My Journey to a Slimmabum!!

Well, I've just completed my first week. It hasn't been too bad all in all. I was very pleased with losing 9lbs and don't really feel too hungry. I have been going to the gym, but I have to admit that on Sunday at body pump I felt very weak and had to reduce my weights .... still, at least I went. This week my exercise schedule will be:

- Monday 20 mins on bike, 15 minutes walking on gradient, 10 lengths swimming (steam to relax)
- Tuesday an hour of body pump
- Wednesday rest
- Thursday 20 mins on bike, 15 minutes walking on gradient, 10 lengths swimming (steam to relax)
- Friday an hour of body pump
- Saturday rest
- Sunday rest

I do find it incredibly difficult to lose weight with a duff thyroid (I can't take Thyroxine) so I think my journey will be a slow and hard one hence the exercise. I had been swimming 50 lengths 4/5 times a week since June but unfortunately didn't lose a bean. On the plus side, I'm really enjoying doing more cooking for the family, and my distraction techniques are to clean the house and have baths, so everyone is happy (and clean) really!! I want to use this diary to record my feelings during the days ahead. I know I'm never going to be a stick insect and I'm happy being curvy - I just want to be a little less curvy and feel more body confident about myself, something which I'm lacking in. I'm also looking forward to wearing some of the clothes I have in my wardrobe which currently don't fit ... I'll save a fortune as I won't have to buy any new ones this Spring!!!

13 January
Good day. Stayed really motivated. Went to the gym. As I felt so weak Sunday I just thought I'd go on the bike and swim. Was really pleased to do 25 minutes on the bike (upping it 5 mins) and although I was all hot and sweaty I wasn't too out of breath so must be getting fitter. Then did 10 lengths and got steamy with the OH (in the steam room of course for anyone with a smutty mind lol). Note to self: wear a better bra when cycling .... bit too much 'jigglidge' atm!! Got home and cooked awesome veggie chilli for daughter. Finally sat down with some water to watch Benefits Street (what a programme!)

14 January
...a day of ups and downs. Tried on an old pair of work trousers that I had actually split up the backside as they were so tight and they were actually on the loose side which made me feel great. Also cooked 2 different meals as my son is such a fussy git. Anyhow all was going well until my friend, who is a mechanic came to pick my car up. He decided to let his son turn the ignition (he's 11 but has grown up with cars). Unfortunately he didn't check to see if it was in gear and he drove the car into my house!!! Whole front of the car is now stoved in ... bonnet, bumper, radiator all broken, so what was going to be a 2 hour job is now going to take days!! Thank god he is a mechanic/car pimper. On a slightly better note he has given me his Chrysler 300c to drive around it ... a beast of a car!!

15 January
This was a good day. Work went quickly, and I enjoyed riding around in my pimpmobile. I do feel I should be talking gangsta though! The only slight problem was parking at the gym .... it's not easy parking a car the size of a small house with blacked out windows!!! Also felt that wearing glasses and an anorack wasn't suitable clothing ... should have been wearing some bling or possibly a fur coat (and no knickers lol).
We got new biscuits for the biscuit tin at work (one of my many responsibilities). Usually I would have polished off any broken ones, but I put them in the bin (go me!). Got some nice comments from the kids ... well not really kids, they are 20 and 23 ... to say they could notice that I am losing weight (and they didn't even ask to borrow money at the time!!) but the OH hasn't said anything .... well he is a man after all, but he did make 'my dinner' for me ... even surprised me with what flavour while I made his! All in all on a bit of a high ... I just wish it would all come off a bit quicker so I can get into some of my smaller clothes. It will come though with determination!

16 January
Hmmm .... not such a good day today. I realised that I needed to 'go' so took some Sennakot (think we can use this???) Anyhow nothing happened, and so like the idiot I am, I took some more the following day. Well ..... first of all my stomach felt like it had got a full load of washing on a spin cycle, and then it felt like a science experiment that was going very wrong .... and then ..... well, I don't need to tell you that I had to go home (at speed I might add), and I spent all afternoon switching from laying on the settee and sprinting up the stairs. Note to self: don't leave it so long next time and don't take too much Sennakot!!! And I'd been drinking for England too!! Is there anything a bit more gentle on the market does anyone know??? Anyhow, I now feel much better for it and probably used up a few calories with all the sprinting lol. I also spent the evening sewing up my old work trousers (not the greatest needlewoman on the planet) and have worn them to the office today. Not much point in buying new ones when I will have a slimmabum in a few weeks'! Onwards and upwards!!!

