Frump to Fab - A Whole New World.

sugarbaby125

Wednesday, I was in my early twenties when I got my 1st gray hairs and unfortunately for my 2 daughters they also got their first grey hairs in their twenties. So you are doing really well to get your first grey hair at 44   

Wednesday2000

I thought it might be due to the stress of the pandemic as it seems strange I saw a grey hair during this time. My Mum went grey in her twenties and so did all her brothers and sisters so I must take after the other side of the family. It's going to be annoying to have to dye my hair again if I get more greys as I stopped colouring it back in 2010 and I've really enjoyed the freedom.

I was just watching YouTube videos and the woman was giving fashion advice for women over 50. She said you should look at a celeb you have a similar figure to and google her name along with street style and the images that come up will show you a stylish way to dress during the day. I thought that was a good idea. I'm trying to think of someone...

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,

LL great that you and your 'sister' have reconnected again. Hopefully you will eventually be able to meet safely face to face. Also well done on getting through your to do list and being ready for your lockdown bubble with your son, daughter in law and grandson. 

Maman you did an excellent job of maintaining your weight loss in the last few months. 

I am working hard on eating a healthy diet. I have managed to completely stop eating chocolate, sweets, biscuits, cakes and crisps. I am disappointed that for weeks I stayed at 17 stones and then I eventually lost 4lbs,. I have been at 16 stones 101bs for 2 weeks now. I am not sure why a complete overhaul of my eating habits is resulting in such slow weight loss, but I intend to continue and persevere with this much healthier eating for a complete year and then assess how far I have come. I think it will take a year for my new eating habits to become ingrained.    

As my adult younger daughter lives at home with me and is only a size 12 and she loves chocolate, biscuits, cakes, sweets and crisps, I was still having to buy those items for her. I had to stop buying crisps in the end when I realised that no amount of willpower was stopping me from enjoying them, so I had to go crisp cold turkey. 

I will get to a much healthier weight eventually. I can already feel a slight change in my shape especially with my briefs. They are all M & S size 14 but some were snugger in fit than other styles and now the snugger ones are a better fit. 

I own such a vast wardrobe of clothes which at the moment do not fit me, but eventually with healthy eating and being more active, I will be able to wear every piece of clothing I own. I am thankful that I have enough items that still fit me, so that I have not had to buy new clothes since my weight gain apart from the winter white size 18 skirt I bought to wear to my friends party. All of my other skirts are size 16, so they are too tight at the moment. 

Chanie I envy you your lovely massage.

I thought I was fortunate finding 5p on my Estate yesterday on my way home from my hospital appointment. Then to my absolute shock and delight I found £10 on my Estate this morning when I was walking home from the bus stop with my Lidl shopping. Doing some top up shopping every week in Lidl is a joy to me, as I love getting high quality food at bargain prices. I go on Wednesdays as my online grocery shopping is delivered on Thursdays. If I find some really good food offers in Lidl or orange sticker items for sale, then I come home and adjust my online grocery order. I went out at 8am to Lidl to avoid going out when the sun was really hot. 

Here in South London we are getting temperatures in the higher twenties, which is very welcome for Autumn 

helensbiggestfan

I started finding white hairs in my teens. I had dark hair back then so they  really showed up. Fortunately not many so I just used to pull them out. Then gradually it began to turn a sort of auburn colour. I quite liked it so I used to colour it myself to bring out the red tones even more.  

By the time I was in my early 50s it was quite a nice strawberry blonde. We used to go to Spain regularly back then and the sun always lightened it to quite a nice warm golden tone and any white hair just blended in.  Then my husband got sick and my hair turned pure white within a matter of months.  I think it was entirely due to shock and stress.  

Now it won't take a colour, there is no colour pigment at all.  I did try it a couple of years ago but the colour wouldn't last for more than a couple of weeks so it was a complete waste of time.  Sometimes I think my white hair makes me look old and decrepit but there's not really much I can do, I'm stuck with it.  My hairdresser thinks it's wonderful and tells me some of his clients pay serious money to get their hair like mine.  We are never satisfied are we. 😂

Chanie I am so envious of your massage.  Enjoy.  

SUgarbaby ......you are eating a good healthy diet. I'm sure you will reap the benefits soon.  

Right rest Time over, time to sort out the rest of the shopping, do some exercise, tidy up and then think about dinner.  No gardening today.  

maman

So children make your hair go grey chanie! That's if you don't tear it out first!🤣 I'm lucky that my hair hasn't really gone grey at all. I wonder if it's a hereditary thing because my mother's hair didn't go grey early either. She just had one white streak at the front which people thought she had put in on purpose. 

I really don't like some short hair styles on older women either Wednesday. I don't mean the nicely cut elfin styles like Judy Dench et al but those women who almost have a short back and sides. It seems to have taken over from the old  tight perm.  I like the idea of Googling street style for celebrities, that's far more useful than their red carpet clothes.  That said, i really don't need anything at the moment although I would buy some nice joggers as a change from leggings if I saw some I liked. 

Thanks for the kind words about maintaining my weight. I'm really pleased about it. Like you sugarbaby, I decided to ban certain foods because they just call to me from the cupboards. I don't buy crisps and I just keep Parmesan and Primula  in the fridge and frozen grated cheese which I use for a few recipes. If I buy a block of cheese I just keep picking at it or worse eat too many crackers to go with it! I'll have the occasional bag of crisps as a treat  when I'm out or a cheeseboard in a restaurant as I'd prefer that to a pudding. 

As I expected it was the old way of doing a scale and polish at the hygienist. She did use her drill attachment for the polish but no water. I preferred it as I didn't have that drain thing in the corner of my mouth. At the end she gave me a cup of mouthwash and an empty cup to rinse into. 

