WWW's NEW 10 years younger - '6 weeks till your DH/P worries you might be leaving him' plan

[monkeytrousers]

Bacause I just had a twix straw! Aggh!!

Glad some of you are still here. I had thouoght that just as I got keen everyone else had gone...
Cycled again today and went out last night but only had one bottle lager, not too bad I would say. Mind you didnt get to bed till 12 and this moring a colleague asked if I wasOK, looking so tired.
Forgot the sunscreen but have been drinking water and resisting biscuits and chocolate.

I am still on a roll Soya!
Back in Turkey now.
Long walk to/from dh's office to meet him for lunch (bought big sunhat from Accessorize in the airport to ward off the ever present sun)
Went to the gym yesterday.Surreal.Me and about 20 very macho Kurds/Turks all high kicking and karate chopping. It's at the top of a very high building.So odd to be running in gym stuff,looking down on veiled women far below.
The asst. was brilliant,came over,helped me out,suggested new exercises.Gah,when I think of the dullards at the one back home.

Very difficult however to do my usual routine at 1700 m above sea level.Thought I was going mad at first as I could hardly breathe while running.

It's so great to have dh about and to not have to worry about cooking,shopping and feeding constantly.
Had divine lunch out-flat bread (baked in the sort of open wood oven that would be uber trendy in London but here is because they haven't got the funds to do something more high tech)
Ezme (paste of chillies,peppers,garlic,onion,tomatoes and herbsand spices),stewed haricot beans,ribs,baked lamb and potatoes,salad,mineral water and ayran (yoghurt drink)
£7 for the four of us.

Had forgotten how charming and hospitable these people are.I love 'em!

Now that sounds like my kind of food! Methinks I will have to do a chilli marinade tonight for the bland old turkey steaks I have lurking in the fridge.

MD - am I understanding right that you exercise in the part of the gym where just the men go? Do other 'foreigners/tourists' exercise there too? And what exactly do the women wear, apart from their head scarves?

I have definitely upped my exercise this week, but the warmer weather helps. It has alos help my cracked hands. But, and I forgot to say SW, I exfoliate them with a cheap facial scrub and use Neutrogena stuff both day and night. They may be veiny, but they are now nice and smooth. Must saort out my nails now....

MS,they have women only sessions and mixed.
I happened to be there at the mixed session but was only woman there.
Am deffo only foreigner though (apaprt from dh)

Ah,the hands issue.I have given up.Anyone with lovely handsand smallchildre n is either a complete slattern or aliar.

Even wearing rubber glovesdoesn't seem to help mine much.

Not all women wear headscarves but would say most do in this part (Van,in the East)
Also long shapeless coats.

Hey! Van is on tv tonight.The Hairy Bikers cooking show thingy.BBC2 at 8:00 pm.
Have got someone to record it for me.

Children back in school so normal routine at last. Walked the school run and been busy all day so scored well on activity today. Have drunk lots of water and eaten healthily (duck with salad and potatoes for lunch, pasta for tea).

Have got my massage tomorrow - sort of looking forward to it. As I had no break from the children over Easter I am certainly looking forward to an uninterrupted hour and a half even with my wobbly bits on display!

Had some photos developed yesterday - yet more incentive if I needed any.

Will either do a video or go to the gym tonight although it is very nice out so I could tramp through the woods with the children. Decisions, decisions.

Moondog - that meal sounds fantastic. Glad to see that you are keeping up the good work!

I shall have to take a look at that MD even though my tv guide says 'the chefs enjoy a doner kebab and a massage'. They make it sound like some dodgy street in Soho!

That all sounds very healthy Moondog.
I know this isnt a diet but I really want to shift some fat from my tummy as I am the same measurement all the way down, I have just discovered. Yuk. Would like to lose half a stone really, but may need more drastic action for that.

MD I'm ...
.....doing pretty well (after the disaster that was the weekend....). Eating better, exercise is mainly walking.......

