Diva-licious!!! ;p

[Divalicious]

Late report......why I hear you ask????
Well, it was my weekly weigh in yesterday and although I didn't have a loss, thankfully I didn't gain either!! So basically, another week of "SAME"!!! Grrrr.....well, can't really complain, I had a huge 2kg loss last week so it had to balance out this week I suppose but geez.......

[Blitz]

It can be frustrating but experience tells you that with that good weigh in last week that something like this could happen.
Guess you can call it a victory simply because you held the ground and didn't go backwards.

Is it getting pointy enough for you yet?

You are doing very well...keep slugging it out and you will win through!

Kim

[Divalicious]

Is it getting pointy enough for you yet?

Heck yeah!!! It's RAZOR sharp and very challenging!!! But I won't let up, I'll get to that magic number (60) or die trying!!!
As you know Kim, I weigh (and record) my weight daily, and I'm happy to report that since Sunday I'm down 500g (to 63.2kg) or 300g shy of the 62's!!! Just have to keep the momentum going and I should make it!!

[Blitz]

Good work...keep shaving that number down.
Every gram gets you closer!

When you reach goal, are you going to sit around that weight? Or are you going to revise it.
I know for me that I realised that I would have to sit heavier...that my goal weight was too lean.
Didn't take in account that loose skin's weight skews what the height/weight tables recommend.
What is your weight range going to be (mine is a 3 kilo range between 67kg and 70kg - I spend most of my time around 69kg)?

Kim

[Blitz]

How goes the mighty Diva?

How about an update on the "pointy end" of your journey?
Enquiring minds would love to know...

Keep going Josie...you can do it!

Kim

[Divalicious]

How goes the mighty Diva?

How about an update on the "pointy end" of your journey?
Enquiring minds would love to know...

Keep going Josie...you can do it!

Kim

Oh how the "mighty" have fallen!!!
It's been a hell couple of weeks I'm afraid, with starting a new job and having to attention lots of "meets and greets" which for some reason always incorporates "eats"!!! Meetings, late nights, irregular meals times, interrupted routine and of course, not being able to get to the gym anywhere near as much as I had been in the past!!!
I've gained about 3.6kg going from 63.7 to 67.3..... No you're seeing it right, the numbers are correct and your eyes aren't playing tricks!!!
And I haven't stayed away due to shame (though I'm not proud) I've simply had little time to "itch" let alone "scratch" myself!!!
It's been just crazy crazy busy both at home and in my new job.
BUT......I've vowed to review my routine and get myself back on track and back to the weight shift moving downward.
Overall, I'm doing okay and I try to be as active as possible, but I do need to stop grabbing stuff (bad stuff especially) on the run!!!

[Blitz]

Told you it was pointy didn't I?

Refocus...regroup...recoup the ground!

This is the time when your character is really forged.
Forget willpower at this stage of the game.
Just grit your teeth and deploy skillpower!
You have the skills needed to win through to the end...use them.

Life is going to throw a lot of things your way.
Use your skills to cope with these unexpected demands.
At the moment I've got a lot on my plate too...but that doesn't stop me from making my maintenance a top priority.
The other day for example, half way through my early morning exercise I get a call that my mother has had a fall and that she has been taken to emergency department at the local hospital.
I get back on the exercise bike and finish the cycle I was on (15 of 30 minutes).
I'm still 30 minutes short but I make it up when I get back from the hospital (noon).
Since then she had another more serious fall and a more extended stay at the hospital...but I still work around it all and have maintained maintenance.

Mary Kay Ash (of Mary Kay Cosmetics) often said:
"You can have anything in this world you want if you want it badly enough and you're willing to pay the price"

I am confident that you have what it takes to win through...press forward - forever forward!
That better future is waiting!

Kim

[Blitz]

Hey Josie...have you managed to start turning it around yet?
What's the state of play?

