Festive westie!

Break

[caption id="attachment_460" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Westie's new hiding & sleeping spot... under the xmas tree!"][/caption]

Ok so there's simply  no point in jumping on the scales over christmas! Too many parties etc. That's not to say I won't be eating/drinking in moderation and trying to keep up some exercise -  because as we all know, it's a lifestyle not a diet. But I just won't be as nazi psycho as I normally am during the week. I'm going to give myself a break from the scales until Jan 1 (to survey the damage!) and hope that I can retain a modicum of sensibility! I'm also on call for fires over xmas & new year so if I get called out my control over food and exercise will disappear! Band wise... I can eat pretty much anything (including a whopper with cheese which I had on Saturday!) which is so not cool. My next fill appt is 20 Jan and I'll seriously have to give some thought about some more fill - just so concerned about during TTOM when I can feel the reflux beginning.

Went for a swim last night. Was going to try for an hour but I was busting for the loo so had to call it a day at 1500m (30 laps of 50m pool)  in just under 45mins. I was stuffed! Shoulder started to ache at about the 1.2km mark but held up ok.

Thanks for your comments too, you know I love em!

Anyway, if I don't pop in beforehand, I hope you all have a fantastic christmas and happy holidays.

Em :)

Flip

I was so sure I would bounce below the 77.7kg having sneaked a peak yesterday morning (ok I do this most mornings) to find I was in the low 77's. So you can imagine how happy I was this morning to weigh in at 77.8kg. Mutha-farker. Dinner out last night wouldn't have helped, but I only had half a greek salad and half a piece of cheesecake (shut up). I drank so much water that I had to pee about 10 times over night. Should have gone to the gym before dinner I know but pilates was tough at lunchtime and my arms and legs were soooo sore. Anyway, I was sad this morning to not see a new lowest weight ever. So much so that (and I'm warning you now that there is too much information ahead) I sat on the toilet for about 20mins trying to "vacate my bowels" and then proceeded to tidy myself up "down there". Didn't help. Still 77.8kg.

Sigh.

Swimming and other stuff

So last night I beat my personal best in the pool for 1km - 29mins 45 seconds. Last best time was over 31mins so I was stoked with that. I really pulled hard against the water in freestyle and I was flying sometimes! Wanted to swim for an hour but I've got an issue with my left shoulder and it aches after rotating it for that long so I stopped at the 1km mark.

Have been getting quite a few comments about me looking really slim lately despite my stupid plateau. I can only put this down to wearing clothes that fit me. I'm still pulling out my 16's and 18's because I'm putting every cent I have into our wedding account so can't afford to be buying new clothes. But every now and then I've been picking up some things on special from Target, Just Jeans which seems to have brought the comments out of the woodwork. It's nice. For so long GB has been the one to get all the compliments and comments about his weightloss (and rightly so, he's put in such a mammoth effort and looks fantastic) so it's nice that people are finally noticing my changes too. So my advice, wear clothes that fit - it's good for the ego! haha

I'm planning on buying some "pretty" swimwear for the honeymoon. I found a really nice tankini in Myer in the Jennifer Hawkins Cozi range (can't find a pic online sorry!) so might use some xmas money to buy that.

Speaking of the wedding, got a letter to say my dress is ready to be picked up. Very exciting. Will be interesting to try it on because I've bought a size 16 because my hips were borderline 14/16 at the time I was measured and they said it's easier to take it in than to let it out. Going all by my lonesome coz neither of my sisters can come with me! My dress alterations are booked in on January 18th with the dressmaker. Have semi finished the invitations. Well the main invitation is complete but we're working on the RSVP and wishing well cards now. Will hopefully  have them all ready to go by Christmas.

Cancelled my appointment with Bowater on Friday and now booked in on 20th January with a new doctor Dr Warren Jones. Never heard of him. Guess the surgery is getting too busy for just Watson (who I don't think does adjustments at all anymore) and Bowater.

Anyhoo, better get back to work!

Em :)

Up and Down

Story of my life right there! Whilst I'm residing fair and square in the middle of plateau town it's easy to forget how far I've come. Yesterday I read Cara & Amy's blogs who reminded me that it's not all about weight. So I thought I'd reflect some if you can bear with me!

 There are plenty of other benefits to having lost 57 odd kilos (from heaviest) - that's 125lbs for my American friends. I remember not so long ago, it would take me 5-10mins to recover from walking a flight of stairs. ONE flight of stairs and I'd be huffing and puffing and about to cark it! My fitness has never been better. Even though I still can't run the 5kms I want to, after the 3kms it only takes me a minute or two to recover before I can start jogging again.

Something I think Cara mentioned I can totally identify with. Whenever we were out I used to look for the most sturdiest looking chair (and nothing with arms, that I'd have to squeeze my butt into!) to ensure it wouldn't break under me. Sad but true folks!

I love the fact that my entire day doesn't revolve around food anymore. I'm not thinking about where my next meal will come from! To be perfectly honest, I'm rarely hungry and now when I eat it's more because I'm looking for something sweet or because I know I have to eat something!

And even though I suck at pilates, I love that when I'm doing some stupid ab movement it looks like I have a super flat stomach and I can feel my pelvis bones! Nevermind the fact that the fat has just slid to the sides! haha

I'm currently wearing a size 14 pretty comfortably. I really want to be a size 12. Clothes on, I look ok but I really hate my body. My upper arms are flabby which I hate because of my weirdly disproportionate mid-upper arms. Like my shoulders are ok, above my elbow looks fine, but the bit in the middle is oddly big. Has always been that way and my sisters say they've definately gotten smaller, but anyway...I'm definately going to need a tummy tuck at some stage. Even though my skin bum bag (that's what it feels like!) has reduced in size, it's still there and I hate it. Boobs? Well boobs are like bags of marbles. I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I had a breast reduction when I was 17. My boobs were huge. I can't even remember what size bra I used to wear. Anyway I went down to about a C cup. Now I'm about a B cup but they're really unattractive boobicles.

Here's some before/afters as I know some people love pics.

[caption id="attachment_444" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Graduation March 08"][/caption]

The first one was about a week before banding. Obviously I'm in a giant cape so it makes it difficult to see how big I was but there you go anyway! The second one - well I can't find a recent full length of me but hopefully you can see my teensy waist! And my gorgeous fiance who will kill me if he finds out I've put his pic up but oh well!

[caption id="attachment_445" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="October 09"][/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, I wasn't going to weigh in this week after 4 days down south eating junkfood and drinking wine, plus nearly no exercise (except for yesterday) but I though I'd jump on the bloody scales anyway and found I was back to 77.8kgs (300g loss this week). Thank you TTOM! It's so weird how you can work out and eat well and not lose, put weight on and then have a super dodgy week and lose.  But I'll take it. Coming up to the silly season which is soooo hard to keep on track. We've got multiple parties every week till New Year so I'm going to TRY to be sensible. I'm no nun though, so guaranteed there will be alcohol and lots of food but I'm going to attempt to get in my 5 days/week exercise and definately keep the water intake up. And it's going to be 37C and 39C this weekend - FARK! (98F & 102F) so maybe I'll sweat some fat off! hahaha

The band is in a pretty good place right now, even though sometimes I feel like I can eat too much. But over TTOM I was really tight - quite a few PB's and felt a bit of reflux so I don't want to make that any worse than it is. But I'm not hungry and usually satisfied after a smallish amount so that's good. I am booked in for a fill next Friday but think I'll postpone it another month.

The boys did the Busselton Ironman last Saturday and I was soooo proud of them. To recap, the Ironman is no normal triathlon it's a 3.8km swim, 180km cycle & 42.2km run. They finished it in 12hrs42min (middle of the pack). It was awesome. Bloody hot day though and the poor dog wasn't handling the sun and the swarms of people well - she had a couple of vomits, but we took her for a couple of swims at the beach while the cycling was happening (we only got to see our mate go past every couple of hours) and she loved it!  Cooled her down no worries. It was really nice to get away for a few nights and we went to Watershed to speak to our wedding coordinator to finalise a few wedding things which was fantastic.

Good luck to Girl Bandit, who's having the operation on Monday!

Funny tidbit - normally I average about 40 views a day and then a couple of days ago I had 280!!! And still no extra comments! hahaha Not sure what caused the spike but I hope people are getting something out of my ramblings!

Later,

Em :)

Whatever

So I put on 500g last week. Want to hear my excuses? Nah me either. Suffice to say it was the curse of the weekend again. This week is the week before TTOM which I traditionally put on due to fluid retention. That sucks coz it means I prob won't make my 77's kg goal for the Spring to Summer challenge. Also tomorrow we take off for Busselton for the boy's Ironman Triathlon. We're staying till Monday too which means lots of food and drink (eek). Going to make a big effort to exercise while I'm down there to minimise the damage. Given my weigh in day is Friday, not sure what I'll do. I can either take Thursday as my weigh in, or bring my scales with me. Hmmmm

Started work at 7.30am this morning and I'm flipping exhausted... and hungry. Trying to hold on til 12 before lunch though. Might finish early though as I have a super sucky headache at the moment. Early mornings do not agree with me! (and yes I know that 7.30am isn't terribly early for some people but it is for me!).

Anyhoo, just had a catch up on your blogs and see that everyone is pretty much going well - good for you guys! I've tried to comment on most.

