29th August 2007 – Day 98 – 14th Weigh In

Well, I had my first class in Development last night and I was really nervous. I think this was down to new people there and it wasn’t just my little group anymore. I got there early and all the other ladies were chatting amongst themselves and I was the first one of my group to arrive. I began to wonder if any of them would turn up, but thankfully one did, which put me much more at ease and then eventually another arrived, so we were chatting in our own little group.

It took an age to get everyone weighed as there were 11 of us. My weigh in was not good this week as I only lost 0.66lbs, but that’s better than nothing or putting it on, so I now only have 3lbs to go to my 4 stone, which hopefully, if I stick to the diet 100% (and I know I’m going to do that this week) I should reach my 4 stone mini target by next week. This has taught me a lesson in cheating and I think I’m going to sit down and re-read my goals I put in the green book and read some of the chapters again to re-focus myself, although this small loss has made me more determined. I’m still really happy though as I’m wearing size 16 jeans and I can’t remember the last time I wore jeans in this size!!!

When everyone had been weighed our LLC got everyone to introduce themselves, although I can’t remember any of their names at all, it took me forever to remember them in my own little class, let alone this amount of people!! Quite a few of them had lost 5½ stone, which is really encouraging and one lady had lost 8 stone and still wants to lose another stone…….she looked amazing, I’d love to see her before photos.

All the ladies in the group seemed really nice and I was a bit worried that all the chat would be about food, but it wasn’t, so I was quite pleased about this, especially after my little blip at the weekend. We didn’t learn anything new, but going by Mrs L’s guide to Development you don’t really, it’s mainly chatting about how you’ve got on in the week and I suppose, if anyone is struggling, then helping them get through it.

I’m really hoping that I’m not in this class for too long though, although it’ll most probably be at least until November/ December time and then I’ll be at my goal weight, although I’m not going to set myself a deadline, I’ll just have to see how it goes. It would be great to be at goal weight by the New Year though.

Good news on the diet front for Allan. My friend (Allan’s neighbour) said to me at the weekend that they were talking to Allan and it came up that when they come back from holiday (which will be next week) they need to lose some weight and Allan actually replied that yes, he needs to lose weight too!! I can’t quite remember if she said that he’s going to start dieting/ cutting down, but hopefully he will soon as he’s now acknowledged that he needs to do something.

Allan also told our friends about the clothes I’d been given from the lady in my class and he actually said that I looked ‘Stunning’. My friend made a point of telling me this as she knew Allan wouldn’t, so that and the fact that he’s acknowledged that he needs to lose weight absolutely made my day.

One thing I did discover over the weekend was ICE CREAM!!! Why oh why didn’t I try making this earlier. I made a chocolate with a bit of Fruits of the Forest flavouring (I think I over did it a bit on the flavouring but it was still nice) and then I made a strawberry one, which was delicious. It made a decent size bowl full and took me ages to eat and I was so full up at the end of it. I’m going to try coffee flavour next (vanilla milkshake pack with instant coffee) as I adore coffee ice cream, can’t wait.

28th August 2007 – Day 97

As you can see, I’ve scanned my end of 14 weeks foundation photos on. I’m calling the after photos my half-way pics as when I get to my 4 stone loss, I’ve got about another 3.5 to 4 stone to go. The before is even more hideous than my own before photos and I now have them stuck on my fridge so I see them every time I use the front door.

Had a really good weekend, but had my first cheat since starting LL, which I’m not happy about, but it also goes to show me that I’m not sailing through this and also just how easily I slipped back into my sneaky eating ways. I’m really annoyed at myself because I so wanted to do this without any cheating what so ever, but as the saying goes, you learn by your mistakes!

It was only because this pudding had been left out of the fridge uncovered (I was fine when it was covered or in the fridge) and I was alone in the kitchen that I decided to cut some off. I did cut the slice so thinly though that it was crumbling up, but I did this probably about 3 or 4 times, so if totalled up, it probably ended up as a small slice. I’m not trying to justify what I did in saying it was a really, really thin slices as I shouldn’t have done it in the first place, but I really hope I haven’t put any weight on, although if I do, that’ll certainly teach me a lesson.

One good thing, Allan did catch me and I stopped and covered it over again and have got straight back onto the diet. If he hadn’t caught me, I might have thought I’d got away with it and tried it again another time.

