Freind Makin' Monday

Yay... pop over to www.alltheweigh.com and join in with todays "Inappropriate questions" :)

1. Will you vote in the upcoming presidential election?  No... I don't think I'm allowed to, being a Brit an' all :)
2. Do you say curse words? Oh yes... I swear like a dockers daughter - which is weird considering my dad was a second hand car salesman when I was growing up.
3. Have you ever kissed a stranger? I concur with Kenlie on this one completely... Yes, and I think everyone should do it at some point. :)
4. If you could choose to meet only one fellow blogger in person right now who would you choose? Oh...ummm... I don't know! I'd quite like to meet Kenlie - I enjoy her honesty, and I like how she tells it like it is.
5. What is the most inappropriate pick-up line that anyone has ever used on you?  Oh... so many corny lines! One of the worst was from a guy in a nightclub who said "Your dress is gorgeous - shame it'll end up crumpled on my bedroom floor". Ewww!
6. Do you sing in the shower?  Shower, bath, whilst bathing the dog, doing the washng up, cooking... Not that I'm any good *lol*
7. How often do you get drunk?  Very rarely! Maybe once a year, or maybe less. I don't like how alcohol makes me feel as though I'm not in control.
8. Have you ever been fired from a job?  Never... any employer is lucky to have me :)
9. Were you popular in high school?  I wasn't popular - but I wasn't unpopular either.
10. Who is your current celebrity crush? I know it's unfashionable to say, but Zac Efron has to be there... Johnny Depp, Sean Connery and definitely Steve Martin and Robin Williams, cos I love a guy that can make me laugh! Ooh... and Gary Barlowe too - because he's got a crooners voice that could woo a woman anywhere he wanted her to be.

Now pop over and say Hi! to Kenlie, get the questions, answer them on your blog, and then add your name to her comments section... then go nosey around other peoples blogs who'e answered her probing questions and GO MAKE SOME FRIENDS!

The Weigh-In (week 6)

Ah, yes... the dreaded weigh-in day.

I'd been putting this off since this morning, lounging around and avoiding the scales (no last-chance workout for me!) until I could delay it no longer.

I stepped on... and the digital numbers rose and changed until they stopped at 15 stone on the dot (210 lbs). Yay! I had to get a photograph of this, so I got my camera ready next to me, jumped on again... and the scales read 15 stone and 1 lb. Boo! Still... it's only a pound, and even at 15 stone and 1 lb, I've still managed to lose 5 lbs this week! That brings my total weight loss so far to two and a half stones - which is 35 pounds.

I'd do a little dance, but it's just to hot here to do anything!

The Change In Me...

I am far (very, very far) from achieving my first-set goal of losing 100 lbs... but I think there's a difference in me already. My first week of starting this blog, I took a webcam headshot... in a typical overweight-lady pose - you know the sort... head down to cover the double chin or lack of neck, close-up so as not to see any fat rolls and definitely no smiling!.... at least, that's the way I am. Well, this evening I decided that, whilst hubby is out at the local pub with my dad, I would dye my hair. From mid- to dark blonde to a deep mahogany. He's going to be so shocked! Either that, or he'll be a tad worse for the alcohol and won't notice a thing! I wanted to see what I looked like, so I sat in front of the webcam and took another picture. I am quite shocked.

Anyway... here's the headshot of me about a month ago on the 17th  of July...

And here's the new me...

I only have one complaint about losing weight...well, two actually...

Firstly, it's so flippin' hard!

Secondly  and definitely the most important... is that why is it that my tummy is the last place I lose the weight, and my boobs are the first victims?

Ah, well... my feet and face are a bit thinner too :)

Weigh-in tomorrow, and this week shall be a low weight loss week for me - it's the heat! I can't do anything without wanting to throw up because it's just too hot! So, no exercise this week... but I think I might still have a loss... fingers crossed.

The Weigh-In (week 5)

I'm still not sleeping very well - so I've just got ot of bed, had an anti-histamine and a huge glass of water, and decided that as I was up I may as well weigh myself and get it over with. The news is much better than I expected!

This week, I have lost...

6 pounds!

I am now 15 stone and 6 pounds, which is 216 pounds. I'm getting ever-closer to that stepping-stone goal of getting under 200 pounds, and I've dropped from a dress size 26-28 to a dress size 18 in the past five weeks - that's a dress size a week!

I'm not going to get complacent now though... I know that the hardest part is coming - the time when the weight loss slows down, and it takes a lot longer to reach the next goal. I just have to remember that any weight loss (or even no weight loss), is better than a gain. In some ways it's harder as time goes on because I know I have to prove myself, and the journey seems never-ending... but in other ways it is getting easier - healthy eating is becoming a habit and I'm not automatically reaching for cakes or sweets when the going gets tough. Oh, I'm not saying that this whole lifestyle change is easy - far from it - but the rewards for all the hard work are paying out a little bit, and I know the journey is worthwhile.

Right, I'm hoping that this anti-histamine will kick in at any moment and I can get a few Zz's before my shopping delivery - then it's another day cooking!