It is tough going at this part of the journey but don't lose your focus - see it through to the end!
I know for me that last bit was a real horror and in the end I just had to dig in my heels after more than a month of fiddling around it and push through.
This part of the journey also re-enforced for me the fact that I had set my goal weight too low.
It was only sheer bloody mindedness and being true to my original commitment that I kept it and reached it.
Once achieved however I quickly allowed myself a more comfortable weight for my body to stay at in maintenance.
My original target was too low because it hadn't taken into account the weight of loose skin that "normal" people don't have.
This is something that you too may wish to review as well.

Remember to use all your experience and skills gained over months of success - draw on it...for it will give you the momentum and insight to find your way to success.

I know that you can do it - so make it happen!

Kim

[Divalicious]

Shame shame shame (on me) I've been really BAD!!! Although I did manage to turn it around a little last week (since my last post) things were still in disarray for me and I continued down the wrong path and gained a further 2.1kg making it a staggering total 5.7kg gain in 3 weeks!!!
I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOO DISGUSTED IN MYSELF!!!
But I faced the music this morning (Sunday is my weigh in day) and after seeing 5.7kg up from my lowest figure, I know that this HAS TO turn around and NOW!!!
It may seem that I've thrown in the towel, but rest assured, I haven't!!!
I know I shouldn't be complacent about it, and I'm not but I do take comfort in the fact that in 3 weeks I've only gained 5.7kg......I remember a couple of holidays during my journey and gaining (on average) 5kg in ONE WEEK!!! My last USA trip in which I was away for 2 weeks, I came back 10kg heavier!!! But I turned it around then, and I am hell-bent on turning it around again now!!!

I'm going to adjust my ticker (I hadn't even looked at it until today)
I'm going to stop snacking (and especially on rubbish)
I'm going to refocus my efforts, AND.......
I'm going to map out my exercise routine!!!

Today I hit 69.4kg and that for me, was wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too close to the 70's again for my liking!!! The weight starts going down from here!!! No more excuses; no more binging!!!

Kim, thank you for checking on me........you're a sweetie xx
I hope your mum is better, and no more falls.
I admire your efforts in the face of such adversity, and I know that if anyone can stay strong and true, it's you Kim!!!
I just gotta follow your lead........

[Tams]

I have every faith in you! You will turn it around. It is actually astounding to think about 'what if I hadn't tried/stopped/done something!!' when routines and life gets a wallloping change that disrupts the usual weight loss/maintenance regimes. So don't be disgusted in yourself (hard, I know; I had to buy some fat clothes yesterday!). Be encourgaed that while disrupted, you think it is disrupted! That means you ARE that new creature with new expectations and habits. You will find a way, and you already have a plan

By the way, what is the new exciting job development? (At least, I hope it is new and exciting!)

[Blitz]

I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOO DISGUSTED IN MYSELF!!!

Never mind about feeling that! At this time you can't afford to spent the energy on such negative things!
What is done is done. Learn the valuable lessons from it instead.
These lessons that you learn in the pointy end of the journey are the gold that will ensure your success.
Don't waste the experience...this is where it is underscored in your thinking that any lax practice of healthy lifestyle is a sure road towards disaster.

But I faced the music this morning (Sunday is my weigh in day) and after seeing 5.7kg up from my lowest figure, I know that this HAS TO turn around and NOW!!!

Good work here!
Accountability is key to success.
Nothing like many pairs of eyes to keep you on track to keep your integrity intact!
Many years ago during a dark time in my life things weren't going so well.
One of the things that kept me on track to keep my life together was a friend saying to me that many younger people we knew were watching me to see how I would cope. Knowing that was that extra boost to help me keep it all together.

Today I hit 69.4kg and that for me, was wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too close to the 70's again for my liking!!! The weight starts going down from here!!! No more excuses; no more binging!!!

That's it - draw that line in the sand and like Martin Luther declare "Here I stand! I can do no other!"
Review your lifestyle, find the weaknesses and clean up the sloppy practices that have crept in.
With your exercise, you will have to figure out how to work it to fit into your new lifestyle (change of jobs).
There is always a way...you just have to find it.
With that new exercise bike...I think that you may find that you'll have to spend more than 30 minutes on it to make up for not going to the gym. I do 3X30 minutes and I'm in maintenance mode (admittedly I eat far more snacks than I should - so I willing pay the price by extra exercise). Also not all 30 minutes are equal in the realm of exercise. For example my wife does 30 minutes on the bike on the lowest setting for a 100 calorie read out and is sweating slightly. I do 30 minutes on the "8" setting for 200 calories and am sweating buckets.

