talkhealth Blog

My other half has just said, “If I was to offer you 11″, 13″ or 15″ would 15″ offend you?” He then followed this up by saying, “17″ is just too big!”…quite! Once I had stopped laughing – and yes, a little bit of wee nearly came out – I had to start taking him seriously as he gets very annoyed when I laugh about inches!

Why is it so hard to choose a bloody laptop? All I want is a purple one! He accused me of being indecisive when I don’t care about something…of course I am if I don’t care about something. To me, a laptop is just something to type on and surf the Internet; to him, gadgets are the world. If he is buying something for himself, he will watch all sorts of online videos about them, chat to ‘experts’ online, read numerous reviews. If I like the colour of a laptop, I will buy it – no, I am not very tech savvy. The same goes for wine…I have no idea…if I like the look of the label, I buy it! But ask me about chocolate or crisps and I can give you the lowdown on the 95% Ecuadorean cocoa stuff or the latest offering from Walkers…or I could…maybe you should now ask me about the latest Slimming World recipe!

You might have guessed that I am in the market for a new laptop. My old Samsung netbook, which I loved, gave up on me and I am currently using my other half’s iPad. I like compact stuff – as I wish to be compact – and I like purple stuff…so when I am asked to give my specification and I say, “small and purple”, you can imagine the look of disgust on my very gadget oriented, tech savvy other half’s face! Apparently, “11″ won’t give me the quality I need”, when I argued that, “11″ is perfectly fine and easier to work with”…well, we just fell about laughing…or I did; he sat there probably questioning why he didn’t take more time to chose someone to spend his life with!

This afternoon I have been regaled with phrases such as, ‘speedier multitasking and enhanced productivity’, ‘immersive surround sound experience’, ‘latest generation of intel core processors’, ‘no compromise on performance’, ‘sleek aluminium’ and have also been told that I can be ‘productive, informed and entertained everywhere’ – phew…promises, promises.

The thing is, I have never really had to worry about tech stuff before. In my old jobs phones and laptops came as part of the deal and most were okay’d for personal use too. I would always have a computer of some sorts at home though for any slightly dodgy stuff…enough of your dirty minds, I meant for progress pictures! If I wanted a different phone I would just ask work, and I never really used phones for Internet access anyway. I hate sending texts, I never check emails on my phone, or use the Internet on it. My fat fingers and tiny keys do not make a good combination.

So watch this space…if my other half has his way, I might soon be able to show you an 11″ purple wonder!

There is no real ‘theme’ tonight folks. I have seen a few cool things that I thought I might share with you today. The first was a little tweet that made me investigate further…it had ‘EDL’ in it yet was tweeted by a lovely lady that I know…I was curious! When I discovered that in this instance, EDL stands for ‘English Disco Lovers’, I was delighted! An organisation who wish to outrank The English Defence League when ‘EDL’ is searched on Google, as well as accumulating more likes than them on Facebook and more followers on Twitter. They state that their aim is to subvert the hatred with humour, and to show them for what they really are – racist, violent and the type you wouldn’t invite to your disco! So I followed them on Twitter and will wait and see what comes of it. I do love a good disco though…so check them out and spread love and music instead of hatred!

One of the most inspiring things I have read today was a little quote relating to a huge challenge that Professor Paul Gately – my favourite weight related professor! – is undertaking. He is running something called the ’42 peaks challenge’ – which he needs to complete in 24 hours. You can take a look here for more info if you like! The comment that struck me was that, between 2005 and 2010, 99.4% of obesity-centred funding in the UK was dedicated to ‘prevention’ with just 0.6% being spent on ‘treatment’ for sufferers. As someone who is dealing with obesity, and will be for the rest of my life, I know how important support is for the currently obese. Obviously, prevention is far preferable than having to cure…but when you are already there, and have no one to turn to, life can be pretty rubbish. This is where HOOP comes in! They aim to address this imbalance and to be the voice of the obese person in the UK. Not only do they offer support and guidance to those in need, but they also work with healthcare professionals to raise awareness and bring obesity to life for them. Many ‘professors’ that I have had dealings with could do with seeing things from their patients perspective, and this is what HOOP do.

I know that I mention HOOP in almost every bloody blog post now, but this group of people have become a big part of my life and I hope to continue that. I have always promised myself that if I can crack this weight loss then I would love to be a part of helping others achieve their goals. For me, being a Slimming World consultant is a no-go…I don’t have the patience to listen to excuses…excuses which I myself have used time and time again! So being part of HOOP allows me to exercise my brain and think about how to help them make a difference to the lives of others, which is perfect for me. I do provide support to people, but I can also look at the behind the scenes stuff too – how to spread the word and make the name ‘HOOP’ synonymous with ‘excellence’! And if any of you have any questions about HOOP then feel free to email me and ask them!

Finally, apparently Jeremy Kyle had some obese teens on his show this morning and was debating the merits of gastric surgery. I have to say that I didn’t see it, but have been told that he seemed to have more empathy for drug takers and abusers than he did with fat kids! Asked for views on whether teens should have this surgery, most fellow HOOPers said, “no”…I of course (as always!), said a little more than this. My response was, “I didn’t see it…but my thoughts are “hell no!” Yes, it is a complicated issue, I was told that surgery was my only option blah, blah, blah…but it is not the only option at all. And giving a teen this surgery does not address why or how they got that big in the first place…same for anyone having the surgery in my opinion. Some of the worst eaters I know personally (and in fact who have emailed me since seeing my blog) are people who have had surgery…not in terms of quantity, but it terms of the choices being made. One chap I know eats a block of pâté each day as he is struggling to eat ‘proper’ meat and a lady who attends one of my consultants other SW groups told me that her favourite treat is her milk allowance, with a hot chocolate sachet and a Mars bar liquidised! This for me tells me the problem is not with the food, it is with the head, the emotions and the choices being made…something which surgery can’t fix.”

There were people who disagreed with me…people who have had surgery…well, a person. I cannot explain why I feel so strongly. Well, I can. It is because I was at rock bottom. I was that person who had tried everything. I was that person who had failed. I was that person who thought that there was no other option. I was killing myself with food. I was scared to die, yet scared to change. Something changed though – I realised that surgery would not help my mind and, unless there is a medical reason (which is rare), then our eating issues stem from the mind – be it habit, comfort eating, emotional eating etc. I changed my mind and my eating habits changed. That for me is the way forward.

Unless your weight will kill you within a few months – during which time a significant amount of weight can be lost when someone is in that position through a change in diet alone…removing them from that category – then surgery is not the option. It might work for some, but I cannot and will not advocate it…especially when teens will not have had the opportunity to access all options. I reached my mid-20s without having spoken to a counsellor or psychologist despite my doctor doing all he could to help…the support just isn’t out there…but they will quite happily cut you open and stitch you up again…reminds me of a cut and shut job! Okay, mini rant over!

Now that my rambling is over, I shall move onto the usuals, which have been good…

I woke up a couple of times in the night as I was a greedy git last night and stuffed too many syn free chips down my neck. I felt uncomfortably full, something which I haven’t felt in a while, and so getting to sleep was difficult. However, I woke up and just got on with a treadmill session. I then worked on my project for three hours, interspersed with a few treadmill sessions, and then it was BodyPump and the last of the treadmill for the day. We then popped out to a garden centre…not for gardening stuff but for a couple of tops for ‘Fathers Day’…they have some good clothes in there! I did spot an offer on lavender and so will pop back for some once I have sorted my garden out. Then we went to see the horses, who were happily grazing and didn’t want to come and chat, so we just checked them from a distance and topped up their water. It was then to Asda for supplies and back home for a delightful afternoon of laptop talk! Who knows what this evening holds…11″ hopefully!

Breakfast: Two Alpen light bars (1 x HEB) and a banana.

Lunch: Cheesy scrambled egg (2 x HEA) with wholemeal rolls (1 x HEB + 6 syns) and fried onion, tomato, spinach and mushrooms.

Dinner: Mexican Quorn meatball bake.

Snacks: Two packets of Snack a Jacks (9 syns).

My food today has been lovely! The Alpen light bar flavour was lovely…apple and sultana I think. Lunch was gorgeous – you can’t beat cheesy egg and toast, although I think the eggs beat me as I had a dodgy tummy afterwards; I seem to remember leaving them in the car overnight…probably not a good idea! Dinner was based on a recipe I posted on my FB page and was adapted for a veggie day. Quorn meatballs were baked in the oven, whilst mixed beans, peppers, mushrooms, onions, spinach, tomatoes, garlic, chilli flakes, paprika – and I think that was it – were cooked. We also cooked some Batchelors rice to go with it, a vegetable variety. We will make this again as it was lovely…and I have leftovers for lunch. And of course, the Snack a Jacks were out later on in the evening too!

Exercise: 3 x 10 minute and 1 x 30 minute treadmill sessions plus 15 minutes of BodyPump.
Today I managed 30 minutes on the treadmill without needing oxygen, a paramedic, or a stiff drink! I was so proud of myself! I set out to do my usual ten minutes and kept an eye on my heart-rate; as it was still okay I decided to go to the fifteen minute mark – which was as much as I have managed since beginning my weight loss campaign. At fifteen minutes I was still okay and thought I would try for twenty, and when I got to that I just thought, “you’ve gone for twenty, you can do another ten”! I must admit to getting a touch of back ache at the twenty five minute mark, and was actually dripping sweat onto the treadmill belt…but I bloody did it. I won’t try it tomorrow though as I am feeling it now, but it was worth it just for the feel good factor!

I hope that ‘HumpDay’ has been good to you…roll on the weekend…

Weight Loss Bitch xxx

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WeightLossBitch

On a health and fitness driven journey to lose over 32st / 448lbs / 203kgs – yes, it is a considerable amount – I am committed to losing my excess weight without the aid of weight loss surgery, diet pills, or quick fixes…as there aren’t any! Changing my eating habits and building up my fitness levels, along with addressing the ‘head issues’ will be crucial in order for me to achieve my goal. Living in England as a 31 year old super morbidly obese woman can be challenging to say the least. I have been shouted at in the street and verbally abused far too many times to mention; hence the name ‘Weight Loss Bitch’…the day I am just called a ‘bitch’ instead of a ‘fat bitch’ will be the day that I know I have cracked my weight loss! With many reasons to lose this weight I am documenting my journey for a number of reasons. Firstly, I would like to keep a record of the ups and downs, the highs and lows, and the challenges I face with such an enormous task to tackle. Secondly, I would also like to inspire and encourage other people who are in a similar situation and to show them that significant amounts of weight can be lost naturally…with a bit of motivation, hard work, dedication and will power. Thirdly, all of the blogging, Facebook-ing, Tweet-ing, Pinterest-ing and YouTube-ing keeps me occupied and keeps my fingers out of the fridge!