Happy New Gear!

I do love a bit of cruise control. The only problem is I can sometimes find my mind drifting off and before I know it.........

I must also confess, I am rather partial to my automatic. A switch of the key and a shift of the stick and I'm off, easy as that. Again, not too much engaging of brain required. Is this a theme I need to pick up on?

All that said, nothing beats the thrill of shifting through the gears as you pull away from a stop sign (especially if there's a bit of competition). The adrenaline rush as you hope beyond hope you make it in time before your lane merges with his. Of course I usually do make it...... I also love the sound of the engine as the car gives you its all in faithful allegiance.

I guess what I am trying to say here is more often than not, I can coast along, doing "the diet thing". I've read the books, listened to the consultants bought the right foods. Hey sometimes I even eat it, other times I find it in the back of the fridge a couple of weeks later.

There are also the weeks and months where I am more alert to the foods I should be eating. I stick to the plans pretty well and have reasonable results

HOWEVER, nothing beats the feeling of sticking to the plan, making the effort to exercise, driving along to the class knowing the scales are waiting for me, stepping onto said scales and being rewarded with a great weight loss!

This is my last year of being a "thirty something", I know that's hard to believe. I have shifted the gear stick down, put on my trainers, made a food plan and am determined to use the adrenaline rush to ensure I get to the end of the lane before it merges!!!!

Here's to my foot down......Happy New Gear!

Total loss 22 lbs (Well, we have had Christmas)

Jolly Junctions

I will often count down the junctions along the motorway as I journey up or down country. Sometimes I play games to amuse myself between junctions such as only being aloud to spot 5 Volvos before the next junction otherwise, I'm out! It's surprising how long it takes to get to a junction when you're desperate.  My second stone felt very much like this game. I was desperate to get there but it felt just out of my reach for so long, I was soooo delighted to see the numbers 23:00 static on the scales display....yahoo...I got the second charm for my bracelet, a cup cake! However, no sooner have I arrived at "J23", my sights shift to J22 and so the game continues. There's no time to stop and enjoy the achievement, I have to keep my eyes set ahead. Sounds easy enough hey. If only...

My weight loss is going rather slowly at the minute, and although I know slowly is the best way to lose weight and keep it off, it also means that my destination will take longer to reach. I am an impulsive kinda girl at heart and I like to see results NOW. Note to self, must work on patience.

I've been talking through my frustration with a couple of people and we are wondering whether my PCOS if having an effect on my slow progress? With this in mind I am looking into the possibility of avoiding foods with a high GI as they are notoriously bad for PCOS sufferers wanting to lose weight. Juggling Pro Points and GIs is going to be fun, hopefully focusing on this will mean I arrive at J22 before I know it. We can but hope. And hope I shall. I would love to lose another stone before Christmas, realistically I should go for seven pounds but hey, in for a penny......

So, work Christmas meal coming up this week, Rachel's birthday next week, then my birthday and Christmas the following week.....wish me luck...or send me a roll of gaffa tape.

Total loss 21 lbs

Back in the driving seat!

September 2009! The last time I blogged! Three years on I should really have arrived at destination fabulous, however, somewhere along the route I took a detour.....a three year detour! How did that happen? 

I could spend the next hour or so looking back or I get back in the driving seat and set the satnav. This time no detour, I'm going to plan my journey and stick with the route before me.

So, the journey. Where will it take me along the way? Who knows. I hope I pick up a few travelling companions, I do enjoy company.

I often travel up and down the motorway to visit my family in the midlands, you would think therefore that preparing for this journey shouldn't be too difficult. There are a few things I always take with me on long journeys and wouldn't dream of leaving behind. I think in some way I must include them in my journey to destination fabulous. 

My first item is music. There is no way I can leave the village let alone the county without my favourite tracks on the stereo. I need a weight loss anthem, something to motivate and inspire me.....any suggestions? Also tracks to exercise too, I am going to be building up my exercise routine over the coming weeks and months so will definitely need music to keep me going.

I am completely committed to this journey and will post updates each week with a running total of my weight loss to date (since joining ww). As I weigh in at Weight Watchers every Tuesday it makes sense to blog either Tuesdays or Wednesdays, please check in and encourage me.

Total loss 18 lbs

Long time no see!

