Wax on, wax off

The last couple of days have been full of preparations for the trip ... packing, repacking, shopping, getting hair spruced up and then today, a lengthy rendezvous with the beautician. Which, yes, did include painful procedures ... specifically a Brazilian wax. I am by no means a waxing virgin ... and I have had a couple of Brazilian waxes in my time but today's was rather intense to put it mildly! I had this Polish woman who was insistent that I went panty-less. Once my modesty was stripped down to no more than a crusty, overwashed towel, she began to poke around in my nether regions for a while doing what I thought only my gynaecologist was licenced to do before unceremoniously giving my hoo-hoo a trim. She then proceeded to pile on the hot wax and rip away without warning ... consequently, my body remained insanely taut with dread for the whole appointment, kind not dis-similar to holding a abdominal crunch for 35 minutes! Pain for beauty ... what is that about?!

Following my rather sadistic appointment (which fortunately did end in a luxurious pedicure!), I decided to check out some High Street stores. Oh. My. Gawd! Oxford Street on a Sunday gives the saying 'taking your life into your own hands', a whole new meaning! ... the side walks are packed with a constantly moving sea of people. Negotiating this street truly test's one's patience, tolerance and love of humankind. The worse thing you can do when walking this street is to stop dead in your tracks ... firstly, you'll get a bollocking and secondly, you'll collect someone up your arse. So, what of course happened to me today?! I have now lost enough weight that I can walk out of my jeans (literally) ... these same jeans I can get on and off without having to undo the zip or button on them. Because I have already packed every decent item I own into my suitcase for Dubai, I was left with the dreggs of my wardrobe to chose from. The dreggs include these ill fitting jeans. I had forgotten how bad they were until I found myself haivng to hoick them up every few steps ... which is exactly what I had to do on Oxford Street today collecting several people up my derriere as I did so! Which earned me several tut-tuts ... understandably!

During my loitering and wishful window shopping, I came across the following bits and pieces I desire to own before Christmas.


I really, really want this little black (& red) dress from Monsoon. How absolutely gorgeous is it?! At a mere 135 GBP, I'm planning to snap one up pronto! Sigh. If only!

And, I finally managed to get my hands on this dead sexy cardy from Marks & Spencers last week. It previously had sold out but fortunately, last week limited stock had arrived! Thanks must go to my friend, Sandra, who worn this cardy with such style, it caught my attention and I knew I had to have me one too! Unfortunately, I had to settle for brown ... I really wanted it in black. I am going to try ordering it online ... if I can get it in the black, I think I'll return the brown one. This cardy is such a flattering cut and looks gorgeous on.


And last but not least, these boots! I ventured into Dorothy Perkins and spotted these boots immediately ... of course, when I asked for a size 5 in either chocolate or black there was none in stock! Aaargh! Sod's bloody law!

I truly believe there is a conspiracy in the retail industry to deter me from buying the stuff I like until I get to or near goal weight! I have a strange feeling I'll turn into a wee shopaholic for a while after I first reach my goal weight! I really am starting to like shopping .. what the?! LOL!

Oh! And by the way ... I did buy those sexy French knickers in a size 14!

Jet lag ... what let jag?

Oh my gawd …. isn’t jet lag a biatch?! I would’ve posted sooner but I’ve taken a liking to sleeping from 5:30pm to 7am … and have had the motivation of a sloth. I’ve been so slack that I haven’t even been bothered to eat an evening meal three nights running! Yea-huh … me and no food … you know things have to be dire!

An interesting thing I have found with long haul flights and my band is that my band appears to tighten up and leave me with very little appetite for a couple of days either side of the flight. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it does make it awkward to eat on a flight or with friends and family immediately after disembarking as I have found I experience a choke - without exception.

***
I was ferreting around early this morning trying to pack for my impending jaunt to Dubai. I stood there staring into the yawning cavern of my cupboard (which in reality is really no bigger than a bar fridge!) and decided what-the-hell-I’ll-try-on-all-those-items-in-my-wardrobe-and-storage-that-I’ve-bought-but-never-worn. And? And, nearly every bloody thing in my wardrobe fitted! I had a totally new wardrobe to wear to Dubai. It was a hilarious predictament to be in, as when I normally travel, I travel light … partly because I can’t be arsed packing but more to the point because I have never had enough clothes that have fit or looked remotely nice!
***
I will get around to posting about my trip home to Oz … but just now things are still a little raw and emotional. Add to that a little exhaustion … and I’m not sure I would be able to succinctly compile my thoughts. Not just yet anyway. All in good time, people … all in good time.

Miss Dee but I do answer to Wonder Woman

Oh. My. Gawd! How much are we lovin that camera angle!

And yes, this is indeed no other than moi ... Miss Dee: Wonder Womanthe Bandit .. coming to you in technicolour!

***
I only lost .4kg this week. Completely to be expected, I know.

I am going to have to go kamakaze 'Cold Turkey' with my chocolate consumption. Even the smallest piece - regularly - is affecting my weight loss. I can no longer deny it ... the scales don't (always) lie.

***
I'm heading back to Oz on Friday ... which means my blog probably won't be overly active for a week.

I have a gut feeling that it's going to be a trip laced with trials and tribulations ... tests, temptations and hopefully some triumphs ... despite having said this, I am determined to shift some lard even when I am home in the land of 'milk and honey'.

