91.9 kilos

Still going down, fairly slowly this week I feel, though I've still got 2 days to lose another 0.3 to get me to my kilo.
I've been feeling quite out of sorts this week. I think the tiredness is getting to me. Friday night I woke from what I thought was a good sleep, and it was 11.30pm! Ridiculous, I'd been asleep for an hour. I've been trying to stay up a bit later so that I'm waking closer to normal time but it just doesn't seem to work. As a result I'm just exhausted and it's really doing my head in. I have no energy to do anything, let alone exercise. Paul is picking up my treadmill as we speak so at least with that I can do a bit at a time throughout the day, hopefully tiring my actual body out rather than just my mind, helping me sleep. I get the sleep apnea machine tomorrow, not holding out much hope for it to tell you the truth. I've heard that people sleep worse because they've got a bloody big mask over their face! Anyway, I'll see how I go, I have it for a month's trial.
Other than that I think I'm getting bored. There are lots of different ways to eat the meals but when it comes down to it it's still chicken and fish and veggies. I've had them steamed with balsamic vinegar, done in a chicken wrap, done with the kecap manis soy sauce but I'm a little bit over it all. Still, I'm nearly half way there, I'm still seeing good results, I think everybody goes through a little slump at some stage. My friend Cel has been doing it for much longer, she's on her second lot of 16 weeks and is going for another! She's having a little break at the moment to see if she can jog her body into almost restarting as it's slowed down lots. She's done so well so I can't complain. I certainly wouldn't be thinking about doing that in the middle of the challenge anyway. That's the plan for the end of the 16 weeks, move on to stage 3 where you can make healthy food choices for dinners and I'll stick to the shakes during the day until I've lost my remaining weight. Hopefully it will just be 7 or 8 kilos by then. Cel suggested that I have an omelette for dinner instead, filled with veggies and I love that idea so shall have that tonight instead! It's so nice to have made friends on the forum, and to have some old friends join me, it really is the secret to losing weight I think, at least for people who have a long journey to do it.
I went to see my lovely Intimo lady yesterday. I'm having a party in April so that I can get a new set of bra and knickers for my end result photo. And of course to share with you lovely people! A friend couldn't come so I took her along with me to purchase some items that will go towards my eventual total. I must say I was inspired looking at all the gorgeous clothing and underwear. I'm not planning on buying any bras until I reach my end weight, except for the one for the photos, I may even make that a sports bra as I need to have those in the right size. I am looking towards the end result, I can see myself in nice clothes without having to wear my 'sucky in pants'. I find that side of it really exciting. Depending on what I'm wearing I don't wear them now and it feels rather liberating, they're not the most comfortable of things. But there are times when they make me look so much better in what I'm wearing which has the opposite effect of making me feel terrific so they do have their place.
So I'm plodding along, determined to get through my slump. Hopefully I will be sleeping better which will get me there. And the treadmill will certainly speed up my weight loss. I hope....

92.4

I've had a good few days. I ended up buying a treadmill which we'll be picking up on Sunday. It has a crack in the plastic casing that is down the bottom, it's been glued up so apparently doesn't look great but it meant that it sold for $75 and as it doesn't make any difference to how it runs I thought it's probably the cheapest that I'm going to get. My friend Antje who has joined me on the challenge just ran 1 km yesterday so it's time to get my arse into gear and catch up with her! Though I think I'll be going more slowly, I'd rather be able to jog all the way around the lake at a slow pace than go full on and have to stop a few times. I liked myself to Cliff Young, I will jog slowly but I will get there in the end. And I'm old and grey. And there will be a movie made about me....
I put on a top that hadn't fitted me yesterday. Last time I put it on it gave me the round pregnancy tummy that we all desire. I was a bit worried about trying it so soon but it not only fit me, it had room to move! I was most excited. As I'm nearing the half way mark as far as weight loss in concerned I am really looking forward to being able to fit into even more clothes and getting even slimmer. It's funny if I had started this journey at 90 kilos I would have felt huge and crappy still, because I'm so far along and have been eating well too, my whole demeanor has changed so even though I am overweight I look healthier. Here's a picture of me in my new / old top :

 

 

Here's a photo of the dress that is my inspiration to fit into. A friend gave it to me 2 years ago but it had the zip broken. I tried it on the other day and it nowhere near fitted me but I was trying to assess whether it would be worth fixing. My Bridie who is 10 came in and said how pretty it was and how pretty I looked in it so I had it fixed and picked it up yesterday. I tried it again and it still wont do up but it will one day. It is only a size 14 after all. So here it is. I can't wait to be wearing it to show you all!