Anyway, I’ll put this behind me and I’m straight back onto the diet, although this is a short week between weigh-ins as we get weighed tonight instead of Wednesday, as tonight will be my first class in Development. I’ll be reading up on Mrs L’s guide to Development shortly.

I didn’t do too much walking this weekend, but I did help Allan with building a small window of glass blocks in his Mum’s garage and I did do a lot of dancing around to the radio. I was also doing arm exercises whilst holding a block in each hand & also waist exercises, which I could certainly feel yesterday, so I wasn’t just sitting around.

Another good thing, today, I’m wearing a size 16 top & a size 16 pair of jeans!!!!! And I feel fab. Last night I also tried on the pair of sparkly jeans that my friend gave me a couple of weeks ago, which are a size 16 and were a bit tight, but they fit lovely now, so that’s cheered me up.

Anyway, I’m going to be catching up on all of your blogs soon, although I’d better do a bit of work in between. Hope you all had a great weekend.

23rd August 2007 – Day 91 – 13th Weigh In

Had a really fabulous weigh-in last night and I lost 3.08lbs (total 52.8lbs) so in total I’ve lost 3stone 10lbs and my weight is now 13stone 11lbs. I was jigging around like a loony when I realised this, I was just so pleased to get to the next stone bracket. I’m still the only one in my class to have reached the 3 stone mark, but no one seemed disappointed in what they’d lost, which was a good thing I think.

I also got measured and again last night and the inches really seems to be coming off me now

The total inches I’ve lost so far are: -

7¼” from my chest
7¼” from my waist
8” from my hips

22nd August 2007
Chest: 43 ¾”
Waist: 36 ½”
Hips: 45 ¾”

18th July 2007
Chest: 47”
Waist: 39”
Hips: 48”

20th June 2007
Chest: 48”
Waist: 40 ½”
Hips: 50 ½”

23rd May 2007
Chest: 51 ½”
Waist: 43 ¾”
Hips: 53 ¼”

As it was our last class before we head off into Development (actually, we’ll all still be together as we’re all going to the same Development class, so that’ll be great) we had to do a drawing of a field separated by a river. One side was to show where we are now, the other side was to show where we want to be, which we had to depict in drawing, writing or symbols. The river represented the barrier stopping us from achieving our goal. We then had to draw a way of crossing this river, i.e. stepping stones, boat, bridge, stuff like that.

Our next task was to put our names at the top of a piece of paper and pass it round the circle. Each time it was passed, that person had to put something they like/ positive about that person whose name was at the top. When it got back to me I had some really lovely comments, which I’ll keep.

After this, we were given our before & after photos, which was great to see, even though I already have my before picture. This one though was even more hideous than the one on this blog, so I’ll be scanning it in at the weekend and I’ll put it on here for you to see. It was great actually seeing all the other girls photos as we’d grown accustomed to each other, so seeing these pictures reminded us of how far we’d all come.

I also had another bag of clothes from the same lady that gave them to me last time, which are absolutely fabulous. Now normally, I usually buy my clothes from M&S (normally the £5 3 for 2 t-shirts), or from Sainsburys, places like that, but these are from Monsoon, Wallis, John Rocha, they are fantastic. I was up till 11pm last night just trying them on and then I was so excited it took me ages to get off to sleep!! I could get into all the size 18s and there were even some size 16s, some of which, surprisingly enough, I could fit into and they felt great, not tight at all. Some of the size 16 trousers were a bit tight, but they won’t be for long.

So, a fantastic evening was had and next week, I’ll be in Development, even though my 100 days doesn’t come to an end until the 31st August.

21st August 2007 - Day 90...!!!!! Blood Pressures

Just a quick post as I have loads of work to do but wanted to post something on my 90th day, which I still can't believe as it's just flown past.

Anyway, in my last weigh-in I got my blood pressure reading from when I first went to the doctors before I started LL (don't know if this is particularly high or not, but it seems it, compaired to what it is now. I've listed them down so I have a record, although I've just noticed I haven't made a note of my second BP test, must get that at weigh-in tomorrow.