I was doing really well ... but tonight I've ahd two glasses of wine and a plate of mashed potato ... what is wrong with me

I have had my massage and it was lovely. Felt really relaxed - so much so that I have just shared a bottle of wine with DH and am very likely to start another. I am actually feeling rather low as my Grandmother has been readmitted to hospital and things do not look good. I am a bit scared about what tomorrow will bring.

Have been swimming and ridden my bike a bit today, and ate well, no snacks. No booze (none in house), lots of water. Have just ordered a box of Tradcraft wine but will drink it sensibly and in small quantities ...

Much better day today :)
Well done everyone still doing this :)
I am about to pop out to my the sorting office as a card has been left and it can only be my latest Liz Earle order :)
Am having a girly day shopping in Cardiff tomorrow with a dear friend of mine and absolutely know that this thread is going to crop up in conversation

yoyo, how is your grandmother? Thinking of you Winniexx

Winnie - thanks for asking. Not too good. They have taken her down to theatre now so won't know anything for a few hours. It is all so horrible and I feel desperately sorry for her.

Anyway, hope you have a fantastic day in Cardiff tomorrow. I hear that the shopping is excellent there now (many years since I last visited the capital).

Having a pretty good day. Have been keeping myself busy and eaten very healthily. Loads of water too.

yoyo, hope all goes well for your Grandmother.

So sorry yoyo.
Wimmie,did you get the Liz Earle stuff?
We've been out for dinner (mezze)and it was soooo hard but I resited a beer and had fresh oj instead.
Walked there and back. About 3 miles I think.

Sorry about the m's there winnie.

Moondog, you sound as if you are having a nice time in Turkey :)

Yes, I collected my Liz Earle package (and there was a free sample which is always nice).

Dd dyed my hair this afternoon. She is extremely good and even hairdressers have complimented me on the colouring after she has done it. So, the pampering continues but the exercising is lacking (doing some bt not enough) and the eating is not under control frankly!!
Am seriously thinking about having counselling about my relationship to food

What is the issue winnie re food?
Have you been on the binge eaters thread?
Some very useful info and advice.

(I will probably be whingeing in 2 weeks about how bored I am here!)

Moondog, I am the usual yoyo dieter who has been on every diet ever invented, could state the calories/syns etc of most foods, I know all of my trigger points etc, etc, I have an unhealthy relationship with food that started as a 4 year old (or earlier). I use food as an emotional crutch it's as simple of that. I have a healthy diet, I simply eat too much and for the wrong reasons. I don't really need a cousellor as I absolutely know how this addiction began BUT I do need to break the dependence I have on the food as an emotional crutch. A friend and I have decided we are going to do it together, we both have a lot of weight to lose but we both badly want to lose it. so, onwards and upwards :)

More positively I met my friend yesterday and within five minutes of my sitting down she asked me if I am taking vitamins. She told me my skin is "glowing" and looking great. That is a direct result of this thread because although I was using Liz Earle products long before, this thread has got me using them every day. I also think the water and the 5+ fruit & veg are relevant too :)

Hows everyone else doing?

Winnie - your relationship with food sounds like mine (although I think mine started when I was about 6/7) and I too have thought about counselling but really can't afford it atm. This time last year I was a size 24/26 but got down to a 10/12 by the middle of autumn (for the first time ever!). Have spent all of my adult life and probably most of my childhood dieting, which, objectively, I know has been a waste of a life and destructive but food is definitely my drug of choice . My weight has been creeping up again alarmingly since Christmas so I need a major 'mental' breakthrough.

Gawd this is all too much on a Sunday morning and I shall stop now. On my positive note, I have rediscovered exercise which does help me a great deal and hopefully the warmer weather and longer days will help keep me on track. I have also stopped wearing my coat, which was a major anxiety point for me but I feel strangely liberated!

Winnie,sounds like a very promising start!
Wow moonshine,that is one hellof a weightloss.

I have a hangover

Was it worth it MI???
That's all that matters.