Best get back to work,

later gators,

Em :)

Looking back Week 4

Hey kids,

I'm so stoked. Finally back to my lowest weight again! Was there in August and today I'm back at 77.7kg. Disappointing I couldn't lose 100g more just to be officially my lowest weight ever... to be honest (TMI Alert!) I think I need to do a poo so I think I technically am! hahahaha This week I lost 1kg. It's been soooo long since I've lost 1kg in a week... in fact..not since May! A few things have contributed to this I believe. For one, I didn't put on over 1kg during the weekend as I normally do so it was a good start to the work week. Also, no chocolate this week. OMG! I KNOW! It's truly amazing. The other thing is that I'm back in the mindset of not caring about food. Not looking for food. Not hungry. It's fantastic. But it did mean I didn't even eat dinner on Wednesday night, coz I didn't want to. Then last night I don't know what happened. I had a piece of cheese and then felt uncomfortable for the next couple of hours. Then all of a sudden had to run to the toilet where I vomitted (not PB) what appeared to be the water I finished drinking about 5hrs earlier. And cucumber from lunch came out of my nose. No idea what that all about. Very weird. So no dinner last night either. Anyway I don't care. That's 1.9kg in 2 weeks. Yippedy doo!

I still didn't manage to do 5kms but I did run around Tomato Lake twice which equated to about 3.2kms. Even got attacked by some ducks protecting their little ducklings. They didn't seem to understand my puffing out "I'm just running past little duckies, I'm not going to hurt you!"

Unfortunately we have a big weekend this weekend. In actual fact we don't have a Fri/Sat/Sun without some plans until Christmas!! Going to friend's place for dinner tonight, then friends to our place for dinner Saturday night, then even more friends for Brunch on sunday. Seriously, we have too many friends!

I cancelled this morning's appointment with Bowater as I'm losing weight and I think in a good space bandwise, so made another appointment just before Christmas.

Been working on our wedding invitations. They're going to be sooo cool. We just have to buy some glue and put them together now. When they're done, I'll scan them in here so you guys can have a peak.

Following the Sunday Program's piece about lapband (which I haven't seen but allegedly was quite anti lapband and very one sided), there were a few questions regarding surgery from a few non-surgery people at the We are Slimming forums. I wrote some pretty extensive posts addressing their queries, that might be handy should anyone be reading my blog who is considering surgery (or not!). Check it out here. The danger with biased and one-sided reporting is that people who have not been educated or researched this type of surgery judge those who have based on these reports which can often be hurtful. Everyone on the forum who commented was very respectful though and I hope I managed to educate them a bit further on the topic. I'm by no means trying to convert people to have the surgery, I just want people to understand why it's not an easy decision, nor an easy way to lose weight.

Well that's it from me today,

Have a great weekend!

Em :)

Bandster Quiz

Have seen this on a few people's blogs so thought I'd run through it myself.

1. How long have you been banded?
1 year 8 months
2. What was your highest pre-band weight? / Current weight now? / Total lost to date?
135kg (297lbs) - but banded at 119kg (262lbs)
78.7kg (173lbs)
From banding? 40.8kg (90lbs)
From my highest weight? (124lbs)
3. What is your best "go-to" food to get in your protein?
 Fish
4. What is your favorite protein brand/shake?
Haven't had a protein shake since pre-surgery optifast diet.
5. What food do you miss the most now being post-band?
White fluffy bread
6. What is your favorite "mushy" food?
potato bake cooked till mushy
7. What was your worst PB experience?
Pulling to the side of a road in Scotland and having to PB out the car door in the rain in front of the in-laws. Horrifying.
8. What has been the hardest part of this journey so far for you?
Learning to not finish whats on my plate
9. What is your best NSV to date?
Getting the tray table down on a plane without it hitting my stomach!
10. What is your top non-weight goal for your band? (top NSV maybe?)
Getting to a size 12
11. What is your goal weight or size?
72kgs (158lbs) will put my into the "right" BMI, but I'd love to be under 70kgs and a size 10-12.
12. What band "rule" do you live by (i.e. don't cheat on)?
Rules were meant to be broken!! I try to make sure I drink heaps of water and rarely even attempt bread.
13. What band "rule" do you not follow as much or aren't so good at?
All of them! haha Particularly though, the snacking between meals.. ahh chocolate my little friend.
14. What is your goal "reward"?
Haven't really set one to be honest.
15. In the spirit of Thanksgiving being right around the corner (US), what are you most thankful for, post-band?
I'm thankful that the band has saved mine and my fiance's lives.

Reccap of Week 3 of SIS Challenge

Sorry for not posting on Friday. Sooo busy at work.. you know organising wedding stuff :) hahaha

Anyway ended up losing 900g last week which is the most I've lost in one week in fricken ages! So I was stoked. I probably was retaining from the week before but I'll take it anyway! Let's have a look at those goals:

===============================

Overall Goals:
- Be in the 77’s     Got about 800g to go in 3 weeks (Totally do-able!)
- Exercise 5 days per week      Yep have done this each week
- Drink at least 1L of water per day       Think I've missed 1 day. Usually drinking about 2L a day though.
- Clean out top drawer in bedside table           Not yet... still time though!
- Run 5kms without stopping        Bah haven't even been running yet!

Weekly Goals:
Week 1 – No iced coffee      Check!
Week 2 – No ice cream        Check!
Week 3 – No cheese & Complete the John Hughes Big Walk 15kms   Check on the cheese, but was in Bunbury so couldn't do 15kms. I did walk about 8-9kms though
Week 4 – No chocolate
Week 5 – No coke
Week 6 – No snacking between meals

=================================

So working on the whole No chocolate thing right now. Forgot about the challenge on Friday and had a crunchie so will try to go Sat-Sat. Today was my first big test. 2.30pm came around and I was jonesing for one but had a yoghurt instead. The next four days will be killer!

Anyhoo, check out the Masterchef Lemon Curd Layer Cake GB and I made on Saturday night. We bought a crepe pan especially and ended up making twice as many crepes as we needed as we started having a 'crepe-off' competition! Took us about 4hours to do the bloody thing as things need to set or thicken or whatever. But it turned out beautifully - and of course completely fattening! Shhhhh... it's a sometimes food!!! GB's family were over yesterday so they all had some and loved it.

[gallery]

Scheduled to see Bowater on Friday and was sure I'd want a fill but struggled too much last week during TTOM so think I might hold off for another few weeks and see how I go.

Quickie

Hey all,

Super busy at work but wanted to drop a quick line to say thanks for the letting me have my self indulgent winge last week! Talk about PMS!! I was a cranky mo-fo till Saturday! Thanks also to my newbie commenters - hope you stick around. I'm always on the lookout for new blogs to read myself. Also, didn't realise leaving comments from blogger to wordpress was an issue but I probably should have guessed because it's the same for me! It sometimes takes me 5 or 6 goes to get my open ID verified and then my comment posted! It shouldn't be that hard should it! Thanks all for perservering!

And guess what - I got to go to that Tapas restaurant TWICE! It turns out they have tables outside where we could sit with the dogs so we ended up eating there for lunch Saturday and Sunday. Highly recommend it and you don't have to have tapas, they have a normal menu too.

Anyhoo, these reports aren't going to run themselves - best be off!

Hopefully will have time to catch up on everyone's blogs on Friday.

Em :)

PS - Tight as a fish's asshole yesterday and ended up vomitting (not even PBing) everything I ate. On fluids today.

Week 2 Challenge Recap

Grrrrr... more grrrrr.... yet more grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Have put on 200g this week. I'm so disappointed but only have myself to blame. Have stayed away from icecream since the choc top and have exercised 5 times this week. I have been drinking RIDICULOUS amounts of water. At least 2L a day, sometimes 3-4L! However, it was GB's birthday on Friday. Went out for dinner, had cocktails, wine, dessert... Then Saturday had lunch with his folks (another cocktail, more wine)... Saturday afternoon - caught up with his mates at the Balmoral (more wine plus wedges!). Sunday I surprised him with lunch at Millbrook Winery with all our friends. Great food (fattiest thing I probably could have chosen - Duck!... MORE WINE!!! (Seriously, their wine is bloody awesome!). Anyway, I'm sure you can sense a theme there! Then I ate my body weight in mars bar & chocolate fudge slice, cheesecake on Tuesday after one of my receptionists retired. Come to think of it I was lucky to get away with only putting on 200g! 

I'm also due for TTOM in a few days, so perhaps could be retaining. It sure does explain my mood lately! I'm seriously grumpy. We're off to Bunbury this weekend for a triathlon so the boys can have a trial run before the Ironman in December. We're camping - which I don't mind normally but it's going to be farking freezing. Plus the boys get together and become obnoxious annoying drunks, the only other partner going is pretty much exactly the same (She spent 4 hrs of an engagement party sitting in the toilet), and I just don't have anything to talk to her about, you know? Tried to convince the other partner to go but she has things on this weekend so couldn't. So the only thing getting me through spending a weekend in Bunbury (no offence Bunbury people!) is that I'd planned for us to all go to Casella's Tapas which has a pretty good rep for dinner tonight. But GB just pointed out that we can't do that now coz we're all taking our dogs and can't leave them unattended at the caravan park. So I have fully cracked the shits. Not that I didn't know about the dogs, but I hadn't put two and two together on it.

And you know what else is pissing me off? You people!!! Leave a farking comment every once in a while!!! I'm such a whiny bitch right now! Must try to get out of my mood. Sorry for the outburst, I just wonder if anyone gets anything out of my rambles besides the 3 people who regularly comment and now I've probably alienated everyone else anyway!!! I guess I really do this for my own purpose, sort of a journal of sorts anyway, but being a fatty - I do require positive reinforcement. Even if you want to tell me "snap out of it you whiny ho-bag!"

Wedding stuff is starting to gear up. We're working on our invites wording etc and hope to have them out early January. We were going with the minimilist look at the reception being that it's a cocktail party and I didn't see the point but then I started thinking how it wouldn't look special blah blah blah so now looking at hiring chair covers for the few tables that will be scattered around plus possibly those high bar tables. Looked at ottomans and benches but far too expeno to hire. I'm stressing about money as it is!!

Anyhoo, I'm going to take my mood and emerse it into reading job applications for our reception position...

Hope all are well,

Em :)

Interesting article

Why is the weight debate full of so much hate?

