Frugal Frump to Fab/Winter Solstice

fedupandskint

Feeling pretty fabulously positive today after getting weighed and have lost another 3lbs which took my to 2lbs away from my overall target.

Woo hoo!

So decided to adjust my target to lose another 5lbs and try to get a bit lower and build in some winter leeway instead of piling it on again.

Have gone from 11st 10lb to 10st 9lb and now aiming for 10st 4lb as new target rather than 10st 7lb.

It has taken me about 10yrs to lose this stone and finally stick to it and boy am I pleased!

At long last I stuck to diet and exercise as a long term lifestyle change instead of every faddy diet under the sun which worked for a few weeks then didn't work anylonger as I couldn't maintain the fad or the weight loss and it works, yes it works!

Happy fabulousness everyone!

lessonlearned

Well done Sparkles - well on your way to fabness now.;) You're dead right of course.

I've finally realised that what I'm doing now i.e. eating healthily and losing weight slowly, is going to be for the rest of my life. - therefore it has to be nice, easy, gentle and sustainable over the long term.

Quick fixes, silly detoxes and faddy diets just don't work.

pp - sorry you feeling a bit off it - hope you're better soon.

Anyway today ................

My body is revolting

That is revolting as in it's rebelling - big time. Against all the stress and aggro in my life.

I won't rehash why my stress levels still remain hovering near the roof - I won't bore you to death:D

What I will say is just how much damage prolonged stress does to us and how we have to use every weapon in our arsenal to combat it (oooh this sounds so militaristic).

Feeling really under par today - because stress has come back to bite me on the b*m, literally. I now have two, yes two, boils on my tail end - ouch, ouch, ouch. I often get them when I'm run down and very stressed.

Add to that a rather nasty UTI (urinary tract infection) and I have felt bl**dy awful - had to spend the day reclining rather than sitting. Not as glamourous as it sounds unfortunately. No silk negligees or velvet chaise longes I'm afraid - just trackie bottoms and a snuggle blanket on the sofa.

So have had an enforced rest - just reading etc and browsing a few websites. I will post them up soon - they are quite inspirational. Just watched Tristram & Isolde - I'm a sucker for medieaval romances, myths and legends.

The anti-biotic cream and magic bullets are starting to work so hopefully will be back to my old self soon. Needless to say - gave the exercise bike a miss.:eek:

Which brings me back to the weapons in the arsenal bit.

Do you get your 5 a day - fruit & veg

TBH I'm not always as good as I should be - especially just recently - which could explain why I've been laid low with these infections.

In view of this my aim is for 7 a day - DS1 seems to manage this - apparently new research suggests that 5 is a bit low.

So I have introduced a fruit smoothie for breakfast, (2) which leaves 5 to fit in. I also like milkshakes so will make my own sometimes with soya milk, I quite like the frozen berries for those, at least one portion of salad each day and then plenty of veg for dinner and some fruit for nibbles.

I've also introduced some extra Vit C supplements - those tablets that fizz and make an orange drink. I've bought Sainsbury's own - quite a bit cheaper than Boracca and they taste the same.

So hopefully that should help boost my immune system a bit and keep these dratted boils at bay.

Going to have an early night - need to play catch up tomorrow.

Hope you all have a happy (and healthy:)weekend).

G'night all x

sophistica

Hi All. I lurk here and post occasionally so I feel like a bit of an intruder but I do enjoy the posts very much and I feel very reassured that we are all dealing with similar issues. I can't post what I ate today as it was quite shocking (had something to do with peanut butter, apple crumble, cream etc) but today was stressful as I had to visit my mother in a nursing home with my dad and having just cleared out a lot of her junk from the family home. However the good news is that I have liberally doused myself with perfume after my bath, wore a new co-ordinating outfit, a hair appointment is booked for tomorrow and then I am off for a week in Italy where I can regain my strength and sanity and then embark on my fitness and weight loss. Have a great day everyone.

maman

:wave:

Welcome sophistica and thanks for posting rather than lurking. Well done on making an effort, I'm sure it gave you a lift! Have a great holiday. I love Italy and I know LL will be jealous too! Do tell us all about it when you get back.

Sorry to hear you're run down LL, but very typically you're taking positive steps to do something about it. Like lizzie said, healthy eating is so important to keep you feeling fit and I'm sure it helps keep immunity up too. I've realised that since I've been on SW, I eat virtually no processed food at all and loads more fruit and veg than I used to so I've definitely gone beyond 5 a day. Although podperson, the odd medicinal ice-cream won't do any harm!:rotfl:The problem is when your diet is based on fatty, sugary stuff which seems to be the case for some families.

Interestingly sparkles, your target weight is exactly the same as mine and I'm currently 2.5lbs below that. It feels fantastic!!

I needed to get dressed up yesterday for a 'business' meeting and it was so difficult with the weather being changeable. Through the summer, I've been to meetings in knee length skirts but decided it was far too cold for that yesterday. I'm determined not to wear tights for another week or so. Normally I'd have fallen back on black, tailored trousers with a jacket. The trouble is the one and only pair I have left are falling off and look most unflattering and I didn't feel the jeans cut, cotton trousers were smart enough.

need to go and sort something. Back soon!

maman

Sorry about that but someone was at the door and the washing machine was calling to tell me it was ready!

What I did wear yesterday was a new maxi skirt that I bought in Primark a few weeks ago. It's that sort of nude/flesh colour with sunray pleats in a sort of jersey fabric. It looked really good with a short black jacket and black ballet pumps. The waist is a bit big though and as it's elasticated it could do with a wide belt to cover it up if I want to wear it without the jacket.

