches

TUESDAY:

Returned to the gym and didn't leave until drenched in endorphin-filled glory. (NB: Joel kicked off over some stupid little thing that night, and while the tiff didn't get resolved until Wednesday evening, was very good and didn't drown my sorrows in chocolate/wine etc.... Simply remained calm, made Omlette for tea and ate SW-approved snacks)

WEDNESDAY:

See above. Also, have got back into the habit of eating a regimented lunch at work every day - Wholemeal bread sandwich (using the 2 slices as Healthy Extra B), crisps (counting the Syns), Mugshot (Free) and Muller Lite yoghurt (Free). Snacks throughout the day = Apple (Superfree), Lite Baby Bel (Healthy Extra A) and Tomato Mackerel (Free).

THURSDAY:

Made absolutely gorgeous Seafood Risotto for tea. Eagle-eyed readers of this blog will surely remember the disastrous attempt at this dish last time, in which I took close to an HOUR merely stirring rice. But for some unfathomable reason, this time it all worked out beautifully. Chucked in prawns and mussels and the whole thing was a delight.

FRIDAY:

Joel made Fish and Chips for tea - I removed the breadcrumb batter from the fish and substituted chips for rice. Still managed to be delicious!

SATURDAY:

On shift-swap, so was in work where lunch/diet could be firmly kept an eye on. Made a variation on my famous Red Pepper Chicken casserole for tea - pan-fried chicken breasts stuffed with pepper slices, served with a chopped tomato, basil and onion salsa.

SUNDAY:

Making the most of not being in work, Joel and I went for a long, Body Magic-filled walk around town, stopping at Tampopo's for amazing (Free!) and favourite lunch of chicken breasts and flat noodles in Asian stock. For tea, had a gorgeous Gammon with mustard crust and a fried egg (in Fry-Light, of course!)

So there you have it. A brilliant week, that wasn't as hard to stick to as I thought. Just need to keep fingers crossed now and PRAY for a 1.5 pound loss tomorrow. Even if it's just half a pound, I'll be glad of anything. Actually, no I won't. That's just cheesy. I want to get what I aimed for and achieve what I planned, I want a goddamn HUGE loss - 3, maybe 4 pounds in one go, just to light a fire under my ass and get me going with fervor and excitement. Unlikely, I know. But then again, I once lost 8 pounds in a week. Who KNOWS what could happen?

Xxxxx

Contrite Apologies

Dear Diary,

Again, it's been a while. I really need to stop leaving it so long in between posts, before the few readers I actually have decide to turn tail and flee to more interesting blogs!

So, moving back a few weeks, when I made my last entry - as you may recall, I was getting ever-closer to the wonder that is Rihanna (and David Guetta) down in London. Well, the weekend was brilliant, London was beautiful as always, and it was fantastic to hang out with old friends (and fellow slimmers!) Not to mention the show itself was absolutely AMAZING - I maintain that nothing can make you feel happier than participating in a 70,000-strong rave-a-thon to "We found love" and "Only girl in the world." Even got a little choked up during the tour title end song ("Diamonds") just imagining how it must feel to have that many people sing your own lyrics back at you!

But I digress. If we take a minute to look at the weekend from a Slimming World perspective, this is how it went:

(DISCLAIMER: Any time I use the words "Good" and "Bad" - it is purely from a Slimming point of view. For example, I might describe an incredibly delicious and fun meal as "Bad," or a very long, knackering walk - that completely sucked ass - as "Good." OK? Cool.)
  
THURSDAY

Got paid and treated myself to two new dresses for the weekend. AND THEY WERE BOTH A SIZE 16!!! Haven't been a size 16 for 2 years,  nearly cried with joy - GOOD.

FRIDAY:

Arrived at Louise's after train-and-tube-journey for a lovely bridesmaids-meeting-the-ushers soiree' - Ushers were really funny and nice - and it was wicked to see Louise, Alex and Mark (Louise's fiance') again.