20 January
2nd weigh in and I've lost another 4lbs .... only 1lb off a stone now! Had a good weekend ... really busy and did lots of cooking/cleaning. Had a weekend off the gym so will get back to it today. I've got a really difficult week coming up. Part of my job needs me to go out to networking lunches and this week I have 2 that I have to go to. I really don't want to eat and will stick to meat with just a few veg (no potatoes) and NO desert. I really am panicking about either eating and getting ravenous wanting to eat my own arm, and getting out of ketosis and spending a few days getting back in. The O/H says I should just let people at work know, but I just can't bear everyone talking about it. In other news, my pimpmobile has gone back and been replaced by what can only be described as either a small shoe or postman pat's van!!! (it's a Nissan Cube). Just to make matters worse it's got a really loud alarm that goes off when you press a wrong button on the keypad .... it's bad enough driving a shoe, let alone announcing it to the whole street. Am looking forward to getting my own car back now.

22 January
Well, had the first of my lunches this week. I had the chicken breast and a bit more. Felt terribly guilty afterwards, and strangely had a bit of an upset tummy too. Jumped on the scales this morning and thankfully nothing gained but I may well have knocked myself out of Ketosis. Jumped straight back onto it this morning though and will just have to get on with it. My clothes are starting to feel a good bit looser now though which is great, and I had a lovely compliment from someone who saw me yesterday who hasn't seen me for a few weeks, saying they thought I'd lost a lot of weight and looked great! I'm not going to the gym today, but doing Zumba tomorrow. I did go on Monday but felt as weak as a kitten on the bike so I've decided to give it a rest for a few days and then have another go. I think I'm going to be disappointed with weight loss this week but there's not much I can do about it apart from hang on with grim determination. Still got the 'postman pat' van. Can't work out for the life of me why it's got an alarm ..... who the hell would steal it?????

24 January
Payday!!! Thank goodness for that. Also thank goodness I've had my 2 work lunches now. Again I felt terribly guilty eating, but I just got on with it, smiled and chatted with everyone and now I've moved on. Guess I've got a couple of days to get back into ketosis and go through the hunger again, but I'm even hungrier to be thinner ... so there!!! Went to Zumba last night and really enjoyed it. Sweated a bit so it must have done me some good. O/H is buggering off tomorrow to go Snowboarding for a week, so I can plough on with no distractions. Doing Body Pump tonight and then have some more Zumba lined up for tomorrow, so I'm trying to do 2 days at gym then 1 off. I don't think I will have lost much weight this week (weigh day Monday) but I'm not going to let that put me off for a moment. I bought 6 weeks' worth of LT before the price hike so I'm determined to get my money's worth!!

27 January
Did Zumba on Saturday and I honestly nearly died .... it was like a full on aerobic session! Talk about sweat ... still, the nice surprise was that I put on the jeans I'd been trying to get into and they were loose!! Ha ha ... damn you fat! I dared to put on my size 16 jeans and woo hoo, they fitted. Treated myself to a visit to the chiropodist, had my eyebrows threaded and bought myself some Zumba trainers as clearly I need to do more to get fitter and don't want to bugger my knee up.

Sunday I made a 'to die for' carrot cake for the family (not a morsel has touched my lips), did 20 mins on a bike and then went to the pictures with a bottle of water. Slightly disappointed that I'd only lost just over 2lbs this week, but I had the 2 meals out so can't complain really. Looking forward to a good week ahead! The main thing is that I've broken the stone mark and can now look forward to the 21lbs mark. Bring on week 4!!

28 January
Feeling slightly 'miffed' and abandoned as haven't heard from O/H since Sat. He's either lying at the bottom of a ravine or having such a brilliant time snowboarding and partying that he's managed to forget me. I hope it's the latter ... he's not one for texting at the best of times. Got my new Zumba shoes today so now I have to go back to the killer class. Might wear them at Body Pump this evening, just to wear them in.