 

Lastly, I thought I'd show a comparison to silly selfie photos that I have done when in bed, either with my kids or with our pets. Now I know that you can have double chins quite easily in photos, especially selfies. But it's the health aspect that I notice more. The first one is of my son Bill's dog Maggie with me having a cuddle a few weeks ago. The second one is of my girls and I having a silly selfie cuddle just this week. I'm not trying to blow my own trumpet but I do like to look at things like this to keep me going. I feel totally different and it's only going to get better!



 

Week 6 weigh in 92.6 kilos

Well I've still got 10 weeks to go and I've lost 12.4 kilos so far. That's only 2.6 kilos to the half way mark. I did well this week, losing 1.3 kilos. I was very pleased with that, it was the week of the half souvlaki but other than that I've been really good. Earlier in the program I had had a lite soup here and there and had been told of the sodium making me retain the weight. As I know I'm going to probably start to slow down I am doing things by the letter. No quick fix meals, making sure the exercise is going, and increasing. I want to at least maintain my 1 kilo a week, more would be wonderful though.
At this stage the plan is to complete my 16 weeks, do the Mother's Day Classic, do the Mother's Day treats for dinner, and get back on track on the Monday. I'm going to start on Stage 3 then which means you reintroduce fairly normal foods for dinner. I still plan on shaking it for breakfast and lunch but will slowly see how I go with modified versions of what the family eat. Which I've done before. There are lots of healthy versions to meals. Mexican can be filled with lots of salads, burgers can be made with wholegrain rolls and salads. Not that my kids eat lots of crap all the time, but it still has to be stuff they like! They have to choose from the veggies that I put out for them, which is a step up from refusing to eat them. Or in my son's case, sitting with a bucket because he'd dry retch even before it got to his mouth! I think this is a good experience for all of us. Have a healthy respect for food.
So here are my this weeks shots first followed by last weeks shots. And just for fun I think I'll put in the first weeks too! I'm not sure that there's that much difference between last week and this week, just that my knickers seem to go a bit further now! I have noticed a big difference in what I am wearing though so it is coming off somehow!

 

 

 

 

 

 

