Welcome back Kel! Glad you enjoyed the rest of your holiday

Eww, I am in a FOUL mood today. This morning my car wouldn't start, the battery is flat as a pancake so I had to bus to work and that means that I can't go to the gym tonight as it's too difficult to get home on the bus at that time of night. I absolutely HATE it when bad things happen on a Monday because it stuffs me up for the whole week.



I'm actually thinking of taking the afternoon off work so that I can get my car sorted and then go to the gym as per usual. At least that way I can stick to my routine.

Hope you're all faring better than me!

I weighed in at 77.8kg this morning - a drop of 0.6kg. Happy with that .

Lindor you'll probably experience something weird in relation to fire for the rest of your life. Back in 1992 a fire started in our house while my then girlfriend and I were in it. Funnily enough my cat got weird, and was trying to tell me something for about 15 minutes before I became aware that the house was actually on fire. By then, all we could do was grab the cats, call the fire brigade and bolt. Because we were sitting in front of an open wood fire at the time, the smell of smoke wasn't "obvious".

To this day I get hyper-aware when I think I can smell smoke. Every night I double check that the oven/heaters are off. It will settle down, but it's not highly likely that it will ever leave you.

Julia I sympathise about the car. Last Wednesday morning my neighbour knocked on my door at a ridiculous hour, and said: I'm terribly sorry but my gum tree has fallen on your car. It certainly had - you couldn't even see my car! Fortunately, being a solid German-designed VW Golf, there wasn't too much damage - but it took the tree man two hours to cut it off my car before we could even assess the damage. Certainly made for an interesting day

Anyway this week's goal is to try and drop at least 0.3kg - and to stick to my goals as much as possible.

Welcome home Kel - we missed you!

hey guys i have had a great week dopped 2.6 pounds


Kel welcone home . lindor im sorry the fire shook you up so much.. it must have been terrible ...

Ani OMG a tree on your car can you get it fixed???? congrats on the weightloss its always nice to break a plateua.. have you taken any pictures of the damage you can show us??

Julia... i know so well the pain a car like that is ... i had to buy a solar battery charger that plugged into the cigerrettte light of my old car .. to keep the bugger going.. It helped until the kids left the car door open .. which meant 7 lights were on all night long..

Well we are going away on friday .. i havent been on a holiday since 1996 so im pretty excited lol we are going up to mannum for 2 nights .. lol yup about an hours drive away.. hahahaha .. but still it will be the kids first holiday and we are all looking forward to it.. John flys home thursday.. so we will take the fishing rods with us.. we are staying in a river side cabin in a park that has a games room and outside play equipment . so its ideal for the kids ..

Good to see you back Kel I felt sick reading what you ate too!

Congratulations on the loss Ani.

Hope your day gets better Julia! I know what you mean about ruining the whole week if you start out badly!

Your little holiday sound like just what you need Amy. I could do with one too!

Lindor I've had a similar experience. Not a fire though, the lady next door was broken into one night and ever since then any little sound I hear that's not usual wakes me and makes me feel nervous.

It's TOM for me this week and I've had a really emotional weekend. I've been crying for no apparent reason, I'm angry half the time and any little thing upsets me. Sometimes I wish I wasn't female.

Anybody heard from Vonni?

Well done on your loss today Ani! I hope that it made you feel a little better about things

Julia, I hope you are getting over your bout of Mondayitis and that it doesn't develop into Tuesdayitis!

Barb, I hope you are feeling better too

It's kinda funny that this fire that has affected me like it has considering I lived next door to a schizophrenic pyromaniac for over five years before I moved here!!!

But thank you Ani and Barb for making me realise that my reaction is probably very normal and that I am not going crazy

I managed to stay on track with my calories today

And yes, where is Vonni...and Gen???

Congrats Ani and Amy on your losses that's great news!

My friend's husband came over last night with a battery charger and plugged my battery in. He came back this morning and put the battery back in so here's hoping that it stays juiced up.

Goal for today 1) stick to my points 2) go to the gym and do weights and 20 minutes worth of intervals.

Had a good day with food and exercise yesterday. Didn't do all of the things I would usually do though, have to do it all today, blah!

Did I tell you about this little revelation I had about a month ago? How I realised that the last time I was this weight I had a whole bunch of stuff happen - including the death of my dad?

It was why I put all that weight on - hiding from emotional pain and all that stuff.

And did I tell you that the very first thought that popped into my head was that I hope nothing happens to my mum? Illogical and silly, I know.

