1000 plan, more or less.

Well I wouldn't say, fabulous... lol!

However when I got to class yesterday in my 'blacks' one of my colleagues said, wow, have you lost weight?

Then...

Dashing along the corridor I saw two young longhaired guys. I said hi to the one I know - and their faces went kinda strange. As soon as I'd passed one said to the other, 'Hot!' and the other replied, 'Yeah, I know.' I am in the Mrs Robinson category. The guys are eighteen years old. RESULT!

So, let me reinforce what others say again and again - that the time and effort and occasional (!) suffering experienced in order to lose excess weight is WORTH IT. Totally. I have at least one stone to lose, more likely two, before I can be reasonably satisfied with my shape, but I wouldn't be at uni now, nor daring to try new things, if I'd stayed 20st 7lbs.

Keep going, peeps, no matter what. No matter how badly you may slip, nor for how long, just get back on track with each new day and give it your best shot. Eventually you'll make it. I am so glad I have come this far. The alternative scenario would not have been much fun.
 
Last edited:
I've had a few indulgent days! Haven't felt good, health-wise. Under the weather, a bit depressed, stressed and tired.

I've got cystitis, too. Back and forward to the loo, back and forward, back and forward. Today the doc prescribed antibiotics and I am trying to guzzle water and liquids in general - brings back memories of SS-ing. Of course the extra fluid means extra trips to the bathroom...

I have tons of homework to finish. Very skint right now and planning a cheapo trip to London at the weekend. Then younger son calls and begs help - to go to London - with his mates, and M.U.G. agrees - of course! - to help him out.

Ah well, we'll manage I dare say.

And as of today I am being 'good'. Don't wanna find myself bulging out of my new Drama 'blacks'!
 
Still being good.

Yesterday I exercised indoors for a total of three hours. Yes, three hours of jogging in front of the tv. One hour, then a bit later, a two hour stretch 'cos I suddenly remembered something I read years back about the body going into super calorie burning mode after the first hour of exercise...

The antibiotics are helping with the infection and I am so tired tonight I hope to sleep deeply. Never easy for me.

It still feels strange to look in mirrors and shop windows and see a size 14 woman after so many years of being much bigger. The thrill of buying even closer fitting trousers for Drama has not yet gone. This is helping me to stay focused on the bigger - smaller! - picture.

I would say to anyone seeking inspiration - don't buy a dress or jeans ten sizes smaller. Buy one or two sizes smaller, at most. Every time you fit the new clothes buy a tinier size for next time.

Soon I am gonna buy size 12 black trousers and top, and look forward to the day when I can wear them with confidence.
 
Omg.

At the weekend two very important things happened.

My beloved older bro - my only sibling, who is fighting leukaemia - had a major heart attack.

I spent valuable time with him.

On Saturday I was persuaded to go to Milton Keynes, cos two of my mates were working at an autograph convention.

One of the actors there was with one of my mates, and he lives in my town. He offered to give me a lift home. On the Sunday morning I could not accept, cos my neice rang to say that my bro - her Dad - was suffering more chest pain. I got the very first Sunday bus back.

At 4pm this actor rang me to ask if I still wanted a lift home. I was at my bro's house so I said no.


I study Drama. I decided to be very brave. I emailed him to say thank you, and asked if at some point I might meet him to talk about acting etc.

HE SAID YES!

He took a chance on me - and I, on him - and we met tonight, at his house.

He is off on tour for three weeks but he wants me to come back to his home for a drink as soon as he gets back.

The Archangels are so so wonderful.

He and I just 'click'. He says I MUST pursue a career as a pro actress. He is advising me.

Tonight I feel so blessed.

And my wonderful bro is improving. I pray that this will continue to be the case.
 
Hope your brother continues to improve.
Fabulous news on the dating front, those new drama blacks must have done the trick :)
Keep us posted on progress on both fronts.
 
I'm so happy to find this thread! I've been on CD1000 for the past 4 weeks or so with very little result; my body seems to have gone into almost total stasis! I've upped my exercise and shifted another two pounds over the last two weeks (although the inches and toning are more significant than the weight loss, so it's definitely helped a lot) but once I move back to Edinburgh in 4 weeks it's going to be difficult to get to a CDC so I'm starting to look at other options so shift my last stone and a half. Had some success with e-Diets a couple of years ago, was thinking of trying out the Tesco/Ediet thing? Any advice/suggestions gratefully received!
 
Hope your brother continues to improve.
Fabulous news on the dating front, those new drama blacks must have done the trick :)
Keep us posted on progress on both fronts.

This lovely actor and I are not dating. He is gay! He lives with his nice long-term partner who also has a long background in the theatre. I can't wait to meet them again.

But yeah - the Drama Blacks do make me feel more confident. Just to be in reasonable shape to wear them is a buzz.

