Hello everyone
I’ve been off the grid for a little while whilst not feeling well and am just coming on to let you know that I have an appt with a Head & Neck Surgeon at Manchester Royal on 7th October. The dental hospital declined the urgent referral and suggested it be sent on the fast track pathway to Max Fax. I have an appt to see my GP on Wednesday to inform him of my referral and to ask him to check my bloods as I don’t feel at all well. I think a two pronged approach might be a good idea. Yesterday I even lost my appetite!! A sure sign of being unwell- it never happens! Anyway, thank you for your kind thoughts everyone and let’s hope it’s something simple and treatable.
Yowser, I hope you soon start to feel better. Hopefully your blood tests will enlighten the doctor as to what is going on. This cruise hasn’t been too kind to many of us. I think we will all be needing a good holiday when we dock in December.
Hope everyone is doing what they can.
Dawn, any news on your surgery date?
Lots of love to you all. I know you will have been wondering what’s going on. I’ll keep you posted after my appt on 7th
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Cathy good to hear from you. I’ve been wondering how you are doing. So sorry you are feeling unwell. I hope that your GP and hospital appointments can identify what the problem is and the most effective way to deal with it.
We’re all thinking of you and wishing you well, and I really hope that you start to feel a bit better even before the appointments. Sending love and prayers X -
Just echoing DCT. Wishing you all the very best CATHY. I hope you feel better soon, and they find out what is troubling you. x
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Hi everyone. It has gone a bit quiet here. Perhaps we have all been blown away by Autumn gales!
Sending best wishes to CATHY for Tuesday’s appointment, and continuing get well wishes to shingles sufferers, Mariet and her hand, and to Dawn for pre-op health campaign. ArcticFox how are you getting on? Your last post was very upbeat, and I hope that all is well.I have been a bit quiet too. My father is still in hospital, and then last week my mother was also admitted to a different hospital with pneumonia. Thank goodness my brother lives locally and has been a huge support for them. This has been a real exercise for me too in being clear on where I can actually make a difference, (supporting my husband), and trying not to get upset since it doesn’t help anyone.
Eating healthily and trying to get a decent amount of sleep have both been a godsend. I haven’t been able to start the exercising yet but that will come. But I have managed to stay eating sensibly – with only a couple of blips. I am bouncing round in the same kilo, despite all the worry, and I’ll take that! 19 weeks of healthy living. 14 kilos discarded.
Have a good week and I hope for good news for those who need it. xx
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Hi, I’m not sure where to post this question. I want to favourite some recipes for later but can’t see that this is an option? I’m not a fan of cooking and any small hurdle will just put me off! If I can get organised now with my favourites then go shopping hopefully I can start the week on the right foot in the kitchen!
Many thanks, sorry if this is the wrong place for this question! -
Hi mrsmmf and welcome! I’ve just had a look through the recipes and can’t see a way to favourite them either 🤔. Does anyone else on here know? All I can suggest is either taking a screenshot or maybe adding the link to the favourites / bookmarks in your browser. Sorry, that’s probably not much help! But good luck with your journey and it would be great if you posted on here how you are getting on. Food planning definitely helps. I tend to use the recipes in the books which always seem to work well.
Heidi good to hear from you but I’m sorry to hear about your mum. You’ve got so much on your plate at the moment, and it must be even more difficult hard being in a different country from your parents. You are being very wise about prioritising your time as you obviously can’t be in two places at once but I know you must feel pulled in different directions. Well done for staying on track through all this, and I hope there is some improvement in the respective situations soon.
You are right in that it’s gone very quiet on here! How is everyone doing? I echo all Heidi’s good wishes to you all, and Cathy I’ll be thinking of you on Tuesday.
I’m going ok. Plodding on and gradually managing to get back into better eating and exercise habits. Hope that everyone has a positive week X
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Hi folks,just want to wish CCATHY all the very best for Tuesday 🙏
Im just staying quiet in my cabin,curled up in my bunk,til I start to feel a bit better.
Leaving love n hugs for everyone,specially those struggling with one thing and another these days.
What a year it has been so far,stormy waters for so many of us.
Hang on in there…things can only get better! XXX
🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿 🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿 🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷🌿🌷 -
Good luck with your appointment tomorrow Cathy, and best wishes to everyone who is struggling with personal or family ill health and the issues surrounding that.
Lacy xx -
Cathy, just wanted to say that I hope your appointment went well today and the Head and Neck surgeon has been able to give you some clarity and support.
Thinking also of everyone else who is struggling with difficult times for themselves, their families and friends.
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Hello everyone and thank you for thinking of me.
