Cate's Diary

No Sam. I am eating Cohen's original plan food but am not weighing. The portions are bigger. I'm following all the rules re 5hrs apart, same # of fruit & crackers etc. No extras at all. I'm doing invites & just had a quick squiz so will get back to it! Down 2.5 kgs since Monday of last week atm. Cheers, cate
 
Weight-
Down 1kg this morning. It's funny how it seems to go down, then up a little then down a bit more. Anyhow...It's going down. Yay!! Now only .5kg over the top of my GW range. Very happy about that!
Exercise-
Yesterday I did 7km on my bike then 2 sets of weights, 300 reps in total & felt fantastic afterwards. I slept in my chair last night on & off for most of the evening.
YS-Our son rang at about 11pm, just before we were going to bed but it was a bad line & we only chatted for a little while. I just caught up with him on FB & asked him all the questions that i didn't think of half asleep last night.
Food-
Absolutely nothing off plan & boy do I feel good. My belt has come in a notch which feels great!
I tried on my outfit the other night that I am wearing to my mum's 85th, including my new sandals & my LH said it looked great. I feel really good in it. The skirt is down to my ankles but is very body hugging & stretchy. It does look good & I can stand side on & still say that!
3.5kg to get to the bottom of my GW range. Boy am I happy about that!!
I have things to do today so had better get a move on.
Another thing I have been doing to lift my mood is to shower first thing in the morning. Then I feel like I'm ready for anything. It really helps.
Tai Chi today. Pick up invites, visit MIL very briefly to check her mousetraps & get rid of our rubbish, some shopping-out of yoghurt, library, visit the doc's to get a script only...?
Come home & put invites in envelopes that are addressed. i spent hours yesterday doing that.
Cheers for now, Cate
 
Good news about the weight coming down - and the belt - and the dress looking great side on... Things are really going well for you.

You are getting brilliant results. You will be back into zone literally any day. At this stage - each day I am wondering whether you have done it...
 
Hi Omega and my other forum friends,
Today is another bleak, wet & windy day in Tasmania. I have never seen anything like it!
I'm feeling good though. The weather doesn't seem to affect my mood as it used to. I think exercise must be the key with me plus eating healthily of course.
I didn't weigh this morning for no special reason. I have no idea if I have lost more or not. I'll weigh tomorrow.
I have done 5km (my minimum) on my stationary bike & done 2 sets of weights (300 reps) I have gone back to using the 2kg weights to do DB in outs. These I used to really struggle to complete & the EP said to drop them. Typical me though I tried again 2 weeks ago & now push my way through them. Some days it's easier than others. I sometimes have to go back & complete what I couldn't do first time at the end of my set. I'm such a stubborn, determined person! Can be good, can be bad. You should see the muscles forming though. Wee hoo! I love them! I would never have known 10 years ago that I would ever like the look of my arms! Now to brave wearing sleeveless tops. That is a huge hurdle for me. The legs I still loathe. Yes....they're sturdy, yes.... they hold me up & get me around but I still think they look like the trunks of an oak tree! You never know! LOL. They may end up looking more like a willow but i doubt it.
I am going to attempt to pump up my fit ball again while I still have some energy.
Cheers, cate.
 
AFL Grand Final- Saints v/s Cats
Well I haven't managed to come up with tickets to the final but we are booked to go to Melbourne on Saturday morning, booked into a hotel Sat & Sunday night, I have organised for my LH to have Monday off & we are flying back home Monday afternoon.
Now a miracle would be handy.
Actually 2 miracles-
1. We can get tickets to the final.
2. Saint Kilda win the grand final for only the second time in history. The last time was in 1966!
The other plan is to go to a special Saints function down at the esplanade in St Kilda where there will be a big screen & only Saints supporters. I have booked into a hotel nearby because I think that's the most likely scenario.
The winning team has some sort of presentation in Federation Square apparently so hopefully we will also be there.
The Saints also have a big day on Sunday at Etihad stadium, which we can also be there for.
FINGERS CROSSED!!
My LH was thrilled to bits that we are going. We will have a ball, especially if we win but we will enjoy it anyway.
Have to go as our GS is here & it's almost dinner time.
Cheers, Cate
Go Saints!!!!!!!!!
 
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Have a lovely weekend!

I don't think the Saints need a miracle to win - they have the manpower and the consistency this year, and it's heavy weather, so strength and the ability to last out the tough conditions will decide it I think.
 
