Fanny Adams

I adore Spring. Just love the beautiful clear mild sunny days in the middle of all that green - doesn't last long enough though! The wildflower season was spectacular this year! I really love April - Jun too. Can't really call it Autumn because we don't have any deciduous trees and not even many planted in the city (unlike say, Melbourne). Our summers are hot and dry, so I can cope with those. It's humidity that kills me. You're in Queensland, aren't you, She? I lived there for a couple of years and the humidity in Brisbane was dire... I'm working in the Kimberley now and was working in Arnhem Land (Gove, NT) a year or two back, so I've really had to come to terms with stinking hot and wet . It's always nice to come home to Perth between swings and even our hottest heat doesn't bother me now, because at least it is dry.

Yes, unfortunately there is a LOT of prejudice in Aus. In the cities especially, whites rarely mix with blacks and it would be extremely unacceptable in most families for a white girl to date an Aboriginal guy. In country towns and the outback, there is a mix of either extreme prejudice (worse than the cities where the whites at least pretend not to be racist, in country towns they don't bother to hide it) or good relations and mixing (mostly where the whites are really into hunting, fishing or living in the outback, etc). Our historical record is almost as bad as South Africa's for our treatment of them and there are still enormous problems with health, education and welfare. There are towns in the outback that don't look much different to the Third World, to our shame. As a nation, we are desperately trying to find solutions and throw a lot of money at it, but it hasn't seemed to help much. Improvements are slow but hopefully progress is being made as the governments and agencies are getting more into the idea of actually letting the Aboriginal people themselves help in deciding what type of help they need and how it should be administered. The word "Aborigine" or "Aboriginal" is still quite PC, although using their tribal names is even more acceptable. For example, the main tribal group in the lower South West of West Aus is the Nyoongar people, and that's an acceptable description. Strangely enough "blackfella/whitefella" is also very PC by both whites and blacks - it is the term they use themselves and no great stigma is attached. The totally non-PC insults include words like "boongs", "coons" and "Abo's" (not sure why "Abo's" is an insult but "Aborigine" is not, but that's how it is).

I'm not she but answering anyway coz us Aussies all look alike, don't we? It is mid-Spring here in Perth and the weather is really erratic - lots of lovely fine days, lots of cold wet windy days. It was 34C (93F) here last week but only 19C (66F) and raining yesterday. We always need the rain though, so can't complain...

Last weekend my family threw a big birthday party for my father's 70th birthday. I took my new beau along to meet people and everyone got on well, it was a great party. I hadn't seen many of the people there for quite a while, so for most of the night I was getting wonderful compliments and support from everyone (my family is GREAT like that!!). They were all "oh you look wonderful!", "You look fabulous!", "Well done!!", "Good on you!!", etc. That was fine and dandy, no problems, as I have told the beau about the surgery and that I was a big ol fatty this time last year. He's been really supportive and says he can see the determination in my eyes and that he totally admires someone who shows that they are willing to do what it takes to change life for the better. So far so good, eh? It all got just a little bit too much though, when my parent's next door neighbour came up to me at the end of the night, gushing over with "OMG, I didn't recognise you! What a difference!! I was looking all around the party and wondering where you were but someone had to tell me it was you!! You look SO different!!" GAH! I was squirming with embarrassment, with the beau standing next to me listening to this all. I mean, compliments are nice and all, but did she HAVE to make it quite so obvious just how huge and revolting I was before? *cringes*

Lachica, get the unfill!! Seriously! Just a tiny amount out can make all the difference. You should be able to eat salad. You shouldn't be PBing and sliming all the time. Having the band a little looser does mean you can eat more but it still gives you some measure of control over your appetite and if you eat healthy solid foods, you won't be "starving" all the time and making bad choices. You are far better off eating a larger meal of lean meats and salads than suffering the misery that you are having now. I have had one episode where a fill made me too tight and I was unable to eat solids, PBing all the time and generally uncomfortable and miserable. I SWEAR I will never let that happen again. It's a miserable way to live and it is NOT good for your long term health or the health of your band.

I met him on OKCupid. It's pretty good for a dating site, but like most, there's a lot of frogs out there before you find a prince. I think I've found mine!

*checks Inbox again* *sighs* :biggrin:

Having a "free" education system doesn't mean that it is a party for all while you're there. The ones without rich parents still have to work to support themselves and pay their rent, food, utilities, books, etc. It just puts it within the reach of more people, when struggling young adults aren't required to pay exhorbitant fees to get their education. Mind you, the right wing conservatives took away our free tertiary education system over 25 years ago, so I don't have much of a leg to stand on sadly. Nowadays, if you can't pay the fees up front, you have to file your tax number and you pay them off with your tax when you earn over a set amount per year.

He'd laugh - he's SO not the jealous type :biggrin: One of his many attractions!

*hugs* Thanks Plain... you're a sweetheart...

Let's just say that, for some inexplicable reason *whistles innocently*, there's only been one thing on my mind of late! :biggrin: And who said anything about SKIVVIES???

You can always test the waters by sending them to me first! I'll promise not to share!

