A lot has happened in the last few months. I have had a huge break, had a birthday, gone to Fiji and come back with a tan but been a bit slack with my diet and exercise. I havent gained but I also havent lost. The goal of being under 100 by my birthday on 6th November just didnt happen.

Its actually been nice to have breathing space and hopefully I can get back on board totally, start tracking again and start losing. On the positive side i guess i have become good at maintenance!

I have taken on contract work with several companies and am enjoying the change of pace. Its nice to be able to sleep in a bit, walk the dogs a bit later, go off and meet someone for lunch and then perhaps log into a client and work for hours late into the night. I will have to ensure i dont become nocturnal.

Summers here and its hot hot hot. I do love summer. The calendar for December is starting to look quite full. The side benefit of being a contractor to many is that you go to lots of parties.

Here's a pic of Fiji.

Today I was Granny for a day. My parents could not make it to Gabrielle's grandparents day so I filled in. It was great to see her Kindie, meet her teachers and friends and spend time with her showing me around. I managed to sit on the tiny chairs with ease and had one shot taken with her but i look massive as i was sitting on the tiny chairs with my legs doubled up so I was basically squatting. There is a lovely one of her climbing a tree. We coloured in and read books and i helped her jump on the trampoline and climb trees. The kids sang a lot of songs and played instruments. I dont think i have been inside a kindie since i left mine in about 1964. It hasnt changed much.

Saturdays weigh in was 106.4 which is a great loss from the week before - 2.1 kg to be exact. Just goes to show my suspicions about water retention were correct. I am finding it difficult at the moment mostly because i have gone into holiday mode I think! I have decided to just do my best until i start work in a week or so. I will be working 3 days a week which is excellent. I can work the other 2 days if i feel like it but maybe to start with i wont! I will be working with my lover/friend which will be interesting. The money is excellent so lets just hope i do a good job. It will all be new to me as this is an industry i dont really understand. My brother in law needs some financial help to expand his business so i will use some of my time for him. The rest will be spent on ME....getting fitter and doing things for myself.

Weird week weightwise. I started at 108.5, was 108.2 on sunday, 107.1 on Monday, 105.9 on Tues, 106.4 on Wed and 107.4 on Thus and 106.1 today... I had an antihistamine on Tuesday and look what it did! I am going to watch that in future! Hopefully my weigh in tomorrow will be under 105.9 - I hope so...I so want a loss!!!

Its thundering here and Lucy is trying to climb in my lap. Bit hard to type with a trembling 32.2kg dog in your lap and another trying to distract her by biting her head. Bloody hell!

I have decided that since nobody seems to be able to let me BE in terms of work then I may as well just agree to work and be done with it. So my decision is to take another week off and then work 3 days a week for a while. This is not sustainable in the long term financially but as i was not going to work at all till the end of October i guess i can afford to do this till the end of Nov or maybe even Xmas. Ideally i would like to work 4 days a week. I worked out I can afford to do this!

The cosmos did not seem happy for me to take a break. Even while I havent been working I have been taking many work calls a day, minding my friends 2 Samoyeds which means i am hamstrung feeding twice a day and walking them too. There is no rest for the wicked.

I am stupid. Truly stupid. You would think that after 20 months i would have learned something! Two weeks and 2.6kg heavier, I am smacking myself about the head. I think that some of it is due to hormonal fluid retention but I deserve at least half of it!

These are my sins.... I ate like a fat person this week. I had fish and chips once, several serves of gelato, pigged out on fathers day chinese, ate a date scone and had pizza for lunch once. I had a bit of alcohol but not much. Apart from all of this I ate just a bit much each day as I was continually hungry. I dont know why.... but i suspect it is stress and change.

Just shows what happens when you change your lifestyle. Two weeks ago the business i was working for sort of went into liquidation which means i dont have a job right now. I am totally out of routine, going out to lunch more often and not eating breakfast till late. My water intake has suffered somewhat as well. I have decided to take a break but most people seem intent on finding me work. It has been driving me nuts. Anyway I have work when I want it and hopefully will be paid out what i am still owed by the last company.

On monday I am re-starting the 8 week challenge in earnest and will have to think about my goals. I think I will try to get to 103.9kg this time. Thats a 2kg loss on my lightest of 105.9. Today I am back at 108.5kg...grrrr

I am STUPID!!!

