Finally

Phew

finally

my weight has dropped.

I've been stuck on 14st 13lbs for aaaaaages (three weeks and one day to be precise.) Not to mention bouncing around to 15st 1lb and, eeeeeeek, 15st 2lbs during those weeks. But today, at long, long last I saw

14st 12lbs - 208bs - BMI 34.6

(a total loss so far of 54lbs; 42lbs to go!)

And I didn't even have to go to the gym to get rid of that pound; but maybe if I do go it won't take 22 days to lose the next one!

I Joined a Gym

What's wrong with me?!!! Something seriously weird is happening here. Hubby started talking the other day about joining the gym/health club across the road from us. Yes, it really is literally across the road - we can see it from our house, so there's goes the excuse of 'The car wouldn't start so I couldn't get to the gym' or 'It was raining and I couldn't be bothered to walk'. Anyway, when hubby mentioned joining up so that he could get a little exercise and also take small boy along swimming rather than being tied to the rather strict schedule for littlies at the public pool, it planted a little seed in my head. A couple of days later that little seed had sprouted into a fully formed idea whereby

I would also join the gym

GULP

So, yesterday we went and got ourselves joint membership. Now I need to

1) find/buy something that would possibly be suitable to wear whilst stumbling along on the treadmill and pulling muscles left, right and centre

2) try on my old swimming cossie and see if it's indecently baggy yet

3) summon up the courage to actually get over there

Incidentally, because this 'gym' markets itself as a health club, they have treatment rooms too where one can partake of massages, facials, waxes, etc. I'm pretty sure I could find the time/energy/courage to book in for one of those.

Oh, and I got another fill on Weds afternoon; I'm now up to 9mls in a 10ml band and restriction is well and truly back. Not lost any weight yet but holding steady at 14st 13lbs rather than bouncing around between 14.13 and 15.2 so hopefully things will start moving in the right direction in the next few days.

Another Fill?

I'm booked in for another fill on Wednesday afternoon. It's been on my mind to get one for a few weeks but I kept putting it off and I'm still not 100% sure whether I actually need one. At the moment I've got 8.5mls in a 10ml band and the last time I had a fill was 28 July - so that's about 3.5 months ago. Since that fill I've lost 17lbs which is pretty good going I guess, but recently that weightloss has really slowed - in August, immediately after the fill, I lost 10lbs, in September and October it was 3lbs per month. Yes, the weight is still going down, but it seems very slow and I know there are times when I am eating more than I probably should be. Nothing in comparison to what I could/would have eaten pre-band, but still more than a good bander should!

But then, on the other hand, what makes me think that maybe I don't need a fill is that I can still get full very quickly on some things, and also that I can get very stuck on other things. But, going by my benchmarks, I think a very small fill might be on order.

Mine are (and please excuse the fact that neither are healthy...):
a slice of toast - if I can eat more than half a slice then it might be time
biscuits (cookies) - if I can eat more than 2 or 3 in one sitting then it might be time

I'm also finding that I get hungry more quickly after I've eaten, and I'm thinking about food more.

What benchmarks do you all have?

Whetting the Appetite

I'm very much looking forward to being able to enjoy my peppermint mocha out of one of these little beauties very soon!

100 Posts

This is my 100th post and I have nothing noteworthy to say! I should probably be more eloquent but I was merely popping by to wish you all a

Here's hoping it's a scary and skinny one for us all!

Never Leave a Stone Unturned

Oh dear, what a bad blogger I am. Yet another grand hiatus. But I have another excuse - this time I've been at home (in Bristol) playing nursemaid for my Mum who had to go into hospital to have her gallbladder removed. Luckily, it was done by keyhole surgery so she was in and out in the same day and is already much improved.

While I was at home I managed to fit in a lot, yes A LOT, of shopping time because hubby had taken small boy up to see Grandma and Grandad so it was just me and Mum at home. While Mum enjoyed some R&R, I spent a grand total of 15 hours at the mall. Yes, 15! All on my own, not pushing a small child around, infinitely aware of the amount of time he is willing to spend in his pushchair; all on my own, knowing there wasn't anyone waiting for me to get home (Mum was very content to spend time relaxing without me hovering around), or needing to be collected from nursery, or anything else. Just me and the shops. And my credit card.

All I can say is this: the UK economy is safe. I have shopped us out of the recession. I bought a coat (in a UK size 18, which I think is a US 14), a pair of trousers, and two cardigans for myself; and for small boy I bought a t-shirt, two pairs of pyjamas, a pair of dungarees and a fleecy top. I also bought some yarn and a pattern and have knitted a pair of wristwarmers to keep the chill at bay now that the weather has turned decidedly cool.

But, best of all (even better than fitting into smaller clothes and being able to shop in 'normal' clothes stores), when I weighed myself today I found myself in a NEW STONE!

14st 13lbs - 209bs - BMI 34.8
(a total loss so far of 53lbs; 43lbs to go!)

That takes me to within spitting (or should I say PBing?!) distance of onederland. Yay! And just 3lbs short of losing four stone. Oh, and guess what? Now that my BMI is in the 34s, I'm only Class I Obese!

A First Time For Everything + Photos!

Apologies for the blogging hiatus - we've been on holiday in bonny Scotland, which can now officially go to the top of my list of most favourite holiday destinations as I managed to actually lose weight while there! There is absolutely no way on earth that would have happened pre-band, not in a country where deep-fried pizza can be found on many a menu (and we actually happened to be somewhere where we heard someone order it; not only that, the person checked that it was a whole pizza they were getting, and not just a slice.) Without the band, I would probably have ordered one myself, just to see what it was like...

Anyhoo, I have returned from my holidays 2lbs lighter, which means I am now

15st - 210bs - BMI 34.9

(a total loss so far of 52lbs; 44lbs to go!)

And reaching 210lbs means it's photo time. Usually I get hubby to take the photos, but he's not here at the moment and I'm too impatient to wait til this evening, so here are my blurry efforts; and please excuse the baggy trousers - just nine more weeks til we get to NYC and I can hot-foot it to Macys where they stock trousers that actually fit my shape!

Compared to 262lbs (18st 10lbs) just before being banded