The dentist who I saw this morning in the Max Fax clinic thinks I’ve got a periodontal abscess and has asked that I get my dentist to do a deep clean and she will see me in four weeks. She said if things are no better in four weeks she will take a biopsy. Ive see two dentists at my practice who both told me I didn’t have an abscess. Why was it beyond my dentist to diagnose this? Why did he tell me he thought it could be cancer? I am angry. I’ve felt unwell for weeks and I had the trauma of a cancer referral. I don’t feel confident about my appt on Thursday and I will have to have an anaesthetic before he goes anywhere near my gum. It’s incredibly painful. For the time being this is good news and hopefully it will heal very soon. This started in July before my cruise! I went telling in them I thought I had an abscess!
Anyway, I can’t go backwards only forwards. This has totally scuppered my weight loss journey but that doesn’t really matter.
Yowser, sending you lots of love as you convalesce in your cabin. You’ve had a stormy few weeks/months. I hope you’re soon feeling tip top.
Sending good wishes to everyone: it’s been a difficult few months for a great many of us.
I’m looking forward to feeling better and getting back to normal.
Went out on Saturday to a 40th and met another friend who has had a lot of success using Mounjaro! It seems to be the easiest way to lose weight these days! It’s making me think! Seems so much easier for them than me! I wish I had the courage and finances try it. I haven’t weight myself for about two months. I don’t want to face the truth! I can’t cope with the truth whilst not feeling well. When I feel better I’ll get myself back on track. For now my health is more important.
Thanks everyone for your kindness whilst I’ve been off the grid. -
Cathy so good to hear from you, and I’m happy and relieved that it appears to be an abscess after all. Though I share your anger and frustration about the way this has been handled by your dentist. I’m tempted to ask whether it might be possible to change dentist altogether – a different practice perhaps?
Anyway, good luck for Thursday’s appointment and I hope they finally begin to get things sorted for you.
Once all this is behind you I’m sure, with your determination, you’ll be able to focus on weight loss again. Let’s hope we all see some success in that department over the final few weeks of this cruise 🤞
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Cathy thanks for the update – you’ve been in my thoughts constantly, I can only imagine how worried you’ve been, I hope your appointment at the dentist went well and you start to feel better soon.
Yowzer I hope you are feeling better too!
It really has been an awful year for so many of us in different ways. I had such high hopes for this year, I recently turned 60 and had wanted to lose weight before my birthday, but sadly that didn’t happen and the scales went the other way! I’ve got even more to lose now 🙁 I am hopeful I can at least make something of this year though (diet wise) and am going to knuckle down and try to get back into healthy eating, so I’ll end the year on a lighter note!
Like a lot of you on here, I have a lot on my plate at the moment. My elderly father is terminally ill, so dealing with all of the emotions around that, we are also planning on moving and getting our house ready for sale, I’m also planning on retiring early in the New Year and so work is busy, and to top it all off I’m also dealing with some family issues. At least (fingers crossed!) my health has been generally good, apart from flu during the winter here. The immunotherapy treatment I’m on for RA is really working well, and I’ve been able to cut down on medications. It’s well worth spending a day in hospital every 6 months! The only downside is having impaired immunity but so far that hasn’t caused any major problems.
The one positive thing I’ve done this year for my health is to walk regularly – I walk for 45mlns to an hour 4-5 times a week.
I really need to go back through this thread and catch up on everyone’s posts, but in the meantime take care all x
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Hi Just making my weekly check-in. I hope the Thursday appointment was not too gruesome Cathy. Nice to see you posting SueBlue. There’s still time to make a real difference this year, so good luck with your reboot. ArcticFox where are you?
My week has been a challenge, and I’ve had a few wobbles. Now 20 weeks of healthy eating. Total loss 14.5 kilos. So bumping around the same weight for a few weeks now. I am just about to buy a big sack of dog food, weighing 15 kilos. Sobering and encouraging at the same time to realise that is almost the weight I have lost!
Very best wishes to all for a good week.
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Heidi you are doing so well! Your progress this year is really inspiring 🙂
15kg is what I need to lose to get down to my target weight – it really does bring it home when you pick up something in an equivalent weight.
When I’m lifting the 24 pack of spring water bottles into my trolley (about 14/15kg I think) I always think about what an extra load this amount of weight is putting on my body and joints! -
Hi everyone, sorry I haven’t posted in a while, I’m just catching up on posts today. Cathy I’m so pleased it appears to be an abscess you have after all and hope you can get it sorted soon. Yowzer I hope you are starting to feel a bit better.
Sue it must be a worrying time for you and you’ve done well to continue to incorporate walking regularly. Heidi well done on your total weight loss, it’s inspiring.
I’m afraid I really haven’t been in the right head space to stick to healthy eating for more than a few days at a time then I undo it all by eating stuff I shouldn’t. It’s now around 15 weeks since I was in hospital with acute pancreatitis and I still haven’t had gallbladder surgery though everything I read says it should be done within 2 to 4 weeks of the attack if it has been caused by gallstones. The appointment which was eventually planned for my surgery (which had to be cancelled because I had a high temperature) was 6 weeks ago now and I still hadn’t heard anything even though I was told they would get me back in within a ‘few weeks’ to have it done. I decided to ring the hospital this morning to chase it up. It took me an hour to get through to the person I needed to speak to and I think I had been forgotten about again as no date had been arranged for the surgery. It has now been arranged for 10th November (if I hadn’t chased it up I’m not sure I would have ever been contacted about it) so at least I have a date now and I will aim to eat healthily and not sabotage my efforts.
