a needle in the throat?? ewww that creeps me out like the idea of eye surgery
but you got to do what you got to do (like child birth - bring on the stork)

was great to catch up on friday, i love your family they are all awesome, ebony is such a cutie

i am the fattest i have ever been and my liver is enlarged and shows evidence of fatty change - what does that mean???

It means you need to lose weight It is reversible in its early states. Can be benign, or can progress to various things.

Low fat diet, exercise and weight loss. Avoid things that annoy your liver, like NSAID drugs and alcohol.

Yikes Vonni, a needle in the throat does sound scary! But you'll handle it and hopefully they'll be able to give you a diagnosis which will be great.

Kel have you got a plan? My weight has been going steadily upwards and my plan is to go back to the one thing I used to do which I know worked for me. Can you do the same?

Today for the first time in MONTHS, I'm back to writing down everything that I eat. I dropped the 1 teaspoon of sugar that I've been having in my morning cup of tea. Had a healthy breakfast and have brought some fruit to snack on.

I can't go to the gym tonight as I've got a work function so today I'm going to aim to have a "perfect" day diet-wise.

I'm going to start counting points again because that's the one thing that I've found has really worked for me.

ANI! Where are you my dear? Having a lovely restful time I hope

guess what????
1.8kg DOWN
wooo hoooooooooooo
it is amazing what a plan and a bit of will power can do!
and that is while eating FOOD

shake for brekky most days, low fat lunch and no carbs after 4pm
snacks - rice cakes, celery, carrot, rice cakes, rice cakes
ONE diet softdrink a day if i have to (and i have run out at home so that makes it easier)
water and diet cordial
3 dog walks this week, 1.5 cross trainer sessions, 2 wii fit sessions

i can do it

gen that is exactly what my brother (basically a doctor) said too, really explained it well and mentioned that i could ruin my liver the way an alcoholic does and that is not fun and my game plan is to lose weight and see what happens, i have had a fatty liver about 8 years ago and it fixed it self so i am going to do it again
and fit into my sexy red pants

i am so glad i lost weight this week, i thought i blew it with the banana custard a couple of nights ago!

julia - i wish i had the disapline to write down everything i eat.... would make it easier when trying to figure out where i go wrong some days/weeks

Home truth #1: I SUCK at maintenance!

Ever since I decided to start maintenance I have spent the last several weeks eating everything that wasn't nailed down. I reckon I have gained 4kg! In fact, let's not kid anyone - I weighed in today at 73.5kg.

Home truth #2: If I don't stop NOW I am going to put all the weight back on.

I don't seem to have learned a great deal from all my hard work. I have been eating everything: fish and chips, potato chips, chocolate, lollies - you name it, I've gutsed it in the last month or two.

Home truth #3: Not only is it hard to lose weight when this close to goal - it's bloody hard to maintain it. But I'm making excuses - I haven't even really tried.

Home truth #4: It is NOT my imagination that my Size 14 clothes are feeling tight - they didn't shrink in the clothes dryer!!!

SO…

From today I am back on the wagon and I am not going to stop until I have reached my goal. Today's goals are:

• Eat no more than 1650 calories;
• Drink 2L of water (that'll be a miracle); and
• Get close to 10,000 steps on my pedometer (even if I'm on holidays).

My apologies for not replying to any of your posts. I have read them all, and been popping in every day to see what you're all up to - usually while eating something disgusting - but I felt the need to confess, and to try and be honest about what's going on with me…

Congrats Kel on such a fantastic loss! That's awesome

And Ani, I'm so pleased to see you back. Ok, so maybe you're not ready for maintenence just yet but it was probably an important lesson for you to learn.

Unfortunately for people like us who have / have had a weight problem, chances are that we will NEVER be able to let our guards down because that's when we go back to old, unhealthy habits. It's a challenge and will be a challenge for life.

