just a quickie

I have not blogged, (read or written) for ages!
I have been so consumed with my new job and my new nephew that everything else has faded into the background.

I have given up feeling guilty about this fact as it serves no useful purpose other than to make me feel bad about myself. And that doesn't help with the weight loss.

And on that subject I have totally lost the plot. I have very little restriction, continuous hanger and have gained 10lb. This is while attending Weight Watchers but to be fair its not their fault.

My surgeon has completely abandoned me and the last time I called for a fill I was told that I would need to see the dietitian first to see why I needed a third fill. When I was reading and keeping up with the blogs it seemed that those of you that had the band fitted about the same time as me had lots more than 2 fills.

Not sure if i said before but my port was fitted upside down which makes fills a real struggle. Just lately my port has been painful and uncomfortable, which i am putting down to the weight I have gained. This is making me reluctant to visit the surgeon in case he decides there is a problem with the port. Generally I am not down or depressed but just a bit disappointed with myself and the band. Mainly me, I must admit.

Anywho, I am now trying out a mainly protein based diet of shakes, meal replacement bars and meat or fish. This seems to be helping the hunger pangs and the weight is coming off slowly.

I am going to dive through some of your blogs and try to pick up some tips on protein meals and also see how you are all doing.

Hope everyone had a Happy Valentines Day.
Good Luck and thanks for listening.


Fiona x

Resolutions

Well it's that time again. Someone asked me yesterday if I had any resolutions and this started a discussion on the subject. It seems there are 2 camps. Those that do not make resolutions at all and those that make them and break them. I have yet to meet someone that has a different list every year because they have managed to keep the ones from last year.

That said I am a great believer in them because I see it as my intention to examine my life and look at how I can improve myself or my life a little, even if I don't keep them for longer than a few months. It's also a good idea to accept that they may not be long term acheivements. I dont beat myself up if I dont keep them. A small improvement here and there is better than none at all. So here goes. My resolutions for 2011. In no particular order.

Learn to love and accept the band. This means taking responsibility for the work I need to do to make the band a success. This is not just about the weight loss but more about the lifestyle change.

Learn another language, i.e.Italian, I have a CD to listen to in the car and I just watched Eat,Prey, Love which has a lot of Italian in it so it was nice to recognise some of the words. It kind of spurred me on.

Keep a journal. A proper written paper journal. I usually do keep one but last year I slipped a bit and it only lasted for four months. I miss being able to go back and visit myself. So this year I have started again.

Keep up with my vitamins. I need to take iron and I now take a multivitamin but I have also just added a vitamin complex for healthy hair as one of the side affects of the band (for me) is that my hair is getting quite thin. This happened when I did the Lighter Life liquid diet before but I hoped because I was eating food it wouldnt be a problem this time.

Anyway thats pretty much it. I am always trying to be more organised, fitter, less moody, more positive, blog more etc but the above list is more of a specific list I am actively working on.

I would be really interested in your resolutions or why you dont have them.
Good luck, health and happiness for the New Year. xxx

Just a hello

Hi everyone,

Its so nice to read about everyone's success stories at this time of year. It's traditionally a time for reflection and taking stock. How nice that we all feel so much better than this time last year?

I was feeling a bit down that I have not been doing so well. But while taking stock of the giant changes that have happened in my life this year I realised that for someone like me who doesn't like change I have done remarkably well to be this stable.

So far I have left my job of 10 years (major change), started a whole new job (very hard)and then done the whole new job thing again 10 weeks later! For me that is a huge amount of upheaval in a short amount of time. Oh and I had a gastric band.
And I am still sane, happy and 40lbs lighter. Who would have thought it?

The weight loss hasn't been what I would have hoped for but in all honesty I haven't given it the priority status it has deserved. Something I intend to rectify in the new year when things are more settled on the work front.

My first few weeks in my new job have been amazing. Everyone is really nice and welcoming. We have had lots of social events and freebies. It has been a totally different world for me. That is not always good as some of you will understand. I have sometimes felt like my comfort blanket has been ripped off me and burnt in front of my eyes.