93.1

I've realised that I'm very up and down with my weight. You're not meant to weigh in every day, I absolutely know that, but for me I can see what I've been doing and be more aware of why I may not lose or even put a couple of points on. Again, I was on my way to an excellent weigh in, losing 0.9kg by Friday morning. Then I put on 0.2 by Saturday. Fridays I go to art class in the morning. I don't drink as much water as when I am home though I still have my bottle on the way to art class. I normally have another when I am home. I also forgot to take my fruit with me for morning tea. Then I went to visit a friend for a lovely massage so had my shake all ready for lunch but again, didn't eat fruit. I had fruit when I got home when it should be dispersed throughout the day. And I didn't have the fruits that are on the plan so I'm thinking that the ones I had may be more sugary, such as grapes. I have had a few nectarines too so will ask Ray Kelly about the sugar content of these. So all little things but still there.
Yesterday was Saturday. I always drink an extra decaf coffee on the weekend mornings because I don't have to drive so don't have to worry about the wee factor. Mind you I lost a point by this morning. Despite the fact that I was a naughty girl last night. We were getting fish and chips for dinner, I had in my mind that I'd get the grilled fish, knowing it was the right choice. Instead I went halves in a souvlaki with my 10 year old daughter Bridie. And oh my God it was delicious! Now I could fudge around it because technically I am now allowed to have chicken wraps with yoghurt. So it was probably a much more fattening wrap but I only had half. And I did have lamb instead of chicken but it was done on a spit. And it was yoghurt but probably full fat. And it did have tomato, onion, garlic and lettuce in it. Well actually no lettuce. But the reality is that it was a naughty choice but one I almost felt compelled to make. I have a tendency to make something and love it so just keep making the same thing again. I am limited for choices on the challenge. Stage 1 is chicken or fish with salad or veggies. Steamed or grilled or barbequed. Stage 2 has a few other things added in but the only one I've really incorporated so far is the kecap manis which is the sweet soy sauce. And I've been having it most of the week. Sometimes with chicken, sometimes with fish, varying veggies. The thing is with soy sauce though, it all tastes much the same. I had this on Friday night and by the end I was nearly gagging I was so over it. I didn't get a chance to go to the shops and truth be told I couldn't be fagged thinking about and planning a meal that I hadn't had before. So, rather than go a Lean Cuisine meal which I now know would be a bad choice on this program, I went for the easy option and chose my now usual meal. So I had a souvlaki because basically I was over what I could eat. And the positives were : I only had half, I didn't have my usual 2 helpings of chips with chicken salt, I didn't have my usual dim sim and scallop and I didn't have a glass of soft drink. The kids were happy we were eating together and I loved every mouthful. So there! And today I will shop and love my new meals I can eat and I shall remember to mix it up!
My exciting news is that I am looking in to getting a treadmill. And once I have said treadmill I am going to start doing Ray Kelly's program which is similar to the couch to 5 k program. I'm going to set up a team to do the Mother's Day Classic which is a run for charity to raise funds for Breast Cancer Research. You can walk 5.5 kms or you can run 5.5 kms. I'm going to shuffle/run! I know, right! I can't believe it either. Mother's Day is the weekend after my challenge finishes. I figured it was good timing. I think I will have lost over 20 kilos by then so have under 10 to lose. The plan was to have the day off, have my bacon in the morning, pizza at night (hopefully half shared with hubby) and something that I heard about the week I started the challenge, a Lindt chocolate pudding! Then get right back on track on the Monday. Now I'll be running 5 kms in the morning instead! Mind you it starts at 9 so depending on how fit I am by then I might still be back in time for a late breakfast in bed. I'm actually really excited. I have friends who are going to join me and it's another good goal. And I'm good with fundraisers. I shaved my head a few years ago, it spurs me on to be committed to a cause and of course to be public about it (surprise!)
So hopefully I'll still be losing my kilo this week. I'm at 0.8 kg so far and I've got 2 days to go. So a little rise (which I seem to have every week) before a drop again. And no damage done with my half a souva. Now I'm off for a walk!

93.2 kgs

So I've lost my little bit of extra weight and a bit more, making my total so far since Tuesday 0.7 kg.  I'm 0.2 away from 12 kilos lost, getting closer to the half way mark, 3 kilos to go and I'll be 15 down, 15 to go! Of course the last half will be more difficult than the first. After my massive loss in the first week it's certainly slowed down, but I'm still rapt with approximately 1 kilo per week. And as you get closer to your goal weight it slows down a bit. Still, I can't believe I'm actually talking about getting closer to my goal weight! Only a few short weeks ago I was saying that I had 30 kilos to lose, now I've skipped through the 20 kilos to lose stage and on to the teens. Yippee!
I'm at that wonderful stage where people are noticing that I've lost weight. For some people they hate this stage as in the attention, for me it just spurs me on. I have run into people who can see how much I have lost. Sometimes they are people who know that I am on this journey, and sometimes they don't. I have found people who are sceptical of shakes to be the most interesting. Their dilemma is that they want to scoff at the shakes but they can see the difference in me so they can see me as the proof that they do actually work. Not only have I been told that I look like I've lost weight, I've been told my skin look better, and I know I'm walking much straighter and prouder, and certainly faster. I almost have a strut! Compared to pulling myself out of the car with back pain and shuffling when I walk I much prefer this new me. I do wonder whether these doubters will say to themselves 'yes she may be doing it now but when she stops she'll put it all back on again.' I'm not saying that everybody thinks that way at all. But you know what it's like, some people like to make themselves feel better by bringing others down in their mind. Not on purpose necessarily. I was the same. I would encourage my friends who had given up smoking to have one with me. Or to have a drink if they were having a break. Or to have a chocolate if they were on a diet. Because I automatically thought that they were judging me for still smoking, still getting pissed, still eating shit. But you know what, I don't do any of those things so all those years I was wrong. I don't care if people drink, smoke or don't lose weight. Each to their own. It's not like we aren't aware of what we're like. I knew I had a drinking problem, I knew smoking was bad for me, I knew that I was overweight and out of condition. When I gave up drinking I had lots of people laugh and say 'yeah right, let's see how long you last.' Nearly 9 years later it was the best decision physically that I ever made. So thoughts such as that don't bring me down and make me doubt myself, they make me want to prove the doubters wrong! I am turning it all around, I am not going to fail and I am going to be positive. And I'm giving it my best shot. Like they say with giving up smoking, each time it gets a bit easier. I know what to do when I get down to my goal weight, I just have to get there. And I will!

