Hi all.

Christening went well. It was my cousins baby that has taken 16 years, 8 IVF treatments, 2 failed pregnancies (1 natural, 1 IVF) to get here. Once here she had to have 2 heart operations. 1 a 'patch it up' op and the 2nd was a major one when she had gotten strong enough. Basically her plumbing was round the wrong way. Now she is wonderful and strong and healthy.

Was great to see a lot of my family I hadn't seen in some years. And they were shocked to see my eldest (17) they hadn't seen her since she was about 11. Even my 27yr old nephew wondered "who's that sitting next to mum?" lol.

The weekend went well as far as food goes too. I'm quite proud of myself. I weighed this morning and I am back down to 67.5. So I'm pleased that my gains or stays over the past month or so is perhaps looking better.

Well done Ani on yr loss. And Gen I'm sure you have done well. I hope if u DO go to the US and work you will keep in contact with us. Lucky you to only wait a couple of days for the results. I still have 2 weeks to wait. Grrrr!

Has anyone heard from Lindor? I went to her profile page and the last post was on our old thread. Getting a little worried about her. Unless her PC has gone cactus?

Ging to do groceries now. Put it off last week so I'd have plenty of moola for the Coast.... BUT I ONLY SPENT $230 including $85 fuel. Aren't I good? But i never got anything for mwa

VONNI

Are you kidding? Judging by how much I gained last time I went there, I'll need this place more than ever haha!!

Sounds like that bubby was determined to be born hey?

PS: Ani, go to Ticker Factory and get one - it doesn't round off the loss or weight, so you can keep moving it along!

I hadn't realised Ticker Factory didn't round. If they had better graphics I would use them, but I FLOVE the barbell graphic.

I'm having a **** week. I haven't drank water, gone to the gym and have been pigging out. Ugh.

Gen anyone would think we had a lot of time on our hands , but I took your advice, and now I might be able to move my ticker more often (as long as it doesn't go UP!).

Did you go out to the pub and have those celebratory bevvies? Did you behave?

Kylie and Vonni - good to hear from you both. Well done, Vonni, on your weight!

Kylie don't get down… look at where you started with this. You've still LOST weight, even though the last few months have been tough.

Renny Sue what's going on? Are you struggling with motivation, or do you have stuff going on that's distracting you?


Ani

Morning everyone

I had a 'lightbulb moment' yesterday. I was writing in my journal - a daily meditative thing for me - and decided to pose a question, and see if I could answer it. I've known for a long time that 85-90kg is a big emotional thing for me, and I wanted to know why I was stuck. What I came up with was really revealing, and I feel a little bit liberated today.

I woke up this morning feeling like a small weight had lifted off my shoulders - so let's hope this translates into something tangible in my "Ani's winter plateau-buster"

Is anyone up for a June challenge? Since it is the beginning of winter, a time where we tend to hibernate and stay indoors to keep warm, I thought a challenge would be a fun way to motivate ourselves. Here it is:

Let's move for an hour every day! Half an hour of exercise, and half an hour of non-exercise moving about (could be housework, shopping… anything!).

Who's up for it? Now if you want you could set your goals higher or lower - but I thought it would be good if a few of us set some goals for June, and worked towards them together.


Ani

Ugh definitely went to the pub.. and couldn't get up for training this morning! Now off to do a 12hr evening shift - that's my exercise for the day!

I'm up for it.
Does hanging the washing out count? On weekends I probably have an hour of that each day lol.

Ok if I set a goal for myself to get motivated to do more housework i'll be right

making beds = 20 minutes
sweeping or vac whole house = 20minutes
mopping = 20 minutes
hanging one load washing = 10 minutes
cooking dinner = 30 minutes
washing up & wiping benches down= 15 minutes

Wow if I do this every day thats one hour 55 minutes. But I need to motivate myself to start then finish all at once. I just give up lately. No sooner is it done that I turn around and its a mess again. (i used to be a neat freak)

I love my children and I love my partner - But sometimes I envy those that only have to look after themselves. I am an emotional and physical wreck 6 days out of the week.

You know, I even envy my single parent friends. At least the only adult is themselves so they don't have to worry about sharing decisions.

Geeze I better not ponder that thought too hard I might start to like the idea.

No idea. I've just switched to morning and while I love the feeling after the workout in the morning, but getting up is HARD.

I think I also got my answer when I woke up and found my little friend had decided to visit! Sadly, as I have PCOS its quite difficult for me to gauge when I have them (its a celebration because I've had them two months apart. Haven't had that happen in a LONG time) Hopefully once they piss off I'll get my motivation back. If I don't I'll just have to keep forcing it.

TMI Alert!

I don't know if this is to do with my diet or something else, but did anyone else find after they were doing their diet they *cough* lost control of their bladder? On both Friday and Saturday nights I lost complete control, actully ****ting my pants at a workmate's house (which thankfully she's been wonderful about, but its still so, so embarrasing) and Saturday I managed to get to the loo in time. Only connection is the fact I was eating out and drinking. I'm going to do a test run on the weekend and drink but on my normal diet. If it happens again I'll be going to the doctors the following day.