 

Challenge Week 2

Hiya,

So I got through the week with no iced coffee.... amazing! Exercised 5 days out of the week too! Including a 10km walk around the river on Thursday night. Other than that though I didn't really do much different. Struggled with dinner a few of the nights and was quite ill on Wednesday night. PB'd up dinner and then had excrutiating backpain all night - didn't feel stuck though. So weird. I did lose 500g though which I'm pretty happy with.

Friday was GB's 35th birthday. To celebrate he went out in the morning before I woke up and ran 21kms. The equivalent of a half-marathon. Fricken amazing. Another goal of his ticked off. We both took the day off from work which was nice. We took a walk down to Tomato Lake and had a coffee (my first iced coffee in a week!), then caught up with a friend for lunch in the city at The Lucky Shag. After that we toodled off to the movies and saw All About Steve. We were the only ones in the cinemas which should have twigged us to the fact it was shite. Lordy bigordy what a big pile of stinking dog poo that movie was! After that we had a quick drink at our local pub then got frocked up for date night. As it worked it out it was his turn to organise it! We went to The Old Swan Brewery and had a couple of drinks at the bar. Yummy argentinian chardonnay! Checked out the menu there for shits and giggles. It's basically a grill - lots of steak. One of which was a 900g steak of which the cow was hand reared, grass fed, wrapped in bubble wrap, lined with gold and cost $110!!! Wowzer! We went to dinner at the other restaurant there called Zafferanos. We had a table overlooking the river which was gorgeous.  They had one of my fave cocktails on the menu (and is quite hard to find) - a Jo Jo Ivory. So I started with one of those and GB had a Martini. It was a pretty pricey restaurant (thank goodness for the Entertainment Book!) but the food was delicious. I had the red emperor which was a special with carrot puree, lemon buerre, and scalloped potatos. Sooooo nice. One of the nicest pieces of fish I've had in ages. GB had a mixed seafood plate which he said was awesome too. Then, because we're slow learners, we had a look at the dessert menu. GB decided he wanted cheese so I got the pannacotta e torte with caramal bananas (YUM). About a quarter of the way through I thought I was going to vomit. Not because it was stuck - because I was soooooo full! Both of us ended up leaving about half. Oh well!

The festivities continue today with lunch with his parents and catching up with his mates for drinks this afternoon. He doesn't know that I've organised a surprise lunch with all our friends at the Millbrook Winery tomorrow! Going to have to squeeze in some exercise somewhere so I don't put on 2kgs over the weekend!!!

Anyway - confession - already blew my no ice cream challenge for Week 2 by having a choc top at the movies yesterday - oops! But I will go saturday to saturday with no ice cream I promise!

Hope all are well!

Em :)

Challenge begins!

Week 1 Day 1. No iced coffee so far, but I have only been awake for a couple of hours. Oh yeah and I had a choc thickshake from Macca's on the way in. Geez I'm seriously useless. 400g loss in the past week so back into the 70's for the start of the challenge. I'm really going to look at portion sizes too. I'm sure I've been going way over the 1/2 to 1 cup rule.

Very excited for GB. He's decided to enter his first ever triathlon. As I've mentioned before, he and two of his friends are doing the Busselton Ironman Triathlon in December but he's decided to try it out himself in a sprint triathlon on Sunday. It's a 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run which he can piss in separately so I'm sure he'll string it together ok. He borrowed his friend's expeno racing bike the other day and stacked it riding to work. I think he broke his pinky finger too! Plus grazed his leg down one side. Mostly just his pride injured though I think.

The fill I had last week has had some effect. I'm not as hungry as I was which is awesome and I'm feeling restriction kick in earlier which is good too. Still feel like my portions are too big but I'd rather try to work with that myself than get more fill in at this stage.

Hope everyone is well!

Em :)

Fun with Canon EOS 5D!

I mentioned a few posts ago that we bought a digital SLR camera and were taking a few lessons. Well thought I'd post some pics we took the other night in East Perth. Some are pretty good for beginners I think!!

[gallery]

Spring into Summer Challenge

The Spring into Summer 6 Week Challenge starts over at the We Are Slimming forums this week. I'm keeping my Friday weigh in's so my challenge will actually begin this Friday. I've set my goals though. I've decided to have overall goals that I want to achieve and also weekly goals of things I want to do but don't think I'd be able to keep up for the entire 6 weeks. Baby steps as they say! Anyway I'll be updating my progress on the forums and here.

Overall Goals:
- Be in the 77's
- Exercise 5 days per week
- Drink at least 1L of water per day
- Clean out top drawer in bedside table
- Run 5kms without stopping

Weekly Goals:
Week 1 - No iced coffee
Week 2 - No ice cream
Week 3 - No cheese & Complete the John Hughes Big Walk 15kms
Week 4 - No chocolate
Week 5 - No coke
Week 6 - No snacking between meals

Go me!

Fill 'er up!

Just back from the doctors. They were running about 35mins late mind you! The waiting room was packed! To my joy just after I got there, a mum with two young boys came in, one of them screaming his box off. He wanted a dummy you see and mum didn't have one. Then he wanted to ride a tractor (WTF?). Then he wanted the dummy again and then to ride a tractor. Dummy. Tractor. Dummy.Tractor [my head explodes].  Think GB and I may have to rethink this whole having kids caper.

Anyhoo, when I finally got in to see Bowater, he said I was looking much better than I was before to which I replied "amazing what happens when you sleep through the night and don't throw up every meal! But I'm not happy". I explained to him the situation and he nodded and said that he's had the same conversation four times today. That for some reason it actually seems to get harder to find the right fill balance towards the end of "journey" than whilst you're on it. He wished he had some reason for it but he hasn't worked it out yet! So he offered me 0.5ml which I said I was reluctant to go to because I was worried about going back to the night reflux, PBing area which he understood and so we settled at 0.25mls and will review it in 4 weeks. According to his scales I've put on 1.6kgs since seeing him 7 weeks ago. I've actually just realised I've made my next appointment for 5 weeks time but oh well. To be honest, if I don't see an improvement in a couple of weeks I'll be pounding on the door for an earlier appointment anyway. I hope this fill has put me back into sweet spot town though.

Actually I did feel restriction nearly immediately (sort of). I was super hungry going in there, tummy rumbling and all that, and as soon as the fill was in, nothing - felt like I'd eaten! Awesomesauce.

Date night tonight and my turn to take GB out for dinner. I'm sooo broke though so we're off to Siena's in Leederville (Thank you very much entertainment book voucher!) which is BYO. Might start at The Oxford for a couple of bevvies before dinner. Going to have to be careful tonight though - got to get back into the habit of tiny bites and chewing - something which lately I haven't needed to do and so have slipped back into "normal" eating.

Have to gloat about some exercise feats this week. On Tuesday GB decided to run to his friends place (18kms!) and ride his bike back so that inspired me to thinking, "Maybe I could run a bit today". So after work I drove down to Burswood and took off around the bridges. It's usually 7kms but I took a shortcut (hehe) so it was about 6.3kms according to my iphone app. Anyway I ran my little heart out. And by "ran", I mean I shuffled ever so slightly faster than my usual walk speed! I had a strong head wind pretty much the whole way (How does that happen when you're going in a circle?!). I slowed to a walk 3 times for 300-400m each time but that meant that I ran just over 5kms all up! Amazement!

Then yesterday, GB had run to work (he works across the road from me) but was too buggered to run home so he took my car and I walked to the gym (about 2.5kms), did 30mins on HR trainer on bike at the gym, then walked the rest of the way home (about 6.5kms). All up it was 1hr50 worth of exercise and nearly 800 calories burned according to my HR monitor watch - which admittedly isn't too accurate. But my heart rate when walking was averaging around 130 which is pretty good.

And gorgeous weather in Perth finally! Going to dust of the bikes and take them for a spin tomorrow I think!

Have a super weekend,

Em :)

Countdown to Fill time

I'm hanging out for a fill.. I needs it .. I wants it...

Here's why - I'm hungry an hour after I've eaten, I wake up hungry, all I can think about is FOOD, I can't stay out of the fridge or cupboard, I'm eating too quickly, I'm eating too much, I'm eating too much crap and (and here's the clincher) I'M PUTTING ON WEIGHT!

So you can see I really do need a fill - all the signs are there.

The question is - how much?

In the back of my mind still remains the horribleness of everything I eat getting stuck, of night reflux, of waking up choking, of spending more time than I ever care to in the toilet, of being to frightened to eat anything at anyone's house or going out to dinner. I never want to get back to that stage again. But I clearly need some fill. I just want enough to control the hunger and portions but not so much so that I can't drink water again. I'm still 1 ml down from having the 2mls removed in August so I definately don't want 1ml in. I'm thinking somewhere between 0.25ml and 0.5ml. I guess I'll see what Bowater says about it.

To get back into the right frame of mind I'm joining into the "Spring into Summer" 6 week challenge over at We Are Slimming starting next week. If anyone else out there is interested, make sure you head over there and sign up! I'll post my goals and results here as well.

OK well I'd better do some work.

Cheerio chaps!

Recipe - Spicy Chicken Thighs Noodle Salad

Hey kids,

Thought I might share one of my fave recipes from Bill Granger. This makes 4 "normal people" serves. I usually make it with one chicken thigh each, and use EVOO (instead of vegetable oil) and don't add the sugar. But even if you had it as is, one serve would be about 380 calories.