But she rang me last night and told me she has cancer. I'm not panicking yet, because my mum has survived two malignant cancers by getting them early. The first time it was her breast, and that was 20 years ago, and the second time it was on her nose. They completely removed her nose and built her a new one - and that was about 15 years ago. This one is also on her face, and it's also malignant.

I have to admit that I feel a bit frightened - and a bit sad. She's getting older (she was in her mid-30s when she got me out of the orphanage), and she's now in her 80s… but she's pretty strong and robust for someone her age. She still lives alone on the farm in NSW, in the house she was born in - so I reckon she's got another good ten years in her. Maybe.

My challenge here is to a) be honest about how I feel and not stuff things down with food, b) not engage in some insane eating binge in order to not "jinx" my mum and c) eat as healthy as I can so that my body stays strong enough to deal with whatever is coming.

Oh Ani, I'm so sorry to hear that

Remember that we're all here for you and you can always log on and tell us if things are getting too much.

I think that you're already a step ahead of the game in that you are aware of the psychology surrounding your situation and therefore you will hopefully be able to pre-empt any negative behaviour.

Do let us know if we can do anything to help.

Ani I have read everyones posts and heres hugs for you. Hope all goes well with your mum and you.

Julia did the car go? Well done on all who have lost this week. Lindor how awful for you to have the fire.

Me I am going ok. Partner is moving out in a few weeks but it's all good I'm sure. Been coming for a long time. But I did say to him that it's easy for the man to walk away. Havent lost any weight suprise suprise.

BUT I ACED MY EXAMS today 100% on one and 98% on another, and the one I 98% was a change in answers but I had the correct one in the first place grrrr. But I am happy with the results.

Our presentation went well and we have another exam tomorrow.

OH Ani I'm sorry .. i hope you Mum is OK .. she sounds like a real fighter .. having between this demon twice b4 .. Johns Nan was diagnosed with bowel cancer the same day leah was born.. we were all very upset .. she had lost alot of weight b4 they found it and was 85 at the time.. they operated though the doctor didn't have much hope .. and she is still with us 3.5 years later she beat it she too lives alone and looks after herself.. the doctor shouldn't underestimate the power of these women.. i hope your mum is the same

OH Wow Vonni i cant believe he is moving out , is that instead of him actually having to deal with his problems??? are the kids OK? or are they playing you up because he is???? I swear they act worse then the kids do..

I hope you both come and vent here often.. think about a choccy and come confess who cares just tell us we are here 110% backing you up.. moan all you like even moan as much as i do.. if you can moan that much... lol we are here to listen ..

Congrats Vonni on aceing your exams that's awesome. Sorry to hear that your partner is moving out. Even if it is for the best it's still a tough thing to go through.

I didn't make it to the gym last night as my car died again. I had to leave it in town overnight and my friend's husband will come meet me after work today and help me buy and install a new battery. What a pain!

At least it's hump day ... all downhill from here.

Vonni that's awful. Are you OK? I know things have been rocky for a while, but I'm still shocked. You make sure you let me know if there's anything I can do, or if you need a chat .

And thanks for your kind words and support Julia and Amy. I really appreciate it.

Finally got this month's roster and I've actually got something like normal work hours over the next three weeks. I'm working Monday to Friday, and it will be the first weekend off in six weeks. I'm also doing mostly day shifts - so that will be different .

I'm right on track at the moment and feeling really determined. Meeting 90% of my goals every day, and getting plenty of "exercise" at work. I can actually see some muscle definition in my arms - and that's a good feeling.

Anyway - must go and have breakfast and get ready for work.


Ani

Oh Ani, I'm so sorry to hear that. I'd be devastated if my mum gave me news like that - it's a huge worry about my parents with me being so far away. Sounds like she's a tough old bird, so thoughts and prayers that she does well. I bet she's proud of your efforts so far, so keep doing it for her if not for yourself. You know your weight is not related to bad things happening (apart from random crushes from work colleagues....). Hugs.

Vonni, I'm not surprised really. You're right, it's easier for men to leave. Are you going to cope ok with school and kids etc? To be honest, if he was holding you back from your goals it may be the best thing for you. Look at your grades - 100% and 98%! That's HARD to do at uni - well done!!

Ani and Vonni, my thoughts are with you both. Just when things seem to be going well life throws something nasty at us. You are both strong women and will cope no matter what happens, and like everyone else has said we're all here if you need us.

After spending the last four out of seven days with my a** hanging out of the fridge I wasn't going to weigh in today, I did and have managed to stay the same!