New look for a newer me.

Yesterday was the day that I’d been really looking forward to, getting my hair cut and coloured. My hairdresser works part time at a barbers/salon about half an hour from here, and was working till almost 2.30pm yesterday and because the day was ticking away I thought she might reschedule, but she didn’t.

She turned up and began to work her magic. I’d already selected the colour I wanted for my hair, something like this:

Screenshot_2019-11-20 (18) Jessica Lindsay Mobile Hair - Home

I wasn’t sure if it would suit me as I’ve never been that bold as far as hair colour goes. I’ve had streaks put in (aggh, memories of those horrible rubber caps and the pain as strands of hair were pulled through the tiny holes in them. Brings tears to my eyes just at the thought.), but never an all over colour. As I’m no spring chicken my hair was mostly all greys and I thought that to celebrate having lost 80 (well, 83.1 actually) kilos and having stuck to Optifast for 1 whole year, it was time to treat myself.

It was like watching a scientist at work as she added some cream from one tube of colour to her bowl, then another, and then poured something else in. And again, another bowl was produced and she added more cream from more tubes and mixed away. Once done she started off by placing foils on my head before finishing with the final colour to the leftover hair that was exposed. After half an hour or so it was time for a shampoo and condition before having my hair cut, dried, and product applied. She kept saying how good it was looking and my partner was also very impressed. I couldn’t wait to see the results and when I finally was given a mirror to look into I was blown away by the transformation on my dingy grey locks. They were gone! And that colour that I’d been a bit concerned about looked amazing. My partner says it makes me look younger, which is a good thing when you are 61 years old. I was so happy with the results, and especially appreciative of Jess, the hairdresser, for taking the time she could have spent with her family on a Saturday afternoon and early evening (she left around 7pm, after spending 4 hours here.) My partner also had his hair cut by her while she was here. As for price, she was very reasonable, a lot less than what I’d be paying in a hair salon around here, or even compared to other mobile hairdressers. So here is the new me!!

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I also had some photos taken yesterday and thought I would share them here. I’ve come a long way since that photo of me at my daughters wedding in March 2016. I still have a way to go but I’m certainly looking better than I was. If only I didn’t have those flabby upper arms and hanging gut. I guess it’s the price I’m paying for having been overweight for most of my life and being older, the skin doesn’t bounce back like it used to. As more weight drops off the gut will be smaller, but the skin will remain. Still, that’s something to worry about later on down the track. For now I’m focusing on continuing to lose my excess weight. Even my son (who rarely comments on any of my photos) is impressed by the changes in me since 2016, and so proud of me that he even sent this photo to a friend of his to show her my progress.

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Some more pics of me wearing my new donated clothes (the teal/green), and the new outfit I bought from eBay recently.

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For the first time in a long time I no longer hide at the sight of a camera pointed in my direction, or feel shame when I see myself. I look back on these photos now with a sense of pride of how far I have come. I still have more of this journey in front of me, but seeing these results only strengthens my resolve to succeed.

Shopping at last.

Well what a week I’ve had. I’ve well and truly tossed away my walking stick and am confidently walking up and down the hallway at home, no having to grab onto the wall or door handle to steady myself. Yay me!

Yesterday was my visit to the dietician. It’s been about 3 months since I saw her last and I was so chuffed to be able to park a distance away from the medical centre and not in the parking bay immediately in front of the office like I used to do.

She was happy to see that I was walking without a stick and also in different clothes to my usual drab colours and oversized tops.

After the dietician visit I did something that I have not done for over 4 and a half years now…….go grocery shopping with my partner. It must seem very sad to most of you that I’m so excited about a trip to Woolworths, but trust me, when you haven’t ventured inside a supermarket for so many years it’s a big event. Usually I’d stayed at home and given him a list to follow, more recently I’d drive him there, but sit and wait in the car and write my weekly blog post or Facebook. Today I walked in, the slippery polished floors that would have freaked me out a couple of weeks ago were no bother and I walked the considerable distance to Woolworths without the use of even a shopping trolley to support myself. Once in there, yes I pushed the trolley around and it was like a visit to a toy store for me, seeing what new products there were, being able to stand there and pick and choose what to buy and making sure I avoided the confectionery aisle and the bakery section.

