Food, food, glorious food...

Ah, it's so easy to see that I'm feeling better.... Everywhere I turn there seems to be food - and since the idea of having to CHEW my food no longer turns me off (for the last two weeks it's just seemed like way to much effort to have to chew - soups, bread & milk, yogurts / jellos have seemed so much more appealing), I'm afraid that temptation has somewhat gotten the better of me today! Oh well, tomorrow is a brand new day!

We're going clothes shopping for Mom tomorrow; she's so excited to be getting new outfits for England, it's almost like watching a child anticipating Christmas! It's been a really, really long time since she bought herself anything new though, so this is going to be a great trip! Plus we're going to have lunch at TGI Friday's - hopefully Eileen's going to be able to join us for that too - which is always a treat!

I go back to work - at last! - on Saturday, so I'm not too worried about my calorie intake right now - going back to work means going back to exercising, so that should be good!

Weigh in yesterday. Down one pound to 187 - actually a pound and a half, if I remember rightly. I had expected to gain, having eaten chicken fettucine alfredo not once but twice and then discovering that it is LOADED with calories! But all's well that ends well, and I am well on track for looking svelte and slim for England! We figured that this loss averages about five pounds a month, which is healthy and may mean that it will be easier to keep it off. Hopefully!!

Don't you just love doctors??

You know, I am convinced that doctors simply tell you it's all in your head if they can't figure out what's wrong with you. I went to see an ENT specialist today for my ongoing (13 days and counting) and recurring voicelessness. He stuck a camera up my nose & down my throat, looked around for a minute, then told me that there's absolutely nothing wrong with my vocal chords & therefore the only explanation for my (ongoing, and recurrent) voice loss must be that it is psychosomatic - although that was the word my mom used, because the doctor was "reluctant" to use that particular word. But cut it however you want to cut it, what he was basically saying is that I am somehow making myself voiceless! As if!! I mean, what logical - or for that matter, illogical! - reason could I possibly have for making myself lose my voice - thus making it hard (and sometimes impossible, as in the last 10 days, impossible) for me to work, and potentially lose my income for a period of time???? That makes absolutely no sense to me... but hey, I'm not the genius with the medical degree hanging on the wall that gets to make such lofty pronouncements!!!

There, now that I've got that off my chest.... !

The diet / FRP / whatever you want to call this experiment is going really well for all three of us, and I am so proud of the progress that each of us has made so far. I know I've been lousy at blogging - I keep starting out with such good intentions, then getting nowhere with them! - but I really am impressed with the fact that we're all still dedicated to this experiment, at least! As Mom posted last, we have all lost quite a bit of weight: Eileen is doing really well, given that she is surrounded by children and temptation all day every day - her 18lb loss is great! She is about to undergo surgery, too, which will doubtless give her a great advantage over the rest of us: I have no idea what a uterus weighs, but I'm guessing she's probably going to lose about 10lbs pretty quickly!

As for Mom, she has made her goal weight for her trip to London, and is SOOOO psyched about it, it's really fun to watch her! She's actually pretty close to meeting her overall goal, which is fantastic - especially given that we've technically still got about 5 months to go on this challenge! She's also looking fantastic: she doesn't remember the last time she was under 200lbs, so this is really a great time for her. We're going shopping on Friday to get her new - SMALLER - clothes for her trip, and we're both really looking forward to that!

Then there's me... I would NEVER have thought that I would lose this much weight quite this quickly. At the last weigh-in I was down to 201 lbs - that's a loss of 33 lbs in 4.5 months!! I don't think I've been that weight since I was a teenager - and THAT'S a long time ago!!! I finally gave in and put a new hole in my belt just before Christmas - and I'm just about at the point of needing to put another one. My new jeans, also bought shortly before Christmas, as beginning to feel a little loose around the waist... I so look forward to fitting into a size 14! That really will be a first since high school - and possibly even before then!

Anyway, tomorrow is weigh-in day, so we'll probably find that I've gained 10 lbs since the last one - although I sincerely hope not! I will update the weight chart tomorrow with all the latest data, so watch this space for more news!

TWENTY FIVE POUNDS!!! HOORAYHOORAYHOORAY!! I weighed in at 188.5 this morning, which means I can go to the UK with a real sense of achievement. And I can eat Boosts - and hot cross buns - and beef pot pie - and cream meringues - and and and - and then I can come back home and LOSE again! Esther Marie has now lost 33 lbs, and Eileen is down 18. Hey! this WORKS!!

In view of the devastating news from Haiti this morning, it seems truly sinful to even be worrying or concerned about our RFG - or whatever the acronym was. But be that as it may, I was pleased yesterday at weigh-in to discover that I am now 192, well on my was to being under 190 by Feb. 5. This is the lowest I have been since we started - well, it MATCHES the lowest before the holidays. And I am just glad that it was as easy as it was to get rid of it again. I have 13 lbs to go to my goal, but each one gets a little more difficult to achieve. Still, soldier on!

Ah, a new year - how can it be 2010 already! I have to admit that I didn't do too well at the end of the OLD year - I have gained back 4 1/2 pounds. But I am resolved (NOT a New Year's resolution!) to lose that plus another four before I fly off to the UK on Feb. 5. I am so excited at the prospect of seeing so many of my dear friends - Stan, Pat, Nancy, Bulbir, Denise - that I am off right now to fill in my new calendar with the dates! Bless, bless, bless my dear daughters for this wonderful gift! Well worth shedding 8 more pounds!