DH is out a lot today and tomorrow so along with various bits of housework I'm definitely going to fit in some fabness. OCM is on the plan!

Have a good weekend all.

fedupandskint

I am fabbing away this weekend creating jars of chutney for christmas presents and also used a hair pack this morning.

Tomorrow I will be facemasking, hair treatment time, exfoliating alongside all the cleaning I'm doing this weekend!

lessonlearned

(More musings on that topic in a mo)

but first

Hello Ladies and lurkers

Hope everyone is well and happy, not too cold and not too despondent with the grey skies. It's getting very Autumnal now isn't it, nights drawing in and all that. Time for curling up with a snuggle blanket in front of the fire/TV with something nice and hearty to eat, something nice to read, maybe a piece of needlework. Winter does have some compensations:D I actually enjoy it - perhaps I would enjoy it even more if it was a bit shorter - three months max would do me instead of the eight or so months we get here in dear old Blighty:rotfl:.

Welcome Sophistica - glad you've come out of lurkdom and no you are not an intruder - definitely not. I love hearing what everyone's up to - keeps me motivated and inspires me too - so lurkers please do feel free to chip in with your tuppence worth when you get a few moments to spare.

I can empathise with you having to sort out your mum's stuff - it must be very sad to have to do this. Hope your mum is nicely settled and happy in her nursing home - it's such a worry isn't it. Your trip to Italy should be just the thing to get you feeling better. Enjoy and then, when you come back - let the journey to Fabdom begin.

Where in Italy are you going to?? As Maman so rightly pointed out - yes I'm just a tad envious. One of these days ..........:rotfl:

Hi Maman - time to go shopping I think - that's what you get for losing so much weight. :rotfl:

I'm really looking forward to getting to target and buying some really good quality clothes again. Primark and the like are ok but I'd like some nice investment pieces.

As you know I was a bit off it yesterday - much better today - and spent quite a lot of time surfing the net.

Started looking at E-bay. Now I've never bought off E-bay although I have sold quite a bit. Anyway I looked under "suits & tailoring" in the womens clothing section. put in a few designers I fancied. Some great selections there.

I'm very tempted to start bidding for a few bits in a size 14 and start building my fab new wardrobe.:D

Hi Sparkles - sounds like a good plan for the weekend. I've done a pile of laundry nicely caught up now and am aiming to do something clever with a box of apples tomorrow. I thought cooking and freezing some for crumbles etc and perhaps some spiced apple chutney. I've already done green tomato chutney and plum chutney. Going to include them as Christmas pressies too.

Feeling a lot more like my old self today - but will skip the exercise bike for a day or two just yet. Just some yoga.

This morning gave myself the Facelift Facemask and a good slathering after my bath.

Back in a mo

lessonlearned

In America they have this 100 day thing for the new president, a review of what's been achieved and how it bodes for the rest of the presidential term.

In homage to our friends across the sea I thought we could do the same.

Obviously, for some of us this is the second leg of our journey so in our case it's been more than 100 days. Nevertheless - ladies it's time for a stocktake:D

Very often we torture ourselves with how far we still have to go - you know the kind of thing - "Oh I've got so much weight to lose, I wish I was at target now etc" We spend so much time thinking about how we want to be that we sometimes fail to realise just how far we've come. Sometimes we spend so much time looking forward to the future we forget to enjoy the present.

So ladies - how are you all doing ............

I started my journey at 13st 6lbs and was a size 18 going on 20. Now I weigh 12st and have dropped to a 14-16. It's taken almost a year but by jingo I do feel better. My cholesterol has come down, my knees feel easier and a flight of stairs doesn't seem such a mountain.

As for my general appearance - well I'm almost unrecognisable from the shuffling, scruffy bag lady of yesteryear. My skin and hair look good, I'm well groomed and have taken a real interest in clothes and fashion again.

However, it hasn't stopped there - you all know my circumstances and I think I can say I'm much stronger both physically and emotionally now and much better able to deal with what's thrown at me. Yes there's the odd setback, the odd tearful day but nothing like before. No more insomnia, very few panic attacks, digestive system much improved.

I've managed to fit in a bit of decorating, some decluttering and to pick up a few of my old interests and hobbies such as furniture revamping, making jewellery and gardening.

Admittedly there's still a lot to do, and I haven't met all my targets and there's a couple of New Year Resolutions that fell by the wayside. The keyboard is untouched, and I've still not been out and about as much as I had planned. No matter - that will all happen in good time.

So ladies - how was it for you.:rotfl:

Let's pat ourselves on the back for what we've achieved and then let's square our shoulders and lift our heads high - onwards and upwards as we continue our journey.

Love & good karma to all x

PS - DS2 has just come back from a shopping trip for some new threads. (Interview suit etc). Ted Baker no less - in the sale of course. He's just given give me a preview. My but he's a handsome beast.:D

Willow92

You're all doing so much better than me

lessonlearned

Willow92 wrote: »

You're all doing so much better than me

What's the problem, hun. How can I help??

Just one thing - 100 days is nothing when compared with the rest of your life. Don't be too hard on yourself.

I started this journey about 11 months ago - yes I've lost over a stone but look how long it's taken me.

Be patient, sweetheart, keep at it and I promise you, you will see light at the end of the tunnel.

Just keep going, little and often, one step at a time.

Don't measure your progress against others, you're the one that counts. Do it for you, in your own sweet time and at your own pace.

How is your haircut settling down. Perhaps you could have a little play with make-up, maybe try something new to go with your new hairstyle.

Do something nice - just for you, a bath with some pampering goodies, a gentle walk, read a nice book or watch a film - something that gives you pleasure will help you to stay upbeat and motivate you.

Big hugs.