STARTER:

A very large, colourful assortment (or Antipasti, I think it's called) of cold meats, bread, mozzarella, peppers, gherkins, bruschettas, salsa and tomatoes - NOT SURE, POSSIBLY COMBINATION OF GOOD AND BAD - SUSPECT MOSTLY GOOD. Either way, felt very smug and happy munching on a pepper (which I've recently started liking - not to mention them being the design for my 2-Stone tattoo!)

MAIN:

A huge portion of 4-Cheese Lasagne with salad - SALAD = GOOD,  LASAGNE = BAD
DESSERT: 

 An UNBELIEVABLY gorgeous Chocolate and Polenta cake - BAD

DRINKS: 

Vodka and lemonade on arrival ("just the one, after that  train journey!") - GOOD
Rose' Wine - which started off as "just the one" but kept getting mysteriously topped up throughout the meal (which I suspect I didn't attempt to stop, the drunker I got) - BAD
Aquavit Dill - Some insane aperitif Mark served us that tasted exactly like whiskey, but apparently wasn't. Finished the whole glass. Don't even LIKE whiskey - BAD

SATURDAY: 

Woke up in Alex's' bed with APPALLING hangover - didn't even remember the journey from Barbican to Hammersmith. Cured hangover with nice walk to local caff for greasy fry-up  - BAD.

Being given some of Alex's clothes that are now too big for her - GOOD, AS ALEX IS VERY STYLISH AND THIS SHOULD IMPROVE CONFIDENCE..... BAD AS I HAVEN'T YET REACHED THE STAGE WHERE CLOTHES ARE TOO BIG FOR ME - AND AM NOW IN FRIEND'S CAST-OFFS.

Met up with the other girls to commence hair/make-up/dressing up preparations before going for a nice late lunch..... Sadly the pub we went to didn't seem to serve any salads - and any healthy looking fish dishes/steaks were WAY out of budget range. Opted for burger and chips - BAD, DEFINITELY BAD.

Walk from bus stop to Twickenham stadium - and consequently up 16 FLIGHTS of stairs to get to our seats - GOOD.
Raving to Rihanna and subsequent hour-long walk to alternative bus stop through a horde of 70,000 zombies (well, mostly drunk fellow gig-ers) - GOOD.
Midnight Pizzas and garlic dough balls back at Alex's - BAD.

SUNDAY:

Going for breakfast at balls-achingly cool and artisan cafe - had fry-up - BAD.

Hauling an insanely heavy (due to acquisition of Alex's clothes) overnight bag around Westfield and to tube station - GOOD.

Got home exhausted, sweaty and starving - only to find caring boyfriend had got us each a Subway for tea. Haven't had one in 6 months, tasted as good as a Last Meal - BAD.


So, there you have it. My amazing, fantastic, fun weekend turned out to be a bit of a shambles, Slimming-wise. Not to mention I got very ill on the Monday, and opted out of going to Group. Don't get me wrong, I was scared about what the scales would say - but I still would have liked to known how I did and and how much damage control was needed. Only problem is, I then spent the whole week gradually relaxing my standards so much, that by the time I got to Monday again, I was once  again poorly. It probably didn't help that on Sunday (the 23rd) after a Memorial Tree Planting for David, the whole family went for a nice pub lunch. Tried to be healthy (chicken and bacon salad to start, Fish Pie for mains, no pudding) but unfortunately, the combination of rich food and an incredibly aggressive Star Week was enough to knock me sick again - so ended up missing ANOTHER week at Group.

The week that followed wasn't the best. I lapsed further into unhealthiness, only went to the gym once, went to bed early every night and had constant stomach pains and bouts of lethargy. My bones started aching again - which even I know isn't right for a 26 year-old, I got tired easily and justified everything I did wrong with the occasional healthy meal and infrequent exercise. The good news is at least I must be somewhat adjusted to a healthier lifestyle, if eating unhealthy things messes my body up so much. The bad news is, I'll never be able to eat to my previous capacity again. And while that's certainly a good thing, I can't pretend I won't miss those nights where I could down pints/cocktails/spirits and still have room for cheesy chips afterwards.