Of course there had to be a million (or so it seemed) displays of Christmas goodies, boxes of chocolates at the end of each aisle, all featuring Christmas packaging, and the frequent displays of big bags of potato chips (one of my weaknesses) on special. Still, I resisted all that temptation and stuck to buying my diet cordial, diet jelly, veges and mundane other items on the shopping list. My walking wasn’t finished with, from there it was a trip to K Mart to get a couple of things. I think that I was probably walking for an hour and a half without a break, pretty amazing for me, and a huge non scale victory. I plan to do the shopping with my partner every week now that my legs are finally cooperating and letting me walk without feeling as though I might slip over. I may not be walking fast, but that will come in time.

Vacuuming, ah yes, in our household with a Golden Retriever and 2 cats, there is always furry tumbleweeds on the floor

and usually it’s my long suffering partner who again is stuck with vacuuming because I couldn’t quite manage the vacuum and my stick at the same time and again, my legs would feel unsteady. This week I’ve taken over that job and even scrubbed the shower clean. A year ago I was flat out having a 3 minute shower without puffing and panting, and the mere thought of bending over and scrubbing the shower recess etc would have made me keel over and require oxygen if I even attempted it. My poor partner has patiently and cheerfully done so much over the years, and despite his own pain with his back, rarely complained. Finally I can help him out. He is so proud of how well I’ve done on Optifast, and today he was just so happy to have me with him as we did the rounds of Woolies and K Mart. Without his support and careful budgeting this would have been such a difficult journey for me, and I love him dearly for being so supportive.

I’ve also been pedaling away on my little mini cycle gizmo 3 times a day for up to 40 minutes at a time in addition to walking around the house, so I had hoped for a decent weight loss this week.

I was a tad disappointed to have lost only 300 grams, but I quickly pushed that thought out of my head and thought that at least it was a loss, and that lately I have a good week where I lose over 1 kilo and that’s alternated with weeks where I only lose a few hundred grams. But hey, the numbers on the scales are going down and that’s the main thing. I’m still 83.1 kilograms lighter than I was a year ago, and my weekly weight losses average out to about 1.56 kilos a week which is pretty darn good. I’m yet to hit a plateau and so I should be happy about that.

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On Saturday the hairdresser is coming to cut and colour my hair and I’m really looking forward to that. It was supposed to be today, but she also works part time at a salon and was asked to come in tomorrow so we’ve rescheduled for Saturday. The next time I need my hair done I’ll be able to just go to the salon she works at on the days that she’s there. I know now that I’ll fit on one of those seats with the armrests that they have. Another bonus.

This morning when I woke up my poor legs felt like I’d done a marathon walk of 10 kms or something like that. Still a bit stiff, but that’s normal I guess. Still, I didn’t let it stop me, and I went to Aldi to do the rest of our shop.

Again, it’s been over 4 and a half years since I walked through an Aldi. So many goodies added!!! There was the copycat version of Streets Vienetta ice cream (!!!!!!), there was a bigger variety of chocolates and chocolate bars, more Christmas goodies and then I spotted THEM!!!

Coconut crunch cookies. OMG how I wanted them soooo badly. They were calling out to me. ‘Lily, come on, you know you want us. We will taste so good! Go on, pick us up, put us in your trolley. Nobody else will know. You don’t have to write about eating us. Shhhhh. Here we are….delicious, crunchy coconut cookies. Perfect with a cup of tea.”

Screenshot_2019-11-22 Aldi coconut biscuits - Google Search

I looked at them. Walked past them, then stopped. I turned around and looked back at the display. I made my decision then and there. I needed them. Not a want, it was a need.

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I turned around.

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Pushed my trolley back the way I’d come. Straight to the display.

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My hands reached out.

I mean, how could I resist at that price?

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All that sweet deliciousness.

I grabbed not one. Not two. Not three. I grabbed FOUR!!

Yes, 4 packs!!!!

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OF MINI ROMA TOMATOES!!! At a price of $1.99 a punnet they were a bargain!

😄😄

Screenshot_2019-11-22 aldi MINI ROMA TOMATOES - Google Search

Whatever were you thinking?

(I’ll get a pack of the cookies to enjoy on Christmas day, and not sooner.)

So that’s it for this week. As always thank you so much for always supporting, encouraging me. It means so much.

