Frump to Fab 2017 - A Whole New World

Quick hello to everyone - I've finally finished tidying up for the evening and thought I'd treat myself to 10 minutes on the computer before bed!!

Sugarbaby, I haven't had time to watch all of your episode yet, but congratulations on your new great nephew :j and I'm so pleased to hear that things are better at work; I had a supervisor once who was just like that, you could always tell if things were going badly for her at home by the way she acted at work, it didn't make for a pleasant working atmosphere.

LL, I hope you are feeling more relaxed now you've worked through all your feelings towards your sister and resolved some long standing issues. I completely identified with your 'little mother' statement - my mum & dad expected me to be more or less grown up at 11 when my younger brother came along, and it wasn't till many years later that I realised 11 year olds are very far from being grown up!

Great news on your weight loss indie :T I really need a good kick to get started, I keep thinking I MUST do this but then the biscuits get in the way….. feeling very demoralised at the moment, it's good to hear that others are on the right track.

I've had some more blood tests at the doctors to rule out any medical causes of my tiredness (I think it's just having two young children but you never know!) - the last one showed that I have low but ok iron levels, but didn't show iron reserves, which should be checked too. I still take iron tablets after my blood transfusions during childbirth, no idea if I still need them but I feel worse if I don't have them, could be psychological after this time though! In a way I'd rather something was found as I do get very tired and very short tempered with the boys, and then I'm cross at myself and think I should be doing a better job….. but my goodness it is tough when I'm up early, go to bed late and do all the night feeds too

Right, better take myself off to bed for at least a few hours sleep! Hope you are all having a fab weekend xx

Rubyslippers77 wrote: »

Great news on your weight loss indie :T I really need a good kick to get started, I keep thinking I MUST do this but then the biscuits get in the way….. feeling very demoralised at the moment, it's good to hear that others are on the right track.

I've had some more blood tests at the doctors to rule out any medical causes of my tiredness (I think it's just having two young children but you never know!) - the last one showed that I have low but ok iron levels, but didn't show iron reserves, which should be checked too. I still take iron tablets after my blood transfusions during childbirth, no idea if I still need them but I feel worse if I don't have them, could be psychological after this time though! In a way I'd rather something was found as I do get very tired and very short tempered with the boys, and then I'm cross at myself and think I should be doing a better job….. but my goodness it is tough when I'm up early, go to bed late and do all the night feeds too

Thanks Ruby. Don't be too hard on yourself about not having got started, I only have myself to look after and it's still taken me ages to knuckle down to losing some weight. And although I am super excited by the achievement, I've been down at this sort of level before and then got distracted and put the weight back on so I know I need to be exceptionally vigilant this time and not just slide back into my old habits. This time I want to carry on and not stop till I am back to about the size 12 I was when I last felt really healthy.

The thing I was finding hardest before I started this time was I was tired through not sleeping well, and that meant I didn't have the energy to do things like planning and cooking food. The nutritionist reckoned it was magnesium deficiency, and now I am taking supplements I am sleeping much better.

In your case, you have the boys disturbing your sleep so you can't just take pills to solve that in the same way as the magnesium did for me. From the way you write it sounds like your OH isn't helping with all the nights feeds and waking up at night etc - is that right? I know he works, but my mum and dad used to have an arrangement when she was at home and he was working that up to a certain point in the night he would look after us when we woke up and after that she would take over (I think it was 2am) so he got a few solid hours sleep before going to work. I say this as someone whose dad is extremely old fashioned and thought mothers shouldn't work and fathers should be the breadwinner and so forth - even he recognised mum needed some rest too.

