Hi - where does time go?  It is incredible to believe that we are nearly through September - but even if I don't believe it, we are!!

I am also into yet another week trying to lose weight.  So.....stepping is all good - but I need to cut back on food....and feel that this is what I always say.

So I intend to get very serious this week - I will again try a food diary because if I want to feel better for the Rotary Conference and actually wear size 14 I need to get serious.

The truth is I am pleased that my size 14s now actually fasten well on me....but I am not confident that they look good enough - need to take a bit more weight off.

So onwards I go - okay still allowed everything but in serious moderation........

See ya soon x

Well another week over and full success in terms of stepping targets and I can fasten some of my size 14 clothes.......

I am really enjoying walking because the weather has been lovely and this week-end I will enjoy the Docklands/North Woolwich/Silvertown/City Airport/Royal Albert Dock/Home walk and the weather is set to be good all week-end so I will even wear my shorts and sunglasses!!

This week-end I am taking Robert with me - because he has been walking a bit this week and this longer walk will do him good - and of course the reward is that we will stop for coffee at the London City Airport which is very nice!!

So into another week and I am pleased with some progress this week - several people have commented on my decrease in size and my belt tightens another 3 holes further along!!!!

See ya x

Hello - I have just enjoyed a lovely meal at Rotary, Barking as well as an interesting talk from Hannah who is a fitness trainer who has applied to study medicine.

Hannah spoke to us about the importance of exercise alongside healthy eating and she confirmed some important truths for me.

Once useful tip was to concentrate on what you can include in your diet - not what you can't include and it will change your way of thinking!!

She also emphasised the importance of brisk exercise - moderate intensity for 30 minutes on 5 days.......so my walking needs to step up a bit I think!!  No more strolling for some of my steps if I want to lose weight.

O I am so looking forward to being slim by Christmas - of course I will also be much slimmer within the next 3- 4 weeks if I concentrate even more!!  Bye for now x

Back again - what a beautiful sunny morning we had in London today - I set off on my walk with a fleece on and only got a short distance before removing it.....I did just under 12,000 steps and what a lovely walk it was.

I followed the Capital Ring from Beckton District Park which took me across to North Woolwich and from there I circled back home.  I came along to Silvertown and stopped at the London City Airport for a cup of tea - and a read of the Times.  Since the airport is now connected to the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) there is even a Starbucks now as well as EAT.

I just love this area of East London because it is evolving and ever changing....yet it is fascinating to see little old houses amongst the new flats and houses......and of course there is still plenty of room for improvement in the East End but it is good to live here.   Of course it does help that I work close by - if I worked further out I would want to live there too!!

Well my steps are going well and I feel that I can be confident that I can maintain the pattern into the future - and listen - I bought a pair of size 14 trousers this week-end AND they fit me......okay I don't like a couple of little lumps showing BUT they fit me.....I just have a bit of further work to do to look good in a size 14!!  Then I want to throw my 16s and I will not return to that size again - I have had enough of being fat - fat is NOT beautiful!!  

So this week - I will focus on my food intake more to get a better balance and try to guarantee some fat falling off......see you soon. x

Hi - it has been so good today to catch up on home and family things since I have been pushing myself at work all week and that has been my main focus.  

Alex too has had a busy week - first week at her new College with her journey across London to Angel and all the steps at the station taking it out of her!!!!  that's before she starts the heavy 6th form work.  She has enjoyed the social life anyway - new friends - new journeys and new surroundings in that lovely part of London.

So before I start another busy working week with everything going on (NHS Changes are all over the place and cause us loads of HR work - but I really love my role) - I need to make sure that I catch up here.......

Today has been good.....Alex and I spent a bit of time shopping - she managed to buy another dress at the end of summer - for her party tonight at Josh's - a friend from school days just gone!!

Today for me was a 5000 steps day and Robert and I enjoyed fish and chips tonight from the Custom House Chippy!!  I have learned to keep calories low when I want a treat like this and how I enjoyed that meal!!  My old ways would have involved fitting in chocolate immediately after a meal but that has stopped now.  I am allowed chocolate or anything else of course but it is good to in control enough to decide I don't want it!!