This is me with eldest niece Prue who turned 21 on 15th August...isnt she a stunner!!! As usual I look constipated...always happens when i try to smile!!!

For those Myers Briggs followers here is my profile for what it is worth!

I weighed in last week and all the work i have done has made up for last weeks hiccup. I saw Nicki..aka Blownupdolly off back to the UK at the airport and then caught the train to the Quay and walked and walked from the Quay up George St to Chinatown. I walked around 2 hours all up that day and then weighed in 2.1kg lighter than last week which makes me now 105.9kg.

I'm still learning about my body every week. How it reacts to alcohol is odd. One glass and i am a gonner weightwise for at least 3 days. I can walk for hours and hours and it doesnt always result in additional losses but i really enjoy it.

Ive had a bad week. I hopped on the scales this morning and am 2kg heavier than last week. Admittedly the day before weigh in I went to yum cha for lunch and had 2 beers and a custard tart. I also had dinner at Flying Fish with Nicki. I enjoyed myself and had champagne, wine and cognac, not to mention dessert and petit fours. I also had a bag of hot chips during the week...SHOCK HORROR

I dont think all of this was worth 2kg and some will no doubt come off in the next few days. This morning I wiped the slate clean and have been impeccable all day!

I guess we all have to have time off and this is the first huge blow out Ive had in 19 months. I did enjoy myself.

Not overly worried about a gain of 0.2kg after the losses of the last 2 weeks. Thought I would go back and have a look at how Ive done in terms of my measurements. Here are my stats to date:

Chest was 142.5 and is now 120 which is a loss of 22.5cm off the girls!
Waist was 131.5 and is now 107 which is a loss of 24.5cm
Hip was 150 and is now 126.5 which is a loss of 23.5cm
Thigh waqs 84cm and is now 66.5 which is a loss of 17.5cm per thight or 35cm all up
Fladoobadahs were 49 and are now 42.5 each which is a loss of 6.5cm or 13 for the pair.
Neck was 44 and is now 37 which is a loss of 7cm.
Weight was 149.4 and is now 106.2 which is a loss of 43.2kg

So total cm lost is 125.5 as long as Ive done the maths correctly. Not bad in 82 weeks. Thats 1.53cm per week and 0.53kg per week.

God its hell to be an accountant!!!

Week 2 of the 8 week challenge saw another 0.9kg gone forever. I am still enjoying Core and it seems to be working. I ate a couple of non-core things on the weekend basically to clear out the freezer. They were not evil things...just not core. I still have some things to go - but I'll have them little by little over the next few weeks.

Total loss is now 43.4kg and I weigh 106kg on the knocker. So far I've been doing this for 81 weeks so the average works out to 0.536kg a week which is better than I thought it would be. Next week i will do my measurements. The size 18 corduroy pants I got a month or so ago are now swimming on me so maybe there has been some decent movement there!

End of Week 1 of the 8 week challenge and I've lost 1kg which puts me at 106.9kg. This means I have to lose 4.5kg over the next 7 weeks to reach my goal for this challenge. On average thats 0.64kg per week which i havent managed since last year!

Core has been fun so far. I find its easier to eat out and I find myself having way less sugar points than i did under the points system. The boys at work salivate at my popcorn cooked in a brown paper bag in the microwave each afternoon. I make extra food at dinner and take leftovers to work for lunch which i would not have done under points esp if it was pasta or rice as they are too "expensive". Anyway for whatever reason its working well for me and i know i was ready to shake things up a bit.

Brrr its so cold being thinner! This winter I am really feeling the cold. I suppose that 42kg of fat keeps you well insulated. I had to give in and go buy an electric blanket which i have not needed for years. Next will be a gas heater as the dimplex just doesnt cut it!

I just started week 3 of core and am on Day 2 of an 8 week Weightwatchers challenge started by some of the ladies on the 30+ forum. So far its going very well and its an interesting change not to have to count EVERYTHING you put into your mouth. Even I can count to 21 without a calculator (number of non-core food points for the week for the uninitiated). I am trying not to have all my extra points and if I do I am making them very healthy ones - like nuts and sultanas and roasted chickpeas. My one allowance is a cup of Dark Hot chocolate made on water which gives me an evening buzz. Its not sweet - just that bitter chocolate flavour and i reckon must have a whack of caffeine in it.

