Turning over a new tree
 

..because 'turning over a new leaf' just doesn't seem to cut it!

Hello beautiful ladies! Just a quickie intro from me!

I am coming up 38, married, five kiddos (21yr, 17yr, 13yr, 4yr and 14mths) and one grand baby who is 6mths old. I am from the UK, but have lived in Texas for the past 12yrs.

I was always a skinny-Minny until falling pregnant with my (now) 4yr old. I piled it on while pregnant with her and never really lost it... then I got pregnant again and didn't pile it on quite so much - but ended up around 160-170 after my youngest was born.

I can't stick to any diet because my eating habits are horrible. I never eat breakfast, I pick though out the day and rarely eat dinner, instead waiting till bed and laptop time and eat ice cream instead!

In November last year I started getting tummy ache after I ate - didn't matter WHAT I ate. It was like really bad indigestion. I put up with it for 3mths rather than go to the doctor... but during that 3mths I basically stopped eating to avoid the pain. I literately lived off a cup of chicken noodle soup each day and maybe a handful of dried Cheerios.

Turned out to be my gallbladder - I never suspected that because it was very unlike typical gallbladder symptoms.

In 7 weeks I lost 50lbs. My husband told me I looked like a cancer patient and HAD to go and get surgery - which I did. Lucky too because my gallbladder was so bad it had encapsulated itself. Another couple of months and I would have been dead.

All this said, one good thing came out of it - I lost weight! BUT because the weightless was so fast I also lost muscle and now have a lot of muscle mass loss which has resulted in floppy skin.

I gained a few pounds back once I started eating after surgery, but unfortunately I have a complication of gallbladder surgery called dumping syndrome (so nasty...) 8 times out of 10, no matter how healthy or unhealthy something is that I eat I have to go RUNNING to the potty within about 15mins. So I can't even hold on to my food for any length of time!

Anyhoooo... I want to get down to 115 - right now I am at 126 - but I am also working on building muscle. No great promise of a diet plan for me. I just try and eat clean, but I do and will eat my few cookies or mini ice cream at night in bed. I am also weight/strength training with the kettlebell and running the treadmill.

I also recently (4mths ago) had breast augmentation, boy, my boobs suffered after the pregnancies then rapid weight loss. Lovin' my new boobs, but I do have a complication and have to have another surgery in 3mths. When it rains it freakin pours!

So, thats me! Very much looking forward to meeting new friends! Will post some pictures shortly!