Dawn X -
HEIDI a big well done for your loss, despite all that’s been going on in your life. You have done so well. And as both you and Sue said, when you pick up an item equivalent to the weight you have lost it really brings it home!
DAWN lovely to hear from you and I’m glad you’ve got another surgery date. Though I agree it does sound as if you’d been forgotten – again! I’m not surprised you can’t focus on healthy eating for long, but just do your best for now and once your surgery is done you’ll have that headspace you crave.
SUEBLUE it sounds as if there is a lot happening for you at the moment and I hope you can weather the storm. Well done for getting your walking in as I’m sure that helps and will stand you in good stead for when you have a bit more time to focus on you again.
CATHY how was your appointment on Thursday? I hope that there is some positive move forward at last.
YOWZER how are you doing? I hope you are feeling a bit better now. You’ve had so much ill health recently and I hope it is now on its way out. Thinking of you x
ARCTICFOX are you ok? I’m really missing your posts and hope all is well. Please let us know how you are doing.
Hope that everyone has something good happen this week X
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Thanks DCT, yes I’m hoping once the surgery is done I will be able to focus properly. I’m also hoping getting rid of the gallstones/gallbladder may reduce my bloating a bit🤞
Dawn X -
Hello everyone
Dawn- thank goodness you called the hospital and managed to secure a surgery slot! As a medical secretary of 40 years I am appalled at the level of poor administration within hospitals and healthcare these days. I used to love my job and I trained for two years for my role. Nowadays they employ anyone and you can tell when people pick up the phone that they don’t care. It’s shocking. I feel for the consultants who have inept secretaries.
I am not doing well at all. I went for my deep clean on Thursday and I requested my dentist give me a huge dose of anaesthetic. He did a deep clean and I have to say I didn’t feel a thing and was relieved but ever since I’ve been on two hourly painkillers alternating paracetamol and Ibuprofen as the pain is off the scale. I have earache too. I phoned today and was advised to keep doing salt water rinses and to call back on Thursday if things are no better. I feel absolutely shocking, I ache and feel fluey and my gums are swollen and hurting a lot. I had to resort to icing my face on Saturday which did help. The hospital said I would be seen In 4 weeks’ and today I got an appt for 6 weeks’. So I’m resting and taking painkillers. I keep hoping I’ll feel better but I don’t.
The year is passing by and I am as big as I was at the start of the year. I feel awful and exhausted. I’ve tried and tried and failed and failed.
I have been offered an exam invigilator job at a sixth form college and am looking forward to a fresh new role. A bit of money and feeling valuable. I enjoy retirement but feel I have potential that is not being used so something ad hoc like this sounds nice and I’ll be glad of the extra money!! I hope I can attend the training day in November when hopefully h to in ha will have settled down.
I’m sorry to be so miserable. I really was hoping for a great year this year. I felt so optimistic like many of us did at the beginning of the year.
I’ll catch up on the posts I’ve missed this last couple of weeks.
Lots of love to everyone. Well done to those who are achieving their goals, I’m very envious. Hugs to those who are struggling with health and life in general. It’s not always easy to navigate the choppy waters. We have been in the Bay of Biscay for quite a while now- let’s hope for calmer seas as we head towards port. -
Hi Cathy, yes I’m so pleased I rang the hospital as goodness knows if I would have ever been contacted. In this instance it has been the secretary who has chased everything up for me both in a July and today and been really efficient and I think it’s maybe been the consultant who has not followed up on things he told me he was going to do.
I’m so sorry to hear of the awful pain you’re in, I do think anything to do with pain in the mouth or head feels worse than anything as you feel you can’t get away from it if you know what I mean. I really hope you get some respite from it soon.
That’s good news about the invigilator job and hopefully you will be feeling much better by then.
I too was hoping for a great year but I feel it has totally passed me by, especially these last three months and I am almost as heavy as I was at the start of the year. As you say, hopefully calmer waters are ahead for us all🤞🤞🤞
Dawn X -
Hi everyone,
I am doing ok. Just really busy as it is prime garlic selling and planting season all at the same time. I have had a friend come and help me with the planting this year as I have a hard deadline next Monday due to my surgery. Only a bit left to do over the next few days and it will be done for this year.
Cathy, sorry to hear you are still having so much trouble and are in a lot of pain. I hope that resolves for you quickly!
Dawn, glad you are getting your surgery date sorted now.
Heidi, well done with your loss. It is a big accomplishment!