Now if this was me having to pedal to keep my laptop powered up I wouldn’t be needing Optifast. The opposite in fact!!!

My year on Optifast. (and weigh in day).

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It’s been 12 months ago now since I picked up my first Optifast shake and began my Optifast journey.

It’s not always been easy, and there’s been times that I’ve struggled, but with my health at stake, and my lifespan considerably shortened due to my excess weight, I really had no choice but to persevere, and I’m glad that I have.

Had I been able to look ahead to 1 year from then and see that I would have lost over 80 kilos, well, I wouldn’t have believed it. Yet I have.

Things that I can now do and couldn’t 1 year ago:

*Walk from one end of the house to the other without puffing and panting and having to sit down.

*Shower myself without gasping for breath at the end. And being able to reach down to wash my lower legs and feet. (instead of having to sit on a chair and stick my feet in a basin of water and wash them that way.)

*Sleep on my side on 2 pillows instead of having to sleep while sitting upright on 3 pillows plus my boomerang pillow.

*Being able to cut my own toenails.

*Being able to shave my legs instead of having unshaven legs with so much hair I had to be careful of stray sparks during bushfire season.

*Drive again. That’s a major milestone.

*Wear clothes that aren’t circus tent size. And even better, I’m now able to buy clothes from regular stores instead of having to have them made or ordered from specialty stores that go up to size 36, and cost a fortune! I’m now wearing clothes that I was given by a lady on the support group I belong to and they actually fit me. No more dingy navy blue/black and muted colours. My partner was thrilled to see me in pink 3/4 pants and floral top, he even said that I looked really good in them.

*Put on my own socks and shoes.

*See a smile on my doctors face when I visit her and let her know how much weight I’ve lost.

*Not mind having my photo taken, whereas before I avoided the camera like the plague.

*Be able to actually read the numbers on my scales. Before I couldn’t due to having a huge gut that blocked my view.

*Be able to resist non Optifast foods and snacks, except for on my planned days off. (And those spaced a few months apart.) Before I would have succumbed to the biscuits in the pantry or bread on the bench.

*Been happy to eat vegetables or salads every day.

And this week saw a big positive for me. No longer needing to use my walking stick to walk around the house. I have progressed from needing to use a wheely walker to a walking stick and now nothing! I may not move at warp speed but I know in time that will only get better. My next step is venturing outside without it. I’ve walked outside the house and been okay, but walking on smooth and slippery floors in a shopping centre etc is the next hurdle. One best done when my partner is there in case I need a steadying hand for support.

So a year on I have changed from pretty much being chair bound, to becoming much more mobile, confident in myself, happier and on my way to being healthier and living a longer life with my partner, my children and my furbabies.

Optifast has changed my life.

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Stepped on the scales this morning to find that I’d lost 2 kilograms this week. I was rather chuffed about that, and my total loss now of 82.8kg. I wonder if I can make it 90kg gone by Christmas time? Even though I’m over halfway now I still have 66.5 kilograms to go. Still it’s a lot better than what I faced 12 months ago. Back then I had 149.3 kilograms to lose which seemed an insurmountable number and I couldn’t even imagine myself getting to where I am now. With a BMI that’s come down from almost 93 to today’s still high but much more respectable and less frightening 59.1.

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If you remember last week I mentioned buying an outfit that I was hoping I’d fit into and be able to wear out, on Christmas day and next week when I get my hair cut and coloured. This one:

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Well it arrived last Friday and I put it on, and it fit! And it fit nicely too. The pants are made of a sateen type fabric and feel really nice and dressy, and the top really compliments it. Next week, after I get my hair done, I’m getting some photos taken and they will be posted on here, probably the week after. I hope that I will look as good as I’ll be feeling with my new hair colour and cut.

So that’s it for another week. Thanks for reading!

One year ago I wrote this.

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I remember how scared I was the day the doctor told me that I might have early signs of heart failure.

I remember crying on the drive home.

I felt so disgusted in myself for letting my weight get to the stage it had.

And never before had I ever posted about exactly how my weight had affected my day to day life. That part of me was kept private. Even my own partner had no idea of some of the issues that I faced due to my weight.