My goal is to be at 102.5kg by the end of this challenge. Lets see how I go. From there it will be a mere doddle to get under 100 (I hope)

Well something worked for me this week because 1.4kg dropped off. So its either Core or TTOM but I dont really mind. This is only the weight that came on a couple of weeks ago for no good reason plus a small loss outside of that but hey... I weigh less that I have done for years and am having a nice time finding out all the mistakes I have made on Core because I never bother to read the directions properly. I launched into it and am just working it out as I go along. I hadnt read the part about only having 2 slices of bread a day but now I know and have gone back and figured out that rice and pasta are once a day foods. At least I read about that before i breached the rules and not after!

I ended up buying the painting of Basil that was in the Glebe Art Show. I dont know where I will put it but as Nicki quite rightly said - its a once in a lifetime thing that someone actually paints your dog! I will post a pic of the painting when i pick it up next week.

Yes its been a while but there isnt a lot to say! That normally doesnt stop me from saying something though. This week I have taken the plunge and switched to Core just to see if the shake up will get this all rolling again. I have to say I have been sticking to points and doing exercise but the losses just arent coming. Ive tried the Wendie plan again and as before it stuffed with my brain. In my mind the only thing left to do is switch to Core for a while. I start core at 108.8kg so lets see what happens.

So far I've found it to be a nice change and the good thing is that its making me count the "bad" stuff which is a nice way of keeping that in focus as I do tend to spend a lot of points on crap. Maybe its WHAT i have been eating thats the issue? Anyway as my mother says "time will tell".

Other areas in my life are ticking along although it would be good for the business I am working with to make a sale so that I know I have a job in the near future. It does make planning somewhat of a nebulous pursuit.

Fairly crap pic of me (in the middle) with Dad, Mum, BIL Julio and youngest niece Gabby. I just cant take a good pic...oh well....maybe next time...

Had fun at the latest Sydney meetup to welcome Dim to our fair shores once again. Here are the happy campers. We were very well behaved!!!

Woohoo!! Just noticed the ticker and after the 1kg loss of last Saturday I how have 39.9kg left to lose. Yeah well its still a lot but when you start with 81.4kg to lose its all relative isn't it!! My BMI has moved from 53 something to 38 something. That has just got to be a good thing doesnt it.

Life is pretty good at the moment apart from hassles with broken pipes under my other house but i feel confident all the issues will be sorted and I'm not going to let it get me down! Its a gorgeous day and I'm going to enjoy it.

Another week...another kilo (and a half)! I have been struggling thanks to the unpredictability of my girlie bits. Im happy to menopausal (if thats what it is about) but wish the bod would make up its mind rather than have me sloshing around with and extra kilo of water for 3 weeks while it decided to have a bit of a rest!!! Anyhoo alls well that ends well this time but it has really slowed my losses. I figured that i have lost only 6 kg this year and at this rate i will be lucky to lose 15kg over the year!! This is half of what i did last year. At least I will go into double digits and i guess this is not a race but more of a training course in how I need to eat for the rest of my life. It will give my skin a chance to catch up as well. The pic is 6 months old now but this is my brave Basil the blood donor who saved another puppy's life with is donation. Such a brave boy!!!

Mum and Dad got back from 4 weeks in Turkey and Greece and have had a marvellous time. Although a lot of it was hard exercise they got to see a part of the world they have never seen and experienced quite a different culture. I loved Turkey when i was there but that was 20 years ago now!!! Its nice to have them home safe and well. They are 70 and 71 so it was probably the last time they will do a trip of that duration.

Last week I did the walk for breast cancer with MLC School. We won the prize for school participation as there were 94 of us. A worthy cause and a beautiful walk on a gorgeous morning.

