Developers

[melarnz]

FEBRUARY's WORK IS FINALLY DONE..WOOHOO!!!!. I now have a whole week off work!! yay! I have talked hubby into taking the girls swimming this afternoon, and tomorrow I am going shopping for my new dress/clothing item. I am actually looking forward to it!

It will make a nice change being able to do the school run on foot for a change (depending on the weather) and I think a trip to ikea will be in order. Other than that, I dont know what to do with my week off!!

Its a nice problem to have!

 

[Jezebella]

Mel, when I look at the pics in your signature, I just cannot believe how much you have changed!! You are looking amazing!!

Jez
xx

 

[slendablenda]

Hi P, Love the spotty top.
I like your avatar pic too, and what fun to be able to experiment with hair styles without actually having your hair cut or coloured and it's free!
Mel, enjoy your week off. The sun is shining here, hope it is for you too.

 

[melarnz]

Hi girlies - I should be doing housework, but really can't be bothered lol. I have decided to go to Oxford circus tomorrow and buy myself a dress that's too small as an incentive!! I plan on going to bravissimo as they do big boobie clothes, however, if I loose my bottle about spending that amount of money on a dress, primark is just round the corner (",)

I best get on with some cleaning (unless I get destracted by playing with the baby again). Hehehe

 

[peony]

Cooeee! Cheers SB, I had great fun in photoshop with all those 'do's hee hee!

Mel, you have so picked the right week to take off - ok so it's a bit chilly but wow, what a change to have some cheery sunshine! Have a fab day tomorrow, I know you will, stride out with a skip in your step knowing you look amazing and are looking more amazing every day!
Enjoy!

PS just remembered I forgot to get back to you about wedding etiquette for weddings abroad. It's hard to call as usually brides have gone through the process before they come to me about deciding how to let their guests know. I usually just get an order for x invites. As an aside, my cousin decided to get married in South Africa though and emailed everyone her plans and asked for people to let them know by a certain date whether they would be likely to be coming. I think the plan was then to send out invites at a later date. In the end they have decided against having their wedding out there but I don't know the reason for that.

I do find that brides send their invites out much, much earlier when they are marrying abroad - which sort of makes sense really as often people will need the time to save.

From a personal point of view I thought my cousin should have included more info about the best places to fly from and to/how to get to the venue/ hotel info. etc/and rough costs as I think people need to know these roughly before they can decide whether they can attend.

It may be an idea to use a save the date card in your situation, with all that kind of info. on the back, just so people can start to figure out whether they can afford it. Then follow up with invites in plenty of time.

Any other questions give me a shout honey. x Oh an if you buy cosmo bride/wedding ideas/perfect wedding they usually feature at least one of my designs each month so keep an eye out for apple of my eye design!

xxx

 

[Jezebella]

OMG Peony, look at you!! you look amazing hun!! I am blown away!!

Jez
xx

 

[peony]

Awwww shucks Jez, fanks. xxx

 

[peony]

Woooo and indeed hooooo - another 4lb-er this week - skips around the room like a proper charlie! After my low loss streak, I have done a 3lb,4lb,4lb. Only 13lbs to go to healthy bmi, 17 to goal. Seriously I am over the moon.

I have a theory that your body gets stuck in a rut and gets used to you eating the exact same things/quantities/cals/carbs everyday - the time had come to think about reordering my exante stuff to get me to the end, and I shopped around and spent a lot of time comparing the Total Rood Replacement offerings on the market. I trialled a bunch and in the end settled on a few varieties I liked. So I have worked out my own tfr with a calorie basis of 500-600 and carbs of 50-55g and each day I mix the exante I have left with other TFR products. I am getting all the requisite other nutrients/vits I need and some days there are even enough cals and carbs left for half an atkins choc chip bar. I have also allowed myself a can of coke zero a day as it is citric acid free. I was not previously an enormous fan of coke/pepsi so am not worried I’ll get hooked – it’s just nice to enjoy a different taste in my mouth. It has been since I mixed things up a bit that I have had these 3 great loss weeks - I am loving being in control of the choices each day and I think it is down to changing things and keeping my body guessing that the losses have stepped up again.

Oh and the sun is shining - zippadee doo dah....etc etc.

Hugs all round and hope you all have great weeks too.
xxxx

 

[slendablenda]

Good for you Peony, nearly there xxxxxxxxx

 

[peony]

Thanks SB, I can hardly believe how far I have come.

Mel, how was your day yesterday? hope you had a good one and got yourself some lovely stuff.

xxx

 

[melarnz]

Hiiiiiii - I did not get the dress I wanted yesterday, however I did get 3 tops. The dresses in bravissimo were awful!! My mother in law bought me a plain White ribbed top from there for£25. It was a size 12. I refused to pay the money for it as I thought it was a rip off!! But she sneaked off whilst I was changing and got it for me. So we went into loads of different shops and ended up buying a medium in one shop and a 16 in another which was a bit tight!! So.......I went out again today lol

I got a dress from river island. Completely different from anything I would usually where!! It fits but is too small (if that makes sense). So I can tell once I have lost some more weight it will look nice and is nor the 'old' me. I also bought a long shirt with an elastated belt and a pair of jim jams. My oh is going to go mental when he finds out. Especially as I can't wear most of it yet lol.

It's a great incentive!!