I have set aside the fasting for now as I was needing a lot of energy to get through planting at the end of the season, especially as it has very suddenly turned cold. It was -10 C this morning. It was 35 C only 2 weeks ago and I was still wearing shorts. Toques and gloves season now! Tried to get the wood stove in the basement started and ended up with a house full of smoke. Just had the chimney swept last week, so not sure what is wrong. I will have to take it apart to see if I can figure it out and if not, may need to get the sweep back to take a look.
I feel that the rest of the week will be very busy as I am finishing the planting and trying to prep some meals ahead for next week, and just generally getting ready to be incapacitated for a while. So I might not be checking back in for a bit, but will look forward to catching up once I am able. -
Hi everyone. I’ve been away for a few days and am now getting back in the daily routine again. Including yet another reboot. I want to do 8 weeks back to basics from today up to Friday 12th December and see how well I can do if I really stick to it for 8 weeks. But as many others have said – on other threads too – it never seems as easy or effective as the first time round. But never mind : I’m going to do my best to mirror exactly what I did that first time round and see how we go. Can’t believe that was 2017 – almost 9 years ago 🙀 I am still 20lb lighter than I was then, but also 20lb heavier than when I achieved my lowest weight in 2019. So I’m hoping to shift a few surplus pounds and reduce my belly fat at least a bit over the next few weeks. Wish me luck 🤞
CATHY how are you doing? I really hope that you are feeling a little bit better after all the recent trauma. I also hope that you will be able to attend the training day in November, which I’m sure would be a real boost in many ways.
ARCTICFOX it was good to hear from you again. Things sound very busy your end, especially with the drop in temperature and the wood stove issue. I hope you made your Monday deadline? When is your surgery? Keep us posted as to how you’re getting on.
DAWN not too long till your surgery now, and I hope it goes ahead smoothly with no more delays or glitches.
How is everyone else? HEIDI, YOWZER, SUEBLUE, MARIET, POOTLE, plus everyone else who has either posted on this thread at some stage or is reading this post. Hello and hope all is well X
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Hello everyone
DCT- good luck with your 8 week back to basics. Like you mentioned, it seems so much more difficult than when we started in 2017. We have to remember that we are 9 years older and also we have been eating healthier than we probably were prior to 2017. You have done well to remain 20 lb lighter. You can probably get another 10lb off in the next 8 weeks. My weight has crept up and I think I am about 14lb lighter than I was in 2017. For the last few weeks I’ve been mainly trying to eat healthy cooked at home food and using food as fuel rather than pleasure. I am feeling overweight but because of my health over the last few weeks it hasn’t been a priority to be slim. I am happy just to be healthy. I am not back at the hospital for my gum issue until 18th November. I had a particularly bad week last week with off the scale pain and I felt terrible. The pain has thankfully subsided and my gum seems to be healing at last. Hopefully I won’t require a biopsy. I am back at Christie for a repeat abdominal MRI at the end of November and will get my results in January when I am seen in Clinic. I was so happy when my toe op was deferred but things took a dive with the abscess. Anyway, I’m feeling better this week and looking forward to my exam invigilator job and I am singing in the choir at The Bridgewater Hall in December for two nights with the Manchester & ;District Hospitals Choir to raise money for Young Lives vs Cancer. I sang with the choir when I was working and took it up again this year after I knew I wasn’t having my toe op. I’m disappointed that I haven’t achieved my 2025 goal to get slim. I will keep eating well but I have to say I’m defeated with losing weight. I am fed up of failure!
I will look forward to reading about your progress DCT and I hope you achieve your goal.
Dawn- I hope you’re well and that your surgery will go ahead as planned on 10th November.
Heidi- you have been the star of the cruise and have been so successful on your journey. You should be proud of yourself. Your dedication has paid off.
ArcticFox-it’s been a busy time for you and I hope you’re well and it’s not too cold!
Hope everyone on the thread is doing OK. I genuinely believe this year has been the most challenging for us all. We still have 77 days left on our cruise! 🚢 -
Hello all, thanks for your updates DCT and Cathy.
Cathy – so glad you are feeling a bit better now 🙂 it is horrible to go through pain like that. It’s a long time since I had an abscess but I remember how bad the pain was, it also caused septic arthritis for me, so I had joint pain to contend with as well (this was years before I was diagnosed with RA). I think it’s a good idea to focus on your health and wellbeing after all you’ve been through this year, and it sounds like you have a few busy months coming up 🙂
I was thinking back to 2017 too – nowadays I’m about 5kg lighter than I was then, but 13kg heavier than the lightest weight I dropped to in 2022. I’ve dropped 1.7kg over the last 10 days or so, not calorie counting or fasting but being more mindful when drinking wine, eating smaller portions and focusing on eating healthy home cooked meals and not buying biscuits and chocolates! Going to get properly into it next week – it’s my husband’s turn to turn 60 this week and I’m off work as we have a few outgoings and things planned.