23.05.07 - 150/92
18.07.07 - 107/82
13.08.07 - 105/82 (112/83 on the other arm)

I'm also looking forward to getting myself measured tomorrow too, hopefully I've dropped a bit more, I think so, but it's always nice to get it confirmed. We also get given our before & after photos, so I'll get these scanned in at the weekend and post them on here.

Thanks for your suggestions Lesley about jogging & breathing, I'll give that a go & hopefully it'll work for me.

20th August 2007 – Day 89

Had quite a good weekend, apart from the weather as it was really cold, wet & miserable, although I did managed to drag myself out of bed on Saturday for my walk/ learn to jog at 7.30am!! Sunday I didn’t bother as it was just too wet, so had a lie in instead.

On my walk round on Saturday, I did manage a bit more jogging than the time before, but I really can’t get my breathing right. I start off taking deep breaths in through my nose & out through my mouth, but very quickly I completely forget and I’m gasping for breath!! Think I’m going to have a look up on the internet to see if there’s a guide to jogging in easy steps!!

Didn’t really do much this weekend though, apart from wandering round Wickes & B&Q twice on Saturday, Screwfix on Saturday & Sunday and Wickes again on Sunday. Now I must assure you I really don’t have a fetish for hanging round DIY shops, although I think my other half does, especially after this weekend!!

Allan did actually have a purpose for going, although I don’t think we quite needed to go to all of them, it’s definitely a man thing!! He did need to replace a valve in the water tank in the loft, then decided he wanted a push button flush for the toilet. The only reason why I went to B&Q the second time was that they had a toilet as by then he’d broken the flush unit, I was then subjected to the joys of Wickes again. Oh what fun I had…….

Anyway, this weekend I actually did some cooking, it was no nouvelle cuisine mind you. I’ve been sort of avoiding doing this since starting LL, which for me was quite easy as I don’t have children and Allan fends for himself at weekends. But I thought I’d cook for him as he’d been working really hard and he’d probably be spending most of Sunday doing it too (which he did). I was actually really looking forward to it and made him jacket potatoes, which I hollowed out into a bowl, added bacon, mushroom, sweetcorn & spring onion (which I’d already cooked, apart from the spring onion), mixed it all together with half-fat crème fraiche (I was quite amazed he’d agreed to this as he wanted full fat cream), then put the mixture back into the jackets, sprinkled with grated cheese & popped it under the grill. It looked lovely and he really enjoyed it.

Sunday, I cooked roast lamb, with rosemary & garlic, roasted some vegetables and potatoes. I did try a tiny piece of lamb, which, if I say so myself, tasted fabulous (this could be because I’ve only had food packs, so anything could taste fab at the moment) but it was really tender and moist. I’d never cooked lamb before so was really pleased with my efforts and Allan finished off the whole lot (it was only a tiny bit of lamb, not a huge joint).

One other thing that came out at the weekend was that he was saying how well I’ve be doing on LL, but he didn’t think he could commit to this sort of diet due to his work. He has to travel up & down the country a lot and couldn’t commit to going to a class on a set night in the week, as he wouldn’t know where he’ll be from one week to the next. I did say about cutting down though and drinking more water and coming out walking with me (when his ankle is better). So, it looks like he has been thinking about losing some weight, which is what I really hope he does, not for looks as that doesn’t worry me, but for his health. So, I maybe getting there with him, slowly but surely......a mini breakthrough!!

Last Thursday, my friend gave me a fabulous present for getting to 3.5 stone, which was put to use straight away, but she also did this fab sign, which she stuck to the pressie bag. If I get the chance I’ll scan this in so I can put it on here, it did make me laugh. I have it stuck on my fridge at the moment and it makes me smile every time I pass it.

She also gave me a pair of her jeans that she didn’t want anymore that had patterns embroidered with sequins on them. I’ve never had a pair of sparkly jeans before, I just normally went for the basic, stretchy ones from M&S but these are lovely. Anyway, they’re a size 16, which I thought I’d be able to wear in a couple of months time, seeing as I’d only just got into my size 18 pair. Well, I tried them on and I could get them done up (without having to lie on the bed), OK, they were tight round the bum & legs, but I think I’d be able to wear them in about 3 weeks time, good job I didn’t put them away for a few months.