SPICY CHICKEN THIGHS WITH CUCUMBER AND CASHEW SALAD

SERVES 4

3 TABLESPOONS FISH SAUCE

FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER

3 GARLIC CLOVES, CRUSHED

2 LARGE RED CHILLIES, FINELY MINCED

2 TEASPOONS SUGAR

8 BONELESS SKINLESS CHICKEN THIGHS

2 TABLESPOONS VEGETABLE OIL

 CUCUMBER AND CASHEW SALAD

3 TABLESPOONS LIME JUICE

3 TABLESPOONS CASTER (SUPERFINE) SUGAR

200G VERMICELLI NOODLES

2 CUCUMBERS, HALVED AND THINLY SLICED (I use lebonese)

SMALL HANDFUL FRESH MINT LEAVES

4 SPRING ONIONS THINLY SLICED

2 TABLESPOONS CASHEW NUTS, CRUSHED

 Whisk the fish sauce, pepper, garlic, chillies and sugar in bowl.  Put the chicken in a separate bowl and pour over half the marinade.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes (keep the rest of the marinade on one side).

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken, in two batches, and cook for 3 minutes on each side, or until it is cooked through (Note from Bill -"Sometimes, I put another frying pan on top and weight it down with a couple of tins to make the chicken really thin and crispy" - This actually does work!).

While the chicken is cooking, add the lime juice & castor sugar to the marinade that you set aside.  Stir until the sugar has dissolved to make the dressing.

Pour boiling water over the vermicelli and leave for a minute or so until soft.  Drain under cold water, place in a large bowl and add the cucumber, mint, spring onions and cashews.  Add the dressing, toss well and serve with the sliced chicken.

Yum!

Sad Panda

Yep this is me all right. Back over 80kgs. Remember the times I was sick of seeing 78? I miss those days! I know I have no-one to blame except myself though. My eating is out of control. Far too much chocolate, cheese, wine and coke. I'm always looking for food. I did get back to exercising this week though after a couple weeks off, so imagine the damage last week! I've started swimming again. GB is training for the swim leg in the Busselton Ironman so I'm going to try to swim once or twice a week with him. Unfortunately I took the crap goggles on Monday which kept filling with water which made getting into a rhythm pretty difficult as I had to keep stopping to empty them! Did cardio at the gym twice this week and then last night walked home from work (about 7.8kms in 1hr10mins) I "jogged" about 2kms of that. Hamstrings are sore today.

So next Friday will be fill day for shizzle.

Going to a friend's engagement party on Saturday night. Bought a maxi dress from Jeanswest and some new far too high heels to wear with it. Will try to remember to post pics. If I still fit into the bloody thing.

GB and I and two friends started a DSLR course on the basics of using a Digital SLR camera. Learned all about F stops, focal length, shutter speed - information on which I have retained nothing! But doing location shoot on Sunday so looking forward to putting it into practice and hope it all sinks in there. If I get any nice pics I will post them.

Also, on Sunday October 18 I will be participating in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Walk to Cure Diabetes, an event that raises money to fund vital research into finda a cure for type 1 Diabetes. If you would like to donate (donations over $2 are tax deductible) please visit my personal walk website.

OK off to catch up on all your blogs now.

Anyone wondering where I've been?

No? Well ok then! Just a quick blog to say that I am still alive (as anyone following my twitter can attest to!) just been super busy with work and then a few days off last week. Have been eating and drinking up a storm so much so that I haven't looked at the scales for two weeks. So disappointed in myself. Barely exercised apart from pilates and the occassional walk too. I pissed off at myself that after all this time I still can't say NO! Anyway I've got an appt to see Bowater on the 16th so will get a fill. Probably just 0.25ml to try to control the mind hunger as I don't want to get to that vomitty/refluxy stage again. Had a massive PB/vomit last night after gorging myself on chips. CHIPS I tell ya! What a farking moron. Seriously.

Have been suffering from asthma/hayfever for the past 4 or 5 days and I'm pretty sure it's developed into a cold (just to top things off as if it wasn't bad enough feeling like shit psychologically, now I have to feel shit physically too). Completely blocked sinuses and soooo tired. Lovely. Anyway going for a swim tonight - hope I don't fall asleep in the pool and drown. Bought new bathers and boardies too.

OK will see what the damage is on Friday and promise to report back. Hopefully by then my pity party will have disbanded.

Em

Another week in the 78's

Things I blame for my current plateau:

1) The weather. If it stopped farking raining I could start my runs/walks around the river again on the weekend because I refuse to go to the gym on weekends. Therefore more exercise.

2) The weekend. If I didn't have a weekend, I wouldn't drink lots of wine and coke, eat lots of junk food and cheese and put on 2kgs by Monday.

3) My metabolism. If I had better metabolism it wouldn't matter how off-plan I went on weekends

4) Chocolate. I'm addicted. I just had chocolate at it's only 9 in the morning. I used to only have it in the late afternoon. I think Nestle, Cadbury and Mars put an addictive chemical in it to make you crave it 10 times a day.

5) Stress at Work. I'm putting on a training program next week on top of my normal daily duties and I'm freaking out about getting the sessions I'm presenting finished in time! If I wasn't stressed maybe I'd be able to avoid the chocolate.

6) Psychological fear of reaching goal. Maybe subconciously I want to stay a bit fat. I don't think so though! I want to be under 75kgs for the wedding so bad!

My Monday - Thursday exercise regime was pretty fantastic this week if I do say so myself.

Monday - 60mins cardio at gym, 30mins wii fit active
Tuesday - 60mins cardio at gym, 30mins wii fit active
Wednesday - 55min combat class, 20mins wii fit active (upper body only)
Thursday - 60mins cardio at gym, 25mins wii fit active

Gotta tell ya that wii fit active program can cane you! I've been doing the preset programs and had to have a break from all the lunges and squats on Wednesday because my butt and inner thighs were so sore!

Of course, working out that hard was a necessity after my Monday sneak peak weigh in after yet another weekend living it up! Part of me thinks, you know what, it's a weekend and I love living my life and that means having a few wines, some big dog coke, dessert and eating out. I just need to find a way to get some more exercise in on the weekends. Of course the other part of me thinks I'd be at goal by now if I did that 1 day out of the weekend and not Friday Saturday and Sunday!!! It's a really difficult balance to find you know.

Was booked in on Monday to see Bowater. I could probably do with some fill in but I'm enjoying being able to drink heaps of water and not be afraid to eat out at lunch times. I really think my problem is psychological - I'm eating when I'm not hungry - but I don't want to be at that point of PBing all the time. I still have restriction which is good but it's not to the point of me struggling every time I eat which is also good. So I think I'm going to give it another month and see if I can get my brain to work with me instead of against me.

Anyhoo, better get back to working on these workshops!

Leave me a comment! (I know where you're from now Ireland, USA people - don't be shy!!!)

Em :)

PS - Sending good internet vibes to LBG today...

Challenge Review

Did I say no chocolate? Yeah...umm.. about that... I did manage to avoid chocolate for 2 whole days - amazing! Anyway I wasn't too disappointed in my result considering on Monday I weighed over 80kgs and today's official weigh in was 78.6kg still it's a gain from two weeks ago and I'm pissed that I can't get out of these 78's!! Anyway I did drink over 1.5L of water per day (usually about 2L a day) and did the following exercise:

Monday - Gym: 20mins HR program on bike; 20mins HR program on treadmill, 15mins on cross trainer; Wii : 30min workout on PT Active

Tuesday - 60min pilates; Gym: 20 mins HR program on bike; 10mins L6 on bike

Wednesday - Gym: 20mins HR program on bike; 10mins L6 on bike; 55min Body Combat class

Thursday - 60min pilates; Gym: 30mins HR program on bike

Let me tell you that HR program farking canes! I'm dripping in sweat by the end of it and my legs are like jelly!

I have another appointment with Bowater on the 21st so will see how I go but might get a small increase in fill. I like the fact that I can eat without PBing (mostly), drink water from first thing in the morning (not just in the late arvo) and hunger is not too bad but I think my portions are creeping up and I'm snacking far too often and clearly my weight is not going down! I'm in a serious plateau and frankly it's poo.

Anyhoo, best be off... Later dudes

Em :)

Super Challenge

Well after another weekend so far off the wagon that I couldn't even see the wagon anymore I've decided to give myself a SUPER CHALLENGE this week! Here are my vows from Monday to Friday (weigh in day):

1)  at least 60mins of exercise per day
2) at least 1.5L water per day
3) NO CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!!!
4) NO snacking between meals!

I'm already struggling with No 3 because all I can think about is chocolate.....

In wedding news - GB and I picked out/designed our wedding rings on Saturday so they're off being made. Took the opportunity to have my engagement ring resized too as it's about 3/4 of a size too big. GB was spewing that we were charged for the resizing as it hadn't been done before but they said they only do it free within the first month of purchase. SUCKS. You know what else sucks? I have to have no engagement ring for 3 weeks while all this is being done!! EEK!! So I'm now sporting a rather fetching $10 Diva beauty bling instead. Told the soon to be inlaws that my e-ring just wasn't blingy or big enough for my liking so I had to trade it in for this one. The look on their faces was priceless! Then I was offended that they actually thought I would do that! AS IF! My ring is perfect!

Also purchased a Canon EOS500 DSLR camera. It's a beauty. We were like the paparazzi all day yesterday, poor Westie was not impressed! Here's yet another pic of our beloved pooch.

[caption id="attachment_359" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Westie as taken with our new camera toy!"][/caption]

We're in talks to get her a little brother or sister after the wedding. Went and spoke to a breeder at a show (her bio dad died of a snake bite so can't get the same parentage unfortunately) and she's going to breed her two westie's at the end of the year which will make them ready in April if all goes well. Sometimes I don't know what we're thinking getting a second dog. Double food, vet, grooming bills. Double the mischief.  And of course the inevitable discussion of have a baby and a puppy just seems too much stress for me! But I think it'll be great company for Westie. We've just arranged to get a security door on our back door with a doggy door in it so she can get in and out of the house too.

Anyhoo, I know people are dropping by which is awesome! Make sure you leave a comment to say hi!

