[pacman12]

I bet it is!

I definitely get health insurance as part of my employment package! You have to pay as well, but it's employer-subsidised. My employer is a huge hospital network, with its own health plan which is pretty good. I'm going to get the most expensive cover, which pretty much covers all hospitalisations 100%. I'll still have to pay $5-15 to visit the doctor if I'm sick, and a co-pay on prescriptions, but it's more hospitalisations that I worry about. Plus I'm taking some medications from here to see me through for a while

[7senuf]

Glad to hear it Gen. I had heard that they can offer some pretty good incentives to work in the health system there. It'll be interesting thats for sure. As all the others say... still keep in touch please. We'll keep u grounded in the aussie way of life hehe.

[smylie]

yo yo!
jemima's cousin's first birthday today and another of her friends first birthday party too! yummo (i wont tell what i ate that is just cruel) jemima impressed me and was more into carrot sticks than cake... good girl....

FINALLY some of the ladies at church noticed i'd lost weight and benji's family at jemima's cousin party said i was looking good too and NONE of them know i'm on a diet (i think they know i am fat and therefore must be wanting to lose weight) yippee to that!

going shopping tomorrow for a new skirt to wear to jemima's party next sunday

ani - if you can tell me what kind of clothes you like i will get them from the opshop for you before they hit the stands! i get all sorts of awesome stuff from the opshop i got a great skirt last week size 14 and so close to fitting for $3! denim and funky loving working there!

[LittleKiwi]

Today I'm down 600g so am happy with that. I got up early and went to the gym this morning and it was so nice to have a workout and not be so rushed. I did my weights and then had a 30 minute run and a 10 minute walk.

I'm starting back on weight watchers today and feel well prepared having done a big grocery shop during the weekend.

I'm so looking forward to my first night of freedom now that I'm not working tonight. I intend to tidy my flat and blob out in front of the tv. Bliss!

[7senuf]

Down 400gm today. But thats been 2 weeks. I had george visit and I usually eat garbage when he's here. I also had KFC one night and the kids and I had daggy dog when Matt picked up the boys. (He has tea at his mums that night). I am so close to being under 70 so that is my goal for the next 2 weeks. thats 500gm each week. I know I can IF I drink water and eat breakfast. So I guess they will be these 2 weeks goals as well.

At least a litre of water and eat brekky EVERY day.

Woohoo Julia Isn't it amazing how when you plan and shop it is easier? I used to do a monthly meal planner. Only for nights, but at least being prepared not only let everyone else know what was for tea (save em asking) but I could prep in advance when pushed for time, so less inclination to grab junk.

Kel I was only looking at Jemimas ticker the other day thinking how she has grown. The year has flown by. Wasn't she only 6 weeks or something when you started in here? Gosh.

I reckon the best thing IS when noone really knows yr on a *diet. And you swore you naughty girl (*Its not a "diet" it is a LIFESTYLE change lol.)

So great they noticed. Doesn't it make you fel good?

Vonni

[PerthChick]

Weighed in at 177.8lb this morning - so no change for me this week. But I see that as a good thing .

Very big week for me - I am moving on Thursday and Friday, then cleaning this house and unpacking over the weekend … then start my new job next Monday. My head feels like it's 'not really here' - too much going on .

Kel that's very kind of you, offering to get me clothes. Thank you . Hopefully I'll be sorted out financially by the time I fit into a Size 14. The next fortnight will be the hardest for me financially, as I have no money at all - but I just look forward and know that everything will be OK in a few months … and I'll have a regular income.

Don't they say that tough times are character building, or some such nonsense ?

Vonni and Julia - great work. Vonni you are going to feel SO good when you get below 70kg - I'm excited for you!

This week's plan for me is overwhelming - there is just so much to do, and it's already doing my head in. So I'll break it down into small chunks and just get it done.

I was going to have a week off from my weight loss, but I think that'd be dangerous. So I have set myself the goal of staying on plan all week, and seeing how I go.

Might not be in here for most of the week. I think my Broadband gets cut off here sometime tomorrow, and won't be on at the new place until sometime on Friday.

So today's plan is to stick to less than 1600 calories, drink 2L of water (won't be hard because it's going to be 36ºC here), and work through my list of things to do .

Blurk! What a week!!!