15th August 2007 – Day 85 – 12th Weigh In

Had an OK weight loss last night as I’d lost 2.42lbs (total 49.72lbs & I'm now 14 stone, so hopefully I'll be 13 stone something next week!!), so I wasn’t disappointed as I’ve now lost a total of 3.5 stone and my BMI is now 34.8, so it’s all good. Funnily enough, all the ladies in the class had a bit of a low loss this week, I blame the weather!! Also, I didn’t drink as much water this week as I normally do; I’d only done 5 litres on 1 day. I think I’ll be trying to get back to drinking 5 litres most days this week.

I’ve still got to the 31st August till my 100 days, so including today, I’ve got 16 days to get near to the 4 stone (notice I wrote near, I’m not focussing so much on actually reaching 4 stone now).

I also thought back to what Nich had written last week when I was a bit disappointed, so focussed on how far I’d come and how much better I feel about myself; the most important of which was that I actually like what I see now in the mirror.

We also had my after photo taken last night, and yes, I did have my little fashion show of tops for Mum and we’d decided on the slinkiest. I hope it shows up in the photos, which we get given next week. I was thinking about getting measured again as I only do this every month, so I should of had it done last night; but thought I’d leave it till next week instead.

One lovely surprise was that the lady who joined LL to lose weight to get married came back to see us, she’d only been back in the country for a few days so was a bit jet lagged. She’s now at her goal weight, so will be going into Management, whilst the rest of us are joining Development. She did say how much she wants to stick with our group and not join other people, which I think goes to show how much we’ve bonded as a group, we all get on so well. Anyway, she’d also brought in her photos from her wedding in Jamaica. She looked absolutely stunning, and the place looked gorgeous. She did so well too and only put on 1 pound with 3 weeks away, so there’s hope for us all……

This morning when I got up, I decided to go through my wardrobe for my smaller sized jeans. My size 22s were getting so baggy now and not just around my waist; they’re baggy round my bum & thighs!! So, I dug out my old jeans that had dust on them as they hadn’t been worn for over 4 years. I know this because I last wore my black ones when I first met Allan, which is nearly 4½ years ago. These are a size 18 (well, they actually say 16, but I bought them in the US, so really they’re an 18) and they all fitted fantastically, apart from the green pair, which are a tad tight, so hopefully I’ll be in these in a few weeks time. This means I’ve dropped 2 dress sizes, how fab is that!! I’ll now be getting my big jeans washed & ready to give to my friend, although I am keeping one pair to remind me of what size I got too and to shame me into not doing it again.

I’ve decided that I must do my walking at weekends and not be lazy like I was last weekend. I don’t think we have that much planned, so I think I’ll extend my walk to go a lot further round the village & I’ll do a bit more jogging too.

There’s a show on the BBC at 7pm called The One Show and last night they had a report claiming that walking actually burns more fat than jogging. They did this experiment with identical twins, who weighed the same, where they had to wear this apparatus & mask, which took all sorts of readings. Then one had to jog & the other had to walk for one mile. When the readings came back the jogging burnt off more carbohydrate, but the walking actually burnt off more fat!! Anyway, the link is here if anyone is interested.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/theoneshow/article/2007/08/mm_walking.shtml

Mum & I went off walking last night and as Allan had popped in on his way home, I roped him in too. He did enjoy it, although he wasn’t dressed for it, as he still had his shirt & office trousers on, but he’d hurt his ankle last month and it started to hurt again during the walk. So we had to cut our walk short and I’ve told him he must go to the doctors to get it sorted out.

Tonight, I’m off walking again with Nich and I think we’ll probably try our long route again.

I've just noticed something with my ticker, I've now got 10lbs to go and I'll be half way there.....!!

15th August 2007 - Day 84

I had to have my blood pressure checked again last Monday (the normal LL monthly check) and it's still showing as normal. This lady checked both arms and when it was on my right arm it showed as 112/83 and my left showed 105/82, which the pharmacist said was normal, YAY. I wish I'd put down how high it was when I first went to the doctors. Actually, I think I'll ask my LLC tonight to see if she can give me the figures, if so, I'll post them on here.

Tonight at class, as I'll be going into my 13th week, I'm having my after photo taken. Seems strange as I'm carrying on with the diet, but what the heck. Although she has said that we won't be getting them till next week. OK, I know I already have my own before photos on here to shock me into carrying on with LL, but it'll be fun to see. I'm going to make sure I look nice, I'll be wearing my size 18 black trousers and I think I'll be sorting out tops with Mum later, before we go out walking, to see which one makes me look the slimmest.