Em :)

Quick update

Hey kids,

Sorry I've been absent for a couple weeks. To recap:

Last Wednesday saw Bowater again. I told him in the 2 weeks since having the fill removed I've been HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY!!! Food portions increasing, looking for food, thinking about food, food food food.... So he's put in 1ml again. So far not too bad, have a bit of restriction again and not quite as hungry so happy with that. I did work out like a mad woman for those 2 weeks, doing between an hour and 2 hrs a day at the gym (did a combat class and a step class which is way too complicated for my liking!) According to the docs scales I stayed the same in those two weeks however the first time I weighed in it was like 5pm and this time it was 8.30am so I know there was a bit of damage there. Still floating in the 78's.

Pata Negra (the new tapas place we went to a couple of weeks ago) was really great but way pricey. Still prefer Duende.

Wedding stuff - My sisters and I went bridesmaid dress shopping last weekend and they bought their dresses so that's all sorted. After 2 weeks and about 10 rejections from hair/makeup people in Margaret River and me getting so stressed out that the fiance was freaking out too, it finally all worked out. The very first one I'd called said she wasn't taking bookings because they may be moving interstate. Then I saw her ad reappear on a website so I sent a message to see if her circumstances had changed and they had so we're all booked in!! Best thing is that during the week she actually lives in the city so we can do our trials up here without having to track the 3.5hrs south. Awesomesauce. I have also setup a whiteboard listing everything that needs to be done in the next 6 months. I'll take a pic.. hehehe

I've also been sick since pretty much last Monday. Had a killer sore throat Mon-Wed and then the congestion and coughing started so have been off work since Thursday. I was really pissed because it was the 12km city to surf on Sunday and I planned to run parts of it. I managed to pull myself together and actually do the 12kms - and not an easy 12km either we're talking 3 major hills and not a lot of it being flat. The last time I did it 2 years ago (and 20+kgs heavier) my time was about 2hrs 15mins. Yesterday I did it in 1hr55mins and that was being sick!!! My hip flexors and calves were sore yesterday but not bad today. GB ran most of it (had to keep stopping for people in his way and to let his mate catch up) so he did it in just over an hour. What a champ. Definately going to train for it next year and try to run the bloody thing! Just waiting now for the official results to go up on the net.

Anyhoo, hopefully will catch up on everyone's blogs soon!

Em :)

Breathe just breathe

Hi all,

So yes as you can see from my post below, I'm super disappointed that he withdrew another 2mls. He wanted to take it all out but I had a bit of a tanty at that suggestion! He gave me a sip of water before and it just sat then he removed the 2 mls and as he was taking it out I felt the water go down. Then I had another drink after which was all good. He said that when I spoke of what was going on he was thinking it may be a band slip but because he's removed the fill and it seems to have fixed the problem he doesn't think it is a slip any more. He wants to see me again in 2 weeks. All very well for him at $150 a pop - meanwhile I'm going broke! It's amazing the thoughts that have gone through my head the last 2 days. Since a couple of months post banding I have rarely thought about junk food - in the past two days it's all I can think of! I'm going to have to be careful. I've asked the GB to take out all junk out of the house (chips & lollies!) just to make sure.

The other thing I'm now worried about having gone back over my fill removals is the fact that he told me on Wednesday that I now had 3mls remaining - which means that prior to taking this 2mls I had 5mls. However he also told me last time I had fill in that that took me up to 5mls which was in November last year. Since then I've had 4 removals totalling 3.25mls (HOLY SHIT!) which means I should be down to 1.75mls left. How would I get more fill into my band without an adjustment??? What the hell?? Anyway these are questions I will be asking in 2 weeks.

Anyway to top my week off I put on 600g. Can't really blame the fill removal yet. More that I had a fat old time of it last weekend and then had things on every night this week which meant zero exercise (except pilates yesterday).

Also, my hairdresser who, with her makeup artist best friend were coming to my wedding to do our hair and makeup has gotten herself knocked up and due right near my wedding day so now can't come. I can't be mad with her coz she did tell me that they were doing IVF and she offered to do free trials for us. So now I'm looking for someone to do hair and makeup in Margaret River. Got my feelers out, hope its all good!

GB and I did a tapas cooking class on Wednesday night with Kitchen Warehouse. It was awesome fun - they even gave us sangria and a couple glasses of wine during the night, plus all that food! None of it particularly healthy, but it was yummy! We're off to Pata Negra, Perth's newest Tapas restaurant tonight with some friends. Should be a great night.

Anyway, I'm in a bit of a mood so going to do some work then head home for a vino.

Em

Scared

Well dr fill wouldn't give me a barium swallow. He did however take out 2 farking mls and wants to see me in 2wks. I'm worried about hunger and portions and putting on weight. Will write more details tomorrow.

Em

Latest Update

Hi all, how are you?

I'm feeling quite refreshed from my few days in Melbourne over the weekend. But first things first - weigh in. Was completely ecstatic to have lost 400g this fortnight (no weigh in last Friday as was away). I ate and drank like a champion over the past week, but luckily all the walking around in Melbourne has helped out. I'm now in the 77's!!! YAY! I also did my measurements today. First time since March. I was over the moon with the results. Since March, 5 months ago, I have lost 34.5cm! Here's the results since last time:

		20/03/2009	7/08/2009	Loss
Neck		32	31	1
R Arm		34	31.5	2.5
L Arm		34	32	2
Chest		95	93	2
Waist		84	79	5
Hips		113.5	100.5	13
R Leg		60.5	56	4.5
L Leg		60.5	56	4.5
				34.5

 I'm pretty amazed with the hips and waist measurements. I was wondering what coul have led to this (the previous 3 months I'd only lost 10cm all up), and considering my weight hasn't dropped too much since then and guess what I started on the 19th March? Pilates. Could it be? This is really the only change in my routine. hehehe guess what? I just checked out my weight and I was 87kgs in 20th March so I've lost 9.3kgs since then - avg 490g per week loss. So yeah I have lost weight too but still those measurements are awesomesauce. I have been getting heaps of compliments and although I don't feel like I'm getting smaller, I guess I am toning and reshaping which is great. Still HATE my arms.

Anyway Melbourne was fantastic. GB and I want to move there... one powerball. We stayed at my Aunty's apartment which is about 200m from Chapel St. Ate at Bistro Guillaume - 2009 Best New Restaurant of the Year in Australia. It was awesome. We saw Avenue Q which, whilst slightly disturbing, was pretty bloody hilarious. That night we even walked home from the city (about 5kms). We also had a great lunch at Donovan's in St Kilda - saw Ian Hewie Hewitson having lunch with his family there too! We walked around the DFO in the city and around Bridge Rd and Swan St in Richmond, up and down Chapel Street. It was truly fantastic. Had a great meal at Movida's too which is allegedly Australia's best tapas. I'm still partial to Duende but it was very very good that's for sure.

I had a few issues with PBing and cramps everytime I ate something. I've got a terrible feeling I have a band slip. Also got some nice night reflux last night too. It doesn't matter what time I eat dinner, I always feel like it's still sitting in my easophagus (spelling anyone?) when I go to bed. I have an appointment next Wednesday so I'm going to ask for the dreaded barium swallow to check things out. Fingers crossed it's all good.

Ok well I better get back to work. Will try to catch up on everyone's blogs soon.

Em :)

Food Diary

LBG wanted to know what I was eating so I'll update this post each day with what I eat. I'm by no means the healthiest eater and I know there's things I can do better but at the same time this is a lifestyle change and not a diet and I love food!

Monday 20th July

8.30am-11am - 300ml light iced coffee (PB'd)
9.30am - 1 mint choc biscuit
1pm - 1 sm tin tuna with sundried tomatoes and onion
2.30pm - 1 crunchie
7pm - grilled chicken thigh & vermicilli noodle salad

Exercise: 30mins bike; 15mins weights at gym

Tuesday 21st July

10am - Banana buzz boost juice
12.30pm - 3 Premium high fibre crackers with vegemite
2.30pm - Nestle peppermint crisp
6.30pm - Canneloni
8.30pm - small glass of coke
9.30pm - handful of shapes

Exercise: 20mins bike, 10mins treadmill (both using the HR zone trainer); 1 hr dancing class

Wednesday 22nd July

9.30am - Skinny hot chocolate
1pm - Nestle diet yoghurt
2.30pm - violet crumble
8pm - LBG's mushroom risotto (PB'd)

Exercise: 10mins treadmill (incl 4mins jogging at 8.5km/hr); 20mins bike on HR Zone

I had a migraine, reflux, night cough, PB/vomit and the works on Wednesday night, which led to no sleep at all. Really hoping it's related to TTOM and  not a band slip.

Thursday 23rd July
(due to night before didn't eat much of anything)

11.30am - cold milo
3pm - handful of potato chips (PB'd)
5.30pm - crunchie
8pm - 4 oven chips (PB'd)

Had the night cough/PB about midnight but slept through rest of night thank goodness

Friday 24th July

9am - 11am - 100ml (if that) of light iced coffee (think I need to PB it too)

NSV

Just stayed overnight in Bunbury. Just had a shower and was brushing my teeth when I realised I had one of those typical skimpy hotel towells wrapped around me. ALL the way around! Yay!

More Fill Removed

Hey kids,

I'm in a much better place now after a couple of nights sleep without waking up every couple of hours choking and coughing. I went to see Dr Bowater on Wednesday  morning. He admitted that they really have no idea when restriction just reappears for no apparent reason but that it was good that I came in to have it fixed rather than struggle on. He removed 0.5ml (more than I wanted) and said that if within 7 days I feel like I'm slipping into the "yellow zone" where I'm eating too much, getting too hungry then I should go back and he'll put a touch back in. He also said my results were pretty awesome, with my graph showing a steady decline. He asked me what my goal was, to which I replied: 72kgs and he said "way too low, your goal should be 77kgs". Screw that, I've seen myself in the mirror and I have way more than 1.5kgs of fat to lose!

