Blimey…..turn my back for a day…..

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone!

I love your philosophy HappyNow (especially as I play golf!). I’m just returned from 13 holes of golf followed by some clothes shopping and clothes shopping is my least favourite occupation, although my darling OH (of 3 years) makes it much more enjoyable and he’s very constructive and encouraging. I needed shorts for our annual sojourn to the Caribbean for 8 weeks of the UK winter and I found a lovely pair in Fat Face in, wait for it, a size 10…..(the fact that Fat Face is very generous with their sizing is neither here nor there!)…which then meant I had to shop for some tops that went with them as I didn’t have any in the right colour. So a rather expensive afternoon but very satisfying.

I will catch up with what I’ve missed later as I have to get ready to go out to friends for dinner.

HappyNow – delighted for you in the clothes department – enjoy it!!

Wonderful news, Happy,
Enjoy your shopping! I have been thrilled over the last two months to buy clothes that are two sizes smaller. So far I have bought new shirts, trousers, and now a lovely one piece bathing suit. It is so satisfying to walk into a store and try on clothes and find they are too big, and that you need a smaller size. 🙂

Auriga, Elaine, I do not think of myself as a fat person who is temporarily thin. I only gained weight after the age of 55 when my real need for food dropped, but I didn’t reduce my food intake. This is the first time I have been involved with a program. I chose this way of life for the health aspects, as I was putting weight on around my middle and my brother has Type 2 diabetes.

When I saw the Dr M program on TV, I thought it would be my sort of sustainable program. All or nothing! Has been my motto for a long time :). I read the book and here I am with 16 kg lost.

I will find maintaining far harder than losing the weight. I will need you guys to the end! I am also hoping for cognitive clarity by keeping slim. My Dad who was incredibly skinny, developed Alzheimer’s. New motto for us maintainers.

United we maintain, alone we wobble! 🙂 🙂

We played 9 holes on the 9 holes course and then did the first 4 again and walked off close to the clubhouse. We can do the same on the 18 hole course and walk off after 9 or 12 which is very helpful if you don’t have enough time or find the heat too exhausting!

Right, time for bed (said Zebedee)……

Hi all
I also immensely value the support I get from this lovely gang of maintainers.
Neither hubby or I had ever been on a diet before….we both only gained the weight very rapidly due to medical conditions. We have overcome these and now have regained our previous healthy weights.
We went on this WOL for the health benefits and intend to stay here.
Thanks for all the support and polite, friendly responses to each other. Much valued.
Your mate, Purple

Good morning and have a lovely weekend everybody. Enjoy your shopping trip HappyNow. I’m slightly hung-over this morning after quaffing rather too much home made rose wine at a friend’s house last night. My weight is down a pound this morning sure sign that I’m dehydrated and hung-over so you all be gentle with me today;-/

Sorry I’m so slow, it took me ages, Happy, to work out when Bay had said UWM AWW. Excellent line! 😉

PVE. Fantastic news on test results! You and OH are living proof of health benefit and weight loss.

Elaine, sorry to hear you ate not feeling too chipper this morning. Hopefully you had an enjoyable evening though!

And everyone! Thank you all for encouragement re shopping. It’s got to be done, and will hopefully be an enjoyable experience now I don’t have tyres, lumps and bulges to try and hide!

PVE. Donation to charity WILL follow. The forecast here is not good, so ideal opportunity to critically review my wardrobe. I am reasonably handy with a sewing machine, so will see if some things can be altered, but know that a lot have gone beyond just needing a tuck at the waist!

Anyway, time to start the day. Enjoy yourselves, whatever you’re up to.

Hi all a newbie here and please blame PVE and bayleafoz as they dragged me over here.
Yesterday hit my target of 90kg a loss of 23 the last 5 in 6 weeks on the 5:2.

Tried on summer shorts this morning and couldn’t keep them up even with a belt, kept on falling around my ankles 🙂 Knew I had lost a decent amount but this was ridiculous.
Went and measured my waist, was 109 cm, now 102 cm.

Previously I had managed to maintain a weight loss of 18 kg for year but was stuck on a plateau,
hence taking up 5:2. Now comes the hard part keeping it off for WHO.

Looking forward to reading the back posts and keeping up with you all.
Cheers,
Tim.

gosh didnt i give out loads of kisses ha ha , well her is another x

Sorry! Having WiFi issues….