Today I was out and about a bit at work. I had to go into Ealing for a bit of training, so I made up some crisps and had 2 litres of water to take with me and headed of via the train. I do quite enjoy going on the train as I don't get to do it that often, but I used to worry a bit when I was bigger, that the person I sat next too would be annoyed, as I thought I'd take up too much space. OK, I still felt like this to an extent today, but not half as much as before I started LL. I've also noticed this with cinema seats (the ones with the drinks holders), I can just sit in these easily and not worry about being too fat for them.

Anyway, I suppose I'd better get back to doing some work!!

13th August 2007 – Day 82

My 38GG hanging basket!!

Well, that’s another weekend gone, why do they just fly by when the week drags, oh well. As you can see by the photos, I got round to doing my hanging basket, what do you think?

Had a really nice weekend, although I didn’t do much walking, well apart from the normal wandering round shops & things. I didn’t make a point of getting up for my early morning walk with a little jogging (on last weekends walk I could do a bit more jogging), so I must make the effort next weekend.

On our wander round some shops I popped into Next, just to have a look round, I still wasn’t going to buy anything. Anyway, before I started LL I used to pop in there to try & find something to wear, which was pretty hard and I always thought people were looking at me thinking ‘What’s she doing in here, she’s far too fat for these clothes’ things like that, don’t know if anyone else thought the same? Actually, looking back on it, I felt the same in whatever clothes shop I went in. Anyway, I had my wander round and as I was walking out, it hit me, I hadn’t had that feeling that people were looking at me, I wasn’t too fat for these clothes anymore and it was SUCH a great feeling!

In the evening we were off to the pub for a meal with friends, so as normal, I got Allan to check to make sure it was OK for me to bring my food & if they can provide me with a bowl of hot water, which they were perfectly happy to do. I’d made my crisps, & had my savoury drinks with me & as I knew our friends & Allan would have a pudding I’d did my lemon biscuits.

I made a real effort to look good, I find I’m doing this more & more when I go out now. In the past, if we were off to the pub for a meal, I’d probably have still gone in my normal jeans & t-shirt. I wouldn’t have bothered too much with my hair, still worn my glasses & only had a bit of mascara on. But Saturday, I planned my outfit. I wore my black Monsoon trousers (that the lady from my class gave me, actually everything I wore that night was from her). These were the ones that were a bit snug when I first tried them on, but now they fit great. I also wore a gorgeous top & my sparkly sandals, with a heel (I’ve worn flats for so long now, it felt a bit strange) that my feet were too wide for a while ago. I felt really great and Allan said I looked really, really good. I felt a little dressed up when our friends husband arrived in shorts & t-shirt, but actually, I didn’t care, I was just so pleased that I looked good. I haven’t felt that way about myself for a long time.

It was a lovely pub; the food looked & smelt great and again I really didn’t feel deprived that I wasn’t having any. When they had their main course, the waiter brought out a lovely soup bowl of hot water on a plate, so it blended in with the other dishes on the table (hope that makes sense,) and I had my crisps & savoury drink. The puddings looked lovely too but again, I didn’t feel the need to have any, although I knew what I would have gone for if I was eating; a chocolate fudge brownie thing with chocolate sauce & ice cream mmmmm, which Allan had and looked lovely. I had my lemon biscuits and they were so lovely & chewy that the others had finished their desserts while I was still munching through them.

Sunday, we didn’t really do that much, had a nice lazy day. We did go up to Barbury Castle in the morning and wandered round a little. I made my hanging basket and then we decided to have a drive round the countryside trying to find pubs in the area that did good food. This was because the pub we were originally going to go to on Saturday was fully booked, so we had to find somewhere else, which obviously we did, but Allan had a complete blank on other pubs in the area.

It was a lovely afternoon and the countryside was gorgeous, we went through Avebury, Marlborough and loads of little villages that I can’t remember the names of. Found a few nice pubs and got their cards for our notice board, so hopefully we now won’t be stuck for a place to go.