He also went through the 7 rules he has found that the most successful bandits stick to:

1. No breakfast. He asked if I drank hot drinks which I said no, so he said I should have a cup of warm water early then again at 10am

2. Light lunch - eg tin tuna in olive oil

3. Nil in afternoon - no snacking!

4. Healthy dinner - eg fish & vegies

5. Nil in evening

6. 200 mins of movement outside work per week

7. Alcohol - he asked how much I drank which I said usually a couple glasses wine on the weekend which he said was fine

Haven't tried the warm water thing yet, seems a bit gross to me! I think I already do No's 2, 4 and 6 for the most part but not sure about the no snacking!!!

GB and I finished our Level 1 dancing course this week and have joined up for Level 2. I have a lot of fun and I even think GB enjoys it (even if he won't admit it!).

Pissed that Julie made it to the Masterchef final when she's been skating in the bottom 3 of contestants the entire show! Don't get me wrong, she seems like a lovely person, but can't seem to handle pressure well and her food is nowhere near the level of others who have left. Vent over.

Anyway best get back to work and dealing with complaining annoying bastards all day. Thank god the weekend is nearly here!

PS - Have put a weight graph page into my blog. Link at the top amongst the other pages FYI

Crazy bandlife

So I'm still living in a little place I like to call PB city. I'm also visiting night cough town each night too. How I can suddenly have too much restriction is seriously beyond me. This will be my 3rd fill removal this year (no extra fill in). I've got an appointment at 9.30am tomorrow. Last night was the kicker for me. After barely eating anything all day (mostly due to having a workshop), I ate a piece of ham and reheated about 4 leftover ravioli in a bowl when I got home. I then proceeded to PB for the next 3 hours. So much so (and you may want to skip over this piece as it's TMI), that it was coming out of my nose in the end. GROSS. Then, yet again, I awoke in the middle of the night coughing (have found my bricanyl inhaler for asthma helps) for about 30mins before I could go back to sleep. The nexium has seemed to help the reflux which is good. But I am SO over this. I was in such a good spot. Yeah my weight loss was slow but at least I could eat with appropriate restriction and no PBing and sleep through the night!

I'm so so so tired and I have had a headache for 2 days. I'm not in a good place right now.

On the positive side, it's Westie's birthday today - she turned 3! Or 21 in dog years! Here's some pics of her opening her pressies today.

[caption id="attachment_311" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Westie opening her birthday present"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_312" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Westie's new hoodie"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_313" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Chewing on her birthday bone"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_314" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="With her other new presents"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_315" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Her dad made her homemade dog biscuits too!"][/caption]

Back on a high...

Reflux is gone again - thank you Nexium. GB made an awesome chicken tagine on Wednesday night which I kept down so PB's must be subsiding too (had a minor one last night though). Lost 700g this week which I'm pretty stoked with and after all my struggles to get into the 79's, I only stayed there a week! I'm in the 78's now! This loss also kicked me over the 40kgs lost since banding. Which I think is pretty bloody outstanding.

Exercise wise this week - was alright, but nothing spectacular. Went to gym on Monday for 30mins, dancing Tuesday night, Pilates Wednesday & gym, Pilates Thursday. My quads are killing me from hinges at pilates on Wednesday.

As I mentioned, I went to the doc on Monday and had my iron tested. I'm always borderline anaemic and have been feeling tired of late. But it all came back in normal ranges so that's good.

Bloody GB, hasn't exercised in weeks (since his dental surgery), has been eating up a bit of a storm and lost 1.1kg! He's in the 83kgs range now! Below his goal which he's supposed to be maintaining. He was having some awful PBing issues since the surgery so ended up seeing Bowater earlier this week and had .25ml removed from his band.

Anyhoo, hope everyone else is going well!

Em :)

Not happy

It's back. The night reflux, waking up choking, too scared to go back to sleep. Was seeing my GP yesterday anyway so he has put me on Nexium. Hope it kicks in soon. Don't want any more fill out as I felt I was in THE zone (until this week anyway, I have been living in PB city).

Will give it a couple days and see if everything goes back to normal. Fingers crossed.

Finally!

Fricken hell, that kilo has been a pain in the arse!!! Today I've officially weighed in the 70's. No great loss by any means (400g) but I'm just so relieved to have made it! I don't think I've weighed in the 70's since primary school - seriously. I've lost nearly 40kgs since getting the lapband which is just full on amazing! I've been truly blessed to have been on this journey with the fiance as I know I couldn't have done it without him. It really helps to have someone who knows EXACTLY what's going on when you have a funny look on your face after not chewing enough and even though we still try to order way too much food when we're out, we still do go out, and one of us usually scopes out where the toilets are just in case!

Even though my weightloss has slowed down significantly I don't want any more fill. I like that I only PB rarely now and can eat most things but still feel full after a cup or so. I still get very restricted at TTOM and wouldn't want that any worse than it's been. I know I could do more exercise and drink more water and that's my plan to get the last 7-8kgs off.

So anyway, congratulations to Myf who is getting married today . WOO HOOOOOOO!!!!

Em :)

Pics

Here's a couple of pics of me.

This first one was from about 4 weeks ago...

And here's one from the engagement party in the Wayne Cooper dress - not very clear though sorry. Sisters' faces have been blurred in case they oppose to being on my blog. I sincerely hate my big fat arms. Grrrrr

 

Enjoy :)

Why God hates me and puppies

80kgs. Farking 80kgs. Couldn't have dropped another 100g. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. I'm pissed because it's TTOM and I normally lose at least 1kg so I figured for sure I'd see those elusive 70's this week but nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo not this month. 80kgs. I know I could have been better this week. GB bought lollies so I was hoeing into those like no-one's business. And I only exercised twice this week (Wed & Thurs). But I wanted it REALLY bad. I was sick on Monday with a UTI and gastro - you'd think that alone would do it.

Tuesday & Wed I spent with GB who had 2 wisdom teeth and lesions on his gums removed under general aneasthetic. Poor love was swollen and grumpy but is on the mend now.

Only used the Wii Active once this week. It's just pure laziness and my dread of lunges that puts me off. Will try harder this week. Have been using my Polar HRM at the gym and doing the HR workout on the bike. Working MUCH harder now. Also did 20mins on cross trainer last night which I haven't done in ages.

End of Financial Year is doing my head in as per usual for this time of year!!

Cara - glad you found my blog again! I will post pictures of THAT dress after Saturday night when I get all dolled up for my sister's engagement party. In the meantime, here's one of me and Westie from a couple of weeks ago.

 

Hope everyone else is well, drop me a comment to say hi!

Water

Just read this article on ninemsn

Watering Your Can:

Eight cups of water a day need no longer be pie in the sky. Try these crafty ideas for drinking more, every day.

When your body's water content drops by as little as 1 to 2 percent, you'll feel tired, fatigued and possibly even hungry. Essentially, your body just won't be functioning at its best.

In his book, The H-Factor Diet, nutritionist and personal trainer Andrew Cate offers these snappy ideas for working more water into your day:

1. Drink one or two glasses of water before breakfast, lunch and dinner. The extra fullness may also help reduce your portion sizes.

2. Don't wait to feel thirsty. Try to make drinking water a habit by adding it to other habits, such as after going to the toilet or after brushing your teeth.

3. Drink a little extra water if it's hot, if you are active or if you work in an air-conditioned office.

4. Have a water bottle on hand at your desk, in your fridge and in your car.

5. Drink water to quench your thirst, and only drink other kilojoule-laden beverages in small amounts for taste.

6. Cool fluids are absorbed quicker by the body, so keep this in mind on hot days. There is also some evidence to suggest that iced water takes a few more kilojoules to absorb, and it may cause your stomach to shrink slightly, making you feel fuller faster.

7. If you take large amounts of caffeine from tea or coffee (more than four cups a day), drink a little extra water to overcome the diuretic effect.

8. Drink an extra glass of water for every standard alcoholic beverage you consume.

9. Be more aware of your water intake as you get older. Between 60 and 70, people start to lose their appetite and as a result, get less water from foods in their diets.

10. If you take medications that have a diuretic effect, or if you use fibre tablets, include an extra glass of water in your day.

 

Hope it helps!

FARRRRKKKKKKK

Put on 200g. Grrr. I have to be a bit more sensible on weekends and make sure I exercise at  least once because I seem to have to work hard all week just to undo the results of the weekend. And I can't get out of these farking 80's. Meanwhile GB is STILL losing!!!

On Tuesday I had workout palooza. Did pilates at lunchtime (having missed last Thursday's session), did 30mins on bike after work using HR program which nearly killed me! Then came home and did 30mins on Wii active (I hate lunges), and then we went to our dancing class for a bit of cha cha cha, waltz and rhumba! All on a kinda dodgy heel/ankle.  Wednesday did HR bike, weights and wii active, and Thursday was feeling pretty sore so just did pilates and took Westie for a quick walk. Our Auslan classes finish next week which I'm glad about as I'll be able to work out on Mondays again.

Thrilled to have updated to the new 3.0 software for the iphone. Can now send and receive mms! Although yesterday they were taking between 30mins and 3 hours to come/go through.

Work is narking futs. Always is this time of year but my life is made exponentially harder when I'm not receiving the information I require to balance the regional outturn from one of our districts. My head is about to explode. Today I've had to shut my door and put on some music to try and harness my chi (hehe) and settle down a bit before I blow my stack.

Shizen, thought I'd lost this blog coz IE crashed but luckily it seems wordpress had saved it as a draft. I don't think I had written anything else!

GB is having his wisdom teeth taken out and some "skin flap lump thingo's" removed from his mouth in hospital next Tuesday so I'm sure my stress levels won't be getting any lower. At least I'll have a couple days out of the office, even if I will have to work from my laptop in the hospital and at home while I babysit the poor boy.

