Lost & found

LOST: Bandit Girl’s motivation and enthusiasm to kick arse in banishing “the lard”
Item is of sentimental value. Owner is distraught. If found, please contact Bandit Girl on the on the B-phone. Generous reward offered.

Yup. My clever friends, no doubt you've guessed the reason for the absence. I have had a monumental fall off the wagon … and I'm yet to claw my way back on. In the past, I've had very temporary mishaps with the wagon but have managed to get a leg back on before any serious damage was incurred. So what’s happened lately? I’m not sure. I think it’s been a combination of things. Ever since the overfill and consequent ill health, I developed a fear of eating solid food in case I still had the gastric swelling (I know, I know - 4 weeks is more than enough time for these things to resolve and was a poor attempt at an excuse after the first week!). I was eating a lot of ‘soft’ food – known to bandsters as the ‘soft food’ syndrome. This is to be avoided. Not because it’s detrimental to the band but because you can consume more calories than you actually require due to the consistency of the food or high calorie drinks (milkshakes, juice, lattes etc – which is okay just after a fill but not for extended periods). But after the swelling parlava, I was just plain lazy and unmotivated. In generaly, I have also seemed to have got a bit … okay, very blaze. I’ve lost a lot of weight, I feel good about myself and I’m getting sick of continually having to buy clothes and dragging the old stuff down to Good Sam’s on a crowded bus. Yet, I would love to lost another 10-15kgs. So what’s stopping me from just knuckling down and bloody doing it? Sigh.

Added to the melting pot, has been the uncertainty of where life is taking me at the moment and what I'm doing. All this continual sorting, problem solving and fretting over all the ins and outs that are my life on a daily basis has taken up a lot of my emotional and mental energy, which has left me with very little energy or enthusiasm for the shrinkage thing.

But with a little ground work I am in for a spectacular come back!

The ground work has included:

• a decision to stay in London for the time being until the hospital here gets organized with this supposed position in the Middle East or until Rob and I make further plans (I will be sending in my application for the Highly Skilled Migrant Permit on Monday after finally getting all the evidence together that the Home Office needs – which, may I add, is rather extensive! It’s going to cost me around 800GBP for this application with no guarantee that I’ll even be granted the permit in the end even though I well and truly meet the criteria and points required! Gulp!)
• sorting out and some further nesting in my wee apartment (honestly, it’s no bigger than a shoe box!). I have not changed the duvet cover or linen since I moved in over a year ago (Oi! I have indeed washed the linen and duvet cover just not changed the set of linen or cover I’ve been using!). I felt I needed to have a change. So I splashed out and bought some gorgeous Egyptian cotton sheets (300 thread count – oh my gawd, take my word, quality sheets are the bomb to sleep on!) in oyster, some white pillow slips, a couple of new pillows and a new boudoir cushion. I printed out some new photos for my photo frames. I also bought new incense, can opener, vege peeler and flowers. I carted all my heavy linen (duvet, towels, duvet covers, valance, bath mats ra-de-rah-rah) up to the laundromat for a serviced wash. I cleaned the house within an inch of it’s life. I ventured down to Good Sam’s to do another delivery of unwanted goods. And I changed my duvet cover and made up the bed with the new sheets and pillows – I now have a divine bed in white and caramel/oyster. It’s rather noice! So now the house is uber clean and done to minimum stuff levels. I so love not having clutter! It’s funny but when my living space is clean, organised and uncluttered, I find that I, myself – mentally, physically and emotionally - feel the same way. If my living space is completely chaotic for a long period, I find I become out of sync. Strange but true!
• I have, in my hot little hands, a free registration coupon to join Weight Watchers this coming Tuesday. I know this concept may sound strange … you know, joining WW when I have a band but I really need the support and motivation of other people who are also on a weight loss journey. I realize I may struggle with sticking strictly to the WW eating plan due to my low calorie intake and problems digesting certain foods but just to get back on track. It’s not a long term gig – four to six weeks max.
• I have researched alternative yoga class venues. I was attending Bikram yoga but certain classes are so jammed packed that you can hardly move … so I just wanted some alternative venues to practice yoga of some description.
• I have entered all my regular foods into FitDay so I can keep a record of my calorie intake over the next 4 weeks.
  
  The rest of the plan?:
• I will make a commitment to myself to exercise regularly for 4 weeks (after the 4 week mark it becomes routine)
• Join WW
• Eat three meals a day plus one-two snacks if required
• Plan meals in advance
• Regular weigh in (WW & home scales)
• Track food (FitDay and in notebook)
• Book for a small fill (.4cc in 3-4 weeks time)
• Keep in regular contact with my mate who also has a band – when we stay in contact we seem to be able to move mountains of pounds!
• PREPARATION!

Oh my gawd! Would you look at that! I have just glimpsed the shiny face of my motivation. Right! I’m off to catch it and bottle it!