I also had a full (low fat) pizza for dinner tonight. Blamed it on my periods but I'll be putting on this week for sure.

Hey Vonni

Yes, ALL your domestics count - and I'm glad you're in! We're starting tomorrow, and I think it will be fun.

I had a giggle about your domestic woes and the frustration of being a reformed neat freak. I cannot even begin to imagine what it would be like having all those kids, and trying to keep order. It's bad enough with five cats and no partner

RennySue I have no idea what to suggest to you. I think it would be worth having a chat to a doctor, because it could be as simple as needing to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, or as complex as having a problem with your bladder. It's best to get it checked out, I think.

My plateau-buster is going well this week. I'm being very disciplined, and I'm enjoying it (which is just as important). Yesterday I cooked up a huge pot of vegetable soup and then froze it in eight small lots. I do that often - very yummy for those cold winter nights when I can't be stuffed cooking.

OK - today I'll go for my walk, stick to my calories, drink my water - and then tonight I'm going to a friend's place for dinner. That's always a bit scary, because you can't control the calories when someone else is cooking, but I'll just work around it. Not going to spoil a fun social night by getting paranoid about an extra few calories!

Hope everyone is travelling OK.


Ani

Hey Renny Sue. Thats a problem. I've had a weak bladder for a while. I squeeze my muscles regularly to help. I haven't actually wet myself, but come pretty close. When I gotta go I gotta go NOW. No ifs buts or 'it's not break time yet'.

Please don't think me too forward here (well I guess I am being but plz don't be offended) Have you thought about using benwa balls or Kegal exercises? Check with yr Doc as Ani says, to rule out any infections or damage. I've pasted a bit of info about kegal below.

"The aim of Kegel exercises is to restore muscle tone and strength to the pubococcygeus muscles in order to prevent or reduce pelvic floor problems and to increase sexual gratification. Kegel exercises are said to be good for treating vaginal prolapse and preventing uterine prolapse in women.

Kegel exercises may be beneficial in treating urinary incontinence in both men and women. Kegel exercises are also known as pelvic floor exercises, or simply Kegels.

Although Dr. Kegel contemporized and popularized this practice, it is by no means new. The Taoists of ancient China developed a number of different sexual practices to strengthen and tone these same muscles for health, longevity, sexual gratification, and spiritual development. Directly akin to the Kegel exercise is the Taoist practice of the Deer Exercise. The Yogis of India also had a similar practice in Hatha Yoga known as Aswini Mudra (the horse gesture) which is taught and practised to this day

The pubococcygeal muscles are those used to stop the flow of urine during urination, and they may be easily identified in this way. However, after the muscle has been identified, practicing Kegel exercises during urination is not recommended, as this could lead to a urinary tract infection"

Anyhow - must run off and do some of that dreaded housework. So far I've hung 2 loads of washing and swept my floors. Going to organise dinner in a minute (working tonight) then hang another load and get some off.

Bye
Vonni

Renny Sue, did you mean peeing or pooping? I see you wrote bladder, but then I thought you wrote "****ting" your pants. If the former, a huge percentage of women have incontinence issues - DEFINITELY talk to your doctor, as it can be a physiological thing, such as a urinary tract infection, cystitis etc. If the latter, it's likely your diet. Eating more fresh fruit and veggies gives you stacks of fibre, the results of which can be pooping for your country. I know if I go over my fibre goal I have to stick close to a toilet for a day! If this is the case, you can just decrease your fibre until you find the level that suits you.

I will say though that sometimes you have to grin and bear it, until your body adapts to the new intake. When I started the lifestyle change and took up drinking gallons of water, I was peeing every 5 mins literally! Lasted about a month, then my kidneys adjusted and I was able to handle my fluids again! Hah.

PS: Don't be embarrassed, trust me I'm a nurse

augigi it was the latter. I've been eating a lot more vegies and fruit, but surely that wouldn't account for me losing control THAT badly?

I've never had issues with bladder control. I'm a world champion holder! Courtsey of having the world's tiniest bladder.

Woohoo - I passed my exam and my USA RN license has been issued by the Vermont nursing board already!!!!!!!!!!

Awesome news Gen! So what does this mean? Are you planning to go to the US soon and work?

Hope you're not on your way to the pub again to celebrate with an overindulgence of the bevvie variety

RennySue I'm not the nurse here - she appears to be away with the fairies at the moment - but it could be fibre-related. Are you eating a lot more fruit and veges? There are some additives in food that can make you 'need to go now', and as an example if you have too much of some chewing gums, that will do it. Too much Mylanta does it sometimes, as do a lot of things.

And a virus could do it too.

Maybe when Gen pops back down from cloud nine she'll have some better advice for you.


Ani

Hi
Can I join in the Aussie chat??
And can I join the June Challenge??? Have you guys had challenges before??
I already have the challenge of not having any idea what to do with my time now I have a little baby and am at home full time, Dr Phil and Oprah only fill 2 hours of the day....
I dont know if I feel like joining in the nursing support group as it is too baby related... i think i'd like to talk something other than baby! (she is awesome though just ask me...)

My name is Kel and I live in Brisbane.