Kim, thank you for checking on me........you're a sweetie xx
I hope your mum is better, and no more falls.
I admire your efforts in the face of such adversity, and I know that if anyone can stay strong and true, it's you Kim!!!
I just gotta follow your lead........

Hey that is what the Forum is all about...supporting each other especially in the tough times.
My natural reserve (no honest this is true!) stops me from chasing up too much.
Such a fine line between being supportive and a nag!
There are so many people that hang around this Forum or have been on this Forum that I'm itching to email or private message but don't wish to force myself on to them.
But you are so very close to success and experience shows me that when people get that close they throw it away just before they could have achieved it. I don't want that prize to slip through your fingers. I want you to enjoy that better future as I am.
It's time for you to turn that boat around before it hits the iceberg!
As for my Mum...she got out of hospital to go back into her aged care place - which went into lock down due to an outbreak of gastro.
Unfortunately she can't miss a trick at the moment - she has came down with it.
To top it off...my sister has started a two month cruise (more boat talk) and isn't going to be about so I get to do all the leg work.

Josie, keep filling your head with "can do" talk and you will win out!

I'm here for you!

Kim

[Divalicious]

I have every faith in you! You will turn it around. It is actually astounding to think about 'what if I hadn't tried/stopped/done something!!' when routines and life gets a wallloping change that disrupts the usual weight loss/maintenance regimes. So don't be disgusted in yourself (hard, I know; I had to buy some fat clothes yesterday!). Be encourgaed that while disrupted, you think it is disrupted! That means you ARE that new creature with new expectations and habits. You will find a way, and you already have a plan

By the way, what is the new exciting job development? (At least, I hope it is new and exciting!)

Hey Tams,
Thank you for the faith in me!!
You'll be pleased to learn that I did indeed turn it around. BUT....not before I actually gained an additional 700g!!!
I recorded my weight last week (Sunday morning) as 69.4kg (a whopping 5.7kg gain) and then went out for dinner that night only to wake up the next morning at
(drum roll) 70.1kg!!! OMG... I was mortified...seeing myself back in the 70's shocked the hell out of me, and it was on...battle stations really kicked in!!! THIS HAD TO STOP!!!

Here's how my week went thereafter seeing I was back in the 70's:

Sunday 29 March = 69.4kg
Monday 30 March = 70.1kg
Tuesday 31 March = 68.9kg
Wednesday 1 April = 67.6kg
Thursday 2 April = 66.8kg
Friday 3 April = 65.4kg
Saturday 4 April = 64.0kg
Sunday 5 April = 63.5kg

63.5kg!!!! Yayyyy Not only did I undo ALL of that horrific gain, but I actually managed to lose a further 200g and get below my lowest weight of 63.7kg from weeks ago!!! I'm a happy girl!!!
Mind you, I worked like mad to turn it all around.....I'd come home from work (a new and yes very exciting) new job (exhausted mentally) have (usually a very light) dinner, sit down for about 30 mins to watch the (pre-recorded) news just long enough for my poor tired body to digest some of my miniscule sized dinner and then I drag my sorry a$$ to the gym for a gruelling 1.5-2hour sweat session, before finally returning home, showering, drying my hair and getting myself off to bed ready to start all over again the next day!!! Phewwww......what a week!!!

Oh the new job, it fantastic (a very busy but very mentally stimulating role)....I'm a research administrator in one of Australia's GO8* universities (Group of Eight)

[Divalicious]

But you are so very close to success and experience shows me that when people get that close they throw it away just before they could have achieved it. I don't want that prize to slip through your fingers. I want you to enjoy that better future as I am.
It's time for you to turn that boat around before it hits the iceberg!
As for my Mum...she got out of hospital to go back into her aged care place - which went into lock down due to an outbreak of gastro.
Unfortunately she can't miss a trick at the moment - she has came down with it.
To top it off...my sister has started a two month cruise (more boat talk) and isn't going to be about so I get to do all the leg work.

