The Curvy Goddess

34 Stone Teenager - Catch Up

Last year there was loads of controversy over a programme which looked at the life of the 34 stone teenager, Bethany Walton...

Found this article on the guardian website about Bethany's progress since then.  Very refreshingly it is quite scathing of the press surrounding Bethany at the time.  Inspiring stuff, but sad too - I really hope that Bethany has a better future.

However this quote from Bethany made me laugh:

"I feel that I can do things now. I can wear more clothes, although I'm struggling at the moment, because most of the fashions are just a long top with leggings, aren't they?"

So dieters out their everywhere remember that fashion is out to get you because as soon as you lose weight crap clothes will be 'in'.

I say - burn:

• Tunic Tops
• Leggings
• Smock tops and dress
• Designers who thought these were great fashion ideas!  Ooops maybe that is a bit harsh?  Nah...

Roll on the next season - please designers make decent clothes the slimmer me will love.

A Month Since I Last Posted - ARGH!!!

Apologies for my lack of posting, I can't believe that it has been over month since I last posted, it doesn't feel that long ago! Mainly because I do have a couple of draft posts about clothes lingering, they aren't quite polished or ready yet though.

Anyway time for a recap.

At present I now weigh 12 stone and 1 pound. March was another month of good intentions not amounting to much. I don't feel sad about it though, what I have discovered over the last couple of months of pissing about diet wise is that I am capable of maintaining my weight. The good weeks when I stick to the GI diet, I lose weight. The bad weeks where I stick to the GI diet 60% of the time, eat some calorific meals and eat one chocolate bar (we are talking a twirl here, not huge bars of the stuff) a day, I maintain my weight. That really is great to know, that I can essentially be a little naughty, eat tasty food and not gain weight.

But, and yes there is always a but, what I really need to do now is lose weight. I want to and need to be losing 1-2 pounds a week. Although I like being much lighter and I love all the supportive comments I have been given about my achievement to date. I am not happy with my body, I still have a big tummy, flabby arms and legs. My BMI is still in the obese range - I'm nearly at the 'overweight' stage but in terms of health, all of this is still not enough. I am almost a size 16, but still there are several shops that won't let me shop in them! I need to get real and most importantly I need to stick at dieting.

So this week I have again started dieting, in the strict sense of the word! I have filled my freezer with quorn and chicken. I will eat lots of soup. I have got quick and simple lunches so that I can't be tempted in the supermarkets to buy more than a sandwich. I think I will also reread the GI Diet book to re-familiarise myself with its principles. I'll deal with giving up sugar again (for the millionth time!). Most of all I must start to lose weight every week, no matter what amount so that I can move closer to my goal, it is still some distance away, but I must at the very least be headed for it.

Nine stone me here I come.

I've lost half a foot...

Yesterday my boyfriend told me with much glee that I had lost over half a foot off my waist.

It seems that another 1 and a half inches has disappeared from my waist, bring the total so far to 6 and a half inches.  My waist currently measures 35.5 inches, so I am now only half an inch away from a safe waist measurement, in terms of diabtes that is.

I am now quite intrigued as to what my final waist measurement will be when I eventually get to my target.

My current weight is 12.3...  Must carry on!

Sugar Free Heaven

At the weekend I finally got round to trying some sugar free Jam.

It tastes yum, I can't believe it has no sugar in it.

I may have finally found a way to ease the sugar cravings...

Breakfast may never be the same again.

Bluergh...

Been having a crappy week.

Have been constantly craving and occasionally eating shit food.  Feeling quite generally fed up and sick of dieting.  All I want to do is eat chocolate and big greasy chips.

I understand that dieting is not always a quick process.  It feels like it will never end right now.  Nothing seems to be able to motivate me, I just feel miserable about how hard this is.

But tomorrow is another day and next week another week.  Have organised playing badmington next week and been researching gym memberships.

Will go now and have a blueberry binge.

Spring 2007 Fashion = Yuck

At the weekend I was given a belated Christmas gift from my brother and his girlfriend of £15 to buy myself some new item of clothing.