This morning I was up and out to check on my little vegetable garden, which needs a good weed, so I’ll be doing that this evening, before my walk with Nich. I picked some French Beans and some Petit Pois pods, which I’m now freezing for when I’m back to eating again. Allan & Mum have already had some, so I thought I’d freeze them for myself now. I also noticed I have a few cucumbers growing, but I haven’t quite got the hang of my courgettes. My yellow cherry tomatoes & strawberries are lovely though.

Everything seems to be growing fine, so hopefully I’ll be digging up carrots, spring onions, beetroot & leeks in the not too distant future. Again, Mum & Allan will have some & I’ll freeze some for myself.

Tonight I’ve also got to have my blood pressure check again so I shall report on what it is tomorrow.

Anyway, think that’s enough waffling for now, hope you all had a good weekend.

9th August 2007 – Day 78 – 11th Weigh In

Had another good class last night, but honestly can’t remember what we were supposed to be talking about and what chart needs to be filled out. I think we were all just talking too much, so I’ll have to read up in my green handbook what we should be doing.

I think it was something about what we’ve mastered in the past, so for me that would have been my dancing & cake decorating and that we have to master this diet and into the future, mastering management and getting back to food. My LLC did say that this could take around a year or so to do & she thinks she’s just getting there now!

I do realise though that management and keeping the weight off is going to be forever and I’ll have to be constantly vigilant. What the mastering means though is that our eating and what choices we make will hopefully become second nature, we won’t need to think about it, just like driving a car was one of the examples she gave as I don’t need to think about what to do to get from A to B, I just do it. Hope that makes sense. See, I was paying attention really.

Anyway, I lost another 2.86lbs, which gives a total of 47.3lbs in total. I am really pleased with this, but couldn’t help feeling just a tiny bit disappointed, as I’d upped my water intake to 5 litres or over every day bar one and at this rate I won’t get to my mini target of 4 stone by the 100 days.

I e-mailed my friend this morning, who I go walking with and her reply nearly made me cry, as she is talking a lot of sense. I should focus on what I’ve achieved and how I feel, compared to how I used to look & feel, she’s very wise I think…..

I’ve put these e-mails on my blog (I did check with her first to make sure it was OK), so that if I’m feeling a little low, or don’t get to my mini target, I can read this to remind me, this isn’t about mini targets, it’s about how I feel, which is so much better than before I started LL.

My e-mail to Nich.

I lost another 2.86lbs last night, which now takes me down to 14st 2lbs (or maybe 14st 2.5lbs depending on which chart you look at. My online weight converter says 14st 2lbs, so I'm going with that one).

Anyway, I'm 2lbs off 3.5 stone......YAY. At this rate though I won't get to my mini 4st target by the 100 days, fingers crossed I will, or at least I'll be very nearly there.

I know I won't be that disappointed if I don't (OK, maybe a little) because I think, on what other diet could I have lost nearly 4 stone in just over 3 months!!!!

Nich’s reply

You should absolutely NOT be disappointed if you don't reach 4 stone in 100 days!!! You have done fantastically well and should be really proud and pleased of how well you've done, not disappointed for not doing better!! Forgetting the weight, think about how you feel now and how you felt before - all that back ache and not being able to walk up stairs without getting our of breath! Your blood pressure is normal again and you are no longer morbidly obese!! Think about how you look (boobs and belly!!!) - they are now separate and not all merging as one!! and the fact that so many of your clothes are too big for you now!

I think we all forget too quickly how bad we felt and how much has been achieved...don't play down your achievement. You look fantastic now, and wearing make up again which you haven't done for ages. It's more important to focus on the fact that you look and feel better than focussing on not quite achieving the total weight loss you hoped to.


Anyway, onwards & downwards!

I can’t believe I’m now in my 12th week, next week at class our LLC will be taking our after photos, so I’ll make sure I wear something really flattering, put my make up on & wear my contacts. I know I have my own before photos, but I’ll be making every effort to look as good as possible.

Hope you all have good weeks and thank you to all the comments, they really do spur you on.

8th August 2007 – Day 77

Yesterday at work it was a bit manic and was the first time I struggled with my water intake at work. This was due to being in meetings a lot longer than expected. I’m not normally in meetings but I could be starting a new role within the university, so there were lots of discussions. I did do my 4 litres though.