Niyah- I think you're right but I'm so excited & nervous. The weather is atrocious! I got a message last night from one of our 8-ball friends saying not to get excited but her mother was asked if she wanted 2 tickets but she already is going with our friend. If her brother & his mate can't afford them she will ring us up. Nothing so far so not a good sign! I have no idea how much they would be but we won't pay a fortune either. I managed to get airfares, accommodation & Skybus tickets for <$700 all up which was pretty good. We'd pay up to $400 a ticket each. I'm still hopeful (or is that just plain silly?) Never say die!!
I really wish I had a good raincoat though as we are sure going to need one. I might have to scrounge a loan from my MIL. Trouble is it will stink of cigarettes & I couldn't cope with that! I badly want a black trench coat!! I'll have to wear my heavy japara. It's that or get totally drenched by the look of it. The Goretex ones I look at are always way too expensive-$400 or so, & are usually very bright.
I'm rabbiting on so will head.
Didn't weigh. I had a bad night's sleep- tossed & turned all night. Was in a arush this morning to get A off to school.
Have done most of the invites. I have to make a call to someone to try to get an address or phone number for someone else & he is a sports journalist(Geelong supporter.) You never know he may know of some tickets!! He's a really nice, funny bloke! Go saints!!!
Bye for now, Cate.
 
I find that exercise always helps my moods too. Life used to be much more of an emotional roller coaster ride for me until I began regular walking. I am therefore not surprised to hear of you telling of the benefits that you are feeling.

I see that you are feeling the need of a new coat - but do not like the prices of the ones that you really like... You may not have thought of the idea - but a few of us on the forum (that have totally changed shape and needed to have a new wardrobe several times over) grew to swear by the excellent value that you can get at charity shops. It all started when we were thinking of all the good quality clothes from our big size that we had given away because we had no further need for them. I must have been mad because I used to buy some quite expensive stuff when I was big in the hope that it would camouflage my shape as much as possible - as if anything ever could!!!! Anyway - it can be worth having a look through as some of the stuff is absolutely new - it even has the original shop price tags in... OK - there is some junk - but that makes it all the more of a treasure hunt. Posher districts often have the best stuff - and it is all a bit of a lottery as to whether they have something like what you are looking for in your size.

I will keep my fingers crossed at the scales for you.

Take care
Margaret
 
Hi Omega, I have a look in the "op shops" every week, at least once. I may get lucky when the rain eventually stops. End of season is when most people clear out their cupboards, especially in the Spring, so I will keep an eye out. I have never had a trench coat & I think they are timeless. I have bought most of my clothes there in the past 2 years. It's another new, good habit I have developed. Ahhh. I do love my new life. I didn't get around to weighing this morning as I had to throw my dressing gown on & cook breakfast for my GS. In fact at 10am I'm still in it. Whoops! I think I will shower now, do the dishes & head into town. I'll have a look at raincoats in the "normal" shops too as they have sales on. I have a friend who owns a shop (ex Cohen's) & she has beautiful clothes.
Bye again, Cate
PS I rang our sports journalist friend & he is going out to lunch with some business people today & will ask if any of them know of tickets to the GF. Fingers & toes crossed.
I have been shameless with my hint dropping & outright asking!
 
Oooo - another big fan of charity shops. They are brilliant arent they! You get such amazing value for money - with the added bonus that you get the quiet glow that a charity is benefitting from the money that you spend. I found that it meant that I could affort a wonderful non-food style reward for being good on the way down the sizes - I went from UK size 32 to size 10 (even have one pair of size 8 jeans but they are on the tight side!). I started off not buying clothes every size (begrudging the expenditure - but meant that I was constantly wearing clothes that were far too big) - but with charity shops I could wear each size in turn. It meant that I could appreciate each size change achievement better - giving me more milestones... I would advise anyone losing weight to seriously consider the idea. Magazines say "treat yourself to a magazine as a reward" but I found a whole new outfit that fitted to be a far more tangible reward.

We are both lucky in our new lives - but we have both worked hard to get there. I see that you started your project around the same time as I did. I started mine in the last week of February 07 - but didnt discover the forum until I hit some problems later that year...

Good luck in the raincoat hunt. Knowing the way that luck goes you will probably buy one in the normal shops (maybe your friend can cut you a good deal) and then the following week you will see the perfect thing in a charity shop. If you do - I would buy both. It is not like we are going to allow our size to change from here.

Good luck with the tickets. I hope that you can track some down...