I've maintained a very large loss for years now, and while I still have a bit to lose, I am confident that I will be able to keep it off. This is the real challenge, as we all know to our cost. How many stones have we lost then regained, over the years? Too many to count.

Very soon I will buy the size 12 Blacks, two different outfits, and crank up the exercise. By Christmas - or at least, by January, I could be in them.

Love and hugs to all. Every day can be a new beginning and over time every little sacrifice mounts up to permanent loss.
 
I'm so happy to find this thread! I've been on CD1000 for the past 4 weeks or so with very little result; my body seems to have gone into almost total stasis! I've upped my exercise and shifted another two pounds over the last two weeks (although the inches and toning are more significant than the weight loss, so it's definitely helped a lot) but once I move back to Edinburgh in 4 weeks it's going to be difficult to get to a CDC so I'm starting to look at other options so shift my last stone and a half. Had some success with e-Diets a couple of years ago, was thinking of trying out the Tesco/Ediet thing? Any advice/suggestions gratefully received!

Welcome!

CD1000 can be tough after SS or 790. Your body needs time to adjust to the higher intake and different balance of foods, so you plateau. I had to go through this too and it was depressing at times. My solution was to simply avoid the scales for one month. Try it - it works. The day to day pressure to lose fast vanishes, and when you DO step on them again you usually find a nice satisfying loss. Once you are losing you are on your way again.

Good luck with this. It really works for me because it is flexible and forgiving and one day off does not mean a huge water regain on the scales. Be patient, and be kind to yourself. Calorie counting has worked for generations and it can and does work now.
 
Hey guys!

I'm feeling good today. Energetic, positive, let's-do-it good.

I'm still inventing low cal, low fat, low GI, high nutrition recipes and having fun doing so - and consuming the results. Mmmmm.

Would love to lose half-a-stone by Christmas. Let's see if I can.

XX
 
THANK YOU!

Good luck to you, too.

Now that I have lost most of my weight I am happy to set more modest loss targets than I would have on, say, SS or 790. I am learning to live in my own skin and to maintain the losses I've already achieved.

As time passes you begin to feel increasingly 'normal', pretty much, around food. That for me was always the ideal state. I may eat a little more than I care to at times; even drink a little (lot) more than I care to, but overall I am coming closer and closer to a state of balance and a daily life where food is just a part of the equation and not the whole sum.

I still feel good and positive. It rocks!
 
I still feel good.

Tired from a week of hectic activity and study, and fighting a sore throat and cough, but otherwise well and optimistic.

The last time I maintained a big loss was about 15 years ago. I got down to size 10 and stayed there for nearly three years. Then life stepped in, with its many problems, and I began to eat and regain. Soul destroying!

This time around I have lost 9 and a half stones, I am size 14 at present, and feel 'normal'. I would love to be a size 10 again, or even a 12, but I am not desperate about it. I am LIVING my life in a way I never could when I was morbidly obese.

I only weigh once a month now, so should be weighing again next week. If I've been slipping a lot I weigh more often - to stop the rot! - but I am relaxed about weighing as seeing a gain can be very depressing. It's all about balance, and taking the overview.

It is so worth the effort to lose the excess weight.
 
Last edited:
Hey Mandy! Thanks for a positive and warm post.

Something inside us needs to change to lose weight and keep it off. In my case living life was always kinda postponed until I was 'thin'. When I'm thin again, I'll do this, do that, go here, go there...

Then I began to try to live NOW. It's hard at first but once you've lost a little bit of weight you start to feel better. You know how it is when you've gained stones and feel awful. Then you manage to lose half-a-stone and your confidence skyrockets. Even though you know that technically you don't LOOK much thinner, you feel thinner. More importantly you feel better about yourself, and it shows in your face, your bearing, your attitude. You have hope.

Confidence is so difficult for us. Even thin we lack it, but we can build it up over time. I can remember longing to feel normal, and to look normal, and to eat 'normally'. Those are still valid goals for me. I've been severely underweight in my time; I both looked and felt dreadful. I want to lose my fear of food, of certain types of food in particular, and eat a mostly healthy but occasionally naughty range of foods. That, to me, means 'normal'.

Exercise is important, so I don't neglect it. Keeping the booze intake down is important, too. But I don't slave in the gym, nor am I teetotal.

Balance! With time, it becomes habit.

By the way Mandy, that is one very glamorous and voluptuous pic you've posted!!!

XX
 
CHERYL! Hi, baby!!

