Getting it Done :D

[GLL]

Hi peeps. Haven't been on here in forever but back to it and I remember minimins being a constant bunch of encouragement and support

I was reading over my old thread on here and was in two minds to revive my old thread or start a new one but decided this is a new start so new thread.

So my journey has been going on for a bunch of years. In the past I had some success with weight watchers on the pro points plan. Fast forward a couple of years and I had a disaster of an attempt on Cambridge and tried to switch to WW again but didn't stick with it so here I am again. (Cambridge broke me lol)

This time I have different motivations and reasons for going for it, hopefully enough to stick to it and get to goal.

So coming back (again) I am 25lb lighter than when I first joined the site so some has stayed off (yay) but still a way off where I want to be.

I wasn't planning on being back on diet although I was seriously cutting out sweets and treats and trying to make better choices.
I attended a hospital appointment with my daughter (18) about her ongoing knee problems. Her knee dislocates. A lot. 2 surgeries and almost 4 years of chronic pain later we are still looking for the why.
Anyway, her surgeon is doing new scans and advised her she needs to loose weight.
She has been very much restricted with exercise she can do and added on the insane pain levels she, like me, turned to food to "feel better". She is now in the position that even if they identify the problem, the surgeon wont operate due to her bmi being what it is. Added onto that the extra weight is putting more strain on her knee, causing more pain etc.
Its taken someone else to explain this to her to motivate her into making changes.

I wouldn't have her diet and not do it myself, so here I am too along for the ride. I DO need this too but that was the deciding factor.

We started on slimming world under a week ago. Within a few days I already wasn't liking it. A lot of my problem is portion control and I felt like I was overeating.
I told my daughter that I was switching to weight watchers but would still eat what she has but just track it differently. She also decided to switch.
We decided to use the old pro points system as I know it well and there were still apps available for pointing and tracking. It worked for me in the past and I felt it suited me then and now

We talked about attending classes before we started but we agreed we are accountable to each other, we weigh in together and support each other. The money saved goes towards the increased grocery bill and allows us the extra bits we need to keep up on plan!

Fist weigh in tomorrow (this one is just a 5 day week for us to do the weigh in on the day we want). Looking forward to seeing progress for both of us. Will report back tomorrow with the results

Thanks for reading and looking forward to getting to know you!

 

[ladyfelsham]

Hi there GLL and welcome back!

Sounds like you and your daughter have got a great buddy support system, so it's a fab idea to keep the money back and use that for your extras.

I really sympathise with your daughter's knee problems, I have the same issue but I'm a lot heavier and older than she is, so I really hope she can lose a bit and then get it sorted for surgery x.

 

[GLL]

ty muchly lady. Sorry your knees are giving you hassle too. Totally understand the challenges that brings with day to day life.

So today's weigh in (5 day week this week since we only started friday) is -2lb. I'll take it! Kiddo is down 1lb but totm is imminent for her.

 

[GLL]

uggh but annoyed with my body (not myself).

Having TOTM symptoms but hasn't arrived yet after 4 days of cramps. Retaining fluid like it going out of fashion. It has sent my BP soaring too which has put me right into migraine land to boot.
Looked at scales during the week and was like +4lb at its worst. Today's official WI is showing +1lb so I know its fluid, plus I have been fairly good all week, if not eating the right things all the time, at least sticking within points

Just hope I'm still loosing fat and it will sort itself out on the scales.

Bit disheartening so early on but I understand the whys and will keep pushing on

 

[ladyfelsham]

Oh no boo hiss to TOTM pain, it's rubbish eh! I take evening primrose and Vit E oil and they really help.

 

[GLL]

The fluid retention sorted itself out Total is -6lb in 3 weeks so can't complain about that

 

[GLL]

Looking at my old thread and when I last posted. The world certainly has changed a lot!

So myself and kiddo have been poking at diets since then. Her medical appointments had been deferred so much during lockdown and it became so easy to slip back into old habits, living the lockdown life.