So this time last year I was busy reading the information on the Optifast webpage, reading reviews about the products and ordering my first lot of shakes and bars. I remember eating all the junk food that I had left in the pantry and in the fridge.

Like a prisoner having his final meal before going to the execution chamber.

It was make or break time for me.

My last chance to do something positive for myself.

My week…..

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This week I tried on some of the clothes that were sent to me by someone from the support group I’m in, and was so excited that the shorts she sent I can now fit into. Yes, they are size 26, but when you consider that a year ago I was wearing size 34/36’s that were especially made for me, well that’s a huge step forward. The same with the tops.

Unfortunately I have a lot of loose skin on my upper arms, so a sleeveless look isn’t going to look good on me. And I’m going to have even more as I continue to lose weight.

Still, I’d rather the loose skin that have solid fat on my arms, and everywhere else on my body.

After I posted about my 80kg weight loss on the Optifast website forum last week I received an email from one of the support team there asking me to write out a overview of my journey so far, and include screenshots of my weight loss from the Monitor Your Weight app that I use and email it to her. She wants to share it with the rest of the team, and I was just blown away by that. So all day Saturday I typed out an overview of life as it was for me at 229.3kg and how things have changed for me after losing that 80 kilos. I’ve told her that there are also many inspirational people on here who have helped encourage and support me. I made a point of saying that I was still a work in progress with some issues to overcome, but I was determined to get to my goal. I must admit that it was rather nice to have acknowledgement from someone from the company. And extra incentive to continue as well.

Weigh in day saw a loss of 800 grams. Not a lot again, but I’m just grateful that even though I’ve been on Optifast for 51 weeks now, I still haven’t had any plateaus, and that I’ve had losses every week, even if it’s only been a 100 gram loss. Well, except for 2 weeks (a few months apart) where I had a gain of 100 grams. I’m sure as my weight drops further then I will hit a plateau and have to deal with frustration and disappointment that happens when it occurs.

To celebrate my 80kg loss last week I have a new outfit on the way to me that I ordered from a lady who used to make my tent dresses and pants. Instead of navy blue/black I ordered 3/4 pants in beige and a top with bright colours instead of muted colours like I used to buy. And of course in size 24/26 instead of 34/36. I figured it would look nice if going out, or to wear on Christmas day when my daughter and her husband come over. Combined with my new hair colour and cut (in 2 weeks time) I’ll be a new (ish) woman. The pants don’t have a lot of stretch compared to the ones I usually buy, so hopefully they’ll fit and I can get a photo taken after I get my hair done. If not, then I know I’ll be fitting into them soon. Here’s a pic of them. There was a sleeveless vest that was pictured with the pants, but unfortunately that wasn’t available to buy which was a shame. I know the top may not be to everyone’s taste, but I liked the colours.

As always, thank you for reading, and for supporting me.

Who needs something 13 inches long? Not me!

Today I held something in my hand that was just over 35cm (or 13 inches) long.

You can get them rigid or not rigid.

Mine was the latter.

I’ve been putting it into the same hole so many times I’ve lost count.

It’s just become a habit.

Without it I’m lost.

It’s been a part of my life for well over 15 years.

Not anymore.

Who needs something that long?

Not me!

So it’s now out of my life and I never want to see or hold it again.

What ARE you thinking??

Get your minds out of the gutter!

I’m talking about my seat belt extender!!!!! 😁😁

It’s something I’ve needed for so long regardless of what car I drove.

It felt so good taking it off.

Liberating even.

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Another milestone reached today!

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Today I’m celebrating having lost exactly 80 kilograms (186 pounds to my friends in the USA) in the 11 and a half months since I started on Optifast. 80 kilos = 4 x 20kg bags of cement mix. It would be impossible for me to lift that much and yet my poor body was burdened by that, plus more. 80 kilos in 50 weeks. I wonder if I can make 90 in 60 weeks? I think that might be pushing my luck, but one never knows I guess.

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I’ve been on Optifast now since 12th November last year, under the guidance of my dietician and GP. Blood tests all going great so the intensive program (3 Optifast products a day plus 2 to 4 cups of veges, allowed extra protein in the form of lean meat, fish or eggs) is working well with my 61 year old body. My blood pressure is better than it’s been for many years now with the last reading a very healthy 117/75. Previous blood pressure readings were averaging around 150/90.

