Weeks 14 & 15 - new term at school

Well - back to school after the Easter holidays. Daunting for me - I have SOOOOO much to pack into this term. Will be a HECTIC 10 weeks until the end of June.

I am still looking for a new job. I am travelling a round trip of 102 miles and it takes me 75 mins at least to get to work. I also need a new challenge - for lots of reasons. However, I don't want to go for promotion yet so I'm sticking with Depute jobs. I've had 4 interviews since September. I made a mess of 2 interviews, was close 2nd in one and really disappointed in the other. Well ...... I have 5 applications pending and sod's law - 3 interviews in 23 hours (Monday 10.45am & 2.30pm then Tuesday 9.45am). Will be exhausted. Not sure if any of them are genuine as so many jobs are already spoken for (ie brilliant internal candidate andthat's fair enough!. Going to read the newspapers then crack into the preparations!!!!!!!!

Cambridge Diet going well - it's a way of life for me now. I'm still doing SS but have 'time-out' when my life demands. For example, during the holidays I had several meals out. In the past 8 days I've had quite a busy social calendar .. Saturday 14th I had lunch out with my niece (haven't seen her for 9 months); friends round in the evening for wine and nibbles; Wednesday was 1st day back at school and we had buffet lunch and on Friday I was out for dinner with friends in Stirling! That's unusual BUT life's like that isn't it? I decided, at the beginning of this 'adventure' that I wouldn't get into a situation where I refused invitations or felt that I was denying myself. That's worked for me - I don't feel deprived so I don't ever resent the diet.

I'm finding that my tastes are changing though. On Wednesday our catering lady had prepared lovely sandwiches for me and my visitor at school. She does this often. This time I found the butter a bit overpowering so I'll ask her to do some 'special' ones next time! I also don't have the same sweet tooth and really don't crave sweets and chocolate any more. God - I used to eat a whole box of chocs in one go !!!!

My 17 year old daughter started CD last week. I was really worried that I'd set her the wrong example but she wants to lose quickly and I eventually gave in. She's not finding it quite so easy though. I need to stock up next week so I've decided that we'll both move to 790 and have an evening meal. Pity because my current way of doing CD suits me fine. However, I need to make sure that she is sensible!

I've now lost 3 st 7 lbs..... AMAZING!!! I have lost 7ins from my bust, 9ins from my waist and 7 ins from my hips and gone from a size 24 to an 18. How has this changed my life? ..............

I no longer feel huge - I feel 'normal'. When I look at myself in the mirror I don't look bloated. My shoulders look in proportion to the rest of my body and my face doesn't look 'blown up'.

When I sit in a chair I don't hang over the sides. If a chair has arms I can move about instead of being wedged in.

I am more mobile. I can run up stairs, dance at my class etc. I don't avoid moving around. I have more energy.

I can shop in any shop I want - and clothes are much cheaper! Don't have a lot to wear though as I am losing so quickly that I grudge spending the money!

I don't have the stress incontinence that i assumed was down to having had kids!

I am looking forward to getting a pair of jeans when I reach size 14!!!!!


STARTING WEIGHT 18ST 7LBS
CURRENT WEIGHT 15ST 0LBS
TOTAL LOSS 3ST 7LBS

Weeks 12 & 13

Well I've had a mixed up 2 weeks. Last week of school was pretty stressful and I was really down about a lot of things that are happening and I'm pretty powerless to change! A couple of times I've been quite emotional about it all - which isn't usually like me - probably exhaustion.

This week I've been on school holiday - a great chance to recharge my batteries and get things into perspective. I've had a couple of days out with friends (lunch, shopping etc)and it's been lovely to just chill. Result is, of course, a little weight gain! At the beginning of this week I was 15st 4lb ... but this morning I'm 15st 6lb!!! I'm genuinely not bothered about that - the need to be with friends and have fun was much greater than my drive to lose weight this week - and I am 100% certain that I'll be back on track next week. I'll aim to be under 15st for going back to school on18th April. I'm having dinner with my daughter today - butternut squash soup,chicken & vegetables, cheesecake. Tomorrow is another day!

Some lovely things have happened to boost my cnfidence. I've seen a lot of people that hadn't seen me for weeks - and they are just WOW YOU LOOK FANTASTIC!
My sisters and I went shopping yesterday. They are both about size 16-18 and always aware of their weight and on one diet or another. I've always been at least 2 sizes more than them. Yesterday however they (and I) realised that there isn't much difference now. They are delighted for me - but also realising that they'll need to stick in ............... remember Caroline said to me at the beginning of this diet "Oh I'll need to stick to mine because I don't want to be the fat one". Lorraine gets married in September so we're all focussed on that date!

I had a lovely day shopping with my sisters. I needed some clothes as I have few outfts that look ok now. However, I am so confident about this diet that I was continually saying "No i'm not spending that amount for something that will be too big in a couple of weeks." I was wearing size 20 trousers but they felt a bit slack so I bought 2 pairs of linen trousers size 18 and a couple of t shirts size 16-18.

Well ..... right now I'm sitting quite comfortably in the size 18 trousers and T shirt from Debenhams. I didn't even need to struggle to pull up the zip !!!!!!!!!!(The trousers from Primark are a bit tight but should be ok in a week or 2). I can't wait until the Summer - when I reach size 14 I'll get a pair of jeans!

THAT IS UNBELIEVABLE .......... AT CHRISTMAS I WAS SIZE 24-26. AT EASTER I AM SIZE 18. WISH I'D DONE THIS YEARS AGO!!!

STARTING WEIGHT 18ST 7LBS
CURRENT WEIGHT 15ST 6LBS
LOSS 3ST 1LB