OK I'm going to fill up my water bottle now.  I'm on the countdown to wine o'clock.

Em

Shopping!

Just wanted to share that I bought a Wayne Cooper dress - size 14 - to wear to my sister's engagement party in a couple of weeks. Typically, it was the only thing not discounted in the whole of Myer so spent far too much money but how exciting - a designer dress!!!

Slowly she goes

Lost 500g this week. God! I so want to hit those 70's!!!! I think I'm not eating enough (if you can believe that!). Still uninterested in food. Exercise wise, I've been going to the gym for at least 30mins on the bike Tues, Wed & Thurs and then the last two nights when I got home I've been on the Wii Personal Trainer. That shit is HARD! And I have it set to easy!!! Lot's of lunges :(

GB's body has decided to freak us all out after losing more weight this week! He's now under 85kgs and here we thought his body must have decided 86kg was the right weight for him! I think it's the pilates (not that he would admit to it) and the swimming. He did the full 3.6km swim in the pool last night in 90mins. I think that's bloody sensational for a first attempt. I'm so proud of him!

For the first time ever I cooked a roast on Sunday! Got Jamie Oliver's Italy cookbook for my birthday so decided to make the lamb roast with stuffing and everything. It thought it was a tad overcooked but everyone said it was delicious. I was very impressed with myself! Not particularly healthy mind you, although it didn't matter because for whatever reason I PB'd the bloody lot! It was very odd. It felt like it was going down ok. Then about half an hour later I felt a bit uncomfortable so went to the loo. Did a very small PB (nothing major). Then turned to walk through the bedroom and felt it all coming back up, raced back to the bathroom and just made it. YUCK!

Wedding update: We were a bit shocked last week at the price of wedding bands at Solid Gold so we're going to have a bit of a look around this weekend. There's no rush but we want to know what's out there. I think i'm definately going to have my engagement ring resized. Some days it seems to fit ok but most days it's super loose.

Also, need a new outfit for my sister's engagement party in a couple of weeks. Thinking about doing the dress/tights/boots look. Not sure if I can pull it off but going to give it a go!!

Work driving me nuts. Feel like I'm repeating myself 100 times and I farking hate that.

Hope everyone else is going well!

Em

Just stuff

Hey there, look at this - another post!

Just thought I'd drop a quick line to say GB and I had a great time at the beginners dancing course (Week 1). We learnt the progressive barn dance, progressive jive and the slow rhythm. I'd done the barn dance way back in high school and it did come back to me so that's good. They have a social dance after the class so you can practice alongside the intermediate/advanced classes. Got thrown around a bit by one of the other beginners and rolled my ankle (although I soldiered on for another 20mins!) so it's a bit tender. But we both enjoyed ourselves which is the main thing.

Yesterday I went for a swim with GB after work. Did I mention that in their infinite wisdom GB and 2 mates have decided to enter the 2009 Busselton Ironman? Well they have. Just for the unititiated, the ironman consists of a 3.8km open water swim, 180km cycle and 42.2km run (that's a marathon folks). A friend of ours did the whole thing by himself a couple of years ago - took 13hrs. GB and his friends are entering as a team, taking 1 leg each. GB is doing the swim. So he's bought a full body suit and doing some swimming lessons etc. He's asked for my support (which he has of course) in swimming a couple times a week. But geez it's cold! At least the gym up the road has an indoor 50m pool. Last night I did 1km and GB did 1.5kms. took about 40mins (forgot to check the clock). My shoulder is a tad sore though. Man, can I complain anymore??

I've just come out of my pilates class. Onto term 2. Felt super flexible today! GB has joined in too - he's onto his 2nd week. I don't think he's enjoying it very much but I'm sure it will help his core strength which will help his back problems that he has.

This past week I've been really uninterested in food. It's a complete first for me. Like I don't feel like eating anything at all. Of course I still am, we all need food, but I'm usually thinking about nice stuff to cook for dinner but the past week.. meh... don't care... crackers will do. It's weird I tells ya.

Anyhoo, best get back into my work clothes!

Em :)

Too.Much.Food

OMG. I went out for dinner with the fam last night. I ate maybe a third of my meal and I can STILL feel it sitting there. SOOOOO bloated. But anyway let's back it up.

TTOM helped me achieve another 1+kg loss on Friday... less than a kilo away from the 70's! Unfortunately given the 4 day weekend I just had I'm pretty sure it'll be further away this Friday. I was even too scared to sneak a peak at the scales this morning. Friday, GB and I took the day off to hang out just us. So we went and saw State of Play at the movies. By the way if you're ever wondering where people over the age of 60 go on friday mornings - it's to the movies. I briefly wondered how early was too early for a choc top and decided 10am was fine! We went into the city to Solid Gold to check out wedding bands. Both of us shocked at the prices quoted! Met up with some friends at the Belgium Beer Cafe for an hour or so. Then we went to Coco's for date night (my choice) which was really nice. They have small or large meals there so GB got a small risotto (super tasty) and I got a small red emperor (also very tasty) and I will not deny that I had a piece of cake for dessert. Not to mention the bottle of wine.

On Saturday my sister's took me birthday shopping. I picked up a great red coat from Target which according to my sisters accentuates my tiny waist. Also got a black top from Forever Now (a non big fatty shop!) and both were in a size 14 - yippee!!! Meanwhile GB went shopping BY HIMSELF and bought new jeans, a new shirt and new shoes. He was very nervous about showing the outfit to me but there was no need - super hot! And size 33 jeans - what a skinny minny! We hung out together that night and watched that Zohan flick.

On Sunday GB had organised a lunch with most of our friends at Elmer's in the Swan Valley. Food was ok. I had a chicken caesar (ate about a quarter) and it was quite tasty. Filled up on cocktails and cake :). After lunch (about 5pm) my sisters and a couple friends came back to our place where we sang and danced all night - good times.

Monday morning GB cooked up a big brekkie for my sis and her fiance who had stayed the night and I had a poached egg on toast. Should have finished about 3 bites earlier as that was what I seemed to PB back up. Damn. Then he went off at about 10am and came back with cheesecake for my birthday so I had some of that (half a slice, then the rest a few hours later). Delish! Didn't eat lunch, just watched yet another flick (Eagle Eye - pretty good) and caught up with his folks for an hour. Which gets us back to the beginning of dinner out with the fam and me feeling soooooo bloated.

Some lovely lightening this morning. Poor little Westie was hiding in the walk in robe behind the washing basket. First time we've seen her that scared in a storm. It was so hard to leave her to come to work.

GB and I are starting ballroom dancing lessons tonight. Should be fun!!!

Anyway hope everyone is well! And congrats to Cara who has joined the Bandit world.

Em :)

Back in the game!

Phew! To be honest, when I had a sneak at my weight yesterday I knew that I'd lost what I'd put on but somehow overnight I got a nice big suprise with a 1.3kg lost from last week so I lost what I'd put on in the past two weeks plus more! YAY! So close to breaking the 82's now! After last week's disappointment and GB's frustration with not being able to crack his last kilo we did our measurements. GB has lost more cms (22) in the past 2 months than he did in the previous 6 months which is terrific! And I was relieved to see that although I hadn't lost much weight over the past two months, I've lost about 18cm still.

So this week I've done a couple of jog/walks of the 7km bridges loop. Best time was 62mins but I'm keen to get under 60mins over the weekend (weather permitting). After a month sans rain, Perth has finally hit winter with storms and torrential rain, strong winds the last couple days. I'm stressing out about our poor pooch today. The cleaner was coming this morning so I had to leave her outside. She has shelter under the portico but the wind is blowing the rain in all directions!!! I'll go and rescue her at lunchtime. We went and did the RSPCA Million Paws Walk on sunday with some friends. Got some great pics. One of our friends  has a 13week old border collie - SO CUTE! Here's some pics:

Happiest dog around!

For some reason the caption won't work here:

Abbie, Westie & Connor

So it's my birthday on 1st June - WA kindly having a public holiday to celebrate! I just found out the GB has organised a lunch with all our friends up in the Swan Valley on the Sunday! It was supposed to be a surprise but one of my friend's let the cat out of the bag this morning! Going to be a great day!

Oh and THANK GOD the chocolate challenge is over! Clearly though by my results this week it may have been a factor. I also cut down substantially my iced coffee intake (think I only had it twice) and started having a yoghurt for breakfast. So I guess I will try to reduce my chocolate intake even though this past week has been AWFUL!!!

BTW - my arse... sorry glutes... are super sore today. Pilates did an absolute number on them yesterday! GB is starting pilates with me next week so hopefully there'll be someone in the class worse than me at it!! On June 2nd we are starting a 7 week beginner's dance course too. I think it'll be fun and good exercise and will give us an idea about what we want to do for the "First" dance on the big day.

Well that'll do, don't forget to leave me a comment - even just to say hi!

Em :)

Stoopid Weight

I hate it, I tuly do. You put in a big effort and what do you get for it? Weight gain - 2 weeks in a row! The last couple of weeks I've done more exercise than ever before, I think my eating has been pretty bloody good (weekends excused) as I've been very careful after having fluid removed. Granted my food is actually staying in my body and not making a reappearance after every meal which is awesome, but I'm still being very conscious of portion sizes and not eating carbs for dinner. I even cut my iced coffee intake down!!!

This week I even tried this thing called "jogging"... it may be pronounced "yogging".... Well it was more like "shuffling" - at times I was sure I could walk faster! Monday night I took the pooch to Tomato Lake which is 1.6km around and decided to give it a go. Managed 500m (there's convenient 100m markings around the lake) and walked for 200m, then jogged 800m before walking home. Very impressed with myself I was! My knees (shocking problem knees that they are) were pretty farking sore but they got over it. Did an extra session of Pilates on Tuesday (plus gym after work). Wednesday night, GB and I walked the 7km bridges with Westie after work. Actually it's 6.8km's according to my new fandangled iphone app which uses GPS to map how far you go and your speed and time, even breaking down into 1kms. I decided to jog across the graham farmer fwy bridge (about 500m - forgot to check), and then decided to job the causeway bridges at the other end too - about 700m. All up did the 6.8km in just over 68mins. Not too bad. Yesterday I did pilates at lunch time and 30mins on the bike at the gym. And yep 200g gain. Farkers!