In the time that I’ve been on Optifast I’ve had only 5 ‘days off’ the program spaced out at intervals a few months apart. I make sure though that I am strictly back on track the very next day and I don’t go all out and make a pig of myself on that day off. I debated whether or not to celebrate my 80kg loss with something like a meatball sub from Subway and ice cream for dessert tonight, but decided not to. I’ve made up my mind that I’ll be strict with myself and not treat myself today, instead waiting till Christmas Day and have that as my next ‘day off’. That’s 3 months since I last had one. And in the meantime I have my new haircut and colour to look forward to in 3 weeks time and be able to wear some of the clothes that I was so generously given by a lady from my Facebook support group.

Optifast has been good for me in many ways, and I’ve found it the best product for weight loss and believe me I have tried just about everything over the years, short of having my jaws wired shut.

My BMI has come down from a shocking 93 (the highest of any of a doctors patients according to the doctor I saw in hospital last year, not something to be proud of by any means) to a more respectable (albeit still high) 60.2.

I’m still a work in progress, but I’m getting there. When I look back at my weekly weigh in results it really helps to keep me motivated, and seeing my monthly weight loss is also satisfying. There may not be big numbers every week but a loss is still a loss.

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Without the support from my partner I wouldn’t have been able to do this. His careful budgeting keeps me in shakes and Optifast bars and his continued encouragement and praise really helps to keep me motivated. And thanks to those who read my blog and comment on my ramblings.

That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading! And Happy Halloween!

candy

Week 49.

Week49Weighin24thOct'19

Just a short post this week. I’m still waiting to hear back from the nurse that came to see me a couple of weeks ago with regards to seeing an exercise physiologist.

In the meantime I’ll keep plodding along and doing what I’m doing.

I tried having 3 shakes during the day this week as opposed to my normal 2 shakes (mid morning and mid afternoon), followed by an Optifast bar in the evenings. What I did was get up a bit earlier, have a shake around 9 – 9.30am, another one around 1pm and a final shake at 4pm. Then my usual dinner around 5.30 -6pm.

The only thing I’d eat in the evening was a few of the jelly lollies made from the recipe on Opticook.

It was more of an experiment to see if it made any difference to my weight loss. It didn’t really.

I still lost weight this week, 500 grams, so I’m not quite at my 80kg loss marker yet, but I’m only 1.4kg away from that so it’s not far off.

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It was around this time last year that I was worried about my health and first made an appointment to see my GP. A lot has changed since then. Optifast is really making a big difference to my life, and it can only get better as I continue to lose weight.

I received an email from one of the Optifast support staff this week and it really made me excited. They are offering me a great opportunity to improve things for Optifast users. I can’t really say anything on here at this stage, but it’s certainly been beneficial for me to have been on Optifast, not just for the weight loss, but to be able to have input into their program and it comes with perks!! A trip to Melbourne for a couple of days may even be on the cards. Nothing definite yet though.

I’ve decided that when I get my next haircut (in about a month) I’m going to get a colour as well. I’ve found a fantastic hairdresser that does home visits and she’s really good at listening to her clients and making suggestions. (Lots of good reviews on Facebook.). She did a great job on my last haircut and I’m looking forward to seeing how I look after she works her magic on me. I’ve sent her some photos showing the shade I want to go (nothing like pink or purple, I’m not that brave!), and she’s also made some suggestions. So watch this space…………………

As always….thank you for reading and for your continued support and encouragement.

48 Week Weigh In Day.

I can’t believe that it’s been 11 months since I started on Optifast, and apart from a couple of weeks I’ve been lucky enough to have lost some weight, even if it’s only been a hundred grams, every week. And remember that’s with very little exercise other than walking around the house, using my pedaling gizmo while sitting on my lounge chair, and walking outside. The pictures below are my weekly trackers and I’m pretty pleased with the progress I’ve made each week, and learned to celebrate even the loss of only 100 grams.

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My intense hand itching of last week has subsided thank goodness! It was driving me mad for the brief period that I had it. Unfortunately with the summer heat and humidity that Queensland gets comes sweat rashes, the bane of all us larger people. Thankfully I have a drawer full of ointments and powders to keep the sweat rashes etc at bay.