Fast forward to about 2 months ago when she finally got in to see her consultant for first time since her MRI of her knee that was done in very early 2020.
There are "improvements that could be made on her previous surgery" and they will operate again (I pretty much read that as they need to go fix whatever wan't done right the first time). They also asked her to loose 20kg in 6 months (44lb) to give her knee the best chance of being able to cope post surgery and to get it back to a usable state plus safety etc.

We have been back on track with "old weight watchers pro points" as her dietician referral STILL isn't through. Probably won't bother with it now.

Shes lost 19lb and ive lost 17lb in 6-7 weeks of being fully back on track and not poking at it like we were.

I'm finding this surprisingly easy this time around. Couple of odd days of going over points but nothing devastating. 100% key to it all for me has been prepping and freezing full meals. Means I have no excuse not to eat a decent meal and snack on junk instead

Hope everyone is kicking butt this week with whatever plan you are all on
<3

 

[ladyfelsham]

Welcome back @GLL - sounds like you and your daughter are completely back on the wagon and doing brilliantly!

I think she will reach her target without any problem, nearly halfway there already, which is amazing progress.

As per usual with Minis, there's a range of different eating plans and lifestyles being followed - after much mucking about, I'm now happily on keto/LC, just a few weeks but loving it so far.

Look forward to hearing how you're both getting on x

 

[GLL]

Scales have been all over the place. Weigh in wed morning showed +2lb from last week and today (thurs) was -1. Body doesn't know what its doing anymore! Taking the -1 and moving on :') Didn't have a bad week so my guess is fluid with the totm that is trying to happen but not really arriving. Blegh.

Kiddo got a -1 so shes 20lb out of the 44 she needs down, almost halfway! (she will keep going after hitting her surgeons goal tho)

Hows everyone else doing?

 

[ChilliQueen]

hey there, I'm a jumper about er. So I was on low carb for a while, now trying out exante for a few months.

Welcome back you two are doing great

 

[GLL]

I fully salute anyone who can stick with meal replacement diets. I've done Cambridge for about 5-6 weeks in the past and really struggled with it. Hope it gives you the results you are looking for chilli.

Was out in town yesterday for a proper poke about primark and charity shops looking for some clothes that fit me and grabbed a few bargains. Also got given a bag of clothes from a family member to see if there was anything that fitted (got a few bits.)

I think I'm sorted for the 18-20 ish range now and have bagged up bigger sizes that I had, ready to donate.

So I'm defiantly trying to save money on clothes on the way down sizes. Very thankful I'm my kiddos full time carer so for the most part, we live in casual clothing and I don't need to worry about a work wardrobe, not that I'm rolling in cash to fund shopping sprees anyway.

How do you guys deal with wardrobe replacements while loosing? I have decided to make sure I have some things that actually fit me properly for out n about, buy stretchy clothes to hopefully last an extra size or two but not go overboard so I can make sure the food shopping budget can deal with 2 of us on diets. +£30 extra on food every week is no joke while on carers .

 

[ChilliQueen]

I haven't considered the clothing thing much until lately, but definitely stretchy tight things that can stand for you to shrink will last a couple sizes I think. And as your wardrobe is comfy - things like hoodies, tshirts and cardigans etc look ok a bit oversized too.

I sew a lot, so sometimes I look at things I know I could alter a bit. I do make my own clothes too, so sometimes I will take the bigger sections of fabric in something that still look good and recycle them. Making clothes from scratch sadly is not cheaper than buying these days but I like to do it when I can.

Other than that, I've spent a fair bit recently but I can't afford to keep doing that so my latest revelation is charity shops. I used to deliberately go on a charity shop rummage a few times a year with my bestie and found some lovely things so I'll be going back to that.

 

[ladyfelsham]

I buy and sell on eBay, you never know what you might find - and the proceeds of sales go into buying something else.

Mind you, I've been living in PJs for goodness knows how long - jersey shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt singlet - so comfy, and when anyone comes to the door I grab my hooded sweatshirt to try and disguise the fact that I have no bra on LOLOL.

 

[GLL]

hurrah for the hoodies, cardis and PJs saying that my PJs are about 2-3 sizes to big and have a habit of falling down but they will do for now

I'm demented with weight atm.

(in lbs)
21 sept - 211.6
29 sept - 213.9
6 oct - 209.7
13 oct - 210.8 (that became 208.8 the next day)
and today (20 oct) 212.8

I haven't come off plan at all, haven't even pushed weekly points to the max. Been drinking plenty and eating plenty of fibre & protein and not a whole heap of carbs.

I can see fluid in my feet / ankles building up and can feel my bp is defo up and been having migraines again.

Going to try and phone the doctors today and see about getting it under control. My brain knows its almost certainly water weight but its so demotivating. The urge to self sabotage was so overwhelming yesterday (didn't tho).

I'm trying to get healthy, can't my body just behave itself while I do it

 

[ladyfelsham]

Definitely ask the GP about the water weight, I used to get the same thing and got put on water tablets, which made as big difference - just be prepared to visit the loo a LOT!

 

[ChilliQueen]

aw deffo see your doc hopefully they can help

 

[GLL]

gotta love the GPs. (altho I don't blame the receptionists)

I can see them in a few weeks or phone/book on the day (code for sit on hold for hours at 8.30am tomorrow and hope I can get an appointment which will likely be over the phone until they go "wait, maybe we need to check your bp in person").

Also kiddo was contacted about dietician referral finally which we have said we don't need now as she's halfway there (she got a -2 today putting her at -21.5lb out of 44 required by hospital).

As for water tablets, another family member that I help out with a lot is on a much bigger journey than me and has to take them regularly. I know the struggle of being up and down to the loo every 10 mins. We have to plan her day around fitting in taking them. I'm thankful I am more mobile than she is and can nip to the loo without issue.

I had a wee bit of fluid build up when I restarted diet but lost most of that in the first week or two. Trying not to weigh now until my body is back under control (but sticking to plan).

Will probs end up on BP meds again. Last time was a disaster as my mental health was very low and I didn't care too much about looking after myself. My effort to refill scripts and go back to drs was terrible.

 

[ChilliQueen]

I tend to put things off as well, I wish I could tell you how to get past it - if I ever find out I'll tell you!

 

[GLL]

So I did the dance of the doctors today where I called at 8.30am and was on hold for about 20 mins.
Got a phone appointment and was called by 10.30am
Asked why I was calling so I said I felt my bp was up and I was retaining fluids.
Got a 5 min lecture on vaping (I quit smoking 2 years ago) and was asked about drinking habits (I don't).
She then said I will need BP check with the nurse and bloods done.
I mentioned (again) about the fluid and asked would the nurse be able to discuss that too which she only then asked where the fluid build up is etc and said I'll have to see a doctor about that and got me a face to face appointment for a week tomorrow. (I'm pretty sure that why I sat on the phone for 20 mins earlier, was to SEE a doctor since nothing I need can be done over the phone).
I called back to book the nurse and was #10 in queue and just put the phone down (bp was soaring by this point - why can't the GP book me into see another GP and not the nurse???).
Called back lunchtime and was a more respectable #3 in the queue.
Managed to get an appointment for nurse tomorrow lunchtime (despite being told yesterday I wouldn't be able to see the practice nurse until end of next week) and hoping she can help with the fluid too. At least bloods should be back before seeing GP if I still need to go and she can put me on BP meds if needed.

I also weighed again (more to gauge where fluids are at - I've given up trying to get a hold on what actual fat I've lost) and I'm now +0.2lb from last week vs the +4lb that I was yesterday. This old ww plan is amazing if I can loose 4lb odds in a day*!!
(*heavy sarcasm)

 

[ChilliQueen]

anything medical at the moment is probably driving up even the calmest and lowest of BP's, we'll end up with a BP epidemic,

My daughter has an ongoing chesty cough that needs looking at but she works a 9 day fortnight. She's off on Monday so we'll phone in the morning but most likely she won't be actually seen and after phone appointment will probably be told to make an appointment, which she then can't easily do. That's how I predict it's going to go anyway.

Glad you're getting to see the nurse quickly, at least that's a step forwards