Frump to Fab 2018 - Fabulous Dahhhhlings

Good morning lovely ladies

A lovely bright sunny morning here, although i think a cold one. I am up with the larks again this morning, slept like a babe. Another 1lb lighter this morning. Wahoo.

All unpacked, finally......and washing up to date, so I can now start getting back to normal daily life. Went to Aldi, stocked up on healthy foods....

Btw. Wild Atlantic salmon was half price, if anyone is interested. So much nicer than the farmed stuff. They also had frozen trout fillets (farmed) and line caught red snapper. Very impressed.

Aldi are really upping their game, going for quality as well as price. They are leaving the Big 4 supermarkets standing. They now have lots of organic food for far less than the likes of Waitrose and M&S. And, good news for me, they have opened a new store just up the road from me.

I bought myself some flowers too. I also need to replace some houseplants that are looking a bit past their best. Let the house fabbing begin.

Maman.....Re the vitamins. I take a shed load. :rotfl: but I did have a few health issues which were caused by all the stress from the years caring from my husband and his subsequent death and that of my Parents. My health and well being took a real battering. Stomach problems, fibromyalgia, arthritis, depleted adrenal glands and thyroid problems, prediabetes, sleep problems, panic attacks, exhaustion.

As you know I eventually went to see a nutritionist and I am following her recommendations. Pleased to say my regime is working and most of my health issues are either now resolved or getting there.

So.....here goes.

A probiotic, Vit b complex, Vit D, Vit C, glucosamine, magnesium, red krill oils. And, following a recent test which showed raised cholesterol, I have also added plant sterols. I also eat miso soup a couple of times a week to make sure I am getting enough iodine to help my thyroid.

I take no medications whatsoever, apart from the odd paracetamol for pain relief or buscopan when I get an IBS flare up. Thankfully very rare now. My GP offered me metformin when my blood sugars were climbing but I declined and lowered them myself by diet and exercise. She also mentioned statins but I refused. Both she and I are happy with my progress to date.

I also monitor what I eat. I know grains upset me so I try to steer clear as much as possible. I try to avoid sugar and use xylitol, which is diabetic friendly. When my stomach plays up I also go lacto free.

It is really all about trial and error. I know the amount of vitamin supplements might sound excessive and my diet might sound restrictive but it all works for me. I am feeling so much better these days, my cholesterol levels are dropping and my blood sugars are well within an acceptable range. I am sleeping well and have more energy. I still get some muscle and joint pain but not nearly as bad as it was.

Re reducing cholesterol.......I have cut down on the cheese, and I am now aiming to tweak my diet again, reducing red meat to once a week, eating more fish and trying to have two vegetarian meals per week. Shouldnt be too difficult.

To keep costs down I buy vitamins online from either Amazon or Holland and Barratt when they have their offers on. I estimate I spend Around £20 per month, around £0.66 per day.

Getting there. My health is so much better these day. I will be even better when I lose that extra weight and up the exercise. That is my next goal.

Right time to get cracking, massage and free facial today. Wahoo. Maybe a little mooch round the charity shops and the market if I have time.

Have a great day.

SUgarbaby .....hope the muscle aches ease off soon. I am glad that you are getting such good help and support from your GP. Mine is ok but as she is at least 4 stones overweight herself so I tend not to pay much attention to her dietary advice. Lol. She is a bit too quick to dish out pills such as metformin and statins for my liking. I guess she is overworked and short of time so goes for the quick fix by reaching for the prescription pad. I do miss my old GP but he is retired now.

Hello again.

I am back from my massage and now need to rest for an hour or so, so a good time to catch up with emails etc and post on here.

SUgarbaby. I am sorry your doctor is not helping after all. So please come on here for support and encouragement. We are with you and will do our best to shore you up when the going gets tough. That is what I like about this thread, you are all so kind and supportive. I think that, with any luck, as your weight comes off your blood pressure should improve, especially if you can control your stress levels.

I am another one who swears by Epsom salt baths and lavender oil. Cheap as chips and really effective, without any of the nasty side effects you can get from some of the stronger pain killers and less risk of addiction. Being addicted to baths cannot be too harmful. :rotfl:

Well my facial was wonderful. I went for a microdermabrasion treatment. My skin is glowing now and feels so soft. I know I am capable of giving myself facials and I intend to do them far more regularly from now on. I really cannot afford too mAny professional facials or salon treatments and tbh I cannot really justify the expense when I am a trained therapist anyway but it is nice to be pampered occasionally. Doing it myself is not quite the same. Plus of course I do not have the machine to do it, I can only do manual treatments. Still if I give myself regular treatments it should help and then probably just treat myself every 3 months or so.

I have a mild diy face peel kit waiting in the wings so I will start giving myself a few facial peels in a few weeks. I have also treated myself to something called Frownies. They are used to treat the vertical frown lines between your eyebrows. Not sure how effective they are, obviously they will not be as good as Botox. They are supposed to soften the lines rather than eradicate them which I think is probably better - more natural looking. I think an expressionless frozen face is not a good look and a smooth forehead on older people just looks weird. (Just my opinion).

When I was in Grenada (which they call Spice Island because they grow so well there) I stocked up on quite a few spices, sauces, extracts and liquors for cooking. They were so cheap it would have been rude not to.:rotfl: I love creole type food so I am now going to look out for some recipes. Time to spice up my life.

Of course many herbs and spices also have medicinal properties so another reason for me to get more creative in the kitchen. Also if I am going to have to diet then I want the food to still taste good otherwise I will get bored and disheartened.

Btw. I have had some interest from a couple of guys on the dating website......hmmmmn not sure I am interested back but at Least it gives my ego a boost. Ha ha.