Anyhoo, nothing much happening besides work here. Now that I've finished bitching I'll go and catch up on your blogs!

Em :)

PS - I'm putting myself on a chocolate challenge this week. From today - NO CHOCOLATE. eek!

PPS - Even the dog is losing weight. She was down to 8.1kgs this week.. She got up to 9kg a few months ago the little porker!

Feeling Groovy

Wow, what a difference half a mil makes! I was so worried that it was going to be too much removed, that I would be starving, eating too much, and though it's early days yet, I'm going really well. I'm not getting hungry at all, feeling full after eating an appropriate amount and best of all have not PB'd in 2 days! Plus last night - no reflux. Yippee!

Anyway I lost 500g this week which isn't great given it's TTOM so I would usually lose over 1kg but considering I've been eating lasagne all week because it was all that would go down with me PBing I guess I can't complain.

Have been very happy with my exercise this week.

Sunday - walk to Tomato Lake and back (~4kms)
Monday - walk around Lake Monger (3.8kms)
Tuesday - gym for 30mins cardio
Wednesday - gym for 30mins cardio
Thursday - pilates 60mins, gym 20mins cardio, 20mins weights

Not over the top, but consistent so I'm happy with that.

Hope everyone else is going well,

Em :)

Fill out

Well my 6pm appointment was deffered back to the original 9.30am one this morning. That was unfortunate coz last night was THE worst night EVER. Coughing and spluttering does not a peaceful night's sleep make.

Anyway, Watson took out .5mls which was more than I wanted out but he wanted to be safe and said I'm probably very inflamed from the reflux and PBing. I also have to take Pariet for the next week too. He was stoked with my results, having not seen him for over 6 months. I told him I wanted to get to 75kg for the wedding and he reckons I'll be too thin!!! So not true. When I look at all my flab I think there's way more than 10kgs of excess fat there!

Also turns out that his receptionist is also getting married at Watershed Winery, a few weeks before us! Classic.

Did I say that my sister got engaged on the weekend? Well I checked out the ring on her finger last night (which I helped choose) and it looks sensational! Sooo happy and excited for them.

Good/Bad

Good

• Reaching lowest weight since primary school


• Losing over 35kgs from lapband.


• 6 nights in Bali with girl friends


• only spending about $300 in 6 nights in Bali


• not putting on weight in Bali


• going to the gym at the hotel once


• Sister and her boyfriend got engaged on Sunday


• Read Twilight then watched movie. Book is better


• 2 weeks off work


• Size 14 jeans fit (Target brand but still!)


• Ordered wedding dress


• Bob & Tiff on The Biggest Loser. Sensational!


• My hairdresser has agreed to come to Margaret River to do my hair for the wedding


• Dockers finally won a game


• Made best lasagne ever and did not PB it.

Bad

• Night reflux and waking up thinking I'm choking to death


• Daily PB's


• Quads aching for 4 days after doing Hinges in pilates on Thursday


• Being back at work after 2 weeks off!

Luckily they've managed to squeeze me in between surgeries tomorrow so I can see about getting some fill removed and hopefully enjoy some food going down!  I don't know what has caused this sudden PBing and reflux, very weird considering I haven't had fill put in since November. Also, I'm enjoying the weight loss (of course) and I'm worried with the extra fluid out that that will stop. But I have decided that I would rather enjoy eating rather than being worried about where the nearest loo is and violently PBing for the next 6 hours.

Anyhoo, good to be back in the blogersphere. Looking forward to catching up on everyone's blogs.

 

Update: Just had a call from Doc Watson's rooms and they can fit me in tonight at 6pm - yay! No more night reflux!

Bye bye Obese me

Bit of a late update on last week, but the major news is: I'm no longer OBESE! Nope, just plain old overweight now! haha. Just missed out on reaching 35kgs lost since banding too with a major weight loss of 2.2kgs last week. Thank you TTOM! I'm now the lightest I've been since probably primary school!  The job this week will be to not put on as I tend to do the week after. As is usual for TTOM, I struggled badly with food, PBing most days which sucked, but today I can feel the restriction reducing thank goodness. 

We went to Margaret River overnight on Saturday to meet with the cake guy and the celebrant. Cake guy was disappointing given he knew we were coming but didn't have anything prepared and then gave us a sermon on unconditional love which was frustrating. Celebrant was great though, we're really happy with her. Had another fab lunch at Watershed and showed my mum where the wedding would be.

One week to go till we're off to Bali on a girls trip. One of the girl's has just cancelled for personal issues and I was supposed to be sharing with her. She wants me to go into a triple now which means a pull out bed which I'm not that keen on - I'm a bit old for pullout beds you know! I think if you cancel at this stage you should just take the loss. I know it's a bit selfish but I'm a bit pissed off that she's left it this late to cancel when really she was in the same situation when the trip was booked six months ago.

Anyhoo, best be off back to work!

Leave me a comment! I love 'em!

Em :)

What's my personality type?

Stole this idea from Cat using Typealyzer. It allegedly reads through your blog and determines what personality you are. Here are my results:

ESFP - The Performers

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

Couldn't work out how to copy and paste the brain activity diagram it puts up but I'm somewhere between Sensing, Feeling and Thinking. Whatever that means!

Still a Performer in the LoveTypealyzer:

ESFP - The Performers

They live for the moment and is usually a lot of fun to date.They tend to dislike theory and complexities and rather enjoy beeing in the moment with other people making sure that everyone enjoys themselves. As partners they are very affectionate, but might be unaware of the direction the relationship is heading. Sexually they are very sensual and enjoys the experience with all five senses.
Best matches: ISTJ or ISFJ

Well there ya go.  A bit of wednesday fun!

Well...

What do you think about my new background etc? A change is as good as a holiday as they say, but unfortunately I'm not talented enough to design my own layout so had to choose from one of the themes available.

200g lost this week. Fark. Maybe I'm not eating enough? Some days I don't have lunch because I often PB it anyway. This week with GB being off on his boys trip I haven't been cooking I must admit! I have had a few not so healthy snacks too. Here's what I can remember:

Sunday:
Yoghurt (lunch)
A sm pastry tart
Salad

Exercise - 6km walk (just over 1hr)

Monday:
Light Iced coffee (small)
Diet yoghurt
Salad (lunch)
Quiche (dinner) - violently PB'd up :(

Tuesday:
Light Iced coffee (small)
Diet yoghurt (PB'd)
Salad (lunch)
1/2 Potato, light sour cream, light cheese, bean mix (WW recipe)
4 x small  mince mix like san choi bow (WW recipe)
choc cookies
Coke

Exercise - 45min walk

Wednesday:
Light Iced coffee (small)
Diet yoghurt
Salad (lunch)
Small bowl pasta
3x small veal cutlets (PB'd)

Exercise - 30min calorie burner L5 bike; 20mins weights

Thursday:
Light Iced coffee (small)
Diet yoghurt (lunch)
Salad (dinner)
1 sml pack vege chips

Exercise - 60min pilates; 45 min walk

Oh and I had a chocolate most days. Hmmmmmmm

I'm definately not drinking enough water. Going to fill water bottle up right now. And, done.

Missing GB. He's off in the Northern Territory on his boys trip and has been out of range for the past couple of days so haven't even been able to talk to him which sucks.

Fighting with DPI. Went into one of their offices 5 weeks ago to renew my driver's licence, change my address, get a new photo and have my visual aid conditions removed (thank you laser eye surgery). 2 weeks later, when I still hadn't received it, I called them and was told there was a mixup with my address because I'd also changed it online and it went to my old address. I tell them I have a redirection so I still should have received it but I didn't. Apparently I have to wait till 4 weeks before they can request a replacement. A few days later I get a sticker in the mail for my old address. Helpful. Then when 4 weeks had passed I called them again, they need my new address in writing. So I fax them a diatribe about the situation again giving my details in writing for the THIRD time. Yesterday in the mail I get a change of address sticker for my new address. STill not helpful when I don't have a farking valid drivers licence to stick it too. Plus the whole point of changing it when renewing my license was so that my new license would have my new address on it and a sticker wouldn't be needed.

So now I've sent them yet another fax, giving them until next Friday to get me my farking licence or I'll take my complaints further. I don't know who too, but I'll find the premier if I need to. Geez. No wonder people have such disrespect for government departments. And I work for one!!!

So pilates yesterday was a lot more fun than last week. We did a lot of on the ball work which helped me because my core isn't very strong so I had extra support.  Backs of legs and shoulders sore today though.

Last Friday I did a mini health assessment at work. She crapped on about the importance of eating brekkie - didn't tell her about the band - just nodded along. Had to stand on one of those smart scales which we all know are highly inaccurate...right?? My results were:

Cholesterol: Normal <3 mmol/ltr
Blood Pressure: OK - 105/80
Body Fat: 42.1% (significantly overweight)
Total Body Water Percentage: 41.8% of total body weight. Females should be 45-60%
Muscle Mass: 48.5kg muscle (overweight - higher body fat % with moderate muscle mass)
Basal Metabolic Rate: 6681kj rqd for BMR (no where near that!)
Metabolic age: 50. Slowest you can get!
Bone Mass: 2.6kg - Women 75kg + = 2.95kg
Visceral Fat: 7 rating = healthy 1-12

EEK!

Anyhoo, that'll do. Please leave me a comment, even if just to say hi!

Em :)