I was interested in possible metabolism changes and so I asked AI (as you do!) about this and it said between 50 and 60 it is POSSIBLE that a woman’s metabolism could drop 5-8% resulting in burning 50-100 calories less per day – this obviously all adds up. Strength training is advised to counteract this (as well as dietary changes), so I’m going to incorporate that by looking up some workouts on YouTube – I have hand weights and resistance bands at home.
So that’s my plan – increase walking, continue to focus on a healthier diet, introduce strength training and also get back to more of a 16:8 or 14:10 pattern of eating between now and the end of the year and this should see me closer y my goal weight 🙂
Hope everyone else is doing well! -
Hi everyone. I missed last week’s check in due to another trip to the UK to see my father in hospital, and mother at home. It felt very much like a farewell with my Dad. He is now not expected to come home. So an intense trip, and I am so glad I was able to go during a break in my husband’s treatment. Enough on that front.
25 May – 25 October. 5 months of being kind to myself with healthy eating. 15.4 kilos lost. Compared with 2017 (ref SueBlue) I am still 7 kilos heavier, but I don’t expect to get back there! I am still not counting anything, just avoiding the usual white carbohydrates, and being careful with nuts and cheese. There is simply too much going on to bother with counting. But I still plan to start some exercising on top of the dog-walking.Well done SueBlue on your good start. We still have over 60 days of 2025 left – (deducting a couple for Christmas and NYE!). Good luck to all for the week ahead. x
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Glad you were able to see your dad, Heidi, though I am sure it was a wrenching experience. You’ve had a lot on this year (as have so many on this board sadly) ad you’ve done really well to have stayed with good eating. I love your comment that it was being kind to yourself to eat well! Something for me to remember.
I have taken stock of my past year; it’s just about a year that I took myself in hand and determined to do something about the weight that had crept on during and after covid. I had got up to more than 78kg, and I am only 5’2″. On yesterday’s weigh in I was down to 65.9 so almost 13kg lost, just on 2 stones. I am still 4kg above what I was in 2017 (there’s that year again!) but I also don’t expect to get there again and don’t really want to.
I feel tentatively happy that I’m able to maintain at around this level. But I have a month long holiday starting in 3 weeks, to Ireland to visit friends then to UK for another friend’s daughter’s wedding, then a cruise from SPain to the Canaries before coming home two weeks before Christmas 😬. Crossing fingers!
I hope it has been a good week for everyone and that the next one will be too. -
Mariet that sounds like a fabulous Autumn coming up. And very well done for the 13kg loss and maintenance. I am sure there will be lots of lovely choices you can make food-wise. Bonnes vacances!
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Hi everyone, just a quick check-in. My surgery went well, although the recovery has been rather painful. I was on painkillers to begin with but they took all the pain away and I would end up doing too much, so I came off them so I could properly judge what my limits were. Things have been going better since then and the pain is lessening each day. I saw the surgeon on Thurs and he thinks everything is healing well, but the pathology results were not back yet, so I have to book another appointment for when they come back, but he is not worried as it looked like a standard lipoma. I forgot to ask him if he weighed it so I could report a fat loss for that week! I don’t think it would have been much more than 1/2 a lb though. I was doing pretty well with eating the first week as I had meals planned and things put away in the freezer. I have fallen off a bit again this week though as things in the fridge and freezer have been thinning out, so need to get back on track there. Just haven’t felt much like cooking again yet. I made a broccoli and lentil tray bake last night that was pretty good and quick, so will have to do more things like that. I still have a couple of portions of squash and lentil curry left in the freezer and some Asian veggies and soy-free tofu that I could make a quick stirfry with. One of the things I discovered just before the surgery is plant-based eggs made from mung beans. I have just tried the pre-cooked ones so far that you can heat in the microwave or a frying pan, but there are apparently liquid ones too that you can use to make quiches or omelets. So I will have to try to find them as I have really been missing the ability to use up leftover veg that way.
Anyway, hope everyone is doing well. Will catch up on the posts over the coming days. -
Hello everyone. It’s been a while since I posted . . .. I felt sure that I’d posted since then but if I did (and I’m now questioning myself!!) it seems to have disappeared.
Anyway, how is everyone? ARCTICFOX lovely to hear from you and I’m glad the surgery has gone well. I know what you mean about painkillers affecting your judgement about what you can and can’t do, but you sound very brave managing without. Take things easy and well done for getting back on track food-wise as well.
DAWN not long to your surgery now, and hope that all goes well too. CATHY how are you doing? I hope that you are feeling much better now, and also that you’ve been able to start your job and get to choir .
HEIDI I’m thinking of you in your family situation. You have so much going on yet have done so well with your loss this year. Very well done, and I hope you are ok in the midst of everything.
MARIET you have done really well too, and with your determination I’m sure you’ll be able to maintain your loss. Almost time for your trip and I hope you have a wonderful time. I can’t remember if you originate from the UK, or have visited before, but it’ll be nice to be on the same continent for a few days!