Look, I know it's going to be hard for you all not to have your finger on the pulse of Bandit Girl's adventures ... but I don't want you to panic. On my return I will let you know aaaaall about ... beginning to end! In the words of Monty Python ... "You lucky, lucky bastards!".

Careening around a sharp corner on 2 wheels ...

Oh my gawd! I have just perused my eating journal and found I have eaten chocolate 12 days out of 13! What the?! I know I haven't gorged myself on chocolate but it's the fact I've eaten it on a daily basis for a substantial period that concerns me. If I keep this parlarva up, I'm not going to lose another bloody ounce. To add to this, I've eaten atrociously over the past two days ... I have to get a serious grip. My two bad eating days have comprised of the following:

Wednesday:

• Muesli/yoghurt (1 cup)
• x2 half shot skinny lattes (small)
• Skinny blueberry muffin
• Chocolate
• Chilli con carne with low fat sour cream (1 cup)
• 250ml low fat milk

Today:

• 1/2 cup baked beans with 1 poached egg
• 1/2 glass smoothie
• Chocolate
• Half shot skinny latte (small)
• 15 cashew nuts/1 dried fig
• 1/2 glass low fat milk
• 2 slices of vegetable and egg pizza (no crust)

To the astute reader, you will no doubt notice my lack of fruit or vegetable intake ... I feel so disgusting and sluggish because of it. I must admit, my bad eating days are not nearly as horrific as they were prior to surgery. Back then, on a 'bad' day I would find my eating completely out of control .... not unlike careening around a sharp corner on two wheels. Nowdays, it's disappointing that I have chosen to pump rubbish into my body but it's not an irrepairable, fall-off-the-wagon-for-a-month-or-two mistake ... at the next meal I dust myself off and hop right back on the rickshaw.

***

I found my WW food journals at the beginning of the week ... thought I'd share with you an excerpt from my food journal prior to sugery, 6 weeks post-op and currently. I find it dead interesting ... but feel free to poke your eyes out with boredom if it's not your thing!

Pre-surgery:

• Banana
• 2 poached eggs, mushroom, tomato and onions
• Watermelon (2 slices)
• Ham, tomato and onion sandwich (2 slice of grained bread)
• Yoghurt (200 gram)
• Strawberries (1 punnet)
• 1 slice of toast with nutella
• Haloumi cheese (3-4 slices)
• Fried octopus and greek salad
• Diet coke
• Herbal tea

Post surgery (6 weeks):

• Porridge, milk and honey (1 standard serve)
• Babybel cheese (lite) x1
• Grapes (1 serve)
• Yoghurt (200 gram)
• Chilli con carne (1 bowl)
• 1/2 shot skinny latte (small)
• Pecans (6)
• Mandarin
• Yoghurt, honey and sunflower seeds (250 gram)
• Salmon fillet with grilled vegetables (& pesto)
• Licorice

Post-fill:

• 1/2 glass of smoothie
• Muesli/yoghurt
• 1/2 shot skinny latte (small)
• Chicken (100 gram), salad and lite mayonnaise
• Yoghurt, honey and sunflower seeds (250 gram)
• Chilli con carne with low fat sour cream (1 cup)
• Herbal tea

Just a small difference in the amount of food I can eat, huh? I'm liking it a lot! I sometimes still get hungry inbetween meals and have a small snack (fruit or yoghurt). If I find myself getting hungry inbetween I have found it's because I have either a) not eaten enough protein at the previous meal or b) not drunk enough water in between times. I mean, I'm still losing weight (although fingers crossed for next week considering my sub-optimal diet!) with my current level of fill .... so I just have to do a little fine tuning to my eating habits to kurb the break through hunger periods and all will be well.

Running ... only a little faster than walking!

There is some joy in the midst of despair.

My weight is slowly inching downwards. Last week's effort were rewarded with a 1kg (2lb) loss on the scales this week. I can thank my running efforts for that, me thinks. Yes, I have started running ... okay, calling it running is probably somewhat of a stretch of the imagination. But it is moving my body a little faster than I would do if I was walking. I found a program online (Couch-to-5k Running Plan) that introduces the novice to running ... easing you into the daunting sport. Ever so gently. I actually enjoy it, strangely enough. I feel especially sauve in my new trainers (high stability trainers with pronation reduction technology at that!) from Run and Become.

I'm quietly chuffed with myself as I have passed to weight loss milestones. I have lost 10% of my starting body weight (my actual weight the day before surgery was 95kg) which equates to a 9.5kg loss and I have lost 10kg. I have NEVER lost 10kg ever! I still get a little shock every time I do the maths. What? 10kg loss ... can that be right? LOL! And, my BMI has come down 4 points from 37 to 33. Noice!

My next weight loss goals are:

• 83kg (the equivalent of 2 stone loss - it's an English thing!)
• 80kg (the lowest weight I've ever managed to get to but never past in all my years of attempting to lose the lard & 15kg loss!)
• 79.5kg (just because it's a number under 80kg!)
• 77kg (10% loss of body weight from 85.5kg)
• 75kg (weight I was when I was 15 & 20kg loss!)