 

[melarnz]

Peony - I justed to say how much I admire you!! It is hard enough sticking to this diet with the group support, but doing it on your own is amazing!! Getting into size 10 clothes would be enough for some people to stop, but you are so determined to get to your healthy and target weight!!

You are simply one of the most dedicated and strong willed people I have ever come across. It has been an honor to share your journey with you xxxxx

 

[peony]

Aw Mel - you ain't so bad yourself you know - you fit an incredible amount into your life and you have stuck to this through good times and bad. Thanks so much for your really lovely words, they mean a lot.

It is quite hard carrying on. My husband asked me whether I considered stopping as I am thinner than I have ever been - would now be cosnsidered 'slim' by most people and am also really happy with how I look. I thought about it and told him it's almost like a superstition with me - if I make it to target then I know I have the strength to stay slim the rest of my life. If I give up on that goal then I sort of feel like might be at risk of not sticking to the goal of being slim for life. Does that make sense?
Anywho, I have 2 levels of goal I have set myself - healthy bmi - if I get there and decide I have gone far enough then I will consider that the end - if I still want to carry on, then my end goal is 4 lb below that so as to be under 10 stone - and also that would mean a nice round 150lb total loss.

Glad you have had a lovely couple of days shopping, sounds like you are pretty tiny yourself these days. I am really proud of us, was looking at the July starters thread the other day - what a long way we have come in such a short space of time!

I am looking forward to going mad when I am finished. Bought a couple of hair mags today too, as hair is really letting the side down now!

Well keep up your hard work honey, we will both be there soon gorgeous.

xxxx

 

[melarnz]

Had WI last night. There are now 4 people in my group!! its getting better lol. Although the LLC finished the group early because she had a date!!

Found it exciting for her (she is older) at the same time as being a bit exasperated!!

I put on a lb. im not going to get worked up over it as i am a bit clogged up and due on....so next week should be a gooden!!

 

[melarnz]

oohhh i must have been worse than i thought. Im starving hungry and have got the shakes!! (feeling a tad faint!)

 

[peony]

You ok hon? Have you drank enough water?

Was that your first weigh in since going off the rails and getting back on track? A pound aint bad at all, esp if you are due on. Can see why you'd be a bit miffed about your class ending early so she could have a date - it's good that you are happy for her too, but hey, you wouldn't leave work early for a date - it's a bit cheeky to presume it's ok to cut into your time for something like that. Blummin 'eck you pay enough for these sessions. Good news there are some more of you though.

Have a good day tomorrow.

xxx

 

[melarnz]

im okay thanks sweet. I have been drinking water, and it passed quite quickly.

I had a savoury drink. I have just had my last bar, so i may go to bed in a minute and have an early night!!

 

[peony]

Hello all
How's it going? Have cleaned the kitchen, got halfway through the washing and OH and DD have gone out for the morning so have spent some more time messing about in photoshop putting different hairstyles on my bonce! Going to get an appointment in the diary for a couple of weeks time for the chop. Think I have decided to leave the length, get the ends tidied up, and go for a blunt fringe and choppy layers. OMG I have never had a fringe in my life. How have you been enjoying yours Mel? I have such thick hair that I never wear it down as it just goes all over my face - thought if I had a fringe I might have it down more. Having it scraped back all the time does nothing for me and looks so harsh.

Well going to make the most of the rest of the next hour or so to myself, and have a bath with the new psychologies mag that just plopped on the mat (must get round to cancelling the subscription, it tends to just repeat itself every 12 months).
Planning to make a start in the garden tomorrow, have a tree stup to dig up (get burning those cals!) and need to start preparing for all the veggies we want to grow this year - hubbie and daughter first started growing stuff last summer and it was gutting not to be able to eat any of their bounty as I was on LL - that just illustrates to me how long this has been!

Good luck with your abstinence this weekend, hope you have a good un.

xxxxxxxx

 

[melarnz]

Hi peony. I love my fringe!! It looks so much better when I tuck it behind my ears, when I straighten it and when I have it back. I'll update u on my weekend tomorrow, being harrassed by by 4 yr old

 

[peony]

Glad you love your fringe Mel, I am going to book an appointment for in a few weeks - I am going to a Featherdown Farm in April as my sister's OH is going to be 30 - none of her friends have seen me since I started LL and I want to look my best so will make sure I have the chop by then. Will be in early stages of RTM then which will be interesting. I have already decided that I will have a glass of red wine once we are all settled of an eve even though it is too early in the RTM officially. It's an adult decision though, I am even going to take my new steel wine measure lol! and a very nice bottle of Fleurie. I read that post by that chap Jezebella came across and he advocates red wine, I used to drink red a long time ago. In my new slim life, I plan to drink red if I have a drink, and only buy the best and most expensive - and if I can't afford it then I can't have it! And also to measure it and log it!

I have also decided to re- set my target at exactly healthy bmi to start RTM, as my RTM is an amalgamation of the LL and CD one - I will still be on no more than 1000 cals for the first few weeks so expect to drop a couple more pounds then.

If I don't drop those few pounds or gain any during RTM I will just calorie count and low carb them off, but my body is now crying out for real food, my digestive system has gone completely off the rails, and I lost 145ml this TOTM when the norm is 30-40ml and over 80ml is classed as heavy.

So the count down of the final 11 pounds is on!

xxxx