My last job was in Automotive manufacturing so although it was new, the terminology was pretty much the same and the principles were the same too. But now I am in retail which is a whole new world. Every word they use is foreign to me. I cannot deny it is very daunting. Plus they do Everything in Excel, which is also quite new to me. I have used excel in the past but not to this extent. When someone who is very good with excel is showing you what to do it's quite hard to follow. But from experience I know I will get there in the end but I HATE BEING NEW!!!!!!!

Anyhoo I digress. What I am trying to say is that whatever your progress, be it 1lb lost or 100lb (well done!) we have all grown and made positive changes in the last year that we should be very proud of. Just look back at photos of last Christmas "shock".

I hope that everyone has a fantastic New Year. I hope that the amazing changes continue. And I hope that we will all continue to support one another because discovering blogging has probably been THE most positive change of 2010 for me.

Thank you everyone for your help, support and honesty.

Fantastic news.

Hi Everyone,

Hope you are all well and warm. It has been snowing here for a week so of course the South East of England has ground to a halt. We have about 6inches where I live, which is quite a lot for us. I work 20 miles away and they had no snow! Go figure. So there was no point trying to blag a day off. To be honest the main roads were OK so my journey didn't suffer. In fact the roads were much quieter than usual because lots of people didn't go to work.


Anyway on to my fantastic news.
I got the job at Bare Escentuals!!!!!
Me,I did it, I got the most fantastic job. Yay me!

I had to give a weeks notice at my current job. Doesn't sound a lot but that's what they had in my contract. I left yesterday. It was quite sad really as I really liked the people I worked with and had just started to feel like I fit in. But the thought of my dream job helped me feel better.

So the new job is for an Inventory Coordinator. It will be schedules and stock control. Lots of spreadsheets and numbers (my mortal enemies) but once I know what to do I am sure it will be fine. News flash # I really suffer with lack of confidence # something other people do not see??? I must be a good actress. But they liked me enough to give me the job.

So what makes it a dream job? Well the starting salary is almost as much as my last job that I had for ten years, and 4k more than I was getting at the place I just left. After a qualifying period they offer full sick pay, full health care and an annual bonus of 10% of your salary plus a pension.

More importantly the product is make up, which I love and I get 50% of wholesale price!!!!! Suddenly I have a lot of "best friends".

More importantly they are a very supportive company who have a great feeling about them. I have already received a letter from the HR Director saying they are excited for me to join the team. You have to understand I have always worked in manufacturing and they are just interested in what you can do for them. This company seems excited in what I can bring but also how they can help me develop.

They have already sent me my intineray for next week which has 20 min meetings with everyone in the Company including two days working at Soho Square in London, meeting the QVC channel managers, all the Directors and a visit to the Covent Garden Boutique.

I can't tell you how excited I am. If ever a job came up that was everything I needed financially and emotionally then this is it. I thrive on encouragement. Just believe in me and I will rise to the challenge.

I am having my hair cut today and buying some new clothes so I can feel at my best when I meet everyone next week.

I have rambled on a bit I know. Did I mention I was excited?
On the Fiona = Debbie downer side, I am hoping I haven't built it up too much but only time will tell.

I promise I will keep you posted.
Oh and they have already sent me an invite to the Christmas party.


Stay safe and warm. Eat lots of healthy soup.

The amazing power of blogging.

Well here I was feeling like the worst bandster/blogger in the world and then I find there is a pattern and I am not alone!

I have spent any free time in the last couple of days catching up with blogs only to find that almost every one's weight loss has slowed down and stalled at some point and that almost everyone is blogging less. I can stop beating myself up now. (well just for a while, wouldn't want to break the habit of a lifetime)

Grace said it best when she said "When I blog, I am successful. When I don't, I am less successful." She is so right and So successful. One of the great things about blogging with fellow bandsters is to draw on the wealth of experience.

I am looking at the tickers of people banded at the same time as me and thinking I am not doing so well but I keep forgetting I have only had two fills since March. So its not too bad really. I have to think positively in order to get back on track.

I gave weight watchers a try but didn't do so well. I think its because given the choice, when I'm hungry I choose the unhealthy food that "slides" down rather than the healthy option that is hard work and painful. For example, last night I had well cooked chicken casserole but two bites in I was sick so I had the English equivalent to Cheetos for dinner! I need to get organised and make some healthy options.

