Oh don't worry - I'm going to Mums and my laptop has wireless, so I'll be online about 5 mins after I get there haha.

Oh my goodness, what a bleedin mission to get into this page today! It's taken about 4 hours but I'm finally in.

Welcome to Belle. This is a great place to come for inspiration and support.

As for me, well I got my tattoo done on Saturday and OUCH! It covers most of the top of my left foot and I'm really pleased with it. It took 2 hours and was pretty painful but I'm happy that I've had it done.

Unfortunately I'm going to be out of action as far as the gym's concerned this week while it heals. I need to keep it uncovered as much as possible. Shoes are sore and it's not really practical to wear jandals (thongs to you Aussie ladies!) to the gym and I doubt they'd allow it for safety reasons.

So, despite the fact that today I have had a BIG treat and eaten 2 large pieces of toblerone (yum!), my goal for this week is to be super disciplined with my diet. I want to be in the 80's in 2 weeks time and that's doable if I try really hard.

It's funny how my mind-set has changed. Not all that long ago, I would have loved having an excuse not to exercise for a week but now I'm bummed and hoping to get back into it as soon as possible.

I'm here Vonni - lurking a bit this week.

Decided to have a few weeks of trying to practise maintenance, so that I can find a new routine - and deal with the instability of having a housemate.

I also want to just "breathe" for a few weeks, and regather my energy for losing the next 5kg. I've come to realise that it's important to practise maintenance, because it gives you a chance to evaluate what you've really learned about changing your lifestyle - and it highlights areas that still need some hard work.

I'm going to start actively losing weight again next Monday (which will be my one-year anniversary) - and get serious about dropping the next FIVE!


Ani

ani, how are you going to do it on monday?
i'm just over it
i always do this
i have been seeing photos of me and i just dont get how 3 weeks ago i was feeling like i could tell i'd lost weight and now i feel like i am a hippo
i feel like i am always 89kg, this is where i start losing weight everytime (after being more for stupid reasons and getting rid of that weight)
could our bodies be supposed to be a certain size and mine is 89kg?
i have been over 80kgs for so so long with a cruel quick stint at being 74.5kg before getting pregnant last year.....

on calorie king again so will see how that goes - just sick of thinking about it i am happy to eat whatever but just dont want to HAVE to think about it

just got jemima asleep and now i have to get her so i can go to the shops before baby yoga.... this is the first monday arvo baby yoga so we will see if she likes better than friday morning (which we got kicked out of) or tuesday lunchtime which she wasnt 100% on either........ but if she cracks it i wont be able to tell if it is coz she is tired or teething or hates yoga.....

vonni - with teeth - do they still bother them when they have cut through? jemima has 2 cut through down the bottom but still seems rosy checked and pulls her ears and did the weirdo baby at sleep time thing again today so is it still teething while they are moving up now out of gums?
how is ebony's eyes?

Bugger - still got a huge red cordial stain, which the guy said noone will be able to get out. Doh. I feel bad for my landlord.. I'm a landlord and I know I take great care of my own place and expect my tenants to as well.

Not sure whether to call the agent and tell them in case they want to get someone in to use the bit out of the bedroom cupboard to repair it, or just shut up and cop the deduction of some of my bond.

Sigh.

Floors are so wet though, hope they dry a lot before tonight - my bed gets picked up tonight at 7pm, and I'll be sleeping on a mattress on the (wet) floor for the next 4 nights!

i forgot that my early morning post didnt work - grr technology grrr - anyhow
apparently babywipes gets old stains out of carpet
neighbour got old coffee stain out of rug with baby wipe and it gets spew off clothes good too
so worth a try?
dont tell landlord as if you didnt notice and just cop it if they care i reckon
how exciting............ sorry i think i missed all posts where you said where you were going? is it overseas? i'm so sorry baby for 5 months has fried my brain

ps - julia take a photo of your tatt and post it - i am so so jealous.... i cant figure out exactly what to get and i dont know if you are allowed to get tatt when breastfeeding?? you are not allowed to do heaps of other stuff so who knows.! and i dont deserve one yet anyway! need to officially lose at least another 500grams before i go rewarding myself for anything

I'm moving to the US to work in Pittsburgh later in the year, just moving to Melbourne to hang out with family and friends in the meantime until I go. Might be 2 weeks, might be 2 months.

I am pretty annoyed - they say to blot the carpet stain immediately, then use water to dilute. I did that, and it did fade the red but it also spread a big circle around the red bit, which has gone yellow. That didn't come out either - cleaner said the wet stuff goes acidic and burns the carpet.

It's quite big, there's no chance the agent won't notice! The only good thing is, it's right where the couch goes, so if they leave it at least it will be covered.

Did well with my points yesterday and plan on having another successful day today.

Kel, I know it's hard mate, but don't give up. I know exactly how you feel, I really wish that I could just go and eat whatever I feel like without there being any consequences. I think it's one of those things that it's feasable to resist for only so long before it gets the better of you.

I'm trying to remember that all things are fine in moderation. I guess that's why Weight Watchers works well for me as I can still eat whatever I want, I just have to plan for it.