I tried to spend the £15 over the weekend and came to the horrible realisation that I hate this seasons fashion trends, which in my opinion are not flattering for the plus size woman.  Smock dresses make me look as though I have just regained two stone.  Wearing baggy items with belts just makes my belly look bigger.  And it all looks so casual, I couldn't find anything pretty.

However on the bright side - whilst going from shop to shop I discovered that I can fit into sizes 14-16 which is quite exciting.  A whole new bunch of shops are about to open up to me!

As for the £15 - I have spotted several pretty items of clothing on ebay that I am tempted to get, but it really depends on how the auctions go...

Two Stone Gone

January was a crap month diet-wise.  Three pounds was all I managed to lose, however this week I tried something different.

I have been following the principles of the GI diet and calorie counting.  I felt that in terms of calorie counting that 1500 calories a day was a good amount to aim for and also realistic.  I joined up with Weight Loss Resources for their free three day trial and they confirmed that approx 1500 is good amount of calories to aim for each day if you would like to lose 2 pounds a week.

And ta da!  One week of following this plan I have lost two pounds and more importantly I now weigh 12.5 - which means I have lost two stone!  I feels like it has taken ages to shift this last stone, but I think I  now have a better method of dieting and I know that I really need to do more exercise than just walking everywhere...

Glad that first two stone are out of the way, from here onwards this is new territory - in my adult life the lightest I have ever known myself to be is 12.7.  I wonder what the 11's feel like? :-)

Curvety

How rude of me!  I have for quite some time now had Curvety missing from my Best of British Links, they actually had to email and ask for a mention - I am so sorry!  Curvety I discovered a little while ago and did give them a wee mention here.  But just to say they that offer some lovely plus size clothing and lot of imported American lovelies too!  So if you want IGIGI, B&Lu or Kiyonna clothing but don't want to worry about the import charges etc, Curvety is the place to shop.  Myself I quite fancy this, looks lovely and only £12!  And they have fab site - very user friendly and pretty!  And they keep ahead of the issues that might interest a plus size woman...

It Sucks Being Female...

...It ain't just hard being a woman, it is fucking irritating!  Last week I was most pissed off by this piece, in the Comment is Free Section of the Guardian website, written by Zoe Williams.  Ms Williams thinks all women who worry about their weight are "vain and stupid".

Sure I'll admit that weight loss, dieting and body shape hardly require Mensa membership to grasp, but am I really stupid for losing weight to improve my health?  I don't think so bitch.  I'll take living longer thanks.

Upon reading the article at first I thought oh she's got this piece all wrong, she shouldn't be dissing overweight, intelligent women for losing weight, but instead slating all this focus on becoming size zero.

That got me thinking - is the average sized woman really stupid for being concerned about her weight?  After all you'd have to have a brain made of steel not to notice all the images, magazines, newspapers, clothes shops and general attitude of other women about body shape.  Today women can have it all, but must also remain beautiful and thin.  Rarely it seems that intelligence is something to be sought after.  But to say women are stupid for being affected by all this is just naive.  Worst of all, this mentality is impossible to shake off because it seems to me that this desire to be thin is being perpetrated by women, we are body fascists.

However where does health fit into all of this?  And vice versa.  This is a complex issue and it is hard to draw a line between being healthy and some fucked up desire to be a size zero, whatever that is. 

So Zoe no woman is stupid for being concerned about her weight, we are just the biggest victims in society's current examination of body shape and we don't need another woman slating us.  You can fuck off.

Relived

Today I went back to see my doctor, who had been very unhelpful and had upset me six months back. 

Whilst I was waiting to see him, my heart was pounding and I was really scared.

Fortunately though as doctor he did give me the chance to say what I needed and what I had done since my last visit. 

Upon my saying that I had lost two stone, I was told 'well done' several times and I was given a new prescription for the pill, no problem.  He must be a very pessimistic chap, as he proceeded to warn me that upon reaching a healthy weight, I would have difficultly maintaining my weight and that I would always need to be careful.

Well at least this visit was much more pleasant than the last one.  And who knows maybe next time I visit, I might even be at a 'healthy weight'...