I seem to be hungry all the time?
Anyway I am not going to whinge. I am going to try to have the attitude that every day is a new beginning.

On "new beginnings" I have an interview on Monday for a cosmetic company called Bare Escentuals. They are an American company who sell on line and on QVC. I am looking forward to the interview because there is no pressure as I already have a job. I really like the company mission statement and they sound like a good place to work so I will keep you posted on how it goes.

Happy Tuesday xxx

Not sure what to call this???

Forgive me bloggers, it's been seven weeks since my last blog.
It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride with more lows than highs but life goes on so here I am.

We had a period of time where both DH and I were out of work which was trying to say the least. I got very depressed and didn't even want to talk for a while. I won't even go into what that was like.

We are both working now but the change has been hard. DH has a job which is OK but nowhere near as much autonomy as his previous role and I have a job which is a lot less pay and responsibility. So not great for either of us. I find it hard to handle change so it's taken a while to settle in plus my boss makes me feel like a bitter disappointment. The other people in my department are OK. But it's only a twelve month contract so this time next year I will be looking again! Lets hope things pick up a bit before then.

Anywho the most important thing to happen recently is that my sister gave birth to a beautiful baby boy called Max. He was 10 weeks early so is still in special care but he is doing well. He weighed just over 3lb at birth and is now nearly 4lb but still suffering from jaundice. He didn't need a ventilator which was great news but he has stopped breathing a couple of times which is very scary for his parents. They are exhausted, bless them. So I have been visiting when I can but I have had a cold for the last week and had to stay away :-(
Can't wait to see him again soon.



Isn't he gorgeous?

On band news. I might as well not have one.
Next subject?

I will spend the next week trying to catch up with you all. Hope you are all doing well.

Take care x

Gilly's BYOC

1) You’re trapped on a desert island and you can bring only 3 of your favourite foods along. What do you bring?

Shephards pie (I love the beefy, mashed potato, cheesy yummyness of it. mmmm I could eat it right now if only the band would let me.

Full English breakfast. i.e eggs,bacon,sausage,baked beans, mushrooms,tomato's and bubble & squeak (thats mashed potato and left over greens fried!)

Ben & Jerry's phish food ice cream.

2) If you could meet any 3 people, living or dead, who would they be and why?

Who:Walt Disney. Why: I just love everything Disney
Who:Elvis, when he was hot! Why: He was hot! Plus I would tell him to lay off the drugs and cheeseburgers. I could introduce him to the band lol
Who:Ryan Reynolds Why: OMG have you seen him??????

3) What is your stripper name? (take the name of your first pet and the name of the street you grew up on)

Sandy Devons lol sounds like a holiday destination.

4) How old were you when you lost your virginity? Alternative question if you don’t want to answer this: What is your LEAST favourite part of your bod since losing weight? Your MOST favourite since losing weight?

Pass
tops of my legs, they look like pantyhose that need pulling up.
Smaller double chin.

5) Do you believe in ghosts or evil spirits? Would you be willing to spend a night alone in a house that is supposedly haunted?

Don't hate me but I don't believe in life after death so that would include ghosts or evil spirits. But that does not mean ghost stories don't scare me. The human brain is very good at scaring its self. So I am not sure about staying in a spooky house. I would probably be more scared of real people and zombies. ha ha I have a thing about zombies.

6) What is your natural hair colour? If you dye it something completely different from what your momma gave ya, how come?

Dark brown. I now dye it dark brown to cover the grey but it's basically always been the same colour apart from my purple stage????

7) Boxers or briefs? Alternatively…bikinis or granny panties?

Boxers.
Bikinis.

8) If you could only watch one movie for the rest of your life, what would it be and why? (Trilogies do not count as one movie, cheaterpantses!)

The colour purple. Its got everything. Laughs, tears, triumphs. I love it.

9) What is your guilty pleasure (feel free to go straight to the gutter with this one if the spirit moves you!)

property TV shows, home improvement shows especially Extreme make over! Travel
shows, colouring in, mid day naps (especially good when there's housework to be done) and butter!

10) How many pounds gone forever are you celebrating??

58 yippee.