Gen, don't worry too much about the carpet stain, it's just one of those things that happen and it's not worth stressing about. I hope your carpet dries quickly!!

Will attempt to attach a photo of my tattoo but I'm not very good at these things so please forgive me if it doesn't work ...

It's a lot less sore today which I'm taking as a good sign that it won't take too long to heal and I'll be able to get back into my exercise sooner rather than later.

Kel I think the only way to successfully lose weight is to set specific (and realistic) goals, then make a plan to reach them.

For example - let's say you set a goal to get to 84kg by the end of October. That's 5kg in 13 weeks - and means you'll be trying to lose around 0.4kg/week. That might not seem like much, but to do it over a long period of time - it's a good goal to have.

Then it's worthwhile sitting down and working out how many calories you should consume to lose that much weight. I find it really important to plan my day's meals every morning. That way I am much more likely to stick to my goal - and if I want to have chocolates and other snacks, I can do it… as long as it fits within my calories.

Staying hydrated is really important too. Not only does water reduce your hunger, but it also helps your body perform its various jobs more efficiently (whether it be getting rid of toxins, or burning calories), water is super important.

And within your plan - you have to move. If you can walk for half an hour every day, or do half an hour of vigorous housework - it doesn't matter, as long as you are moving.

And you have to know why you want to lose weight. Is it to set a good example for your baby? Is it for health? To fit into clothes better? To feel good about yourself? Or something else? Being clear about why you want to lose weight will help you a lot.

Don't give up - you deserve to be the very best you can be.


Ani

Hi Everyone

Sorry I haven't been around much - you guessed it - uni got super busy again! I have a wonderful Chinese student staying with me at the moment. She'll be here for another week or so, then moving to another friends house. It's been so much fun, I'm learning to speak Chinese!

Julia - your tattoo is beautiful! It really sits well on your foot.

Kel - I'm sorry that you're so bummed out at the moment. But don't despair, and listen to Auntie Ani - she is a guru when it comes to these things. Oh, a silly question, but how does one get kicked out of baby yoga?

Gen - sounds pretty exciting, all this moving to America business! Like Vonni said, I hope you'll stay in touch.

Hi Vonni - holy crap uni makes life tricky doesn't it? housework, work-work, uni-work, uni-association work, kids work, bf work, exchange student work, study work, weight loss work. Do you get Vonni time?

Ani - you always seem to take the most logical approach to losing weight. It's great, because while over here having fits and spurts, you are chuggin along, week by week, even when the rest of us give up. Good on you, you are inspiring, and I actually mean that when I say it.

Sorry to anyone I've missed. Hope all is well with you.

My weight loss efforts have been put on the back burner, although I have been eating atrociously for the last few weeks, eg a block of brie for dinner one night, followed by chocolate cake for dinner two nights after that. I am thinking of just eating rice and vegies from now on. A nice, simple food plan, that involves nothing with sugar in it. (expect natural fruit sugar, I guess.)

Ok, I might throw it in for the night. I'll be at uni at 8am tomorrow, and won't be home til midnight. Oh, the joys of youth.

Kylie

Gah, I messed up yesterday and ate too much. I was only 2 points over my allowance but it was a mini binge that really wasn't necessary. I ate 10 weight watchers chocolate chip cookies and then had 2 glasses of wine and some rice crackers. I wasn't even hungry, just felt like nibbling on something.

So today I intend to get back on track. Not exercising is really putting me off track but my tattoo is healing nicely so I think that I should be alright to go back to the gym tomorrow and I'm sure that'll help.

Feeling tired this week too and struggling to get out of bed in the mornings which doesn't happen when I'm gymming every day.

Must stay on track!!

Kylie I still have my weight-loss P plates on, but I'm flattered you think I inspire anyone.

I'm a plodder - I've got two bits of paper on my noticeboard (which is in my office for everyone to see) which are related to this journey. One is a graph that shows my weekly weigh-ins for the last year, and the other is my weekly goals for the rest of the year. It helps keep me accountable - but also shows how far I've come … which is important in those weeks where I feel like a "failure".

Julia I've had days like that, where I binge for no good reason. They're just days mate, and don't define anything about your success. I've learned that I have to leave those Weight Watchers choc-chip cookies out of the shopping trolley, because I can't stop at two or three.

I suspect I have gained a kilo or so since my last weigh-in - but I'm sticking to this "maintenance" for a couple of weeks, just so I can see what I have learned about myself. But I'm back into it next Monday.

Anyway - work beckons.


Ani

Spoke to the agent, and she doesn't care about the carpet, she said it's only about $150 if they have to repair a patch so that's relief!!

Had my last appt with my hairdresser (*sniff*). I'll have separation anxiety from her! Got my straightening done, so I'm having good hair days now!

Pic here: http://galleries.joesdiner.com/gen/a...5/DSC02270.jpg

Nice pic Gen! That's great news about the carpet too

My tattoo is healing nicely so I'm going to hit the gym after work today. I feel so lazy having done nothing for the last 3 days so it'll be good to get back into it.

I stuck to my points yesterday and did really well with all my food. Looking forward to doing the same today.