Day 18 - 82

It's been ages since I seem to have been able to get on the computer to update my blog. For some reason it wont let me sign in at work to update mine but will let me leave comments on others, which is the ideal place for me to do it as computer at home is monopolised by my 13 year old daughter in the evenings.

So here goes with catch up.

Any way have been doing really well, started class last tuesday which was very small only 4 people but LLC did say she had 3 more people coming to introduction on saturday so they may start this week. Every one was really nice and really looking forward to getting in to this side of it, the weight loss is going really well I am so pleased. At weigh in I have lost 13lbs, a bit dissappointed it wasn't a whole stone but still very pleased with the results so far.

Hubby and I went out for the day on Sunday to Lulworth Cove in Dorset, we were planning on taking the walk over the cliffs to Durdle Door but it was far to hot. So we laid on the beach for a while then Matt needed food so we sat outside a cafe for an hour or so while he ate and I drank a bottle of sparkling water. Found it surprisingly easy to do as not at all hungry. We then did have a short walk to a viewing point part way up the cliff walk. So much for good intentions!!

Exercise is somewhere that I am struggling a bit - I have a frozen shoulder which is very painful a lot of the time and I'm not really sure other than walking what I could do. I really do need to get moving again as I find my muscles get really tired and heavy when i do anything even slightly strenuous. I don't know if that is a cause of LL or just my lack of exercise since the shoulder started. Used to do yoga once a week and a couple of sessions at the gym before it started.

Yesterday we went to a BBQ which was being held by a friend I used to work with. She finished with LL about a month ago and has done really well, still keeping her weight off even after a trip to go shopping in Florida with her daughter who had also done the programme with her. They both looked absolutely fantastic, infact I nearly didn't recognise her daughter. They both offered a lot of encouragement and were very inpressed with my loss so far. However there was another lady there who has lost about 5 stone with weight watchers over the last couple of years who was very negative about what I was doing and how she knows 'lots of people' who have been really ill doing LL although she couldn't actually tell me how many or what illness they had. Until then I had not heard of anyone who has had any health problems from following the programme and it made me abit angry that she couldn't see the postive effect it has had on at least two people at the event and potentially a third in the making. Apart from my shoulder I haven't felt this good in a long time.

Today my sister is coming round while Matt goes to his Taekwondo lesson and we are going to sort through all the clothes I have stashed away in the loft. Hopefully this will give me things to wear whilst losing weight as I have a load of clothes still with the labels on that I was going to lose half a stone or so to fit in to comfortably and never did. I also hope to get rid of loads of things that are already too big and winter things that I won't need next winter.

There are probably loads of things I've forgotten about over the last ten days but I think that will do and I will try and keep upto date each day.

Bye for now!

Day 8 - 92

Feeling really good again today, my family and everybody at work is being very supportive. What I am finding odd is that some people at work find it necessary to apologise because they are eating near me, I have told them that it doesn't effect me but they still seem to be very embarrased - they weren't bothered before I started this so not sure why they should be now.

I need to lose another 3-4lbs to put my weight back to my average weight over the last 4-5 years and I hope this will happen before I start my class properly on Tuesday, I will then feel that I have started from my normal weight rather than what I have put on this year since Christmas and my Nan's death when my eating seemed to get way out of control.

I have spent this evening organising menus for everyone else for the next couple of weeks so that I can create a sensible shopping list to start to show that this is not costing us anymore than the average shopping bill each week. Menus are done, shopping list done and there doesn't seem to be very much on it which is good.

I'm feeling very tired now, I still don't seem to be sleeping very well - not sure if it's the need for the toilet or some other reason but I hope it will settle down soon.

Bye for now

Day 7 - 93

Today is weigh in day looking forward to the official result, although I have weighed at home. I weighed myself at home last Thursday morning and have weighed myself this morning and it shows a 10lbs loss!! I'm amazed I never thought I would lose this much in one week, can't wait until tonight to get this confirmed.

I know I keep going on about it but I just can't get used to not being hungry, I keep drinking my water, both still and sparkling and black coffee and peppermint tea and I seem to forget about mealtimes so I am not having my packs at regular times during the day. When you diet normally you are constantly thinking about when you will eat your next allowed item of food and invariably end up eating it sooner than you planned and then spend the whole evening thinking you must be able to have something else - this plan just doesn't make you think like that. I am so focussed on consuming the quantity of water and other drinks that you need to have that I seem to forget about food altogether - It's amazing.

Weighed in at 6 pm and the official wight loss is 9lbs, this could be something to do with the litre of water I drank on the way from work to LLC.

Really pleased with the results for such little effort!

Day 6 - 94

Thankfully feeling much better today, still a bit grumbly but don't feel sick any more. I didn't have my last shake yesterday and still don't want one this morning. The peppermint tea helped with the sicky feelings.

I finally had my first shake at about 12.30, now I'm worried that I wont fit in my fourth one again today need to have a plan for this evening to make it happen.

Had quite a busy day at work, there are a few changes going on but it's good for me as I'm getting some different things to do, this stops me getting bored. Late home from work tonight and as Matt's not back from Birmingham yet need to prepare dinner for him and my youngest daughter. I am very surprised that cooking for other people doesn't seem to be bothering me, although I'm not going to let Matt know that as it will be nice to have the odd night off from thinking about ideas for dinner and then cooking it.

In order to make sure that I have my four packs today I made some crisps from a Thai Chilli pack and had a shake with them. The crisps weren't to bad although some of them were a bit soggy, I would make them again. I will have my last shake just before bed.

It's weigh in tomorrow looking forward to seeing what I've done in the first week.