Tomorrow is a 10000 steps day - the last one this week and I will enjoy a lovely London walk.

I'll get up early for that and whilst Alex has a sleepover at Ashley's house I will walk, walk and walk some more before making dinner for Robert, Alex and myself. Talk again soon x

Hi - time flies and that is week 7 of my Shapeup Transformation over already.

Well it is fair to say that I am still not a size 14 and also that I think it could take another month to get there.  Now that is a shame because some people lose weight really fast BUT  remember that I am looking for a life change that is maintained and improved on and so I have to be patient.

My stepping is certainly making a big difference to me......I have overdone it a bit this week at work by staying late each day and so I am in need of a good rest but normally I feel wide awake and very well.  I am sleeping soundly; enjoying a lighter tummy and hips and my size 16s are slipping to my hips and skirts are sliding round my waist as I walk......this is good but I can't wait until I feel them falling off me.

I keep trying my smaller clothes on and it is good to see that another couple of inches and they will fasten!

I feel better about myself - feel balanced in mood most of the time and feel really positive.

I have things to look forward to and visualisation helps.  When Robert and I go together to Eastbourne this year (I will miss Alex who is staying at home) I will be slimmer and will be into my smaller clothes - that is a certainty because I still have a few weeks to work on myself until mid October.

Then I am having a couple of days off in half term and then for Christmas I can look forward to a visit from Hazel and Dean - and the 5 of us will be active and really enjoy some quality time together.  Dean loves walking and so we can all walk.......so here's to a bright future.

Back again and so soon......I have a little navy skirt in my wardrobe and from Massimo Dutti - I bought it 2 years ago in Spain because I liked it and was sure it would fit - it was in the sale - sound familiar?

When I got it home to London I tried it on and it would not go near me...hardly pulled over my hips.

Now I have been testing my size by trying this skirt on over the past months - and guess what - tonight I tried it on and it fitted (well a wee bit tight but it fastened and almost sat on y hips!!!!).

This seemed wonderful and is of course an achievement.....I was so pleased because I thought I had got into a neat size 24 but the label says UK 18!!  Now I can't believe this but it still fastens and the fact that it would not go near me previously is surely progress?  Just not enough yet obviously!  What a tough life.

My steps are going well this week - yesterday over 11k and today almost 11k - so I need to push myself a bit more to reach my goals.

Fortunately this is mid September and I have another month until the Annual Rotary Conference.  This will give me another date to spur me on.  I will visualise what I will look like by then and that will inspire me..... bye for now.

Hello again ....... well into the 7th week and all going well so far.  I am intending following last week's plan doing my 10,000 steps each day Monday to Friday and then 10,000 over the week-end days.  Work is so busy these days that I hardly get time to think but I do need to think carefully about how I can adjust my eating further to cut carbs and let the weight fall off.

I am confident that I can still change my shape this year...it is changing already and by Christmas I would just LOVE to be a lot slimmer with a waist and well proportioned feminine shape!!

Hello again.

Well 6 weeks truly over now since 'T'Day when I started my shape-up plan and I have now started my 7th week.

I have introduced the change I was considering - so that on day 6@7 after doing 50,000 steps over 5 days I will do an additional 10,000.  The good news is that over this week-end I have completed 14,194 steps which exceeds my target!!

There is however a downside......I bought low fat pink and white mallows - I can have these on calorie control BUT I have been overdosing on these - so from tomorrow I need to seriously count my calorie intake!  Talk to you soon.

Hi - what  a great day I have had.......I did 8,500 steps by doing door to door collecting at Theydon Bois and a little bit of Asda collecting....this means that my intention of doing 5000 steps on both Saturday and Sunday in addition to my 50,000 weekly steps is happening - only a couple more thousand steps tomorrow and I have cracked it!!!

I was careful with calories today because I knew we were in for a real treat this evening in London......well I was not wrong - the meal was absolutely perfect and I did not feel guilty for enjoying it - and of course I can always cut some calories tomorrow eh???

Talk again soon!

 

Yes that's week 6 complete and also my 5 days of stepping.......I will however add a bit more for this week since I need to speed up weight loss.