With support, we can all do it.

you know what makes it hit home for me??
SKINNY people at the gym
obviously you have to work at it FOREVER

ani - i am so glad to see you back and can not believe you have put on 4kgs, but holidays will do that to you.... i did exactly the same last month while in melbourne/sydney
you do not suck at maintenance, coz honestly to be eating that kind of food you were not REALLY trying to maintain??? honestly???
seems like you were just over it and needed a break and went wild......
BUT you have stopped yourself in time
and you have such an awesome plan
you GOT to get back under 70, i cant remember what you set your upper limit buffer to?

julia - thanks for the broccoli dude, i am so so positive at the moment, not overdoing anything and only committing myself to things i KNOW i can stick to... i am not sitting here saying i am going to go for a walk every day or that i am going to have 3 shakes a day or anything like that, and i think with this mind frame i can do it
as long as a lose SOMETHING every week the motivation should stay and i will get out of the 100s SOON
did i show you a photo of the tattoo i got in february?

Kel it's so great to see you sounding so motivated and in control. You go girl!! No, I didn't see your new tattoo ... show show!!

I had a really good day yesterday. Ate sensibly and wrote it all down in my food diary. Went to the movies to see Angels and Demons which was really good. Luckily I guess, I'm broke so couldn't afford to buy popcorn or anything so I took a muesli bar and a bottle of water from home

Today's goals are to eat well, write all my food down and to do weights and cardio at the gym tonight. It's day 1 of my brand new self invented programme and I'm excited to start.

I have exactly $3 to last me until payday which is Thursday and the only thing I have in the fridge is a bit of mince, a single carrot and some cabbage so it looks like it'll be mince stir fry for me for the next couple of days.

wrap the mince up in the cabbage and san chou bow style one night and mix it up and put it on toast ky sy ming style another night YUM
do you have curry powder or soy sauce?? they make it yummier too

ok will try and upload new tattoo

Ooooh pretty. I love the rainbow!

I went and saw Sampson and Delilah last night - excellent movie, very sad and disturbing.

Didn't do so good with meeting my goals yesterday. But today is a new opportunity to get it right. I have all my meals planned, and I'll get it sorted. I'm going to go to Ikea today and buy some more bookshelves - and sort through all my books over the next two days.

Got another housemate moving in - it's just too hard to manage on my own.

Julia I know what you mean about having no money… it sucks.

Kel good on you for losing weight. Stick with it matey - a fatty liver needs some serious attention, and health is a great motivator .

Barb how are you travelling?

Gen are you still planning a lapband or gastric bypass?

Vonnie I'm thinking of you - at least you'll find out what's going on.

OK - off to try and have one of those days where I make GOOD decisions. Gotta get this thing back on track…

Yes just waiting for them to ring me with a date to start my "lifestyle program" where you have to weigh in for 6 months. Lapband - I'm too chicken to do something irreversible and drastic like GB.

Had my boss' wedding this weekend. Had a nice dress and some vacuum-packed underwear, so felt ok (altho hot!). But figured out the 4 women at my table had 15 children between them.. and none of them weighed over 120lbs. Beyotches. Hehe.

six months will just fly by! have you got a photo of you in the dress?

Ha Ha Gen, Beyotches indeed! Dontcha hate that

Those vacuum packer undies work a treat though don't they? I wore some to a wedding a couple of months ago and they sucked me in nicely. Very nicely actually now that I think about it because that was the night that I met The Boy

LOL@ beyotches.

Ani I feel for you. Its hard when so close but then have a momentary lapse of will power. Me? I dont have any at all but have discovered that I've developed some sort of allergy to chocolate. I asked doc why not earlier in life and reckons its one of those things. So maybe I will be able to leave the choc alone at least. I get really short of breath and cough a lot and a bit wheezy. Peppermint choc is worse and I love peppermint aero bars.

So goal for this week.... No chocolate.

Went for a gorgeous picnic at Queen Mary Falls with Matt and all the kids over the weekend. The full walk around the trail is 2km and its uphill and steps for 1km of that. Was awesome and got some great pics of kids along the way. (Ebony @ 3yrs old walked the whole way)

Yesterday Matt and I took Ebony and went with a friend for a walk around our riverwalk. Its 2.5km but flat. Was nice, didnt push it just leisurely stroll and Ebony rode her little bike.

Have a neonatal resuscitation evaluation tomorrow for my professional development. Don't think I will make it through though with so much happenning over the past ferw weeks and only had 10 days to study the text book. BUT fingers crossed. Can only try again later if I dont get it tomorrow.

Won't weigh myself, george is here and I really feel bloated. I havent even been TRYING to lose weight so I know they will show a gain, or at the very least a maintain. Havent worked much this week either which doesnt help as When I do work, as Gen will know I am on my feet and nearly running the whole time.