Day 5 - 95

My youngest daughter had friend to stay last night as they didn't have school today - what a mistake, they were still making loads of noise at 1am and Matthew had to get up at 5.45 this morning as he had to go to Birmingham for a couple of days with work. So today I have been very tired, I also have a really gripey and gurgly tummy which has got worse as the day has gone on. I don't know if this is anything to do with LL or just something going around.

I still don't feel hungry(may be connected to upset tummy), had a shake at about 10.30 this morning and another at about 2pm. I wanted to cycle to my sisters house so I thought I should have my soup before I went so I had that at about 6.30 but wasn't really hungry and my stomach has been feeling worse since, it's now 10pm and I'm not sure whether I can manage my 4th pack. Is this normal? and does anyone know if it will hurt for me not to have it?

I think I might go and have a soak in the bath and see if it makes me feel any better.

Bye for now.

Day 4 - 96

I don't seem to be able to get into a good routine with this blog, wrote a lot in my journal today trying to get upto date with my thoughts over the last week or so, I could do that lying in the garden and being a bit of a sun worshipper I couldn't miss out on the lovely sunshine to sit at the computer. May be I should treat myself to a laptop then I could do this anywhere. After worrying a bit about how I would cope at the weekends without work to keep me occupied I have found the whole weekend really easy. I haven't been hungry and even struggled to have my fourth pack this evening, just didn't feel I needed it but thought I better as I didn't know how it would effect me tomorrow.

Getting a bit bored with plain water, although I do normally drink quite a lot of water, when it is the only thing you can have it gets a bit tedious. I have been having black coffee and I bought some peppermint tea which I am enjoying but I think I will buy some water flavouring when I go for my weigh in on Wednesday just to ring the changes and maybe make some ice lollies for when it is hot.

With my daughter and her boyfriend staying for the weekend I thought it would be nice to have a family meal this afternoon, now I feel quite proud of myself. I cooked new potatoes, jacket potatoes, chicken portions, prepared a salad with hardboiled eggs and grated cheese and then sat with them and had a raspberry shake! This the first sort of organised meal I have encountered since starting as we don't seem to have all been in at the same time for meals over the last few days and I found it remarkably easy - the difficult bit was clearing away the leftover new potatoes and boiled eggs - in the past I probably would have just popped one in my mouth and not thought anything of it but I am so focused I didn't feel that I needed to.

So I have completed 1/25 of the programme and I hope the next 24/25 are as easy!!!!

Day 3 - 97

Didn't get time to post yesterday after making decision that after drop in with LLC (which actually gave great result of 6lbs lost) to go for a nice long bike ride in the countryside, all the plans changed when my daughter phoned to ask if we would like some cheap concert tickets. The Who were playing in concert at The Rose Bowl (Hampshire Cricket Ground) which is about 2 miles from where we live. So that's what we did!!!

The concert was really good the support acts were good as well, one being the Magic Numbers which are a group I like. It was really great to here all the old Who hits and lots of newer stuff as well. Roger Daltrey just never seems to look any older. The atmosphere was really great, huge range of ranges at 43 I felt quite young, but the oldies certainly new how to enjoy themselves!! We cycled to the Rose Bowl and left our bikes at my daughters friends house which is very close to the venue. The only two things I found difficult being on the LL plan were when we arrived I was very hot from cycling and everybody was drinking cold lager which would have been great to have had and later when I wanted to mix my shake I felt that people were watching me (although they probably weren't). All in all we had a fantastic day, managed to drink about 5 litres of water and not too much coffee and I wasn't really hungry.

Feeling really positive having lost 6lbs in 2 1/2 days I can't help wondering what I might lose by weigh in on Wednesday, I am finding the whole thing quite easy at the moment, long may it continue.

Day 2 - only 98 to go!

Woke up quite hungry this morning, but busied myself with some chores and a bit of TV before going to work. Have decided to have my first shake at work when I feel I need it as black coffee and pint of water seemed to have quashed my hunger. I am finding it quite strange that I don't even seem to be thinking about food.

I weighed myself this morning which showed a great result of 3lbs in just one day!!! Here's hoping for 1/2 stone by the time I get weighed on Saturday at my drop in.

I have tried the Raspberry, Chicken and Vegetable packs so far today - thumbs up to Raspberry and Chicken and the vegetable was Ok with a bit of salt & pepper.

Needed to shop for the family tonight so dragged Matt along with me because I think need to start how I want to carry on and that is for him to be more involved in shopping and preparing dinner for him and the girls. Infact it will probably only be him and my youngest daughter most nights as my middle daughter tends to fly in from work and then fly out again to whatever social occasion she has that evening, with no time for dinner!!

I am a bit worried about how I am going to cope with weekends when I am at home around food, however I have just sat with my husband and my eldest daughter, who has come home from London for the weekend with her boyfriend and they have been drinking rum and coke and eating cashew nuts that I found when tidying up the cupboards this evening. Although my sense of smell seems to have increased and they did smell delicious (cashews are my favourite nut) and I didn't feel at all tempted - just wish I had found them a few days ago and I could have had some before I started the plan.

Still feeling really positive, can't wait for the class to start, I am really looking forward to meeting the group.

Trying to keep up with the water but found it a bit harder today. I think it was because very busy at work and also forgot to take my bottle with me to Tescos. I was planning on drinking a litre whilst wandering around the shop, I should have just bought one there I suppose but only remembered about half way round.

I hope whoever reads this is doing really well and I hope to get to know a few of the people who's blogs I have been reading - they are all truly inspirational.

Bye for now.

I guess I just need the weather to be good so as we can get out and about, quite fancy taking the bikes out and having a good ride either along the coast or perhaps the New Forest. There are also alot of jobs that need doing in the garden so that should keep me going - fingers crossed for some sunshine!!