Wet and Wild

I've just returned from a whirlwind weekend away to Echuca for my high school best friend K's 30th birthday celebrations. She hired a houseboat for 12 of us and we spent the weekend drinking in the hot tub, exploring the local wineries and eating some delicious foods. I didn't really know any of her friends on the boat (they were all uni friends), but it was great to see how much she is loved by her friends and I think she had a great time.

It was so weird to be with my old high school best friend while she was turning 30. We stayed up late on Saturday night chatting about where our lives are and where we thought we would be by now. How we feel left behind and unsatisfied in so many areas of our lives. I've been thinking a lot about that stuff lately because my 30th is just around the corner and it was so reassuring to hear that K felt the same. Hmmm, lots to think about, or maybe I just need to stop being so dramatic...

Driving the house boat turned into quite a drama and we actually hit a few other boats and trees and couldn't even park the boat. The boys driving were quite stressed out, but I was quietly giggling at the mishaps we kept having. At one point we were in the hot tub on the roof of the boat and one girl was nearly decapitated by a tree branch and then 5 minutes later we hit another boat head on. OK, it sounds pretty bad, but it was very funny.

Karma came back to bite my arse when I took a major spill. In my defense, it wasn't really my fault, even though I was drunk... We had torrential rain and flooding this weekend and as I was walking back to the houseboat on Saturday night in the pouring rain, the ground literally collapsed under me like quicksand and I slid down the muddy river bank. I was covered in mud from head-to-toe and I had to throw out my hand bag because it was such a mess. My BRAND NEW shoes are also completely trashed, but I am hoping to try and save them because I love them so much. I'm so glad to be home now and finally warm and dry because I don't deal with getting muddy very well.

Some photos...

Me and my high school best friend at her 30th. We are both a little worse for wear by this stage and my drunken lazy eye has come out to play, but it's the only photo I have from the night.

The injuries, this actually hurts way more than it looks.

Recovery back home on the couch. Despite how it may look, I am wearing pants in this photo...

I told AJ to get out of my photo and his cheeky head popped up from behind the couch. Plus you can see all my dirty secrets-- the TV shopping network reflecting in the balcony door window and the two blocks of chocolate sitting on the couch...

Clothes and Shoes and Other Girly Things

I know I shouldn't post about buying pretty new clothes without pictures to show you, but I have heaps of things coming up over the next fews weeks where I'll be wearing them and I promise I'll post pictures when I am glammed up. Right now I need to wax my legs, paint my toe nails, slap on some fake tan and put on some make up, and I am too vain to post pictures of myself in this sorry state.

I did wear my new size 16 jeans today and it turns out that I don't actually have a muffin top above them like I thought, I actually have a whole three tiered wedding cake instead! In fact, after wearing them all day I could actually need a new kidney. These jeans may have been a premature purchase... Nothing like a little extra motivation I guess!

While I am talking shopping, I also had to buy some new shoes recently. Why you ask (well as if I need an excuse)? I have actually gone down a whole shoe size since I lost weight. I have heard people say this happens, but I didn't think I carried any extra weight on my feet and they were always the thinnest part of my body. So now I have gone from a size 8 to a size 7 (God I wish I was talking about jeans sizes instead of shoe sizes) and I need all new shoes. This losing weight business is freaking expensive.

Can I just ask one question while we are talking girly stuff? It's coming on summer here and I look so much better (thinner) with a tan, but applying fake tans are beyond messy, smelly and annoying. So the beauty shop downstairs from my apartment does spray tans and I am thinking of getting one. Has anyone ever had one? Do they look natural at all and will I have to be naked?

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today has been a momentous day for me...

1. I saw a number on the scale that started with a 7. I haven't seen a number on the scales that starts with a 7 in my adult life and I would estimate the last time I weighed in the 70's I was 12 years old. Prior to having a lap band my lowest adult weight was 90 kilos (when I was 18 for about 6 months) and today I weighed 79.3 kilos (174.5 lbs). I think it's going to take a while for this to sink in.

2. I have now officially lost 50 kilos (110 lbs). Wow, I cannot believe I used to carry that much extra weight on me every day. No wonder life used to feel so hard.

3. I went shopping today and I fit into size 16 jeans. There is major muffin top, but they'll stretch... I also bought 2 dresses in size 16 from Portmans. I think I can now officially say that I can wear 'normal' sized clothing. Oh my god, I did not think this day would ever arrive. Even as a teenager I didn't fit into 'normal' sized clothes and I had to wear my mum's clothes or she would make them for me and now I can walk into almost any shop and find something to wear. I could cry with happiness.