Isn't he just?? I just don't believe that HE says I'M the sexiest woman he's ever met... the man is sex on legs!! *swoons again* God I want to go home NOW!!!

Oh and just coz I can't help myself...how HOT is this man?? Can you believe he turned 50 on Friday and those are recent pics? That smile is gonna kill me...*swoons*

That's a good start on the beefcake pics, Plain!! As for the rest... my Inbox NOW!! *taps foot* :biggrin:

Well he used the word first!! And tells me he "can't wait till I'm home". I haven't felt anything like this in 25 years... I am soooo smitten... :w00t:

Posting just to post: Last day on site today! Flying home tonight and tomorrow I see my honey! YAY!!

Just posting to say that he officially referred to me as his girlfriend last night, when telling me that he has told his daughter about us! I think I'm IN!! :thumbup: :wink2:

Hang in there and have faith. We have all felt that feeling at about 2-3 weeks out and it is normal. Most people experience a slight regain or plateau at that time. There are many different explanations for this and I can't say for sure which is right (something from all of them?) but it doesn't matter. It is enough to know that you are not alone and that your losses WILL start to happen again, slowly. I think, in spite of what we tell ourselves in our heads, we all come out of the surgery with the secret hope that we will wake up and the weight will have just fallen off. It doesn't work that way. However, it DOES work in that the weight will slowly and steadily trickle away and the pounds will add up over time. You just have to be patient and stick to the game plan. None of us have come to this surgery without having tried and failed at many diets before. We all know the secret fear of "what if this doesn't work for me, like all the other things I've tried?" Have faith that, if you work with the band and don't sabotage yourself, it WILL work and those pounds can be gone forever.

I've always been told that the average is between 1 and 2lb per week. After almost 11 months and an almost 80lb loss (official weigh in next week), I am running at an average of 1.6lb per week, which is right in the middle of what I expected. I have allowed myself 2 years in total to get to goal, but I am expecting to be close to it within 18 months and for the last few pounds to be the hardest and take the longest. I seem to be on track for that. I used to weigh every day and I still do when I am at home. However, I am lucky in that I work 8 days away on a mine site, so can't weigh myself in that time. I really look forward to seeing a real change when I get home and have learned to be far less obsessive about the daily fluctuations when I am home. Also, I find that my weight goes down in close relation to my monthly cycle. For the week leading up to my ToM and during it, nothing I do shows up on the scale as a weight loss. I will often show a slight gain in this time. Then, a day or so after my ToM stops, my body lets go of all the Fluid it has been retaining and my loss for the last 2 weeks shows up in one big hit, often 2kg (4-5lb) at a time. For the next 2 weeks, I will show slow losses of around 1lb a week, then back to nothing and/or gains as the cycle completes. It works out at anywhere from 4 - 8lb a month, depending on how much I've been exercising and how well I've been eating.

Hi again, Tas and PerthGirl. What people can and can't eat differs widely but certainly not everyone can't eat red meat or rice/pasta. I can eat anything I want, in small portions, without any troubles at all. About the only thing I avoid completely is carbonated drinks, as they give me the burps really badly and it hurts. I still drink alcohol on occasion, but I am SUCH a cheap drunk these days that I have to be very careful. I had a VERY high tolerance before, so that's been quite a change - my drink of choice is scotch & Water with lots of ice, but wine would work for most people if they like it. In my opinion, the secret to success with the band is to NOT strive for total restriction. Keep the band loose and let it curb your appetite, don't try to make your hunger disappear entirely. We are meant to get a bit hungry around meal times, just not starving every minute of the day. When you do that, you can eat good solid healthy foods like lean steak and salad, which sit in your pouch and make you feel full for much longer. If you try to get too much restriction, you'll have problems with getting stuck and sliming all the time on solid foods, and will end up turning to soft, easy-to-eat high fat foods like icecream and chocolate. Those don't fill you up or stay in the pouch, so you end up still feeling hungry and snack more and more - it becomes a vicious cycle. Working with a looser band does require some will power. You still have to choose WHAT you put in your mouth. The band only limits how much of it you can eat, and it works best on limiting solid food, not soft foods or liquids. I have found that, because I am not feeling that "starving out of control" feeling all the time, I have enough will power left to make the right choices and say no to chips and cakes, etc. I never believed I'd hear myself say this but now it really doesn't bother me to turn these things down when offered. I don't turn them down every time, but I make it a very rare treat. I am even able to go to parties and not graze at the nibblies table all night - and that is a miracle!! Good luck for both of you! Try not to stress about it, take the sensible approach and let it happen. It might be slow but it does work!

Me too!! Stuck at work at 2:30pm on a Sunday afternoon and bored out of my mind. I've already put my head down on the desk for a little 15min nap but I still have the rest of the afternoon to struggle through *yawns*

Whoohoo She Smiles!! Good for you!

I was pleased and she thought she was being nice. I enjoyed all the compliments from my family too. There was just something about the WAY the neighbour said things that really rubbed in how bad I had looked before, and with the new man standing next to me, I wanted to crawl under a rock at times :thumbup: