Mariet I’m so sad to hear your news. I really hope and pray either that it’s not the diagnosis you fear or it is more treatable than expected. Sending you lots of love.

Julia thank you for your powerful and positive post X

Mariet- I am so sad to read your post. It’s so hard to keep on digging deep. What a terrible worry for you both. Sending you love at this difficult and challenging time.

Californiagirl – Julia – thank you for your kind and thoughtful post. I am going to do my very best to stay positive.

Hi folks,have just caught up with everything now,must add to other posts,re CCATHYs friend,hope the op goes well and successfully for your friend next week X And MARIET,I do pray yr OH gets told it isn’t lung cancer after all.
A v sad time on this thread,sending love and hugs to all, specially CC and MARIET xxx 💜💜

DCT – so pleased your wedding went well & that your honeymoon went well too. I wish you both a long & happy marriage.
CC – Hope your friends operation goes really well. You WILL do this, we’ll all lose a shed-load of weight on the Christmas bus,
SB – congrats on your wedding anniversary & hope your picnic goes well & you have lovely weather for it. I’ve only just realised that a LOT of my joint pain has gone totally. I can’t remember the last time my thumb & finger joints siezed up royally – probably just before I started the BSD? No more claw like hands WOW!
Mariet – so sad to hear about your partner. I hope he gets a good prognosis. I feel for you not being able to be there with him. I’ll be praying for you/him & sending healing energy.
Yowser – you make me laugh, thanks for that!
Sending everyone love, hugs & good health to all.

I finally managed to get to Bridgend for a fitting of new bras. I’ve gone down from a 42HH to at the moment a 38H in Elomi & ‘get this!’ a 36GG in Panache. I spent about £130 on just 3 bras BUT I’m set for a while now. I also ordered some more of the same off ebay (much cheaper) that will now fit me. I can’t describe how wonderful it feels to have bras now that fit me. I hated having to hike them down as they were too big. Unfortunately I’ve not been able to wear cheaper bras as they look awful & don’t support my humongous boobs. One day – maybe? My next door neighbour who I saw a few days before said ‘OMG you’ve lost another shed-load of weight in just a few days!’ I told her it wasn’t more than 1lb if that it was just my new bras that made me look slimmer. I can feel that now I’m even standing taller & feeling a LOT more comfortable. I REALLY needed that fitting!

More good news – I’ve been looking on ebay & just bought a size 14 Windsmoor full length black cashmere coat from for just £15 + £5 postage. I also got a lovely Windsmoor size 14 again black & white top with matching skirt for £8.50. They have both arrived & I’m over the moon as neither of them appear to have even been worn. I love them & so does hubby. I gave away a shed-load of clothes that would now fit me back 20+ years ago.

There was one jacket that I absolutely adored that I’ve been saying to hubby I’d love to have again – blow me down as I’ve just found it and a similar one that I had for just a fiver & £6 at the moment on ebay. 1 is unworn & the other looks as if has had very little wear too. In a slightly different fit to the Windsmoor ones BUT made in the same factory (which used to be in Pontypridd – that mum & I always went to first thing every boxing day, which was when their knock down sale happened – They made Jaeger, Windsmoor, Jaques (or is Jules?) Vert, Alexon etc. etc. – We used to come out with the size of large suitcase each, filled to the brim. every boxing day, for peanuts! 🙂 ) I love the quality of the fabrics & the garments they used to make. I know the ones I’m looking at are a size 14 so I should have to get back down nearly a stone to refit into them as they are a smaller fitting. What an incentive for the Christmas bus! TBH I don’t care if they sell for LOTS more – they’re mine, all mine again! YAY 🙂

Let’s all keep on, keeping on!

I’m not sure if the challenge ends on last day Sept,or runs til Sunday,so a new week,new challenge starts Monday 4th?
DCT I know you said recently but I can’t remember. Goldfish brain! Anyway,good luck to all for the last days of the challenge. I can’t believe how fast it’s gone,and it’s the first challenge on here I’ve done well on!
Looking forward to joining all my lovely chums on our spanking brand new sparkling luxury coach ride all the way to Christmas! X🥳

Yowzer this challenge runs till tomorrow, Thursday 30th Sept. I will then set up the new thread ready for those who want to jump on board as from Friday 1st. I will probably kick off my own journey Monday 4th. And I really need to . . . been way off plan this week! Clothes feeling tight and I’m feeling grumpy. My excuse is I feel a bit under the weather this week – but then why I have to make that worse by eating all the wrong things is anyone’s guess.

Linda I loved your bra fitting story! What a fabulous Non Scales Victory . . . . and both you and hubby are doing so well on the scales too. Well done and enjoy your new wardrobe 🙂

On the subject of wardrobes I need to give mine a good clear out but keep putting it off. I want to be ruthless and get rid of so much old stuff so that there is room to see what’s actually still wearable in there. I’m also horribly aware that I need to keep my weight and size at or even a bit below where I am now in order for some of my newer clothes to keep fitting, which is a bit scary. Do I dare to get rid of “the “fat clothes” rather than keep them as a kind of fall back plan? Ironically, like you Linda, I gave away so many lovely things years ago when I thought I would never get back into them and maybe now I would get into some of them. Who knows. But the fat clothes are definitely going to go this weekend and I’ll be fully on board the bus by Monday with Christmas targets to meet . . . . .

JGwen great to see you posting again btw, we’ve missed you! Hope to enjoy your company on the Christmas bus X

Thanks DCT! ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Loooking 👀forward 👀to our new adventure! ⭐️⭐️⭐️ We can do it,and we will! one day at a time! X By Christmas we’ll be so dainty,people will want us to hire us as the fairy on top of their tree!⭐️⭐️⭐️
Well done LINDA on people noticing! It’s always encouraging when that happens! You and hub are doing so well. Xx

Hello everyone. Just to say I have set up our new Countdown to Christmas thread. I will start in earnest as from Monday but will be responding to posts as from now.

We have had some tremendous successes on this current thread. Well done! And if it hasn’t been so good for you, I hope that the new thread will be better. And that it will also be a happier time for many who have been struggling with various aspects of life.

Lots of love to you all, and see you on the Christmas bus! X

Thanks DCT! X
Well done to all on the autumn spring challenge! 👏👏👏👏 whether you lost a lot,a little,or none,thanks for taking part! If nobody took part,there wd be no challenge 😀
I usually fall into the lost a little category on previous challenges,but I seem to have done v well on this. As always it’s a case of being in the right mind set. I’ve found I can’t force this to happen,the time has to be right, and somehow I can then focus. I got weighed today and I don’t know what I was at start of July but I think I may have lost around two stone. Which is a big chunk off the amount I’ve put back on since July 2017. A lots come off my thighs,which is reassuring,as I have lymphedema in my ankles and round my knees ( no diet or exercise will shift that sadly) so,if I’ve lost weight on my thighs,at least I know the Lympho hasn’t crept up there. My trousers are all now quite roomy and draughty in the top of leg area!😀😀😀
Tomorrow we start anew..good luck everyone. Does anyone get travel sick? I’ll bring some tablets!

Yowser- just coming on quickly to congratulate you on losing two stones during this challenge. That is amazing. You say it so nonchalantly. Well done on keeping your eye on the prize . Very inspiring. I’ve not even lost 2lbs! That is about to change. See you on the Christmas Bus!

Woohoo! Go Yowzer! Congratulations on doing so well during this challenge. 2 stones is amazing 🙂 🎉🎉🎉🎉👏👏👏👏🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇

This round hasn’t been the most successful one for me in terms of losses on the scales, I’m going to weigh in today but feel it will only be a net loss of a kilo or so as I’ve been up and down.
BUT in terms of NSVs:
– I smashed my walking goal of 100km during September by walking 135km
– I’m wearing a size smaller bra, and also trousers & pants
– Have ate mostly healthy meals and kept well during our strict lockdown (which is still ongoing).

So all in all I feel like I’m on track for success on the Christmas bus! I’d dearly love to get to my 1st goal weight by Christmas, and then start the journey to reach my final goal weight in the New Year 🙂

UPDATE: I weighed myself and I have lost just under a kilo as I thought. But what I didn’t realise before is that this has brought me to my lowest weight in about 15 years! I’m 100g less than I was at my lowest weight in 2017 when I had completed 11 months of BSD 🙂
The most exciting part of this for me though is I am now only 250g (or about 1/2 a pound) away from being Overweight on the BMI scale – after so long being in the Obese range this is exciting for me 🙂 it also means my 1st goal is now only 3kg away which definitely feels doable in 12 weeks!
Packing my luggage for the Christmas bus now 🙂

Just realised that the 900g I lost was in September, not the whole challenge! Actual total challenge loss was 2.8kg when I compare my weight on 1 July to my weight today 🙂
I’m blaming it on the fact that I woke up at 3.45am this morning and couldn’t get back to sleep! Wasn’t fully alert when I posted before.

Just updating, late I know, for this challenge.
I’ve had more success from my latest re-boot than from my 15000 other re-boots of the past year .I really started trying on 12th September and by the end of September was down 3.1kg, I’m pretty pleased about that and I’ve not found it difficult to stick with. I think the control over what I am eating has helped because of the lack of control over everything else.
We are still waiting to hear the results of my partner’s biopsy, was supposed to be last Wednesday, then Thursday, now next Tuesday. The doctor said the pathologist had not finished yet?? I don’t know whether the delay is a good thing or not but all we can do is wait.
Yowser, what a fantastic result! You kept that very close to your chest! I am thrilled for you. Well done to everyone who saw happy results, in fact well done to everyone because we are still here 🙂

Dear all,
Sorry that I’ve been MIA for bloody ages.
Sometimes just reading the thread is what keeps you going, particularly when everything else is just crazy. And you can’t see your way forward.
Odaat – often appears on here- it’s so true.
Having reached my heaviest back in winter/ spring of last year I’m now happy to report that I’m down just over a stone / about 8 kg.
My scales might not be the most accurate but hey , they were the same ones that showed the worst result too. It’s all relative.
What’s changed?
All the s**t factors that were pulling me down remain in place but my mindset has had a seismic shift.
Deal with what I can… odaat.
Have found meditation helpful – ( j Stephenson) is my go to resource.
Walking – at least 10 000 a day and just trying to be mindful of what I consume.
I know there’s still work to be done – I like wine and still eat some carbage but I’m heading towards a better zone.
Odaat.
Thoughts and good wishes to all
Magic bean
Ps hope 6 turkeys is ok