I was interested to see the effect going to the tea party had on me yesterday - one tiny sandwich (i.e. a triangle which was a quarter slice of bread on top and same on the bottom), one gluten free scone with jam and one piece of flourless santiago cake and I was starving hungry when I left at 6pm in a way I've not felt for weeks. I went straight to the Co-op as I needed a few bits and pieces and managed to ignore all the junk that was singing to me (usually I fail miserably when hungry) and bought a big steak and a bag of vegetables ready prepared. I felt so much better for getting a good bit of protein inside me - can really feel how it fills me up whilst carbs do the exact opposite. Tons more nutrition in the vegetables too - not many vitamins in cake.

Off to my next Ceroc workshop this afternoon then straight back for the pub quiz. Got to work out what I will do for lunch and dinner. It's too early to eat at home before the workshop so I think I might take a salad to eat at the studios and grab something ready made at M&S food in Bond Street station to eat on the journey back. There's isn't much healthy to eat in the pub so can't risk leaving it till then. I think that's the key to all of this - planning. I've usually been very organised at work and with friends but chaotic with my own life - eating randomly, leaving chores till last minute and all that sort of thing. Somehow over the last few months I've gradually been becoming much more organised in my personal life... not sure quite what's made the difference but I guess not worthwhile sitting around and analysing it whilst it's all working - time enough to do that if it stops working!

This week is going to be a bit of a test - due to be out to dinner with friends on Tuesday and Friday and away with work on a two day course Weds-Thurs, staying overnight on the Weds, so I won't have the same easy ability to control my food choices as when I am at home. I've warned work I was something dairy and gluten free so hopefully they will have some options that work for me. Then just a case of picking somewhere which will have some healthier options for the meals out with friends. To be honest, provided we don't go for pizza, most other places do something healthy - skipping dessert and wine will make a big difference and can always trade potatoes for more veg, chips for salad etc. in most places.

Right, better get moving, have a good rest of the weekend all. xx

Thank you to everyone for the kind words about my lack of sleep….. DS1 decided that 5.30am was (again) the perfect time for him to bounce up this morning, hence I have again been shattered all day!! Really notice an increase in my sugary food intake (cake, chocolate etc) when I'm already tired before I even start running round after the boys.

LL, I think nursery would do them the world of good, and me a couple of days off a week - but I couldn't cover the cost with a job and we don't get any government help till they're 3, when presumably they'll get the free hours - in a year's time they can go to pre school which is more affordable :money: but till then I feel a bit stuck! In one way I'm grateful that I can stay off work with them, but in another I would love adult company for a couple of days a week…. not much I can do about it yet though. Interesting that you were put in the same role as me at the same age; when I had therapy a few years ago one of the things they suggested to me was that I speak to any 11 year old girls I knew through family/ friends and see how grown up I thought they were. Of course then I realised they are still little girls who need their parents - made me sad to think that by that age I was expected to be more or less independent

What an exciting life you are leading at the moment indie, and a big well done on your organisational skills! :T No, OH has never offered to do anything similar for me, it's only very recently that I've started insisting on a weekend lie in because I am so thoroughly exhausted.

In other news I've started buying some slightly bigger clothes on ebay, I didn't want to (haven't been a size 14 for years) but so few of my size 12s fit now that I find myself wearing the same four tops all the time. My reasoning is that at least if I feel a bit better about myself in a better fitting top, I'll have more incentive to look after myself in other ways….. let's hope it works!

I've started using the @ldi eye gel and facial serum to see if they make any difference, I read rave reviews and thought for those costs I couldn't go too far wrong! And has anyone tried to buy Corn Silk powder recently? I used to buy it very occasionally in Boots when I was feeling flush; thought I'd use my Boots points to buy some more (I have lots of points from all the nappy buying!!) but they don't stock it any more, and on Amazon it is about twice the price I remember it being! :eek:

Hi fabbers,

I've signed up to a bread making course. It was discounted to £50, which I think is a bargain. I thought bread making would be a nice skill to learn and handy too!!! This is all part of my plans to have some new adventures.

I have a hairdressers appointment on Friday. I'm swaying towards balayage as its relatively low maintenance. I booked the appointment over a month ago, but this Friday was the earliest date I could fit it in.