I'm a complete saddo and get on the scales every day. Today they were 2lbs lighter than yesterday which is brilliant and is the thought I will carry in my head today. I actually can't wait to shift some of this excess weight, especially round my stomach (how do we get rid of that horrible saggy bit????? Grrrrr). Also bought some Fybo Gel stuff yesterday to keep me 'regular'. Within seconds it had turned to gloop and it was like drinking wallpaper paste - has anyone else had this ..... gaaaahhhhh. Oh well, it if helps. Still feeling very positive and looking forward to seeing my friends at class tonight.

29 January
Unfortunately I live in Ipswich. Stupid A14 blocked, Ipswich gridlocked and I was 5 minutes late for my class so they gave my booked space away. Not a happy bunny so I cycled for 300 calories instead. Came out, and the whole town was still gridlocked and it took me ages to get home. On a lighter note, O/H has been in touch and having a blast which is good news. Feeling flat today ... no energy, no motivation, get up and go has got up and gone .... even the battery on my car didn't work this morning. Feeling well fed up which just isn't like me ...

30 January
So, car battery didn't work in the morning and I had to be rescued, and then bugger me it went again on the way home so I missed the gym AGAIN. Just not my week I guess. Also, I've been taking that stupid Fyboclear twice a day all week and nada, so I took some Sennakot (hope this is allowed?) last night and still nothing. Stomach feels fit to explode and I keep getting cramps - not a good feeling. Got Zumba tonight so that should shake it all about a bit lol, and then looking forward to a quiz afterwards so I've got my day sorted .... well, apart from one thing ..... My kids have embraced this diet (they of course are all stick thin) and my daughter even brought my 'breakfast' up to me this morning while I was getting ready ... what a sweetie! It makes such a difference when you have people on your side. I've still told no-one at work, and have to forgo my lunchtime shake but I couldn't be doing with all the questions and comments. As it is they are all asking me if I could be pregnant as I've said I'm 'off' tea and coffee!!!

31 January
Felt cold all day. Nothing happening on the loo front so took some Dulcolax. It appears that Fyboclear, Sennakot and Dulcolax do in fact have a spectacular effect! It was like going through childbirth again ..... I'm sure I was having contractions. I was certainly panting, puffing and trying to breath through them. I won't go into too many other details, but when I got on the scales this morning I was 2 1/2lbs lighter ... honest. Now, this may have been coincidence but ....

Anyway, thank goodness it's Friday. It's been a long week one way and another, but I'm off to do a little clothes shopping tomorrow to reward myself for my hard work and perseverance this week in the face of carrot cake, traffic jams, broken batteries and contractions.

3 January
Hokey dokey ... lost another 4lbs this week which I'm really pleased with. I'm over half way on my journey in terms of losing weight so I'm pleased with that. O/H returned from holiday on Sat so had a lovely catch up with him, and we got out for a lovely walk along the beach yesterday, followed by me cooking a huge roast dinner for the family. I bought a new pair of jeans a size smaller than normal, but I'm hoping to get slimmer so they were only a fairly cheap pair .... actually they were from Asda ... £10 and really comfortable.

Starting to get very bored with the shakes now, but keep telling myself they are 'medicine'. My legs are starting to get more shapely, well, toned really. I just wish I could get rid of my saggy tummy, which seems to get a bit saggier each day as I lose a little more fat. I am doing stomach exercises but it's being really stubborn. Enjoying the lovely sunshine, and still feeling upbeat!!! Long may it last. Just a couple of pounds to the 1 1/2 stone mark.

4 January
Boring day. Got really frustrated in the evening. I'm helping a slightly disabled dyslexic lad to read so he can apply for jobs, and he told me that he'd had his benefits stopped. Apparently they got him to sign an 'Agreement' where he has do apply for so many jobs per week. Thing is, he couldn't read the agreement, and although he is desperate to work he isn't able to fill in application forms without help, and when he asked the Job Centre for help they said it wasn't their problem. The system just isn't fair. There are so many 'Benefit Street' type people getting benefits and all this lad wanted to do was apply for a cleaning job at the station. (Rant over) On a slightly lighter note, I was helping him to read a Hungry Horse menu as he wanted to go out with his friend for a Birthday meal. My stomach was rumbling really loudly all the way through it!