I’m still not that clear of what exactly this involves, so hopefully I’ll be finding this out soon as I’m going to make a point of sitting down and going through what they want me to do. I was worrying about it a bit last night as I was thinking, can I do this, as most of what they were saying went right over my head. I was even dreaming about it, and I very rarely dream about work.

This involved lots of walking backwards & forwards from office to office and up 5 flights of stairs twice. I was determined not to use the lift. I did get quite puffed out though by the time I got to the 3rd floor, so had a little breather and set off again. I was very pleased with myself though as I didn’t use the lift. You never know, I may be running up all 5 flights of stairs without getting out of breath, although if I did this I will probably be falling up them quite often as I did this morning. My toe is still throbbing!!

The one thing I am looking forward to though is that we have to organise a reception to say thanks to everyone who’s helped over the months (even though I was only brought in yesterday, so know nothing). I love to organise things like parties, weekends away in cottages. I think my ideal job would be a party/ wedding planner as I always like to have a project to work on.

Last night, after work, Nich & I went off to the cinema to see Hairspray. It was such an excellent film, but then again, we both love musicals and the music & singing was great. John Travolta was absolutely fabulous as a woman!! We both took our bottles of water and I had my lemon bar to munch on while she had her slimfast bar. Before the film we walked round the shopping centre, mooching in the shops, which I haven’t done for ages. I kept looking at clothes & thinking, would these look good on me? I’ve still resisted the urge to buy anything yet.

I had my pedometer on yesterday (I’ve been a bit lax in wearing it lately), and actually walking wise, even though I was in meetings & sitting in the cinema, I did over 8,500 steps, so was really pleased.

On Monday, Nich & I did the new walking route, which she & her husband had found a little while ago. It was a really good long walk with a few more hills (not hills like Lesley does mind you) and we were out for over an hour. We could really feel it in our legs when we’d finished.

Hopefully I’m out walking tonight with Mum before weigh-in later. I say hopefully as I’ve got to go and pay for our trip to Disneyland Paris (I’m very excited as only 3 more months to we go). Fingers crossed this doesn’t take long & I can go off walking.

6th August 2007 – Day 75

Here are my 3 stone photos. When I'd loaded these onto my computer, I had a look back at my first pictures before I started LL and I couldn't believe how fat I was. I can really see the difference now.

I had a really good time yesterday at my parents BBQ. Everyone said how good/ well I was looking and were asking me loads of questions about LL, which made me feel great. One of them had already heard of LL as a colleague of theirs was on it and had lost quite a lot of weight.

My family & family friends hadn’t actually seen me since New Year’s Eve/ beginning of the year which I mentioned in my previous post, so I was quite excited about what they’d say. Most of my friends see me regularly so it’s doesn’t have quite the same impact, although my friend Nich, who I go walking with & who’s in the photos of us larking around in the previous post, always says how great I’m looking & thank you for that Nich.

I’d already planned my outfit to show me looking my slimmest, but due to the weather being so hot I didn’t wear it. Although I do admit, the t-shirt I did wear was actually a size 16, which I was amazed at; this is the one in my 3 stone photos. I’d done my hair nice, put my contact lenses in and took particular care over my make-up, as I really wanted to look my best and it also made me feel really good too.

I’d already made two packs of soup into crisps in the morning to take with me, I had two savoury drinks sachets & a lemon bar to have, which I put in the freezer when I got to Mum & Dad’s. I know you’re not supposed to cook two food packs in the one day, but I knew there’d be loads of food & nibbles and I thought two lots of crisps would last me the evening, which they did.

I really didn’t have a problem with all the food and I kept busy topping up the crisps & peanuts and this time I didn’t mind if food was put near me. I just savoured the smells of all the food. While the nibbles were out I had some of my crisps in a pretty little bowl and ate these slowly when they had sausages & little chicken bits. Then I had my two savoury drinks in a soup bowl, with more crisps while they had their main meat course. My Dad did try one of my crisps, but I don’t think he liked it that much, I think their great though.

I was really pleased with myself when they had pudding, which consisted of loads of strawberries with warm dipping chocolate (the one from the M&S advert). One bowl of chocolate was quite near me, which smelt absolutely divine but I really didn’t have the urge to have any; it just didn’t cross my mind and as we were going home this suddenly occurred to me; this was chocolate & I didn’t want it!! I must be a reformed chocoholic or at least getting there!! I think I was too busy taking photos of everyone and I’d completely forgotten that I had my pudding till Mum reminded me. I had loads of sparkling water throughout the evening and I didn’t feel hungry at all. So a great time was had by all.