One Tenth

I forgot to blog about this... and I do think it's a bit of a benchmark for anyone who is trying to lose a lot of weight...

As of Wednesday this week, I have lost 10% of my body weight, and I have lost a quarter of the total weight I want to lose (at the moment... my goals may change slightly).

After losing 8 pounds for two weeks in a row, and then my weight loss dropping by half each week to just 4 pounds, I was becoming a bit disheartened to be honest. I know that's silly - 4 pounds is fantastic! Especially at my age - I've learned the hard way that weight is harder to lose the older you get! In fact, any weight loss is good news - or bits of inches off of the waistline :) Each little achievement is worth celebrating - though not with cake.

I believe that we (or maybe just me?) are so much more able to celebrate others people's victories rather than our own - I danced and let out a huge "Woop Woop!" when my daughter had lost 3 pounds in a week... so why am I down on myself for a 4 pound loss? 4 pounds each week (if I can hopefully achieve this) will be more than a stone each month... I'll be at my goal for Christmas!

Still nervous about tomorrow... the weigh-in awaits...

Busy Week...

What a week! As any reader here will know, I don't exercise... not in the traditional sense. Instead, I have devoted myself to healthy eating and lots of housework. My home has never been so clean and tidy... only I'm wondering how long I can keep this up for! There are no more cupboards that need cleaning, no more doors to scrub... the carpet is being worn away with vacuuming every day, and the house smells permanently of orange scented polish.  There's an advert on the television (here in the UK) that asks how people would score your loo. Mine was probably around a two out of ten... bad! Now it's a ten plus! I spent four and a half hours on Thursday, scrubbing every part of that bathroom - ceilings, pipes, bath, walls, toilet, sink, floor, skirting, window blind, toilet seat... not an inch was spared. How awful it was, thought I, that I had let dust settle upon my skirting boards! Next to tackle was the bedroom. I just can't sleep, so I thought that maybe changing it around might help. It took four hours to change around that heavy wooden furniture, unloading drawers and cupboards and then re-stocking them again. I was shattered! Just gone midnight, I snuggled under my clean sheets... and didn't sleep a wink! I have no idea what's wrong! I do prefer the bedroom as it was before the 'big tidy'... but it's cleaner and tidier now - and I cant watch television in bed any longer (which is a very good thing). Still I cannot sleep. All that hard work, all that change... all those calories burned :) but still no sleep.

Still, no sleep means that I am getting things done. Last night I prepared todays meal and went grocery shopping online for some ingredients for a few meals as well as the rest of the items I need to make this and next years Christmas cake ( I am so behind with the preparations this year!). I painted the top of my jewellery box (it's a big stand-alone piece of furniture), and rubbed the edges with gold buff to make it a bit shabby-chic. Next I caught up with all the washing, watched a couple of episodes of "Once Upon A Time" and then started a big cooked breakfast for my darling hubby, as it was by then nearly 9.30am.

Still no rest for the wicked... I've been preparing meals and cooking all day!

Chinese noodles, asian barbeque chicken (for tomorrow), carrot cake with frosting, raisin and cinnamon bread, potato-bake crumble, braising steak stew, a spice mix for goat curry, sweet chilli pork crackling and plain pork crackling (it's in the oven right now!)... and clearing up after everything too. All in all, I've spent over six hours cooking and cleaning today! My kitchen is still spotless, and I really have no idea what I shall do for the next few days!

I'm sure I'll think of something.

I'm a bit nervous about my weigh-in tomorrow - I succumbed to a small slice of carrot cake WITH the frosting on top. I don't think it's the actual food that fills me with calories... it's the weight of the guilt I carry! lol

WARNING!!!
Photographs of gorgeous food ...

The carrot cake (with clementine and cinnamon) and cream cheese frosting...

and the beautiful (half-eaten by daughter and her boyfriend) raisin and cinnamon bread -

Still hot from the oven! 

Missing Mojo

Today has been uber-tough!

I couldn't sleep last night, so I spent the night cooking.  I diced up a fruit salad, tossed together a salad and special dressing for dinner today, and made a fantastic vege-bolognese sauce. It smelt so good... I so wanted to sit and eat the lot!

My eldest daughter came to visit today with my future son-in-law... and I cooked for them too. There was chocolate and cream cake in the fridge, and then my youngest went to the local shops and came home with cheese and huge bars of Galaxy chocolate (my favourite!) as well as cookies and biscuits.

The world went in slow motion as I watched her unload the shopping bag full of those scrummy goodies!

BUT... I was good. I mean... I was REALLY good! I stuck to my salad and didn't touch the chocolatey goodness of biscuits :)

I do feel quite proud of myself. What really chuffed me today is the comment that my future son-in-law made when he came inside the house today...

"You're half the size you were a few weeks ago!"