But that said, last night I was ready for action. Despite constant dreading - and even one night where I had 4 consecutive nightmares about getting weighed (that reduced me to waking up in tears), I decided to pull my socks up and get back to work. Because I had something of a revelation over the weekend. It occurred to me that I am a predominantly lazy person. And whilst I already knew this, and even joke about it a lot - it sank in on Saturday when I looked around our house and saw it properly for the first time in ages. The bathroom that needed scrubbing, the pots that it was my turn to do stacked in the sink, the mess everywhere. The certificates on the wall and my weight chart that hadn't been updated since the beginning of June, my 1.5 Stone certificate taken down, and the beautiful necklace I bought myself for this achievement hidden away somewhere. The fact that Louise and Alex are STORMING ahead of me in the weight-loss stakes, despite us all starting Slimming World at the same time. The list of direct debits coming out and the budget of £10 I'd had to give myself for the week, due to my reckless over-spending in London. And I was fed up with it. Don't get me wrong, Joel and I don't live in a pigsty, but it just showed me how I seem to let things slide all the time.

So I've decided, that's it. I'm done with all this bollocks. I'm completely fed-up and bored of being a lazy, disorganized cock-up who never finishes anything, recklessly over-spends just because it's "fun," flakes out all the time and justifies everything with half-arsed excuses and implausible reasons not to do things that the rest of the population seem to manage quite easily. Right then and there, I made a decision to stop f***ing about,and be the best person I can. Spent the entire weekend relentlessly cleaning the house, getting into all those little corners and generally bringing everything up to showroom-standards. Cooked a wonderful Chicken and Mushroom casserole for tea, got a little exercise (not to mention the Body Magic engineered from waging war against the house) and generally felt a lot better about myself. So, yeah. No more excuses.

With that in mind, I returned to Group yesterday feeling a lot better about things. A little nervous, but ready to face whatever happened head-on. Would you believe it though, I MAINTAINED!!! After 3 weeks of - let's face it - VERY relaxed standards, I was genuinely expecting a gain of about 7 pounds. Thank God that wasn't the case - feel like I've had a very lucky escape. Have nothing to distract me from Slimming now, thanks to having almost NO social life for the next few months - not to mention plenty of Overtime coming up! The only events coming up in July are Taylor's birthday (one of Joel's friends) on the 12th, then Joel and I going for a meal and to see a play on the 13th. That's only ONE weekend out of a whole month - so I guess, for the Birthday I can just not drink (I've done it before when out with them), and if they go for a curry (as Taylor usually likes to do) just make sure I minimize my Syns for the week to do some damage control. As for the Play, I'm sure Joel and I can just find somewhere in town that does a healthy, Slimming-friendly meal, before enjoying the delights of a premiere about the World Chess Champion's battle against a machine.

Actually, now I think about it, there's a lot of upcoming events in August-September too. There's a Tattoo Convention at the Gmex on the 3rd of August, a friend's baby's 1st birthday on the 10th, Sian's Hen party on the 24th, and a girl from work's on the 31st, Joel's 30th birthday is on the 2nd of September, Sian's wedding on the 15th, and a family trip to France (for 4 days) on the 20th. So, whilst quite big events in themselves, only 7 in the course of 2 months! OK, I'm completely screwed, haha. But at least I can plan ahead. For the convention, I can always take a packed lunch, and not eat at any of the snack booths. For the baby birthday, hen do's, wedding, and Joel's 30th I'll just have to severely damage-control things, and France should be a doddle. Plenty of long walks, a swimming pool to ABUSE with exercise, and healthy Mediterranean food.

Coming back to last night, Louise and Alex were very encouraging on Skype, and together we worked out that if I lose a pound and a half a week, that should put me back to my 1.5 Stone by the Tattoo convention in August (irrelevant, but I like to have milestones!), 2 Stone by Sian's wedding/France in September, 2.5 Stone by my birthday in October, and 3 Stone by Christmas! So, am now in a very happy (and organized) state of mind, ready to face the week ahead.

BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!!!!


Xxxxx