Shopping good and bad. Good because no ‘I look fat in this’, just hmm don’t like the colour/fit/style. Bad, because size 8 scarce and indeed missing in a lot of shops. OK, Kendal isn’t London or Manchester but still! I did get a little reversible skirt in White Stuff. Size 8. And a pair of linen mix trousers for work. Size 8. I really liked a maxi dress, red, empire line, with velvet ribbon detail below bust, but smallest size was 10 and it was too big (OK, might go back and try again with padded bra!). I passed on a shirt because they didn’t have the colour I wanted (in size 8!) but I can get it on line (now I know that I like it and size 8 fits). I did nearly buy a black top but realised I’ve got several similar items already and what I need now is colour. I’m ready to stand out!

I did get a compliment from a random stranger, to the effect that a dress I was looking at would suit me because I had the figure for it. Ah, thanks, I used to be fatter you know!

So I didn’t buy much but what I did buy was size 8. So no going back now. This is me. Slim. If I lack confidence or fail now I can’t blame it on my weight. I no longer have the fat cloak comfort blanket. I might be wearing clothes now but without my padding I’m actually as exposed as PVE streaking to the scales!

And I did finally set about the wardrobe when I got back and have a pile for charity…

Enough about me. I have to catch up with what my buddies have been up to! Hopefully Elaine is still with us….?!

Wow! How happy is our little Happy now?
You ‘have the figure for it’, as an unsolicited comment, HAS to be tops 🙂
Now that you know you are an 8, you don’t have to rush in and buy things. You can buy on line, browse at your pleasure, no longer thinking ‘I probably won’t fit into that’.
Go girl! Enjoy! And well done. I’m proud of you. P x

Hi Tim. Congrats on reaching your goal. Stick with us and we can help one another really make changes for life and keep ourselves accountable.

I hope you’re not the shy retiring type. as we might shock you?! ….Although you already know PVE and Bay, so probably not!

Hi Ken, keep the love coming!

I already have a soft spot for you as I lived in Lancashire for 9 years (moved to S Lakes 3 years ago) and still work in Lancashire. We practically live next door to one another!

Auriga, Happy Now and the other fella Iancsken thanks for the welcome.

I had hoped to leave the crazy fems of the Southern Hemisphere behind but seems I have just swapped them for the Northern variety 🙂

What I really like with the forums is apart from everyone being supportive etc is that there is no
competitiveness people aren’t trying to out do each other.

PVE, yes great morning at OBF but sadly had to settle for Carrot and not Mud cake! Next time.

Tim.

Morning Elaine?
How are we feeling today? Did you perk up through yesterday sufficient to have another boozy evening? Or was it so bad you vowed to go teetotal!

Morning all from a very hot and sunny Greece. I spent yesterday on the beach in a very fetching small strapless black one piece with a yellow belt, and…it’s new! Well done HappyNow on fitting into a size 10, I’m a 12 now, I went shopping a couple week ago and was ecstatic that I could fit into practically everything in the shop – the downside is too much choice and the OH was getting bored, I’m gonna leave him in the bar next time. I’ve also got a childhood teddy – a straw stuffed Lenny the Lion with green glass eyes – I’ve had him from when I was 2 so he’s 59 now! He sits on my bedside table ‘cos he’s only small. I recently had to sew his head back on and his once lovely mane is a bit sparse now but I love him just the same:-) Have a lovely Sunday everybody and happy packing Auriga:-))

Good morning girls (and any fellas lurking)
The swimming costume sounds gorgeous Elaine. Ah, sunny Greece….don’t rub it in! You have obviously recovered from your excess. We’ve just been out to get up some extra steps in the cold on this wintery Sunday afternoon.

I love all the childhood reminiscences. Auriga, we have a little song the kids learnt: “Please don’t call me a koala bear, ‘cos I’m not bear at all.” Koalas are just koalas. Not part of the bear family:) Just giving you a leg up for your trip to Brissy (what Brisbane is called)

Amazing that your dad was stationed in Sydney during the war. My dad was in Western Australia and later in Brisbane with the Aust Army.

Yes Happy, Thai food is great. Tasty and low cal if you leave out the rice or rice noodles. I hope you enjoy the recipe.
Cheers P