I'm not... but I liked the fact that there seems to be a difference that people can notice :)

Right... off to stare at my size 12 jacket hanging on the wardrobe door (motivational push) and sup on a hot chocolate  - Options of course, with less than 40 calories :)

I also have to get my head around the fact that I really need to exercise... get the fat burning and the muscles toning! I just don't seem to have the push to get myself going... sometimes I lay in bed thinking that the following morning I'll get up and be all energetic... but it doesn't work that way in reality! Beacause of the rheumatoid arthritis I have, I wake up feeling achey and tired and just about ready for more sleep, rather than jumping around and losing weight! Hopefully soon I'll get my mini-trampoline back and be the right weight to use it (15 stone - which is 210 pounds - or less). I miss that little trampette... it's perfect, as there's no impact on my joints.

Oh, and if anyone likes a salad dressing with zing, here's what I use (bear in mind that I love the taste of vinegar!)

2 tablespoons of vinegar

2 teaspoons of lemon juice

a pinch of sea salt

a LOT of fresh-ground black pepper

a good pinch of cayenne pepper

quarter teaspoon (or more - to taste) of dried garlic powdered granules.

Shake it up in a jar and leave for an hour or so... then pour over salad and enjoy.

Friend Makin' Mondays

Time for FMM!

Get the questions, answer them in your blog and add your name and blog address to the comments section over at http://alltheweigh.com and say HI! to Kenlie too :)

A Little More Personal

1. Are you a morning person?  If mornings are for lie-ins and Jeremy Kyle on the television whilst I'm sat in bed, then it's be a yes. So... No - definitely NOT a morning person :)
2. Are you an introvert or an extrovert?  It depends on who I'm with and also what size I am. I guess a lot of people would say I'm an extrovert - but I laugh and joke to cover how shy and insecure I am.
3. Are you addicted to anything? If so, what?  Shoes. Shopping - ANY kind at all. Christmas. I have quite an addictive personality - but worse than that, I'm obsessive too.
4. How many times have you been in love?  Too many! But only once that mattered (and still does matter)...
5. What is your position on politics?  That I'm usually wrong about it altogether! I take everything so personally that I tend to dislike politicians, politics and the government... but I like them all when I feel they're doing something right. I guess my view on politics would be... confused :)
6. Are you religious?  In my own personal way, yes I am. I don't tend to talk about it unless someone asks me specifically.
7. Would you prefer backpacking or a luxury hotel?  Luxury hotel. With a view and beautiful walks (not too difficult).
8. Do you have/want pets?  I have a dog who smells, two cats who have awful wind problems, and koi carp in my garden pond.
9. Are you a sports fan?  Ummm.... depends on the sports. I like the paraolympics, and the winter olympics. I love watching parkour... and think cheerleaders are just amazing (my eldest daughter is the youngest ever qualified cheerleading coach... and she is FANTASTIC!)
10. How often do you brush your teeth?  Twice a day... usually. I love the feel of my freshly-brushed mouth :)
11. Do you have tattoos and/or piercings?  piercings: ears (3 times in each), tragus, nose... tattoos - loads! I love them!
12. What’s your favorite clothing brand?  Whatever is cheapest, in the sales, and looks good. I do have a bit of a soft spot for Jane Norman and Zara Basics.
13. Should a man open doors for a woman? I think the first person to the door should open it for others - it's the polite thing to do.
14. Which season is your favorite?  Autumn... very closely followed by winter - because I LOVE Christmas!
15. Would you rather eat less or workout more?  Eat less... no question!
16. What’s your idea of romance?  My husband. Seriously... he's the perfect man for me. He loves and accepts me nomatter what - fat, thin and inbetween... he's always ready to tel me (and show me) that he loves and cares for me. I know I matter to him.
17. How often do you do things that are outside of your comfort zone?  Rarely... which is a shame, because I used to do weird and zany things all the time. I don't know whether that's because I'm older or just fatter. When I get slim again, I'll let you know :)
18. Christmas or Halloween?  Ohhh... unfair question! Christmas... just. I love Halloween because the kids in my area are just so cute and adorable!
19. Would you rather live in the country or the city?  Country... sometimes :) I'm a suburbanite through and through - I like the best of both worlds.
20. Share your life philosophy.  Ooh.... umm.... Be yourself. If other people don't like it, then it's their loss.

The Weigh-In (week 4)

A disappointing week for me so far - but entirely due to my own weakness and stupidity.

I had pizza

And onion bagels with butter.

I made myself very ill with this sudden influx of fat and bigger portions...

Yes, it does serve me right.

AND, on top of that, me being ill meant that I haven't exercised at all... so I was expecting a weight-gain this week.

However, I did manage a 2lb loss.

Okay, so it's not a mega-loss - but it is a loss, and I'm not going to beat myself up over it at all.

So... todays weigh-in leaves me at

15 stone and 12 pounds (thats 222 lbs)

The way I look at it right now is that I started of weighing in at well over 17 stone, and already I'm down to the 15's (just)... so for now I'm not being down about it - I'll just try harder this week and not give in to temptation. But those bagels were sooooo good! *lol*


***UPDATE
I'm a lot happier right now... Last week I was 226 lbs, and this week I'm 222lbs... so I lost FOUR pounds, not two!!! Yay!!! That's twice the good news I thought I had :)