SUE it sounds like we’re both doing a bit of a restart in terms of eating and exercise. Let’s hope we both see some good results by the end of the year. I’m literally up and down at the moment – lose a couple of pounds then back they come again! But I will keep at it and report back in due course . .
Hope everyone has a good week X
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Hi everyone,
Just catching up with posts, have been away in the Yorkshire Dales for a week and had a lovely relaxing time. Thanks DCT, I’m keeping everything crossed that my surgery goes ahead tomorrow and that they’re able to perform keyhole as planned. I hope everyone has a good week. Dawn X -
DAWN – Just wanted to wish you all the best for your surgery tomorrow x
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Dawn- wishing you well for your planned surgery tomorrow. I hope everything goes well and you will soon be feeling much better.
I’ve just come home from a weekend away to Buxton with my book club. We had a fab weekend of laughter. Back to basics tomorrow for me. One of the book clubbers is taking Mounjaro and looking fab after losing 3 stone. Taken her 8 months. My gum is healing slowly . Back for a check up in two weeks. Been a long haul! Feeling better. It’s been a year of ups and downs. Feeling motivated to a healthier lifestyle over the next few weeks. Am not weighing myself- had enough of scales!
Am attending my invigilator training next week. Choir is going well.
DCT & SueBlue how are you both doing with your reset?
Yowser- how are you doing? I hope you’re feeling better.
Thinking of everyone. Have a good week. -
Dawn, just wanted to pop in to wish you all the best for your surgery. I hope your recovery is swift as well. Good luck!
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Thanks everyone, all went well with the surgery, I was first of the day and was home by 3. There is quite a bit of pain which I know is to be expected. I’m taking morphine the hospital gave me to bring home and paracetamol. The nursing staff were lovely and very attentive. I’m pleased I have been reading up on recommended diet after gallbladder removal over the last few months though as was given a pile of toast and biscuits in recovery. I hd a tiny nibble of toast but couldn’t manage any more as felt nauseous because of the pain and it’s probably just as well really. I’ve had a couple of small cups of Freja bone broth since getting home and have been sipping water. Sorry if I’ve missed mistakes in this post, the morphine may have an effect on my typing! Dawn X
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DAWN I’m so glad you had your surgery and that it went well. I hope that the pain will soon wear off and that you find healthy food that you can eat. Get plenty of rest, and keep us posted!
CATHY I was really pleased to hear that your gum is finally healing up, and that you are able to get to choir and attend the induction for your new job. Things are really looking up for you after such a terrible time, and I’m sure you will soon get back in the groove of a healthier lifestyle. Thanks for asking about my reset : I’m embarrassed to say it’s not going that well. I have good days when I feel motivated and do all the right things. But then other days I just go completely off piste. I think part of it is adjusting to not being at work any more. When at home I tend to eat three meals a day instead of my previous two, and I’m also going out a lot which always seems to involve eating and drinking. Being really honest, in one way I don’t care, because I’m enjoying life and managing to carve out some “me-time” after working for so long. But as the scales creep up – and particularly when I catch sight of myself side on in a mirror – I just want to weep! So I will persevere, but definitely need a huge dose of willpower to keep on track 🙀. The good news is that I am now in a groove with the posh gym, so at least I am swimming regularly, doing yoga classes, as well as also walking the dog every day. So I’m hoping that is some first line of defence!
How is everyone else doing? ARCTICFOX I hope you are continuing to recover well from your surgery. YOWZER are you feeling any better? SUEBLUE I hope your reset is more successful than mine! MARIET I hope you are still maintaining well. Not long till your trip now! HEIDI how are things with you and your family? Thinking of you x
Hello to anyone else reading this too. And a particular shout out to our lovely NOKIE! Where are you? Be lovely to hear from you.
Hope everyone has a positive week xx
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Thanks DCT, I’m in no pain today, just a little discomfort which is no worse than the discomfort I’ve been in for the last four months or so. I’ve taken some paracetamol to keep on top of it but probably didn’t really need to, I’m amazed at how quickly the pain has gone as it was pretty bad yesterday. I’ve had more bone broth this morning and will try some mashed vegetables later today and maybe some scrambled egg. My hubby is going to make some blended soups in the soup maker which I will try too. I will try more solid food over the next few days. The NHS information I was given just says to eat a ‘light diet’ for a few days and that there were no dietary restrictions. I’m instead following information I’ve gathered from books and the internet and reintroducing food in a gentler manner as I want my recovery to go as well as possible.
I’m sorry to hear your re-set isn’t going as well as you had hoped but the fact you are attending the gym regularly is a massive positive and I’m sure you will adjust to a healthy eating plan again with your new routine.
Cathy it’s great to hear your positive news. I hope everyone else is doing well, I’m sure I won’t be at maintenance stage at the end of this trip but will hopefully be there not too far into the new year as know if I can get back to a healthy eating plan it can make a big difference over the next seven weeks. Dawn X -
Great news Dawn. Here’s to a speedy recovery.
