95 Cm waistline 24 June 2014

Today my waistline is 95 cms so I've gone down 2 cms since the last time I checked. I have only 7 cms before I get into the orange zone on my BMI calculator tape measure and only 15 cms before I get back into the green range for a woman. If I was a man I would be only 1 cm from being back in the green range. I love being a woman though and having a curvy shape. I have got curves again and they are for an hour glass shape now and not the robust apple shape of last year. I look at old photos and wonder how I let myself get that big sometimes.

I have learnt over the last few weeks that I am definitely a stress eater as I am yo-yoing up and down between 99.9 and 99 kgs. We are still having trouble getting mum's place in Chinderah ,NSW into the hands of either a buyer or a friend that could really do with it. The management are refusing the entrance of the buyer and making it difficult for the friend as I think they are trying to get the large site for nothing if we abandon it.My daughter has had to change her flight time and pay extra money to do so.

I am also having health concerns as I recently lost vision in my left eye after bending down for a short while doing some dusting. I also had some problems in the other eye but not as bad. I saw an optometrist later in the week as it settled at the time but had me concerned. She is concerned that it is either a TIA or Temporal arteritis ( giant cell arteritis). I have gone and looked at medical sites and both are scary but the temporal arteritis could blind me permanently and suddenly. It also can cause aortic aneurysms leading to sudden death or strokes that could totally incapacitate me. She said she would contact my doctor and send a referral to the eye specialist with urgent on them. I have heard back from no-one so will have to do some chasing up on that or keep on eating my worry away. That is not an option as I have my 1 year post op check coming up and want to have lost more weight before then.

Good news is every-time I buy some new clothing I can buy a smaller size. I recently bought leggings that have a rib/cable pattern on them, size 18 not size 20, and a long cable jumper that is size 16-18 and it is already looking slightly large. They were a bargain and I got an outfit for $NZ25.00. I do like a good sale. I went to my local book shop the other bay and got 3 books at 50% off of their already discounted price then $5 further off on the loyalty program. One will be a Xmas present for my brother as it is a book on NZ fishing tales, another is a kid's fantasy book (grand-kids need presents) and a knitting book by Debbie Bliss with some lovely patterns in. I often walk to the library as an extra bit of exercise and I had dipped into the book shop to check out whether a new cross stitch magazine was in yet.

I was looking through home design blogs the other day and found one called Fancy. It had a draw you could enter for a $150 voucher from an online Home Decor store called http://www.se3.co.nz . I explored that site, went back to Fancy and entered the draw. I won. Above is what I chose. I let the owner know what I wanted on the Sunday, it was packed and couriered on Monday and I had it by midday on Tuesday. Now that is what I call prompt service. It was very well packed and it got to me intact with no damage anywhere. Check the site out and be pleasantly surprised.

I am trying to set up a weekday writers group at our local library but notices I sent to our local papers did not appear so I will try again tomorrow and see if 2nd time is a charm. The friendly librarian at Botany Library is going to put it on the Facebook page as well . I hope it gets off the ground. I go to one every third Saturday A little feeling of inadequacy there as most have had something published and sold. This time we read out and got critiqued on what we had written. I apparently am doing well in how I write with tween boys as my target group of readers . The head of the group feels I have the language and attitude that they would enjoy. He did pick up on a physical impossibility I had one of my people doing. It was good to hear things other people had written and to see even professionals have their differences that need editing to improve. A good point made was to get the reader of your written language to check your work if you are writing in what is a second language to you. They may pick up more easily any inconsistencies in the language than you would. I am hoping this writing group on a week day gets off the ground. I sent a short, short story off to a writing competition and had it declined. I forgot to copy and paste it into my own file and can't remember what I wrote so not sure why it was declined. Worries me a bit but what can you do.

Next weight loss goal is now 95 kgs. Below are my new clothes.

99 kgs on the 3rd June 2014 (98 on Mum's Scales)

I like Mum's scales as they make me lighter but mine are probably the more accurate as they are digital ones. Nothing bets waking up , going to the bathroom, stripping off and checking your weight before eating and drinking anything. as I do the same thing daily it is an accurate measurement of my weight loss. My surgeon laughs and writes the amount I tell her down as she knows where I am coming from. I still have at least 60+pound left to go on this weight loss journey but I am on the downhill slide as I have lost 93 pound already. Food wise still eating protein first, vegetables or fruit second and carbohydrates third.

I am at the gym 5-6 days each week. One day is more cardio orientated, the other more weight training orientated but I do both types each day. Me a gym bunny - improbable - but it has happened. I miss it on days I don't go but sometimes the body has to recuperate from what you have done. I will probably still have some wobbly bits that a surgeon would have to remove but those wobbly bits are much smaller and there are muscles underneath that are much more defined now. as a woman I do lower weights but a lot more repetitions. The aim is to shape the body not bulk the body. I got up to 5km/hr on the treadmill which is much better than the 3.5km/hr I could do last year around this time. Cycling I am consistently doing 9kms in 20 minutes on a program that has different intensity throughout.

A friend told me the other day that I am seldom without a smile on my face now and that is different from what I was like before I had my op. I must have been depressed about my size and refused to acknowledge it even to myself. I love buying new clothes in smaller and smaller sizes. The only thing is I love what I get then after a couple of months it becomes too large. It shows that I am still losing weight but I miss my lovely new styles - need to go out and buy more. It is positive reinforcement though.

I am becoming more confident again. Last year I joined a writer's group run by a published writer, this year I am starting a week day writing group with a librarian who is interested in promoting local writing and myself as the original organizers. The Auckland Library Service likes to have books from local writers on their shelves. An ultimate aim for this writers' group would be to put our writing work together into a book and publish it. The first aim is to write regularly and get some constructive criticism to improve it to a publishable standard. The second aim is to gather people with a common interest and meet on a regular basis and widen the circle of people we all will know. Changed to Google Chrome and suddenly I can get photos back on my blog, YAY.

Mother's day 11 May 2014

Late April 2014

Same dress as at the top 31st January 2014 for my nephew's wedding

Late May, looking and feeling skinnier