12 kilos down, 18 to go

12 kgs down is a slight exaggeration but it Rapid Loss speak that's what it is! Once you go under a number the profile rounds down the number to even though I'm on 93.9 still it calculates it as 93. So I'm all good with that! I have still been weighing myself every day, I know you're not meant to but it's not making me slip up at all so there you go. I just can't help myself! I was down to 93.6 yesterday so it's interesting to see and assess why I would have gone back up. My edumicated guess would be because I had some nurofen for my stuffed shoulder and it has retained water. And that's ok because I now know that that will subside and I will lose it within the next few days. I fit into yet another favourite dress this week so very happy about that. Here's today's pictures in comparison to last weeks. I think front on I am slimmer on the sides but side on my tummy looks a bit bigger, despite my knickers being up higher! This week is first, then last week shall be second.

 

 

 

93.9 - 1 kgs down this week with 2 days to go!

Hi everybody! As you can see I'm pretty stoked about my loss so far this week. I've had a good week, much the same as others I guess but getting back in to the school routine and making sure that I'm prepared for most occasions. I haven't had many social occasions, there has been a couple but they've been saying no to snacks rather than having to substitute meals so that's been ok.
I had some lovely comments during the week which spurs me on to do even better. I was wearing my workout clothes and was doing pickup. One of the lovely mums who I am friends with told me how skinny I looked. I went in to do my usual half time wee and to fill up my drink bottle and I looked closely in the mirror, realising that she's right. Not skinny in the true sense of the word but skinnier than I certainly had looked. Because I wear flowy style dresses normally she hadn't noticed it before. Which made me get to thinking, others on the forum were talking about how loose their clothes were getting and how they could get into the next size down but I wear the loose fitting dresses that will fit you no matter what. I went home and tried on a dress that had been in my wardrobe for 2 years since I bought it online. I had been so disappointed that it hadn't fitted me as I loved it. I tried it on last week and it was still too rounded on my tummy, but this week it looked pretty good! Still a bit tight but it has a nice pattern on it so it's more forgiving that I thought. The boobie (that ones for you Antje!) holders are ridiculous though, no bloody room at all. I did contemplate going without a bra but I think the girls would have fallen out! As the day went on it seemed to get worse. Here's a photo. It's a bit dark but you can get the picture hopefully.

 

 

I was trying to think of something different that I could have on days when the rest of the family gets takeaway. I've been used to having a break from cooking on those days or when Paul cooks on the weekends but as was pointed out on the forum, I have to watch things such as too much sodium so that cuts out the Asian style easy meal soups. I shall make up a soup base this week that is in the recipe book and freeze portions so that I can make an occasional soup instead of the usual meats and veggies. Last night I made up a tuna salad instead which really only took me a few minutes. I snuck off to the bedroom to eat it while all the others ate their pizza! While de-cluttering I came across a lovely bowl that I never really knew what to do with before so I decided that it shall be my bowl alone for my healthy foods. I think that presentation is important with all foods and I was happy with how it looked. It's a rather pretty bowl even if I do say so myself!