And a few 'after' pics to balance it out

Just so you know, I'm the one on the far right in the top photo, the far left in the bottom. And now I'm the same size as everyone else. Oh what a feelin'...

A feast of 'before' photos - Egypt and Greece 2007

Wow, hard to look at now. But looking at this selection of photos (and trust me, there are much much worse) really makes me realise how far I've come. Lately I've been realising that my mind hasn't been catching up with my body. When I look in the mirror and at recent photos, I still manage to see the fat girl staring back. What's worse is that I've made my now size 10 clothes 'fat' in my mind! If they fit me, they must be huuuge! That's the mindset I'm still in.

But the above photos help me realise how different I am now. I'm ashamed and embarrassed to look at these photos, but hey - who am I kidding?! Anyone who saw me two years ago would have seen exactly this! I wasn't hiding it, even though I thought I was.

I will just have to have another trip to Egypt again to re-take these photos with the new me.

The good news is that I now weigh the same as the girl pictured with me in the last photo - honestly, that's the only way I can objectively understand the difference. I remember thinking how skinny she was then - if only I could think the same for myself now!

64.9 - just in time

Impromptu weigh-in yesterday rewarded me for my random weigh-in efforts. 400gms lost!

This puts me at.... 64.9kg!!

As Plan A is clearly responsible for the forward movement, I intend to stick with it (as below) until the end of the week. I envisage WW Goal Weight will happen this month, to be sure, to be sure!

Happy St Paddy's Day everybody :)

Restriction

Sooo, Plan A worked for four days. On Thursday I glimpsed for the first time on the scales a 65.0kg!

This must have sunk in to my sabotaging subconscious, as Friday morning I was back up to 66.2kg after Japanese food and a chocolate pizza.

Aaaah, the trials and tribulations of caloric restriction. After a shocking weekend of pub food, clinkers and too-many-weight-watchers-treats, I am happy to announce I'm maintaining a stable 65.4kg. Which probably has a lot to do with the efficacy of Plan A, implemented earlier in the week.

So, today marks the beginning of Plan A (part 2), in which I stick to it perfectly all throughout the week, then resume normal points consumption on the weekend. Prepare to be amazed (not alarmed).

Plan A

Plan A:
- Eat under points, saving a safe number of points each day (no less than 15 for me)
- Exercise like there's no tomorrow (as though I'm on the Biggest Loser)

I have been implementing Plan A since Monday. Although there was one previous attempt last Thursday, this understandably fizzled out towards the weekend's wine festival activities. But the results of Plan A speak for themselves! On Monday morning, I woke up at 67.2kg - after a normal 17.5pt day on Sunday. On Tuesday at 5.15pm I weighed in at 65.3kg. Although I don't imagine any of this was anything but fluid, it seems that Plan A is putting me back on track towards the 'exit' sign of the plateau I've been stuck on. Here's to Plan A working its magic for a few more days to kick-start my weight loss again, before I resume normal points-consumption. I really don't want to have to implement Plan B.

Am I wearing the pants, or are they wearing me?

Ha ha, I'm in such a stupid mood today. Apologies in advance for this post. Essentially, I was once again perusing my wardrobe in the hope the something unworn and wonderful would leap out at me to wear tonight (this did not happen), when I can across my old work pants. Sportsgirl size 14.

I remember when I purchased these a year and a half ago, in August 2007. I'd just returned from overseas, where I had lost 5 kgs (although this went unmeasured, as I was too scared to get on the scales at the time - I just guessed because I'd gotten skinnier), and I squished myself into these pants in a Sportsgirl changeroom. 'Hurrah!' I mentally screamed, I had reclaimed my size 14 figure! Between then and April 2008 I fit into these pants in differing degrees of comfort, sometimes painfully tight, sometimes deceptively loose. I haven't thrown them away for that reason - they are my only measurement of where I've come from.

So, as I dragged them out of the wardrobe, and pulled them on without needing to unbutton or unzip them, I remembered just how far I've come. I've forgotten that lately, as I've struggled with the two kilos between me and WW LTM GW rather than remembering the 14kgs I've already lost.

In another changeroom the other day I fit into a pair of size 8 jeans. Albeit they weren't loose on me, and I wasn't going to buy them (didn't look so great), I mentally 'hurrah'ed myself again for another milestone achieved. Single digit pant size, amazing.

And I'm a liar, by the way. I didn't weigh in yesterday or today. My scales are still stuck, although I'm trying something new to get me off my comfy plateau, stay tuned.

The post that shall not be named

Right, so, boyfriend's birthday, a big slab of cake and some drinking. That's what I've been doing lately. The cake is still in the fridge - though it was supposed to go to boyfriend's place of work so it could be away from me. It's still there, 5 days later. Perhaps I can now throw it out?

The good news! I have a renewed enthusiasm to kick the last little bit before I reach WW LTM GW (that's a lot of letters, but you know what I mean). Sneaky scales glance says 65.1kg! Having said that - I have been up and down and dancing around 66 for the last three weeks. In fact, I haven't weighed in at WW in that long, either, in fear of officially 'gaining'.

I have resolved to weigh in tomorrow, in the hope that my 65.1 will stick around, and it's not just temporary fluid loss. I think I should anyway, even if there's a technical gain. It's the only way to get back on track. I'm aiming to get to 64kgs in the month of March. This will be the achievement of major goal number one! Then LTM should follow by May (I believe there are 6 weeks of maintenance on WW before one gets the goods for free). Hurrah, I can taste success!*

*Note: sweet taste of success is fleeting.