7 weeks can make a difference and today is day 2 of my final reset for 2025.
DCT – lovely to hear how you are enjoying life with friends and taking care of yourself when you can. Going swimming and walking your dog. Do what you can and be as healthy as you can. I read some words recently by Donna Ashworth called The Shape of you. It resonated with me. It’s about body image, self acceptance and personal growth. Made me really think hard about how much pain I’ve put my body through to fit with the trend whilst forgetting to feed my soul.
Here’s to the next few weeks as we come to the end of our years cruise. I am going to reflect on the year when it comes to a close and see what I have learned. I had so many expectations and was convinced this would be the year! Going to try hard to undo the damage since my holiday. Back to the hospital next week for my gum problem which still isn’t resolved. No pain but not healed up yet. Trying to stay positive and really hoping I can use the next few weeks to my advantage.
Have a good week everyone x -
I’m glad your surgery went well Dawn, hope your recovery going well also and your back to full fitness soon 🙂
Sorry to hear you are still facing issues with your gum Cathy, I hope you are able
to get some answers at your hospital appointment.I have still been yo-yoing up and down, to say I’m disappointed how this year has gone is a huge understatement. Sadly I’m still dealing with some upsetting family situations which is not helping. BUT on a positive note, I weigh the same as I did this time last year, so havent gained anything (downside is I was overweight last year also, so in effect have made no progress at all!).
I have been making an effort to cook more at home, and to focus on eating healthy foods. All the stress I’ve been experiencing lately has aggravated my IBS and I’ve been getting really bad tummy pain/cramping. I dug out my Clever Guts Diet Book today, and going to try some of those recipes (like Bone Broth) in an attempt to settle it all down. Have also bought Kefir and Greek Yoghurt. So I want to focus on feeling better first and then on losing weight. As Cathy said, there are still 7 weeks until the end of the year, so I may be able to end the year less than what I stated it at, if nothing else!
As for ‘time to come alive in 2025’, I really did believe this at the end of last year, I had so much positivity, but sadly it hasn’t turned out to be a good year after all (and I know I’m not alone here as many of us on here have had lots of ups and downs this year.)
Hope everyone is having a good week x
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Thanks for the shout out, DCT. And good to see the thread buzzing with news. Very pleased to hear that operations have been successful, a new job about to start, and wishing a happy holiday to Mariet.
Since my last check in here on 25 October, my husband has had surgery and my father has died. I spent the last few days with him last weekend and head back to the UK tomorrow. Speaking selfishly, it has been difficult to keep on track with sadness, stress and travel, but I am doing reasonably OK. Just 0.1 kilo is back. So 15.3 kilos off since end May. I shall keep on keeping on. As Cathy says, there is still time to make a difference this year, Best wishes to you all. xx
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Heidi, sorry to hear about your father and best wishes for your husband’s recovery after surgery.
We arrived in Dublin last night, in slashing rain and wind and a temperature about 9C, after leaving Sydney at 31C. It woke us up I can tell you, after a 30 hour journey! Now sitting in a pub with a glass of Prosecco and reminding myself that holidays are fleeting but the weight can remain for months! -
Heidi I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your father, take care x
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Heidi – thinking of you and sending love at this difficult time. Wishing your husband a speedy recovery from his surgery.
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Heidi I am so very sorry to hear the sad news about your father. Sending you lots of love and hope you are ok. Also hope your husband’s surgery went well. Busy and stressful times for you, especially with responsibilities on two different continents. Take care of yourself – we’re all thinking of you xx
Mariet hope you have a fabulous trip despite the weather!
Hope everyone else is doing ok xx
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xxxxx
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Happy Monday all 🙂
In an effort to keep myself accountable, I thought I’d post about the last couple of days.
I’ve been focussing on gut-healthy foods in an effort to reduce the IBS symptoms I’m experiencing, rather than dieting as such. I’ve been recording foods in My Fitness Pal more so to keep a track of what I’m eating and to see which foods hello. Calories have averaged about 1000-1200 per day. It’s early days yet but I do feel slightly better, and as a bonus have lost 600g in the past 5 days – (most likely water weight, but hey a loss is a loss).
I’m enjoying getting back into cooking and preparing healthy meals – I forgot how cost effective this can be! As an example, I bought a whole chicken for $7 and followed the gut healthy broth recipe in the Clever guts diet book to make 3 litres of bone broth in my slow cooker. I removed the chicken once it was cooked. Since then I’ve had chicken salad, chicken and wholemeal pasta and a few servings of both chicken and veg soup, and just plain bone broth. I still have a couple of servings of soup in the fridge, and 6 cups of broth as well as a couple of portions of cooked chicken in the freezer! All this for under $10 🙂For breakfast I’ve been having Greek yoghurt with berries and seeds, or chia pudding made with kefir. This morning I had some egg, Haloumi, mushroom and tomato.
For lunch I’ll have some more soup, and then dinner I was going to make up a bowl with some protein, small amount of cooked brown rice and some veggies.