I went back to the doctor today to get a couple of scripts filled, and ask about my blood test results. All was perfectly normal, including Vit B levels, iron and my liver and kidneys are coping well with my 11 months of Optifast intensive. That was a relief, because at age 61 sometimes there can be issues with VLCD diets.

I also had my blood pressure checked as I had mentioned the slight dizziness I was experiencing from time to time. Pre Optifast my blood pressure would be sitting on around 140/150 systolic and the diastolic around the high 80’s and 90’s. Today it was 117/75! Perfectly normal for once. The doctor also said that I could now stop taking one of my blood pressure tablets, the one I take in the morning. Yayy me!

Weighing in this morning saw a loss of 1.9kg for this week. I was really pleased with that. My total weight loss now is 78.1kg! Only another 1.9kg to lose to reach that magic 80kg of fat gone from my long suffering body! Not bad at all.

That’s it for this week. As always, thanks so much for your ongoing support and for putting up with my rambles!!

Check in for week 47.

Week47

Just a quick post this week.

After enjoying my celebratory ‘day off’ Optifast last week I wasn’t overly confident that I’d have a big loss this week but I did lose 900 grams so I’m happy with that. That’s a total weight loss now of 76.2kg.

I’m assuming my blood tests from last week came up normal or my GP would have contacted me and asked me to come in.

Aside from my mobility issues I’ve had a week of intense itching, especially in the evenings. No rash or anything just intense itching of my hands. It’s driven me crazy. Thankfully it seems to now be subsiding, no doubt helped by a assortment of creams, lotions and Phenergan tablets.

Today is the day someone is coming out to our home to assess my mobility and hopefully recommend someone who can work with me on this and get me more mobile so I can walk with confidence again. My unsteadiness is really starting to get to me, and I’m becoming incredibly frustrated by it all. I so much want to be able to just go browsing through the local Westfield, and not have to use a trolley to help support me.

The lady from Team Care Coordination was just lovely. A real animal lover, she even came prepared with some dog treats for Ollie the Golden Retriever. (she had asked if we had any dogs when she phoned last week.) She was here for over an hour asking me questions to determine what type of assistance I was in need of. Between her organisation and info that she has given me, hopefully something will come of it. Main focus was getting my mobility and confidence when walking again. Fingers crossed.

Optifast have brought out a new range of shakes, called ProteinPlus.

Screenshot_2019-08-17 Buy Optifast Protein Plus Shake Chocolate 63g x 10 Sachets Online at Chemist Warehouse®-vert

Like the name suggests, they have extra protein in them compared to the regular Optifast shakes. The extra protein helps with preserving lean muscle mass for those of us on VLCD or VLED programs. (Very Low Energy/Calorie Diets). Due to my high BMI I have added protein in my diet every day with my evening meal, usually BBQ chicken, or salmon/tuna/eggs etc, so a shake with extra protein in it is perfect for me. I didn’t want to go out and buy a box though, if I didn’t like the taste, so I asked someone I know at Optifast if I’d be able to get a sachet of each of the shakes to taste test to see if it was worth me buying a whole box in the future.

Yesterday the parcel man came to the door, not just with a small package containing a couple of shakes, but a big box containing 1 x box of 10 of the ProteinPlus Chocolate, 1 x box of 10 of the ProteinPlus Vanilla PLUS a box of 12 of the regular chocolate shakes PLUS a free shaker bottle. That’s about $120 worth of products right there. I was gobsmacked! When I emailed her to thank her, and Optifast, for their generosity she emailed me back saying this: “You are more than welcome, you are a fantastic success story and we want to support you as much as possible!! You do so much for the brand on the forum and Facebook pages and we want to thank you!”

I was just so touched by that. I’ve been so blessed since I started on Optifast by kind gestures from people that I’ve met through either the Optifast website forums, or the Facebook support group. I guess I really sound like a walking advertisement for Optifast the way I rave on about it, but it has been a godsend to me. There are women (and a couple of men) that have lost huge amounts of weight and kept it off by using Optifast, and it’s people like them that motivate me and keep me going.

So that’s about it for me this week. I’ve added a picture of our Rainbow Bridge Goldens just for cuteness. Jessie (on the left), was my heart dog who passed away in December 2015, and Shadow (on the right) passed away the day before my birthday last year.

As always, thanks for reading!