Bored with shakes although I can cope without food. Feeling frustrated, like I need to DO something. Will do body pump tonight and see if I can get any enthusiasm for anything. I guess I have lost 19lbs in 3 weeks, so need to focus focus focus and see the light at the end of the tunnel. Wish I was slimmer .....

5 January
So, after another 5 days without 'going' had some more of the evil Dulcolax. Hate the stomach cramps but I keep telling myself it's only for a little while (about half a bloody hour) and then I know I'm going to feel fine again. It was much better than leaving it longer and I feel so much better afterwards. Had a fine day all in all, despite not feeling on top form. Went to the gym and did my bodypump .... I'm still using the lighter weights as it's very hard with no 'fuel' inside, but I'm certainly toning up.

Was freezing cold last night, so put on an extra pair of socks, snuggled down in a warm dressing gown and fell asleep in front of the tv. Woke this morning to rain, thunderstorm, hail, wind ..... I was just waiting for the plague of locusts to fall out of the sky .... Anyhow, it's now brilliant sunshine and very calm. Actually, thinking about it, it was a bit like my trip to the loo last night ....

I have now got 42 days left (I counted all my shakes), so I'm going to see what I can achieve with that. Sadly I seem to have a load of the strawberry shakes, so have sorted them into 2 piles and put them into 2 bags and will have a strawberry in the morning and either a chocolate or vanilla (my fave with coffee) in the evening. God, I'm sad if that's what my life has become!!! Hey ho, it's not forever ....

Hi slimmabum

I hope you don't mind me writing in your diary. Your current weight caught my attention. I weigh 1Ib more than you. Let's encourage each other.
I was here in 2011 and lost more than 2 stones, sadly I have put most it back so last week I decided enough was enough and started Lipotrim diet. I should really edit my signature but can't be bothered at the moment. I had my first weigh in today.
29 Jan 2014 - 14st 1Ilbs
5 Feb 2014 - 13st 7Ibs - loss of -8Ibs

Hi Dolphin ... no problem. I too did it in 2009 and lost nearly 3 stone but then put it all back. I had another couple of failed attempts but this time I'm really focussed. We both know that it's not an easy thing to do but the results are well worth all the pain. I'm not trying to get skinny - it wouldn't suit my frame as I'm always going to be curvy. I now have 41 days left of shakes and coincidentally will finish the day before my Birthday!! I've got a few challenges coming up over the next few weeks .... I have to go to networking lunches as part of my job so I do have to eat the odd meal, but I get straight back on the horse the next day. Be good to have you as a 'buddy'. Now go and sort your signature out ... don't look back, look forward!! Good luck!

Thanks Slim - I want to keep some of the information in my signature, I will edit when I have few minutes to spare.
In 2011 I had to stop Lipotrim because my hair started to fall off. I nearly became bald but fortunatley it all came back slowly, furthermore I suffered from dizziness, I am not sure whether these symptoms were Lipotrim related but I had to stop.
Last year I took up nordic walking and maintained my weight around 13st but then I developed Planter Fasciitis ( go and figure) thus I
had to put an end to walking and my weight shot up.
I finally started on 29 Jan with some of the shakes I had left from last year. I have enough till next Monday, hopefully I will be able to get some more but I have been told the price has gone up to $45 for a week's supply. Sorry my laptop doesn't have a pound sign!!!!

I know ... it's bloody extortionate! I managed to get 8 weeks' supply from my pharmacist before the price went up! I had a few probs too .... I've got a thyroid problem (my mum had it too) but unfortunately I can't tolerate Thyroxine so I have to be ultra careful what I eat and make sure I excercise like mad. Then I've had a couple of bunion operations (sexy, hey?). On top of all this I had an awful breakup with a vile person and I had to fight through the courts for 3 years to get some money back and basically put my life on hold. When it was all over it was like a sigh of relief for me, and I finally (after 3 years) started dating again. I'm now in a really good place and decided now is the time to sort out my weight issue once and for all. I've been doing very regular exercise since last May, and I've got the support of my family (and O/H) which is a complete blessing, although to his credit the O/H has always said he's been happy with me, and that he's happy to support me if it's what I want. We all have our stories and difficulties, the thing is that this forum is here to help us all get through a difficult time. I really hope you can do it, and that your hair stays put this time!!!