The summer seems to have flown by. The children are back at school and we are left with some wonderful memories of camping, weddings, trips to the seaside on a steam train, lazy days and lovely food! A bit too much if I am honest. I couldn't tell you where I went wrong exactly but somewhere along the way I lost the map to fabulous and took a wrong turn to flabulous instead.

I was really nervous going back to slimming world post summer, I knew a weight gain was about to be served to me and my three stone award would elude me a while longer. I thought about taking another week off. If I tried really hard to stick to the eating plan and work out on the Wii fit everyday, surely I could repair the damage of the summer. Who was I kidding? I'm not traveling this journey alone, I needed to get back on track, face reality and keep pressing on.

I managed to gain about five pounds over the summer. Not the end of the world by any means, just a pot hole in the road. So I pause and take a look back at my last summer being the size I am. I've taken some mental snapshots to encourage me towards next summer. My snapshots include squeezing into a seat behind a table on a steam train, being convinced that everyone on the beach had an opinion on me eating chips on the beach, certain that everyone I passed along the seafront stared at me as I ate my ice cream, worrying that the deck chair would collapse, hoping there would be enough room on the floor for me to sit when 10,000 people sat down on the floor in a marquee. These are all snapshots I am looking forward to sending to the recycle bin when I no longer have a use for them.

A week later I weighed in another three and a half pounds lighter. I am delighted, I have set my next goal and I'm hoping to get my four stone award before the October half term. I have another journey to take then, but more about that another day. For now...I am working on the snapshots of the future.......they're fabulous!!!!!

Mirror Mirror on the wall.......

What a glorious day!!! I've had a fabulous day by the pool with the kids. We've swam and had fun all day.

I'm going to be completely honest in my blogging and share my thoughts as well as my progress as I travel along this journey.

On with the swimming costume...... today I stood in front of the mirror dressed only in my swimming costume. Weeks ago I would rarely look in a mirror other than to put on my make up and then it would always be a small mirror, just big enough to see my face. Today I thought it important to take a good look at myself as I am now. It was really hard to accept what I saw, however, I did accept it, I do accept it, it's me. What I mean is, it is my body, it's not me...I am much more than my body.

I believe that part of the journey to destination fabulous is learning to accept myself as I am now. That doesn't have to mean I stay the same!

Now on the food front, a good day I fancy. We had a BBQ tonight for our youth group, I was pretty good, perhaps a cob too many (a cob to everyone south of Birmingham is a bread roll). So far so good. I am so going to nail the 3 stone this week. 3 stone...what weighs 3 stone??????

Fasten your seat belts!

I'll try to keep my entries short and sweet as I've been advised not to write War and Peace.


As most of my friends are aware I've struggled with my weight over the years. The main reason being it keeps increasing. Not a good thing! I have reached a cross roads in my life and have come to accept that to live my life to the full some things have got to change, the first being my weight.


It's going to be a long journey and I don't like travelling alone, so I'm hoping I'll pick up some travelling companions along the way. I'll take any encouragement you can offer, I'll weigh your advice and hopefully I'll inspire a few of you to live your life to the full too!!


So here goes......"I need help!" I cried to my GP. Minutes later I had been referred to an endocrinologist for tests. "That's it!" I thought, "there must be something wrong with my hormones. It's not my fault I'm so big, I must not be working right". I came home from the consultant a few pints of blood short and two large containers to pee in each time I went to the loo for the next 48hrs.

Oh!! Test results all fine. There's nothing wrong with me... apart from being morbidly obese. Not to worry I'm a perfect candidate for a Gastric Bypass. The weight should just fall off me, I'll just eat tiny portions of food for the rest of my life and never be able to drink at the same time as eating again, small price to pay. Sounds like the easiest option right? Wrong, the risk of complications during and after the surgery are way too high for me........I want to have my cake and eat it as they say.

Off to Slimming World I go (dragging Stockers along with me). Wednesday 11th March 2009 the start of the journey. I weighed in at 24stones 13 1/2 pounds. I nearly fainted. I knew I was big but whoa, I was mortified. I left the class that night motivated and determined to make it. The following week I had lost 10lbs and over the next 20 weeks a total of 2st 13 1/2 pounds!! Not too bad.

Next Wednesday I am hoping to get my 3 Stone award!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm going to blog each day and share my highs and lows. Hopefully more highs than lows. I hope you'll join me.