Another week...another kilo (and a half!). The last few weeks have been somewhat tricky thanks to the unpredictability of my girlie bits! I have no issue with being peri menopausal (if thats what it is) as long as my body just makes its mind up and doesnt leave me hanging about for weeks on end with a litre and a half of extra fluid slushing about. I gained last week because of this although I did go over points for the week in total a bit. I had 4 nights out which was difficult and was pissed off because of the gain so I let myself slide a bit for a couple of days. I thoroughly enjoyed myself without going nute. This week I have been back on track and am feeling way less hormonal and the amount I gained last week went along with another 0.5



In the past week or two I have received quite a few unsolicited comments from walkers down at the park who must see me every day. All of a sudden it seems my losses are being noticed. Its strange when total strangers feel the need to comment. I quite like it and am happy to receive any positive feedback I can get really.



My youngest sister Rosemary and her husband have now joined me on the WW diet although they are doing it by themselves. They have already lost a few kg each and are doing very well. I think Rosemary wants to lose 15kg and Julio has another 9 kg to go. They join Mum the lifemember and Dad the unwilling participant so now there are 5 of us all doing WW. We will be a skinny family when we are done!!! The only person who is trying to put on weight in the family is Basil the dog who is basically a stomach with legs and fur attached. He is 1kg underweight according to the vet but looks fine to me. I was very proud of my Basil who donated blood to save another dogs life the other week. A brave boy!!!

Its been a long slog..esp the last 10kg or so but I am finally halfway!! Total loss is 40.1kg. It's been exactly 16 months since I was googling around and decided to join ww online as a spur of the moment thing. It's worked out to be one of the best decisions I have made in my life to date so maybe I should think a bit less from now on when i make decisions. Of course i still need to practice thinking more before i open my mouth as I generally get into trouble for saying what i think a bit too bluntly. Subtlety is not one of my long suits.

I was prompted to think of the changes this has made in my life to this point (size 26 down to size 18) by a post on the WW 30+ forum and if I had to get selective my top 3 things would be (in no particular order):

1. I no longer feel like a lesser person in society. Hard to put into words I guess but i always felt different as a hugely obese person. Hard to find clothes, always had to pick a seat that I felt I could squeeze into, trouble with airline seats, public transport seats, turnstiles (had to go sideways). Basically the world was organised to make me feel like a freak. I feel sorry for those bigger than a size 26 cause i had enough trouble.

2. I really like the feeling of being healthy and fatty foods now leave a horrible taste in my mouth. I enjoy eating healthy foods and exercising. I wake up in the morning feeling refreshed rather than tired. I dont care if i have to park well away from where i am going as i enjoy the walk. I can jog for 2 mins...not major but hey!

3. I enjoy being involved in life again. I can do anything I want now and am not held back by what amounted to a physical disability. I get involved without a second thought whereas before i had limitations and always had to think if what i wanted to do was physically possible. I am happier in myself.

I felt like I cemented this major milestone when, at Target buying gym pants yesterday i fitted easily into a size 16. I am now a size 18 and have "graduated" back into the "normal persons" part of the store. I now have a choice of either larger or normal sizes.......woohoo!!! Next time i will venture into shops with no larger size section and see how i go in uncharted territory.

Happy Easter to all!

My weigh in this week took me under 110kg so I am close to the lightest I have been in 8 yrs when i was 107kg. Thats the last weight i remember and i know i didnt weigh myself for years after that. I weigh 110.8kg - only a loss of 0.3kg but I have TTOM so thats OK with me. These 10kg have been hard to get off and have taken me since 23rd September last year!!! I hope the next 10kg dont take that long.

Going under 110 was a major goal for me as the next one is going into double digits. When i do that you will hear me shouting from the next state. Only 0.4kg to 40kg which is my halfway point. Fingers crossed that Easter plus neice Gabby's 4th birthday party don't have a major effect!

Last week I gained thanks to the Nasi Goreng I had last weekend. This week I lost 0.9 to take me to 110.1 so all up I've now lost 39.3kg. Its been a busy week and Ive worked the last 12 days straight.So far today I have run around like a chook with its head cut off but this evening Im sitting down and resting!!!! AND...Im sleeping in tomorrow and doing NOTHING....well maybe i will go to the schoolgirls Head of the River....we will see.

So proud of my niece Charlie whose team won their grand finals in softball this morning. She was awarded the Best and Fairest for the season. She really is a great sportswoman and has a mean pitching arm!! Ah well Id best be off again as I have to see a man about a bathroom leak in 10mins.