Now I'm going to go to the gym because I figure getting on the treadmill will be easy while I am walking on air!

Sickness, Jobs and The Big O

There is not much happening in terms of weight loss for me at the moment. It really hasn't been a focus while I am not feeling the best. I haven't been able to exercise because I haven't had the energy and I am one of those people who just cannot shift weight without quite vigorous exercise. So I have just been staying away from the scales and trying not to worry about it too much.

The sensible side of my brain constantly tells me not to diet or restrict my eating, but the side of my brain that has dieted for 25 years wants to say 'starve yourself so you don't gain weight'. Then I get confused and dive into a tub of cookies and cream ice cream! Damn you ice cream and BBQ crisps for sliding through my band so nicely.

Work is incredibly busy at the moment and that, teamed with the lack of sleep, is making me feel a little frazzled. I actually lost my shit altogether on Friday and broke down in the bathrooms at work after a colleague was quite rude to me. It was definitely an over-reaction on my part, I have encountered way meaner people than him and been OK. I have never cried at work before, I used to take a lot of abuse in my last job and I made a rule that I would never cry at work (though I did cry once in the car after a particularly abusive client, but I made it to the car, so that doesn't count right?). So it goes to show that I am kind of at my wits end at the moment and I don't feel like myself.

I am off to see an infectious diseases specialist next week at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. I have been through every test possible and they can see my body has an infection, but they don't know what it is just yet. In the mean time, I haven't been able to do much and I'm boooored. So I kind of feel like I have nothing to say at the moment except 'I'm tired' and 'I'm bored', so I am doing you a big favour by not blogging much.

OK, so the has been very 'woe is me' post, so let me lighten the mood with less depressing news. Last week wasn't all bad, I was given an employment opportunity at a previous employer. I was actually walked off the premises by security when I gave my notice because I was going to a competitor . So the fact they would offer me a job out of the blue was quite a shock. I did turn them down for numerous reasons, but it kept life interesting for a couple of days.

In other news, a certain American talk show host who is coming to Australia in December contacted me with a possible opportunity to be on her Sydney show for a make-over. Ultimately I decided not to go ahead with it because, despite what it may seem like on this blog, I am actually a very private person and I just couldn't handle the idea of my business being on TV. I had an instant panic attack at the mere idea of the whole situation, so I knew I had to say no and I don't regret it at all.

OK, I have a date with a hot shower and the fresh sheets on my bed.

Protein?

I know I am a very bad bandster for not knowing about protein, so I am really hoping you guys can clue me in a little...

I have noticed on a lot of the American lap band blogs that I read that you all focus a lot on eating protein and it seems to be a strict rule from your doctors. My doctor has never mentioned that I need to eat protein, but I am thinking I really should from what I have seen you guys saying. Aside from anything, you guys mention it can really boost weight loss and I am all about that. Does anyone know why eating more protein helps you lose weight?

I would say the foods I eat most now are eggs, seafood and legumes, which are all great for protein, but I am still not eating that much because I can only eat such small portions now. I guess I need to try a protein shake, but I am nervous because I have read how disgusting so many of them are to drink. Plus, we really don't have the range available to us over here in Australia that my North American friends have. I would love to hear from anyone that has any advice on great protein shakes or ways you add more protein into your diet. 

Thanks so much for taking the time to help out, I feel completely clueless about all this!

November Weigh In

I haven't been weighing myself lately because I knew I was bloated and I haven't been able to exercise due to being sick. I have also been reaching for more than my share of comfort food... So I wasn't feeling my best and didn't really want to worry about what the scale said when I was feeling crappy enough. Yesterday was the 1st of November and I thought I might have a look at the scales and see how I am tracking (I skipped my October weigh in because I was in Bali).

November 1st Weigh In: 80.3 kilos (176.5 lbs)
Weight Lost In Sept/Oct: 5.2 kilos (11.5 lbs)
Total Weight Lost: 49.4 kilos (108.5 lbs)

The most exciting part? I am just a whisker away from being in the 70's and also having lost a total of 50 kilos. Until recently I had never even weighed in the 80's, so being in the 70's would be completely surreal to me. Prior to having a lap band my goal was always just to get under 100 kilos and now here I am less than a kilo away from the 70's. I mean I have friends I would call 'thin' who weigh in the 70's (granted they are taller than me).

I am not actively dieting at the moment or obsessing about numbers on the scale, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be freaking awesome to get into the 70's. I think there is a possibility I could cry when I do actually see a number starting with a 7 on the scales.

Stay tuned!

*********************
On another note, go follow and support new bandit Christina's awesome blog: Daegu Fattie