Margaret
 
Hi Margaret, L-Jay & Niyah & anyone else reading my diary!
There is so much activity in here that I must catch up with!
We had a great week-end!!
We stood in freezing driving wind, rain & hail down at the St.Kilda foreshore to watch the match on a big screen. It reminded me of being at the footy back in the 70's! Brrr! Colder than Tassie!
It was a great match & we had our chances. We even went down to Federation square to see the cup presentation. We both like to be good sports & I think we are. On Sunday we went to the Saints function at Etihad Stadium & it was wonderful. There were about 9,000 Saints supporters there. A fantastic band played before the team arrived. They were so good! The reception that the team got was really excellent. They looked absolutely gutted but spoke well. They also seemed very emotional because of the passion & the loyalty of the supporters who turned up after the loss. Maxie H chose the moment to announce his retirement & it was so emotional. We hung around & didn't want to leave really. The band decided to keep playing & we got a bubbly & stayed to listen & soak up the atmosphere. I can only imagine what it would have been like if we had won! We were interviewed on SEN radio which was fun!
Food-
We ate well, including twice at Topolinos in Fitzroy St, St Kilda. I love Topolinos! When I was doing Cohen's in 2007 we went there & I drank a mineral water & wanted my LH to have pizza just so I could enjoy watching him eat it but he wouldn't! He said he wasn't hungry.
Sat night we shared a pizza & had a lovely big salad. No sweets.
Sun & Mon mornings- breakfast at the hotel-lots of fruit, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms etc.
Sun night Barramundi & salad was delicious!
I did not eat any desserts or rubbish like crisps etc but did drink some wine which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Weight-
Made myself jump on the scales this morning & am back up to 2.5kg over top of GW range. I expected it really so that's ok. As Catherine Tate says "I'm not bovvered!" Back on Cohen's only food today without a qualm.
Exercise-
Walked lots around Melbourne all week-end really. Didn't shop at all. I had no interest in it. The money saved by not buying tickets can now be put towards my LH's 60th(what we didn't spend on eating out!)
Gym- Another first for me at the tender age of 56. On Sunday afternoon, after the function, I went to the hotel gym & rode a bike & then did 2 sets of weights. They only had 1kg then 4kg weights & up so I used the 4kg(double what I normally use.) I felt so much better afterwards but my left elbow was hurting a little yesterday & is still. I'm not sure if I should do them today with my 2kg weights or wait another day.
Mood-is excellent. I loved the week-end. I would have loved it more if the Saints had won but I really did have a great time. We would meet Saints supporters & get talking & then bump into them again & again all w/e. Fun! Met some lovely people!
Our house-
Has been slightly rearranged! Our OS & his family came up & stayed & had a party. I suggested it to them & they obviously had a ball!! I'm finding toys everywhere & things just skewiff!(plus lots of empty bottles, a Cats beanie up very high in front of one of our windows etc.) I'm glad they had fun together & my DIL obviously relaxed & enjoyed herself as well. Our home is a good party home. Our son says we are not allowed to ever sell it as he wants to live in it one day. Hmmm. He can borrow it occasionally!
Lots of housework to do so had better get to it. I'll catch up with diaries later. There is good support in the forum at the moment which is excellent!
Cheers for now folks, xo Cate
 
Cate, glad to see you are taking the loss as well as you can, and not letting it upset the apple cart too much. It was the weirdest game - Saints outplayed Cats all day in a number of areas but still lost! In fact, part-way into 4th quarter I turned it off - I just couldn't bear the push/pull and the fact that every time Geelong did score, St Kilda would answer back. St K had led at every change, and I expected 4th quarter to be more of the same. I got the biggest shock when I realised Cats had WON! Footy is the weirdest game because the best side does not necessarily win on the day. It's all a matter of how many balls scrape through the big white posts in the middle - can be as scrappy and untidy as you like, and still happen. In saying all that, as a Cats supporter, I feel pleased for them that before they lose a number of their older players and have to start over on a big rebuild, they've managed to get another success. They'll be struggling to do it again as the champs age and St Kilda well placed to go well in 2010. Hope to see a couple more years for Matty Scarlett and Cam Mooney. I think the Sts will take home a ton of lessons from Saturday, including that being the best only counts if you split the big white posts no matter what. No misses from set shots!!! Some of those players like Milne will sting over this for a year until they get a chance to make amends.

Glad you had a nice weekend in Melbourne - we've had a couple of nice individual days - went for a big drive into the country to see wildflowers and try and get some drier air into our lungs after being so sick for so long. Had a lovely day with hubby. Yesterday we went on a bush picnic with a few friends nearer Perth, also nice but a bit cooler. Both of us are slowly coming "up". Husband now has residual asthma problems, but the flu seems to have finally departed with all its complications. Mine is pretty much gone too thankfully. Both of us feel tired and weak, but getting a bit more sleep and hanging in there. Holidays are great! We'll work a fair bit this week but at least it's possible to CATCH UP with the piles because no new work arrives! Next week we're hoping to do a big loop through the northern goldfields - somewhere isolated, very dry and warm to keep our lungs on the mend.