Will you be going out at all during your lockdown LL? I have friends who are shielding and they take a walk around the block at night for a bit of exercise and a change of scene. 

helensbiggestfan

I think I will still go out for walks.....I think that should be ok.  I was thinking I could perhaps drive in the car to a park for a change of scene.  None of the parks are really within walking distance.  I think if I'm sensible and avoid people I should be ok.  I don't think walking the streets after dark alone would be a good idea.  I live in a nice area but you never know.....😂

One of my friends rang earlier and invited me out.  We have compromised and she's coming here on Friday.....my last day of freedom. 😂.  Actually she has been very careful too because her 80 yr old aunt who has been receiving chemotherapy lives with her so she has been vigilant. .   If there are just the two of us we can have a sofa each and no hugging,  if it's nice enough we could even sit outside.  

I think if I can avoid shops, public transport and meeting people outside of our little bubble a walk outside won't do any harm.  As well as masks I have also bought a couple of those face shields.  I could always wear one of those to make double sure.  

I noticed they had some really nice leggings in Asda.  Thicker than usual and they said "medium control", so presumably they would almost be like shapewear.  One of the things I like about good stretch denim jeans is that they can do a great job of hiding a multitude of sins. Anyway, They had a nice sort of "self coloured" pattern, a bit like a non shiny brocade.  I thought they looked quite smart and dressy and are probably more flattering than ordinary leggings if you have a few unwanted lumps and bumps or needed to disguise cellulite.  I think they were £14. 

I don't actually wear leggings outside the house, not because I'm sniffy about them but I just don't feel comfortable.  I would feel a bit "mutton". 😂. I have a couple of pairs of "jeggjngs".  A bit firmer and more robust than leggings but probably too warm for summer.  They are made in quite a heavy stretch denim.  I wear them as you would wear leggings, under mini dresses or sweater dresses. I have them in black and dark denim blue. I find them very useful and nice and cosy in winter.  They are slim fitting enough to wear under knee length boots and they look nice with ankle boots.  

The joggers  I bought today (Asda) are actually quite smart, straight leg and no "cuff" at the bottom like sports joggers, so slightly more dressy and less like sports wear.  I bought two pairs, one mid grey and one navy. I would wear them outside the house, 😂. They were £6 a pair which I thought was very reasonable.  They are a more slightly tailored fit than ordinary sports joggers but you could still wear wool tights or leggings underneath for extra warmth.  

maman

Thanks LL. I'll have a look in Asda at the joggers. I do wear leggings outside at this time of the year but I love them with layers in the winter months. Somehow I find them more comfortable than tights, not so restrictive. I then wear socks as well with boots or if I'm going to a restaurant I'll wear just the leggings under a dress and some ballet flats. I like the look of a little bit of ankle showing. 
My friends who walk at night (also because she's had chemo) have a dog! It's not a rottweiler but I suppose it makes a difference. 🤣

FreetodoasIlike

Pixie I also hate it when people refer radio amateurs as CBs too.  Anyway, as very few people on here know what we’re talking about I’ll change the subject 😁

As it’s a “fabbing” thread I will continue along that line.  I didn’t feel FAB at all yesterday. It was so hot and humid and we went for a stroll down to our local The Range store as I wanted a small casserole dish (as I had broken the one I had a few days ago and which was perfect for my one portion children dish - which OH doesn’t like)  and OH wanted some super glue.  Since lockdown and retirement  I have put on some weight.  It’s not a huge amount but is now creeping up to almost 10lbs.  I wore my black and white knee length Jasper Conran summer lined skirt with a black sleeveless vest top and Van Dal white sandals.  This smart casual look normally works well for me but I don’t know if it was because the weather was so humid or the fact that the skirt dug into my waistline I felt SO hot and frumpy!!!  It was only about a two mile trip there and back but I couldn’t wait to get home.  As soon as I got back I took everything off, including my underwear, shoved it all into the wash and changed into a flowing strapless sundress.  I felt a lot better but when I looked down at my tummy flab I knew that, although the sundress was comfortable and hid my bulges, they were still there and in that moment I knew they had to go.  The ten pounds were beginning to show and it made me feel down.  I need to lose them before I add even more weight!  My older friend, who is 80, lost a considerable amount of weight at SW.  Unfortunately, the last time we met up, she had put a couple of stone back on - so well done Maman for keeping almost to your target weight since lockdown. Two of my stepdaughters have both put on a stone since lockdown and  they are very unhappy about it. Why is it so easy to put the weight on and so difficult to lose it?!?  I know the science i.e. that it’s impossible to suddenly put the weight on overnight and that it’s a gradual process of over-eating a few extra calories a day/week that gradually puts the weight on so I know what to do - the question is, why can’t I do it???  Answers on a postcard please😁

FreetodoasIlike

Wednesday  - I was very interested to read about your mindfulness on-line course. Funnily enough my hairdresser mentioned something similar when we met this week.  How does it work?  Did it work for you? I would be very interested to hear what you thought about it.

Maisie_Moo

Think I may need to have a quick mooch round Asda tomorrow the leggings sound really nice and I'm usually pleased with most things I buy there.
I'm like you sugarbaby I have the bulk of my shopping delivered but pop into Lidl for certain things I find their packs of nuts and dried apricots are a great price.
Thanks for the update on the dentist maman it's how I was expecting so definitely won't be looking forward to my next hygienist appointment.
I had rejoined Slimming World in January as I had put on a stone over a couple of years, I was only a couple of pounds from my target weight when lockdown started and I'm really pleased as I've only put a couple of pounds on. Have decided not to go back to SW but concentrate on losing 4-6 lbs before the winter if I can but I agree Free It's not as easy especially as I love baking.