Josie, keep filling your head with "can do" talk and you will win out!

I'm here for you!

Kim

Thank you for all your help, and your continued support Kim (it means the world to me) xx

Don't worry about me though, I've come toooooooooo far to not get to the finish line!!! One of my favourite mantras (I read it here I think, not sure but I loved it!!!) "nothing tastes as good as being thin feels" and it's sooooooooo true!!!
I WILL NEVER go back to how I was, so unhealthy, unable to move, unable to breath, unable to LIVE a happy or full life!!! No thanks, never again!!!

I'm glad to hear your mum is out of hospital, but sorry to learn that she didn't escape the dreaded bug!!! Hope she is better soon xx
Kim,I know it must be tough having to deal with these challenges without the help of your sister (off enjoying herself), but maybe when she gets back you can tell her the perfect way burn off some of those cruise kilos (that tend to find us all) is by doing some of the running around!!!

[Tams]

WOW!! That's all I can say!!!!

[Blitz]

Don't worry about me though, I've come toooooooooo far to not get to the finish line!!! One of my favourite mantras (I read it here I think, not sure but I loved it!!!) "nothing tastes as good as being thin feels" and it's sooooooooo true!!!
I WILL NEVER go back to how I was, so unhealthy, unable to move, unable to breath, unable to LIVE a happy or full life!!! No thanks, never again!!!

I do worry!...I know just how tough this part is!
I think part of it is that the grind of the journey catches up with you and the sense of urgency to lose weight is dampened. It certainly happened to me. Essentially weight loss is stressing the body until it surrenders it's fat reserves - so it is no wonder we run out of puff near the end. The good news that in maintenance the body recovers from all that stress and re-orders your body into a less of a war footing...ie that gaunt look that all your family and friends are so concerned about goes away and is replaced by a more healthier and vibrate look.

I'm glad to hear your mum is out of hospital, but sorry to learn that she didn't escape the dreaded bug!!! Hope she is better soon xx

She has recovered from the cold and is her usual (confused) self. It is just a slow steady downward spiral. They took her tv set out of her room the other day because in the middle of the night (these are her worse times) she was rocking it noisily backwards and forwards...the staff rescued it seconds from destruction. She is happy enough...and that is the best we can hope for.

Kim,I know it must be tough having to deal with these challenges without the help of your sister (off enjoying herself), but maybe when she gets back you can tell her the perfect way burn off some of those cruise kilos (that tend to find us all) is by doing some of the running around!!!

"A prophet is without honour in their home" - I'm the last person who my sister will listen to about weight loss.
My sister is the "carer type" of person.
She looks after other people and their problems...so she hasn't time to deal with her own issues (how the mind loves to avoid dealing with the personal). When she caught whiff that I was losing weight she in with all sorts of expert and sage advice for me.
Some of the things were helpful (such as passing on her old Weight Watcher magazines) but other things were not (she gave me the only two books on weight loss that I had read during my journey - one was so so but the other one nearly did my head in by its dogma that how I was losing weight was all wrong).
We shared, encouraged and were close during my journey until the day I came into my own.
During my weight loss I always told her my weekly stats - she was always vague about hers.
Only telling me the loss/gain but not the weight number. One day I reported in and she said "You beat me...you now weigh less than me".
I was surprised - I always thought that I weighed less than her (none so blind that don't want to see )!
But the balance shifted then...she was no longer the expert.
Since I achieved goal she very rarely talks about her weight struggles (which she has struggled with all through her life).
This is something that she has tried to do all her life...and here I come waltzing in and do what she has attempted to do first go.
Any words I speak to her end up not encouraging her - so she needs to hear others but not me.
My very being of slimmest discourages her rather than inspires her.
I'm like an albatross around her neck...a reminder of her failure.

Kim