Best Holiday EVER!!

We had the best holiday ever, partly due to the fact I have lost 50kg.s I would have wanted to stay home if I was still fat but our holiday was so good we ended up staying a week longer. We started offf having Xmas at Lake Hayes with our parents then went to the Arrowtown camping ground on the 28th Dec. Xmas day I ate more than intended (and I used a side plate instead of a big plate) and before we left Invercargill I made sure I done 1/2 an hour on my Cross Trainer. I made my annual Chocolate & Strawberry Cheesecake and made it low fat, and it tasted just the same. It was devine!! Next day I was intending to do a 1/2 hour walk which turned into 1 1/2 hours and with hills in as well. So, I thought to myself If I am doing walks like that I may as well start counting and tracking. So I wrote everything down for a couple of days but then just done it in my head (which was a bad call). After being away for 18 days I had a gain of 1.3 and I thought I wasn't being too bad. It just goes to show it pay's to write everything down. When I looked back and checked my bank accounts we dined out 7 times and sometimes I thought I was making good choices but a couple of times I could taste the extra fat in my food. But we had a good time and I done thing's I wouldn't have done last year, like swimming in the lake, going out on the boat and alot of walking. I can't believe I was going out of way to exercise while on holiday. There was only 4 days out of 18 I didn't exercise but when you do things with the kids you are getting exercise in anyway. Most times I was up early and had my walks out of the way before everyone else was up.

My kids "Finally" have fun parents

Riding the 'train' with Paris at the Kindy Xmas Party! A year ago I wouldn't have been able to 'swing' my leg over to get on the train and if I could have got on the train it probably would have broken anyway!! Every year when we took Kyle to the annual Train show Troy alway's had to take the kids on the train instead of me. It was a great feeling being able to do something like that with the kids.

We both take the kid's swimming now. I think after seeing me going in the water with the kids encouraged Troy to go in as well. We all have so much fun going down the water slide and splashing in the water. I looked at the joy on Paris' face after coming down the water slide with Troy and thought to myself "My kid's finally have fun parents", that's the sort of thing parents should be doing with their kid's. I never want to put my weight back on again!

Life Before Weight Watchers

My parent's were on at me to get a stomach bypass. They were worried that I would have a heart attack or stroke and my kid's would grow up without a mother. To be really honest, so was I!!

With Troy away a lot in the fishing season I would sometimes worry that something would happen to me overnight and I wouldn't wake up. I was scared for my kids that they wouldn't know what to do if this did happen. In the winter my asthma would start, especially at night when I went to bed. I assume it was because all my fat around my tummy was pushing up against my lungs. Sometimes I would wake in the night coughing and not being able to breathe. Last year was a wake up call and I didn't want to go through that again. I used to get diahaorra 3 or 4 times a week and even thought I might have Bowel Cancer. I was sick quite often with repeated throat and ear infections and looking after the kid's by myself most of the time I couldn't afford to be like this. I am all they have in the fishing season and it was not much fun for them if I am sick all the time.

I had become really lazy, doing basic housework had become a major effort. I would often fall asleep on the couch in the afternoon with no energy. I couldn't be bothered cooking decent meals for us, so we spent a lot of time at the drive through at McDonald's. Even playing games with the kids was an effort. A lot of the time I would tell them I'm too tired. If we had a hot day (which luckily, wasn't that often down here) I would sit inside because I couldn't handle the heat, instead of playing outside with the kid's. Being 'fat' stopped me from doing so much with my kid's. I would alway's be scared that I would fall over and not be able to get back up.

I have always worn skirts as my 'tree trunk' legs looked too revolting in pants. I remember Kyle having a school trip to the beach. I didn't go as it was a really windy day and I knew I would be the only parent wearing a skirt, so made some excuse about why I couldn't go. My kid's deserve a much better life than this. They need a mother who can do everything with them, not someone who just sits back and watches because she's too fat to move.

Even Christmas time had become boring for them. Everyone we knew goes away at this time of year and the last couple of years we have stayed home because I was too fat to do anything. This year is going to be totally different. With 50kg's down I am looking forward to having our best holiday ever!!

50KG Milestone Reached Today

I have finally lost 50kg!! Gone, forever! 23.1kg to go!!

My Kid's are so proud!!

This photo was taken before the school disco and the kid's wanted me to get dressed up too so I did. I danced the night away with them and I didn't even get puffed. At last years disco I only managed one dance and was hot and sweaty!! It's amazing how much energy I have now.

My biggest milestone is that, I TOOK PARIS SWIMMING!! I have NEVER, EVER, gone in a public swimming pool. I have lost enough weight to feel comfortable exposing my top half but not my bottom half. So, I wore 3/4 board shorts and a swimming top. This was a really big deal doing this and you know what, it didn't bother me. I made sure I went on a day when it was meant to be quiet, first thing in the morning on a school day. I made Troy come and sit at the sideline with a towel. We got there and the car park was full. I thought 'Oh my God, there's so many people', but I couldn't back out because Paris was so excited. There happend to be a school there doing swimming lessons. But I got in and it was great. Paris was so happy and proud that she could finally go in the water with her Mum!! And I have gone again, this time on a public holiday so I could take Kyle as well and there were lots of people. One of my main reasons for losing weight was to take the kid's swimming and I have done it and I'm not even at goal yet!!

Kyle went to the supermarket with his Dad and brought home a bunch of flowers and gave them to me. When I asked him what they were for he told me they were for 'working hard to lose weight'. Dad phoned up one day and asked Kyle if he thought I had lost weight and Kyle told him 'yes I had lost weight and I look beautiful!!

Paris and I were driving to Ballet, I had lost about 42kg and she blurted out: "Mum your not fat anymore". I replied "yes I am, I still have more weight to lose, but thanks, thats a nice thing to say' Then she said: 'Yeah, your not FAT, UGLY MUM, now! I still laugh to myself when I think about that!

Before & After

The top 'before' photo was taken on Xmas Day. This was my going out 'outfit' and I thought I looked 'slimming' in it. You can see my 'rolls' and the tops of my arm's are 'collossal'. You can even see the 'rolls' on my tummy!!
The bottom photo was taken after I had lost 40kg. I now have so much 'choice' when deciding what to wear, whereas before I only had the choice of one outfit, as nothing else would fit.

Reflecting the last 6 months

34.6 kg's down. My goal at the start of the year was to lose 30kg by Christmas. I NEVER imagined I would stick to the programme so well. Don't get me wrong, I haven't been perfect, but if I have slipped up I have managed to count it into the programme and get back on track. This is probably the BIGGEST CHANGE OF ALL!! Previously on WW if I have blown it, I just kept on eating. I am having really tasty meals and experiment with my cooking, having all my favourites but changing the way I cook it. I do measure and weigh everything though, and count all my points. It is alot of mucking around, but it does pay off, that way I know I can have a treat if I want to. Sometime's you will be surprised at what you are able to have.

Thing's I can do now I couldn't do before:
*can wrap a normal size towel around me
*can bend down to dry the bottom of my legs after a shower
*can fit into a chair that has arm's
*can run around with my kids
*don't have cracked heel's anymore
*can do up a pair of shoes with laces
*asthma has dis-appeared
*have alot more confidence

Getting around is definetly alot easier, I am even walking faster than my kid's and have to stop and wait for them now! I am much happier, energetic and I take more pride in my appearance. I found some really awful photo's after I had Paris and I can't believe how much I let myself go. It is not often that I sit around and do nothing. I seem to be on the go all the time now! If I am feeling like this after losing over 30kg, imagine how I will feel when I have lost another 30. Can't wait!!