I haven't posted lately because I'm convalescing from a nasty tumble from the top of my stairs to the bottom. I tripped on the hem of my 'drama black' trousers. Unbelievable. I was holding onto the left handrail - I am very wary on stairs, having once fallen badly as a young teen - but for once I was not holding on with the right. I tried to continue descending but suddenly found that my right leg was trapped. My left foot had a firm hold on my right trouser hem. So - knowing what was happening, knowing that I was in real trouble - I fell. I twisted to the right to try to protect my head and spine.

I landed very heavily and my nose poured forth clots of blood. I have a hairline fracture in my right cheekbone, a cracked jaw, numerous bruises and cuts and abrasions, a damaged shoulder, arm and hip and wrecked shoulder blades (from the impact) plus other miseries too numerous to list.

BUT I'M HERE. I didn't end up in a coma. I didn't 'come to' in a hospital bed, unable to move. I did not break my poor neck, nor my back. I am not paralysed. I am in pain and will need many weeks yet to heal, but WOW. I am still ME. I feel very lucky indeed. I'd had several inner 'gut' promptings to take up those hems but my fellow Drama students are mostly very young and they all have trailing trouser hems: I hoped to seem - ahem - 'fashionable'. I did mean to take up the hems - I just kept forgetting or putting it off. Silly me!

I've been in bed for more than two weeks now and can feel my waist just that bit thicker. However I am tentatively exercising and trying to do a low Gi kinda thing. I am going into college on Monday and Tuesday just to see out the remainder of the term, not because I have to.

I forgot to ask the chemist to deliver my painkillers today so ARRRGGGHHH my prescription is at the doctor's surgery and I won't have the pills until Monday afternoon. SIGH. I can't believe I forgot to request delivery...

One year ago I tripped over a telephone cable at home and hurt my left shoulder and arm. It became 'frozen' and is still not 100% healed. Now Christmas is coming around again, and... I've busted all of my right side, including my right shoulder and arm. My face aches, I have two black eyes and am unbelievably stiff in the mornings. But, thank God, I am still here.

Love and luck, to everyone.

Very special love to you, my friend Cheryl. Warmest, brightest blessings, always.

XX
 
OMG poor you hun. I know how painful that must have been. I fell over on holiday in Turkey 4 years ago, broke my arm in 4 places and my collar bone, also damaged my elbow and I was in agony, still have ongoing symptoms. So I can imagine how much pain you've been in because your injuries were so much worse. Hope you start to heal soon hun. (On a brighter note tho, the holiday company have just agreed out of court settlement for personal injuries, so I am £32,000 richer, but still have the pain to deal with!)

Take care of yourself, and don't do too much next week when you go into college and take those damn hems up!!!!

Have a wonderful christmas hun xxxxxx
 
Hey Cheryl, babe.

I think an arm broken in four places beats my injuries!

Despite real efforts to keep my calorie intake down during my spell of bed rest I KNOW I have gained pounds. When you are sitting or lying down all day you burn far fewer calories so it stands to reason that unless you live on weak boullion and tea you are gonna gain.

Today I went out for the first time since the fall. I managed to wash and style my hair - mostly with my left hand. I fitted into my size 14 skirt all right, with perhaps a bit less extra room than before. I covered my facial bruises with concealer and braved some cheering eye make-up. Then off I went at last to the Budgen's that recently opened in my area.

Phew! It has Waitrose prices. Even so I bought a few essential supplies and one or two treats.

As I approached my block of houses I spotted my bedroom through the opened curtains. My bonnie Christmas Tree was clearly visible, to my surprise. The air of warmth and cosiness and safety and celebration was cheering.

Have a lovely Christmas, Cheryl. Give your beautiful grand-daughter a hug and a kiss from me, and take very good care of yourself over this festive season.

LOVE TO ALL. And, for those minded to mark it, Brightest Yule blessings.

xx
 
Glad you have managed to get out and about a bit today. It is sooooo lovely coming home though isn't it? Dont fret too much about any pounds that may have crept back on while you were laid up, its only a blip, and will soon be off once you're active again.

Ash (hubby) had an accident in his car last night on the way home from work, skidded on some oil he thinks, at a roundabout and lost control and hit a cornish hedge (very sturdy). He managed to get the car to limp home (about 14 miles) amidst billowing clouds of black smoke. Have been on to the insurance company, and they are arranging for it to be towed off and assessed. Will probably be a write off, as we think the engine is damaged as well as the front nearside, as there is a bad oil leak. Oh well, at least he's safe and unhurt x

Thank you for your Christmas wishes. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a fantastic new year too xxxx
 
Here I am at last.

Oh Cheryl - there's always something unexpected, isn't there?

I am still in pain but thankfully the weight is coming off again. Slowly, but definitely.

Hoping to go back to Drama next Thursday, then go full-time the following week. I've missed an awful lot so will have to work hard at home to make it up.

I hope 2008 will be a better, happier, more productive and more satisifying year for all of us.

XX
 
Back
Top