Nich & I had good fun on our walk last Thursday, as I think you might be able to tell. We don’t normally do this on our walks by the way, just thought I’d put that straight. There weren’t that many children around either, but I did notice one woman giving us strange looks, we didn’t care though, we were having fun. We didn’t do quite as much walking as normal; but when we eventually got back to walking we did keep our speed up for the rest of the walk. I think we’ll be making up for that tonight though as we’re trying out a new route.

I forgot to take the clothes that the lady in my LL class gave me, round to my friends, but I did try them on for Allan, who amazingly thought they looked really good. I said amazingly as I was sure he wouldn’t like them; so there you go, men can surprise you sometimes, doesn’t happen very often.

Nich also gave me a couple of t-shirts, one a size 18 & one a 16, both of which fit me now. I think I may have to re-visit my size 16 tops & try them on to see if any others fit me, as when I was sorting them out, I just put them straight into the drawer without trying. At this rate, I may well be down to my goal of a size 12, how fabulous would that be!!!

5th August 2007 - Day 74

Just a quick post as Allan & I are off down to my parents and I just wanted to put these photos on of my friend & I when we went on our walk round Ruislip Lido. We did get some serious walking in, in the end, but we did have fun.

We are off down to my parents for a big bbq with family & friends, all (apart from Mum & Dad) haven't seen me since I sarted on LL, so I'm really excited about what they'll say.

I've got my food planned already, I'll be making my crisps, have soup & take a bar along, which I'll put in the freezer, so it'll take a bit longer to eat. I've also got my sparkling water chilling already.

Anyway got to go & I'll post my 3 stone photos soon.

2nd August 2007 – Day 71 – 10th Weigh-In

Had my weigh-in last night and I lost 2.86lbs, which is my lowest loss to date, but I wasn’t disappointed as I was quite expecting it due to the large loss I had last week, which seemed to come out of nowhere. The best bit though is that I’ve now lost 3 stone 2lbs (44.44lbs to be precise) in 10 weeks, my BMI is down to 35.7 (was 43.7 when I started LL) and I am just so chuffed to bits.

Our class was really depleted last night as there were only 3 of us but this is because there are 3 now on holiday and I think the other lady couldn’t make last night. We thought we’d be out really early due to so few, but we were chatting for ages and were actually out later than normal.

One of the ladies brought in some of her size 18 clothes for me, which I tried on as soon as I got home, well after phoning Mum & Allan first. I looked at the trousers and thought ‘they won’t fit me yet,’ especially one pair as they looked tiny. I had a go though and you know what, they all fitted, even the tiny ones, which were a bit snugger than the rest, but I did them up no problem and with none of this lying on the bed to zip them up, which is what I’ve done in the past as I’m sure everyone has at some stage. One pair was even from Monsoon, I’ve never bought anything from there as I always thought I was too fat & too short for their clothes, so that made it doubly special. Most of the tops are pretty fashionable, being the longer style that people wear over trousers/leggings and there were a couple that looked really good, I think. I’m not sure as I’ve never worn that type of top before so I think I might take them over my friends and do a little fashion show to see what she thinks . It’ll make a change from my normal M&S 3 for 2 t-shirts that cost a fiver.

This lady has also come up with the idea of having a magazine/paper article about our group along with a photo shoot when we’ve all got to or nearly at goal, promoting LL and how good the group sessions are and stuff like that, along with our individual stories. She’s already spoken to a journalist, who’s covered quite a few LL people; he seemed interested and wants to see our before photos. We’ve all agreed to it, well the ones on holiday don’t know about it yet, but I’m sure they’ll be up for it. If nothing comes of it, it won’t matter, but it’s certainly given me a goal to work towards, as I didn’t really have any major goal when I first started LL, I just knew I had to lose the weight.

Last night Mum & I were off for our walk again, round a beautiful golf course and through the village and forgetting my camera yet again! I’m out walking again tonight (I don’t think I’ve ever walked so much) with my friend round the lido that we did on Monday and I will be taking my camera this time, so hope the weather holds for some nice pictures.

Well, that’s about it for the moment