Have a great week!
 
Hello friends, Thanks every one who are sharing most useful information. It's really interesting. Seriously i used it. It's very good.
 
Sorry that the game didnt give you the score that you would have liked - but it certainly gave you some fun experiences that will stay long in your memory.

You certainly made some good food choices over the weekend (plus a little well-chosen latitude which you clearly enjoyed). I would have allowed myself a little latitude on food over a special weekend such as that too - and am not surprised to hear that you are being punished at the scales for it... That happens to me too (every time!!!!) I always think - no wonder I gained all that weight when I wasnt of the mindset that I had to check for a gain and deal with it every time I had eaten like that (or worse).

Those 2kg will be off in no time - a lot of them may well be from sodium. We are not used to eating the kind of food that restaurants use or their fatty styles of cooking. We are weight aware whenever we cook anything. You will be very soon back to the 0.5kg above range that you were last week and then down to your zone.

I am floating above my zone myself at the minute.......
 
Niyah- I read your post last night & didn't comment at the time as I thought what I felt like saying might embarrass you. I'll say it anyway.
I really like you.
You always say the right thing at the right time. I'm sure you & I would get on very well in "real life." I am so glad that you & your husband are getting better & also that you got to spend some quality time away from your work. I honestly don't know how you cope with everything. I guess we usually do what we have to do. Hopefully Spring will see the germs zapped & your immune systems building up some resistance.xo Cate
Omega- Thanks for your visit once again. I am not worried at all about the gain as that is what maintenance is all about. Making choices & adjusting. Already down .5kg this morning. I am not sure if I will join you over in the maintenance club as I think I would be spreading myself a bit thin by spending too much time out of the Cohen's section. By saying that I do worry that newbies may think I am actually on the original part of my weight-loss journey & follow what I am doing. I wish there was a totally separate section for maintenance with a section for maintenance diaries like there is in some other forums. It is then not so confusing. I'll think about it. I am so in the habit of typing every day in my diary that I don't want to stop.
Today-
Picking my MIL up & taking her to the doctor's. She told me the other day that she has a medical problem, which I won't go into here & made me promise not to tell my LH or his sisters so that they wouldn't worry unnecessarily. Good on her! She said she would tell them if she needs to. I have a feeling she may have cervical or ovarian cancer by the sound of it. She is almost 86 & never been unwell. I don't know if she was testing me or not but it's unfair to tell me & then not let me tell my husband who is her son. She shouldn't have put me in that position. My loyalties will always lie with him.
Tai Chi at 12-1, then hair cut at 2pm.
Exercise yesterday-
I got lots done yesterday. I washed & vacuumed the car as warm up, then did 2 sets of weights with my 2kg weights & didn't have any trouble. In fact it was the easiest so far. It's funny but I really struggled with the 4kg weights but managed them. Perhaps I should add my wrist weights now. I'll wait until I have seen the EP on the 14th. Perhaps I should start doing another set instead.
I'm hoping to catch up with our YS before he flies to SA on Thu. I hope I catch him in London. He's in Trieste for a few days. I'll try ringing on Wed night. He has been away almost 6 months & is not due back until just before Christmas.
Size-
Although I am currently 5kg above my lowest weight I don't feel like it or look like it. Everyone is telling me how good I look & asking me if I am still losing. I think the weights & exercise I am doing has really firmed me up & I can see & feel muscles that I didn't know I had. When I lose this 5kg again I should be more shapely I think than I was initially after just finishing Cohen's. I found that I got around Melbourne much easier. I can walk much faster, go up stairs easily & have a lot more stamina & strength.
I think if I was just starting out on Cohen's I would include a gentle walk, perhaps just after my evening meal if possible & would start doing weights the moment I got to goal. You do keep shrinking even when you finish Cohen's & this would have helped me firm up then. I'm glad that I am doing it now though. I don't think it's too late. If I was much younger & also lived in a warm climate, I would probably think about getting rid of my little "apron" as I don't think that will go on it's own. It's not too bad & is much better than the big fat stomach that was once there. I loathe all the emphasis on surgery these days & the obsession with "being perfect." I like being shaped as a woman. I feel much more feminine these days than I ever have in my life. I am wearing clothes that are more fitted & it feels good. I also love the 50's!! Best time of my life!
I had better go do the dishes though as I had better get moving.
Cheers for now, cate.
 
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