Hi Linda, well I always thought I was 5ft 5.5in although my husband (who I’ve known for 10 years) has always disputed this! According the hospital pre-op I came out at around 5ft 4.5in – so I now count 5ft 4in!

And I am 51 – 52 in May. It’s good to have a goal to motivate you – but losing any weight just makes you feel so much better!

Cath x

Well no weight loss this week but I have stayed the same, which I am OK with (after an unexpected 3lb loss last week). I had intended to do 4:3 this week but after a good fast day Monday, I really struggled on Wednesday so just couldn’t face a 3rd day on Thursday.

starting weight (19 Aug) 13st 8.5 lbs
weight now (14th Feb) 11st 12lb
LOSS THIS WEEK = NIL
TOTAL LOSS = 24.5lb

GOALS:
1. GET UNDER 11 stone – aim to do this by 4th April (7 weeks time)
2. REACH A HEALTHY BMI = 10stone 6lbs
3. REACH ULTIMATE GOAL = 10 stone

Mobility-wise I am continuing to make progress – and can do some limited walking without crutches now. I’ve also managed to get out for a walk with the crutches 5 times this week. 2 more weeks now until my check up and the start of physio. Definitely doing 4:3 this coming week!

Cath x

Amazingly I have managed to stick to the 4:3 this week. I have been out several times now – on Sunday and Tuesday I walked to the pub and back (very slowly on crutches) for lunch – both non-fast days; and on Wednesday and Thursday I went out shopping in the car with my husband and did a fair bit of mooching around M&S and John Lewis. On those two days I sat through my husband eating delicious lunches in front of me, whilst I stuck to water and mint tea! But I was determined. The result was a 1lb loss which takes me to approximately halfway to my target 🙂

starting weight (19 Aug) 13st 8.5 lbs
weight now (21st Feb) 11st 11lb
LOSS THIS WEEK = 1lb
TOTAL LOSS = 25.5lb

I have also had a major rethink about my weight loss goals – in terms of how long it is going to take. I am now exactly 6 months into following 5:2 and my weight loss averages out at 1lb per week although admittedly there were 7 weeks where I was not following 5:2 (2 weeks holiday in September, 3 weeks over Xmas and 2 weeks whilst I was having my surgery).

I have realised that it is not sensible to think I can speed up the rate of loss, even by doing 4:3, which is not always possible anyway. Plus when I take holidays, chances are I am not going to be fasting at all. So I have decided that if it took me 6 months to lose half the weight – it will take me a further 6 months to lose the remainder.

SO MY NEW GOALS:
1. REACH THE ‘2 STONE LOST’ MILESTONE (another 2.5lb)- aim to do this by 14th March (3 weeks time)
2. HIT 11 stone – aim to do this by 9th May(11 weeks time and the day after my 52nd birthday)
3. REACH A HEALTHY BMI = 10 stone 6lbs (by 4th July)
4. REACH ULTIMATE GOAL = 10 stone (by 15th August – the 1 year mark!)

I am pretty sure my weight loss would have hit a plateau long ago if I didn’t do the 4:3 intermittently, but I am not aiming to do the 4:3 every week as it is really hard! However, I am hoping that once I can start exercising properly – maybe in about 6 weeks time – that this will give me a boost. This is also the time I am looking to go back to work.

@annette – thanks for your support – I see from other threads that you are still running which is brilliant – here’s to both of us reaching our 10 stone goal!

@linda – not sure I’ll be running – but walking OK will be a start. I see the doc and physio next Friday (28th) so looking forward to moving into the next ‘phase’ of recovery. It is great to hear you are doing so well. It is lovely when people start noticing your weight loss – and your size 14 jeans feeling loose is fantastic – well done you! Unfortunately I am not really ready for jeans just yet – as my surgery scar (which is huge!) runs down where the outside seam would be; so I am making do with M&S joggers when at home and leggings with loose tunics or dresses for going out. I am not even sure when I’ll be able to wear anything tighter – but hopefully by then I may be ready for a smaller size 🙂

Cath x

My recovery is still going well. Had my 6 week check on Friday and have reduced to just one crutch and have instructions now to start doing lots of things I have not been allowed to do since the op – principally exercise!