I am so pleased that I have my steps as a normal 'life-style' thing now - I am feeling better and moving better for this improvement.  

What really does get to me though is that when I am shopping with Alex it is so frustrating that the modern clothes shops have XL sizes that don't go near my size....how bad is that?  I am glad that I am beginning to put things right because I really hate having to look for big clothes......how many lovely things I see in size 12 - so roll on Christmas.

I'll be back.......

Well they say a change is as good as a rest and I agree after our lovely day out in London for Robert's Birthday.

I always take our Anniversary and my B'Day off work as leave and so this year I decided that it would be good to add in Robert's Birthday!!

Howard and Mary - my brother and his partner let us know on Monday night that they were coming to London for a few days and after meeting them on Tuesday for a meal we arranged to meet up today and share the day in London together.

We trecked London, took in Covent Gardent, the National Art Gallery in Trafalgar Square, Wholefoods at Kensington and a bus trip back to Kings Cross and then finished the evening with a lovely Italian Meal close to their Travelodge.

Our meals and breaks today were good and because I have got out of the bad habit of snacking in between I really enjoyed my food without guilt.  It was good to relax together as family - we see so few of family that it is always good.

My steps were brilliant today - 13,268 - so although I absorbed many more calories than usual that is absolutely fine - I may do 5000 Saturday and Sunday though to make up for this!!!! Bye for now x

Well hello again - I have taken time to come back again!!  However this does not mean that all is not good - well that means that at least I have maintained my stepping targets.......

What I cannot say is that into my 6th week I am a size 14!!!  Not yet but I am not defeated.

People at work have been commenting that I look good - think that means that they notice I am looking a wee bit better.  I also feel a bit better.

I have been enjoying the satisfaction of keeping up the exercise with steps but I know I could do a bit better - maybe I'll increase next week!!

I have been enjoying my food - and this week at work I decided that I'd order half sandwiches - inspired by Pret a Manger's idea of selling half sandwiches.  Half is enough although I have been adding crisps and that will stop because I thought Walkers Crisps were 130 cals - they are 180 - what a waste eh?

So okay - what about my new target?  and have I failed to reach that smaller size in my target time ......well I can squeeze into my 14's  - I just hate the bumps - some people this size call themselves a 14 - but okay I am re-adjusting my target to be more realistic ......by the time I go to Eastbourne mid October I SHOULD be and WANT to be a size 14.....then of course I still want to be size 12/14 for Christmas 2009!!  Wish me well......by for now.

Hello again.....well today has been good although I have not been as strict on calorie counting as I could have been!!  That means that tomorrow I need to peel back a bit - but that's what I like about calorie control. 

Alex and I went to Waitrose this evening and it is a lovely shopping experience - ok Asda is cheaper but it is too easy to load up on 'bargains' at Asda and think less about what we are buying....at Waitrose it's good to carefully shop - make sense?  

We bought lovely trout for tomorrow's dinner.  Before Alex became 'veggie' we always had a Sunday Roast and then for a while Robert and I continued that but it was difficult to get Alex to have anything decent,  Now she will eat fish and so we all enjoy that some Sundays.  Salmon can be a bit strong in taste but the trout is lovely.  These have the herb butter with them and even come in 'bake in the bag' wrapping which is great.

I go into week 6 of my plan on Monday and I mean to make a few changes to how I eat......need to increase fruit and vegetables - get more goodness from my calories so watch this space. Bye for now.

Hello again.....well it is going well so far this week - that's 3 days stepping done already just another 2 to do this week!!  It is certainly easier now but I should put in a bit more effort next week and increase - I won't over commit though - don't want to put myself off!!

Calories - going well but not really eating as well as I could......trying to vary my food a bit.

One good thing last night was that Alex wanted to go to the Wimpy to eat....quite like it there since it is not the fast food like McDs and you get served.  I was really surprised - the whole menu had calories attached to the items - this actually influenced my choice - so I had onion rings and salad because I was too short on calories to have a lovely pork rib!!

So 5th week progressing to plan....skirts loose and maybe with another 10 days I could be better shaped for that dress!!  I'll keep you informed.