I’m sticking to a financial budget this week as have had so many household and car expenses in the past month, but going to plan a weeks menu and go shopping at the end of the week.
DAWN – I hope you are continuing to recover well, also HEID I hope your husband is getting better.
YOWZER – Hope your are doing better too x
MARIET – Hope your holiday is going well, I must admit, in your shoes I’d be just enjoying myself and not worrying about diet, because for me it would be a once in a lifetime trip 🙂
CATHY and DCT – how is the reboot going for you?
And for everyone else I haven’t mentioned hope all is well in your world’s too 🙂 -
Hi everyone,
I will catch up on posts later today. My recovery was going well until Friday when I started to feel quite poorly and think I may have had norovirus or something similar, my sister had it too. The stomach cramps were the worst I’ve ever had with a stomach bug and I had uncontrollable shivering and a migraine alongside it which may have been connected. It’s set me back a bit but I feel a lot better now. Hope everyone is having a good week. Dawn XX -
Oh Dawn how awful! I had Norovirus on holiday once about 10 years ago and it was up there with the worst I’ve ever felt illness wise 🙁
Take care and I hope you feel better soon x -
Thanks Sue, I bet it was awful having it on holiday. The worst part for me was the agonising stomach cramps which were as bad as the worst kidney stone pain I’ve ever had. If my sister hadn’t had exactly the same I would have been concerned that something had gone wrong with my surgery! I’ve been out and about this morning for the first time since the operation, I let my husband drive as not sure I could do an emergency stop yet if needed but am hoping to be driving again by next week🤞Dawn XX
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Hi all, I’m not feeling very chatty, but determined to carry on my weekly check-in! Thank you for all your good wishes.
Congrats SueBlue on the reboot. Your food diary looks delicious, and I am sure it helps to be less calorie focused and more quality focused.
Dawn I hope you have recovered from the stomach bug and can press on with op recovery!
DCT thanks for the good wishes. I am in Europe so two countries rather than continents to negotiate in all this sadness. That makes it a bit easier!It is nearly six months now since my 25 May reboot, though the last month has been a bit patchy in terms of carbs. I am getting back on track. I see from my last post that I must be down 0.7 kg this week, since I have now lost a total of 16 kilos – though some of that has been on and off a few times! Keeping on keeping on. Good luck to everyone this week.
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Hello everyone
I am feeling a bit better, my gum is healing and I’ve got an appt to discuss my treatment and to plan how am going to manage the gum going forward. The consultant at the Max Fax Unit was rude and very disparaging about my dentist last week when I attended for follow up. He said I should not have been referred to his service as he is a cancer specialist and I told him my dentist thought it was cancer. He told me that my dentist should have attended his lectures and then he would have known I had a periodontal abscess. As I left I said “I’m sorry for wasting your time”. He was so rude! I’ve been having problems since July with this gum! I’ve been in the most severe pain but things seem to be settling at last.
I’ve got some invigilating shifts in December and next week I am singing Monday and Tuesday in the Bridgewater Hall with my choir. As for losing weight- it’s not happening! I’m not even trying! Clothes are tight! I’ve bought bigger sizes! When I attended my MRI scan on Saturday I had to let them know my weight and I didn’t know because I’ve not weighed for months! I just guessed! I have enjoyed eating without feeling any guilt which has been a revelation. Ive enjoyed saying yes to things and not feeling bad about food. My years of dieting always steers me towards healthy options but being more flexible feels so liberating. The stress of trying to be slim has overwhelmed me this year and I’ve accepted myself more in the last three months. I am disappointed that I’ve not achieved anything weight wise this year- I tried and tried and failed and failed. I’ve had lots of ups and many downs but I’m doing ok. This year just wasn’t my year. Many of us haven’t had the year we hoped for but that’s life. I was convinced I would get to goal weight this year but hey ho! Well done to everyone who has lost weight, it’s hard to keep chipping away but when it begins to fall off it’s so exciting to see the new you emerging. There have been some big weight losses too! Well done.
I hope before we come to the end of the cruise we can all get together, if we have lost or gained we have sailed together for a whole year and it would be lovely to catch up before we disembark. 🚢 🌊 -
Hi everyone,
Cathy it’s good to hear that your gum is healing and you are feeling a little better. Sorry to hear the consultant was so horrible though! You are right that a lot of us haven’t had the year we had hoped for and it’s definitely completely knocked me off track for the last 4 or 5 months so I very much doubt I will be at goal by the end of this year (yet again). I’m away this coming weekend at the Burghley Christmas fair and know I won’t be sticking to healthy eating whilst I am there, maybe once I’m back I will have a couple of healthier weeks but I’m not going to worry at the minute, I’m definitely lighter than I was at the start of the year so I guess that’s something. I hope everyone else is ok, as you say Cathy, it would be nice to hear from everyone before the end of the year.
Dawn XX