I also had a consultation with the Physio and I have been given tons of really hard exercises to do to try to reinstate my left side hip/leg/bum muscles which are currently non-existent. Boy do they hurt! But I am persevering. This Thursday I start weekly hydrotherapy which should also help.

I fasted well last week (5:2 not 4:3) but completely blew it as my friend came to stay for a few days and I went crazy on the eating and drinking front so I didn’t even get on the scales on Friday 🙁 I thought best not.

I am planning a week away with my husband to Edinburgh in 2 weeks time and I was amazed when he suggested that he join me on 5:2 for the next two weeks – as he wants to shed half a stone and we are likely to eat out a lot whilst away. The only complication is that he is an insulin dependent diabetic so has to eat at least twice a day. So today was Day 1. I fasted as normal – he really tried hard all day (in fact he didn’t moan once about hunger)- but cracked tonight and had to have a sandwich before bed. I think he’s decided that he will just cut down each day for two weeks instead!

I am still going to try 4:3 this week and next and hope I can reach my “2 stone” milestone of 11stone 8.5lb by 14.03.14. We’ll see….

Hope everyone else is doing well this week

Cath xx

Thanks Linda – yes I am feeling happy with my progress. Like you my weight is pretty much stalled at the moment (probably due to overindulgence!)but we have to hang in there 🙂

And how lovely that someone noticed you new shape at work – it definitely gives you a boost!

As you probably know I haven’t been working as normal since early November when my project was scrapped and soon afterwards I successfully volunteered for redundancy. Officially I left at the end of January – and my plan is to get a new position to start in April.

Well today, to start my preparations, I spent a couple of hours trying on the work clothes in my wardrobe in front of my very patient but brutally honest husband – and practically nothing fitted any more! Even stuff I thought was OK-ish, if a big baggy, he vetoed.

Now there’s a charity bag full of all my favourite stuff – suits, trousers, shirts and tops. All I have left is a couple of pairs of trousers (hardly worn as they are size 14 and were previously too tight); a skirt and a dress which are both now very big on me but don’t look too bad and 1 nice but really old black suit jacket – the suit trousers were shiny with age and far too big. Also a couple of really old shirts and a couple of smart tops. I was astonished.

It is a bit of a dilemma as I definitely need an interview suit now, but I can see that it would not make sense to buy too much as once my belly flab goes (hopefully with the next stone lost) I will definitely be less that a 14 in trousers. My pesky apple shape means I don’t realistically expect to drop below a 16 top though! When I managed to get back into jeans after my op (only last week),I did notice the size 14 jeans I started to fit back into in early November are quite baggy now – but I think it will be a while before I hit a 12 due to aforementioned belly flab and muffin top.

So it is really great from a weight loss/shape change perspective – but I am going to have to buy an ‘interim’ interview suit very soon!

Hi everyone and thanks for the messages!

It has been a while since I posted as I had a holiday last week in Durham and Edinburgh. The week before I went I did 3 really strict fast days and lost…nothing at all! so I decided to give myself 10 days off – and I plan to restart tomorrow.

Edinburgh was fantastic. Fabulous city, lovely people – though it was COLD! I was a bit disappointed though that I still needed one crutch to walk properly as I had been hoping to walk unaided by the time we went. I had a slight setback the day before we went when I stupidly jumped a bit awkwardly/too quickly into the passenger seat of the car as we were blocking someone in and I hurt (what I’m hoping is) a muscle in my bad leg. The upshot was that I could no longer manage the exercises I’d been getting gradually better at. So I decided to lay off these – but we still did a lot of walking around whilst we were away. I go back to Physio on Thursday so will see what the verdict is. I am now (9 weeks in) practising walking without the crutches, am managing to walk up and downstairs and all my mobility aids from social services have been returned.

Last week was a very food heavy week – we had some lovely meals, then returned by train to Durham and had a meal out with my parents for my Dad’s birthday, then came home and last night a great friend came to stay so we ate out again. To be honest I’ll be glad not to eat out again for some considerable time! On a positive note I ate nothing between meals and always stopped when full.

However, I haven’t dared get weighed yet – and as my friend stayed last night and I cooked breakfast this morning I decided that today could not be a fast day so I will fast Tuesday and Thursday this week. I will weigh in and post tomorrow so I can assess the holiday damage! I am guessing around 3-4 lbs gained but will see tomorrow.