[LittleKiwi]

Good luck with everything this week Ani. You've got a plan so that's a massive step in the right direction. We'll be thinking of you!

[amouse]

Ani i dont think yoo will have to worry about excercise this week .. lol your gonna get plenty of it Goodluck with the move i hope evertything goes smoothly as possible for you

Vonni and kiwi well done on your weight loss thias week well done .

[7senuf]

Ani hope yr move goes well. Get back in here quick as you can.

[smylie]

gen and vonni you rock
ani the art of maintenance in awesome

gooooood luck with the move

i just thought we all should have given something up for lent..... i gave up food hehehehehehehehehe nah i gave up smoking and jemima gave up alcohol hehehehehehehehehehe i am so so funny
i wanted to give something up but there is nothing in my life i do that consistantly i can give up.... if it was next month i'd have given up the internet! but this month i need it for birthday stuff for jemima on ebay and stuff like that (the church is having this thing where you give something up and give them the money you would have spent on it)

i think i started on this site when jem was about 3 or 4 months probably 4 months as i had a good 12 weeks waiting for my c-section to heal better and get the ok from docs to get stuck into exercise and what not but the time has gone so fast, my little girl is huge

and seems to be sick AGAIN, this time though i am totally pis*sed off about it as i think it was her cousin that made her sick, and her cousins mum my evil sister in law goes on always about how her baby never sick, well all that gluggy snot looks pretty sick to me sister!!!!! grrrr so now my child weak and sooky and sleepy and not eating and temp is going up..... not happy jan if she is sick for her first birthday it will be so sad

hehehehe diet is evil word, but ONLY way to described the stupidity of optifast, i worked out yesterday that i have 69 days of "diet" to go if i do somekind of optifast until my birthday end of april!!! that is not forever bring it on - i have one more week of hardcore optifast - i am really going to try this week and then after jems birthday on sunday will look at things and do more meals and slowly get back into 2 meals a day, I KNOW with everything i learnt previous to optifasting that i can eat within my calorie limit everyday and that no foods are bad foods

go everyone

[pacman12]

God.. been on hold with US banks, American Express etc for aaaaaaaaages tonight. Why do they always have crappy hold music? Luckily I'll be gone by the time Mum gets her phone bill... *snicker*

[LittleKiwi]

Yikes, I hope the phone bill isn't too bad Gen!

I enjoyed my first night of freedom last night and blobbed out on the couch all night I was very careful not to go over my points allowance and drank lots of water instead. I was on the bloody toilet most of the night!

Hit the gym again this morning and had a great workout. When I was in the changing rooms afterwards one of the ladies who's always there in the mornings commented on how much weight I've lost and said that it's really noticable. It was so nice to have a stranger compliment me on it

Goal for today is to stick to my points and to avoid snacking again tonight.

[pacman12]

Nah won't be too bad, I think mum's place to US is around $6 a call. I'll give her some money before I go.

Very nice on the gym lady - that's nice of her!

[butter ball no more]

Hi all
All you ladies are going great, good on you all
I have stayed the same weight this week (very disappointing)
I did as was suggested and increased my calories, but to no avail.
I have been good with my food, water and exercise and still no lose.
So am not feeling happy Jane.
I will just have to be like British paints and keep on keeping on.
Karen

[PerthChick]

Karen you'll get there. Sometimes you can do everything right for a few weeks before you notice any change on the scales.

I haven't lost anything for a month - but I don't consider that a failure. I figure that my body is adjusting on the inside, and is getting ready for the next big effort from me.

Nothing to report here… except that the weather is utterly hideous. Starting today we have a whole WEEK above 37ºC. On my moving day it will be 38ºC, and on my first day of work in an outdoor job it'll be 37ºC… bloody delightful.

Hopefully tomorrow will be my last night here. My bedroom in this place is asbestos (well the whole house is), and it faces west. It really traps the heat and the landlord glued and nailed the windows shut. Just to give you an idea of how delightful it is in there, it's 10pm now and the temperature in my bedroom is 35ºC - and no, it isn't air-conditioned.

I think I'm doing OK with my food and exercise goals this week. I'm staying within my calories, and drinking plenty of water - but the heat is making me retain fluid.

Must go and pack some more…

Hope everyone is having a good week.


Ani