http://www.pongcheese.co.uk/shop/
Placed an order for £60 worth of cheese to be delivered on Christmas Eve!!! We are planning a few cheese fests over the festive period…
I defy anyone to look at the site and not drool!
Drool away!!!
Year: 2013
Four days post surgery
Hello all!
Thought I would drop in and give you all an update on my progress. I am now four days after surgery, a full abdominoplasty and breast reduction.
I am in no pain I would describe what I have as just some mild discomfort. I am taking only regular paracetamol.
Tomorrow, I go for my dressings to be changed. This will be my first opportunity to see my new breasts!
I have now lost a total of 7 pounds since last Friday when I went in for the surgery. I guess there must still be some swelling and fluid retention however.
My appetite has reduced since the surgery. This may be due to the anaesthetic or it may just be something else. I am ensuring that I am eating regularly, as I am still taking antibiotics. Dinner tonight was a quarter of a tomato and goats cheese quiche and some sliced tomatoes and cucumber followed by a bowlful of low fat yoghurt. I haven’t fancied anything sweet at all! Having said that I did in a slice of a fruit loaf with butter as my late night snack.
Post surgery report
Hi there!
I am back. I had my breast reduction and abdominoplasty on Saturday morning first thing. After two nights in hospital I came home this morning. I am experiencing discomfort more than pain. Only using paracetamol to control the pain the moment. I will take codeine tonight to ensure I get a good nights sleep after two nights of regular waking up experiences whilst I had my observations done.
The surgeon has done a terrific job. He expected only to be able to perform a mini tummy tuck because he didn’t think I had enough skin to stretch down. He also warned me that he may not be able to relocate the button to a new position. In the event he was able to take away much more skin than he thought would be possible and he has also given me a new belly button in the right place! I now have a completely flat stomach. In fact I can see parts of my anatomy that I haven’t seen in 37 years!
As for the breasts, I can’t really see them at the moment as they are strapped up and supported, but one thing is for sure they are not size H any more. If they turn out to be as good as my tummy I will be more than happy with all of my results.
I had the surgery just two days ago and already I am 5 pounds lighter than I was then. There is probably some residual swelling I should imagine.
All in all definitely not an operation for the faint hearted – it was a big one. Four hours under anaesthetic which made me very sick afterwards. Now I have to take things very slowly for the next fortnight. No driving, no house work and mostly bed rest.
Just thought I would check in and let you all know that I survived it!
Contemplating surgery….
I have got to just under 11 stone, and I too feel a bit “stuck” bobbing up and down the same few pounds since the end of May, despite continuing to log, exercise…. and I am wondering whether this is just what I am meant to be?
Having said that, I am still obese and still weigh too much for my height, but my short height is due to my disability rather than genetics (both my sisters are about 5ft 10). I am now down to a size 16 from a size 24, and I know I could never be a size 10 or 12. A size 14 perhaps.
I have, after a lot of thought and deliberation, booked myself in for a breast reduction and a tummy tuck.
My boobs have always been large and they’ve just not got any smaller during my weight loss journey (3 stone) and remain as 38H’s. Given the length of my arms, they are “in the way” and of course must add quite a few pounds to my short frame! In the past people have asked me why I don’t get them reduced, but they’ve never really bothered me and as the rest of me was “big” they looked in proportion. Now they don’t. They just look far too large for my narrow shoulders.
My belly has reduced significantly, but I am left with a horrible “hanging flap” of skin which doesn’t seem to have much fat in it now! My muscle tone underneath, I am hoping, is good – I concentrate a lot in by 3 – 7 times a week 1 – 2 hour workout on my legs, bum and tum.
I know that surgery is a huge risk, but I can honestly say that I’m really excited now about getting rid of these “bits that won’t budge”. It’s certainly not for a lack of hard work or enthusiasm!
Over the weekend, I met a friend who has just had a breast uplift/implant. She was kind enough to show me how her boobs look 12 weeks after surgery, and I must say I was totally gob-smacked! The scarring had virtually vanished (she has been using bio oil daily on the scars) and the overall shape was really great. Like me, she also had one boob larger than the other, but the surgery has evened them up as well.
I most certainly am not looking at this as a way to lose weight (it would be a very expensive way to lose weight!)
I love the Weight Loss Resources website, the support it provides, the tools which enable me to monitor my food intake and weight loss. I will most certainly continue with that side of things for the foreseeable future, whatever the outcome of the surgery.
Size 16!
Weird.
I am the same weight now as I was at the end of July. I went up a bit over the Summer (holidays, getting married, honeymoon….) but have more or less got back to my lowest weight since starting.
My measurements haven’t really altered since I last took them (May) but I am smaller! Definitely!
Went clothes shopping today and bought some size 16 tops and dresses, quite fitted with just a little stretch.
and….. THEY FIT!!!
I find this totally incredible because (1) I started off as a size 24 just 19 months ago… so I have dropped four dress sizes and (2) I have not been a size 16 since I was about…… 21???
I can only think it’s the continued exercise, so a great incentive to keep going….
15 months…… 68 weeks
My weight loss journey started on 24th February 2012. 15 months or 68 weeks ago.
I have now lost 3 stone.
I’m a shortie (4ft 9 inches to be precise). My start weight was 14 stone. I’m now 11 stone. My aim is to get to 9 and a half stone. The last time I remember weighing this little was when I was about 20 years old (30 years ago).
So easy to blame why we are overweight or not succeeding at losing the weight on something….
For me, it was my disability. Then my lack of mobility as I grew older. Then being pregnant, having a baby and being a mum…… then the injuries I sustained in a road traffic accident that left me with leg injuries and needing to use a wheelchair outside of the house…. yes, there was always something that stood in the way of me being “slimmer”.
My weight loss journey has changed all of that. Without any exercise at all in the first 7 months I managed to lose one and a half stone. This was just by “calorie counting” on-line. I use the websiteweightlossresources.co.uk to complete a daily diary. Yes, it’s tedious to write down every single thing that passes through my lips… and yes it does consume a large portion of my day. But I have discovered it works! If I stop logging, I have no clue how many calories I’ve consumed.
With my improved mobility and not lugging around that extra weight the thought of undertaking some regular exercise popped into my head from nowhere! I hadn’t exercised for maybe 20 years since a step aerobic class! I started to go swimming once a week – and LOVED it! I’d never been “proper” swimming before (swimming up and down the pool non-stop for an hour). It helped my pain, helped reduce swelling in my damaged ankle and each week I would earn 400 calories.
In February 2013 on the first anniversary of my joining the weightloss site, and now having lost 2 stone, I was greedy for more!
I signed up for a free assessment with a Personal Trainer (Ollie Adkins) at the Berkshire Physiotherapy Centre I attend regularly. Between us we devised a suitable exercise routine that concentrated on just about every part of my body. Nothing too strenuous and certainly not aerobic exercise.
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| Polar FT2 Heart Rate Monitor |
I bought myself a Heart Rate Monitor, the Polar FT2. I “borrowed” my ex-husbands treadmill. I spent under £100 on some resistance training bands, a wobble board, a stepper, some gym matting for the garage floor, some running shoes and a sports bra. And I began to exercise every day!
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| 66Fit Wobble Board |
The most rewarding thing about the exercise is the calories I earn! Wearing my heart rate monitor, I know that I can earn between 600 and 900 calories in my exercise sessions – which I try to do every day. Of course some days I don’t have the time… or I am in pain… or I just don’t want to do it. But most of the time, I make myself get up earlier…. I talk myself into going out of the door and into the garage and doing that exercise. And after I have finished my one or two hours of exercise, I come back inside for a revitalising shower and some well earned breakfast. I feel GREAT! I am sleeping well… I am eating better (thanks to those calories I earn!)
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| Shock Absorber Sports Bra |
Friends and family are really supportive, although slightly shocked that over a year down the line I am still as dedicated (if not MORE dedicated) to this journey. The reasons are simple. The choices I need to make about food and eating are now natural and require very little willpower. I don’t feel as though I am being deprived or missing out. In fact I now seem to see people all around me over-indulging and eating things I wouldn’t want to eat any more (I would have once upon a time!)
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| Ultrasport Up-Down Stepper |
I can walk (wheel) through the town centre and smell and look at food and continue walking (wheeling), as I know that I have prepared a salad ready to eat when I get home again. I don’t want to ever go back to how things were. I didn’t think that my dietary habits were too bad, but it was quantity and feeling that I “deserved” this treat…. meal out….. cake… or whatever. I can now seriously say “I don’t want that!” remembering just how hard I have worked to get to where I am. I want to see the weight coming off EVERY week. It won’t if I don’t stay on track.
I have to say my weight loss has been one of the most amazing achievements of my life! I believe I AM allowed to say this smugly. But oh how I wish I had done this sooner.
But if the truth be known, I wasn’t in the right place before. Suddenly I found myself with the time to devote to making this my absolute TOP priority. I am surrounded by the right people to make it happen.
Actually, one person particularly – my boyfriend of 6 years – soon to be my husband (9 weeks to go!) I have absolutely no doubt that without his support I wouldn’t have stayed the course. Each day he fastens me into my sports bra, straps on my heart rate monitor and puts on my sports socks and trainers, lacing them up for me. He doesn’t need to lose weight, but he eats the same meals as me, doesn’t complain about the fact we don’t eat out as often, helps to prepare healthy meals, looks out for interesting healthy recipes on line… and gives me lots and lots of compliments about my improved body shape and fitness levels. I am not sure I could have achieved this without his support and assistance.
I decided I wanted to write up “my journey” for anyone who needs an incentive to lose weight or get fitter or those who have started their journey or are struggling.
Don’t give up. It gets easier and most importantly, you are so worth the effort!!
Pork and popcorn
I accidentally ordered this rather large pork joint from Tesco. 2.3kg or 5lbs. It weight a ton! Luckily there was a half price offer on, so it only cost £10. I have carved it up into steads and a couple of joints now. But by lifting it up and moving it about I realised that I have been carrying around almost 7 of these!
So if you feel a little fed up because your loss isn’t as much as you’d like, find something that weighs the equivalent of your weight loss and remind yourself of the additional weight you were once lugging about!
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| Popcorn Tea from TeaPigs |