Oh and hubby didn’t lose anything at all with his first few fasts – he was mega disappointed! He has decided to accompany me as much as he is able, but maybe not restrict to 600 calories on a fast day, particularly as it has to be compatible with his insulin injections. But on a fantastically positive note his blood sugars have plummeted to 7.1 (he’d had really high readings in the last few weeks and I was really worried about him). That has spurred him on and he too is going to get back on it tomorrow.

I hope everyone else is doing well – I’ll check the other threads to see how everything is going.

Cath x

OK so finally braved the scales and the damage is not too bad – a gain of 2.5 lbs, so I am back to fasting today:

starting weight (19 Aug) 13st 8.5lbs
weight now (25th Mar) 11st 12lb
GAIN SINCE LAST WEIGH IN = 2.5lb
TOTAL LOSS = 24.5lb

The posh ‘do’ that I am going to takes place in a couple of weeks so I am determined to try very hard this week and next to drop the extra 2.5lbs and hopefully another 1lb to reach the elusive 2 stone lost mark. Hubby has also gained 3lb, so although he is not fasting, he is really trying to reduce his calorie intake to both lose weight and stabilise his blood sugars.

@linds – I know what you mean about the ‘slippage’ and the effect of socialising – one step forward one step back! It is just trying to get a balance that works. Although I have gained weight, we had some fab meals when we were away and a fair amount of beer and wine. I don’t regret it because I really enjoyed it – but we all know how hard it is to shed those extra pounds again. I am trying to anticipate what it will be like to get my summer clothes out from their storage bag under the bed – I am really hoping that the previously tight ones fit and there may be some more donations to charity – the clocks go forward this weekend so I am trying to focus on being slimmer and fitter for summer!

Cath x

Hi everyone,

Back on it today after a rather uncontrolled few days over Easter. I fasted Monday and Tuesday last week, ate out TWICE on Wednesday (but had salad and light options) and then on Thursday had a catch up lunch with old colleagues at which I was fairly good. On Friday I weighed in at 11 stone 9 – just half a pound short of the elusive 2 stone milestone!

Then it all went wrong and I just had a really indulgent weekend which involved drinking lots of beer, snacks and highly calorific food. The sacles this morning say I have regained 3lb!!

Oh well!! Just got to get back to it!

So this week I have swapped my fast days to Tues/Weds with a possibility of another on Friday. I am spending a couple of days with my parents as my dad has to have an operation on Friday and I am on driving/hospital duty. Not sure if I will get away with a fast then!

On a positive note I went through half of my summer clothes that have been packed away in storage under the bed for months – the dresses, skirts and tops. It was lovely to find that things that had been tight now look great and some things I have never worn(!) or not worn for years actually fit well. I have also been brutal and made a large pile of things that simply don’t look that great (regardless of fit) or now horror of horrors just look a bit too young for me – particularly those with low necklines. In all I think I am keeping about a quarter of what I own (gulp) and tomorrow I will take the rest to the charity shop.

Later today I will go through the other half – the trousers, jeans and shorts. I expect that as most of these are size 16 they’ll have to go too. There’s a bit of me thinking I should hold on to stuff ‘just in case’ but if I am serious about not regaining weight then I feel psychologically that they have to go…

So I need to focus myself on hitting that 2 stone lost goal – I am going to try to get there by the end of next week, just before my husband’s 50th birthday party!

Thanks for your comments Lindyw, Linda, Piper and Aud. I am still ploughing on with the exercises – and I have found that concentrating on stretching my hip and walking properly has already improved my knee a lot. I need to decide on an exercise regime really.

@linda – how are you progressing vs your sister? Are you on track for your holiday?

@piper – yup still having the beans on toast although my latest fave is smoked salmon & scrambled eggs on toast – though I don’t have this twice a week!

@Aud – I hope you’ve had a great break and you are feeing better – let us know how you do this week back on 5:2

One last thing is that I am starting to get some interest on the job front – mainly via contacts rather than from applications though. So I am hoping to be able to start something new in the next few weeks.

Good luck this week everyone.

Cath x