Nearly a fire extinguisher

I was clearly an unpopular visitor to the post office.

People welcomed by others in the queue are the types who want a book of stamps or to quickly draw money out of their post office savings account.

People like me with a huge bag full of eBay parcels are not the kind of patron that anyone likes and I could hear the sighing, huffing and puffing in the line behind me. It took me two hours to wrap my parcels last night and not an inconsiderable amount of time to pass them through the little window to be weighed and measured today.

It’s worth it though as eBay is paying for my grocery shopping this week – and the stack of games I’d sold would keep me in cherry tomatoes and quark for another 7 days. All I had to do was get this out of the way and then it was time for Slimming World.

I headed to the car as soon as I’d secured proof of posting and then back to the infant school down the road from me where all the hateful little red £$%&*@ chairs are.

Sometimes, even when I’m doing well I still find my mood is low (as I mentioned in yesterday’s post) and this morning if anything I felt even lower. I’m not sure I could tell you why if I tried to, but when I arrived I sat in the car for 10 minutes just listening to music and trying to perk up.

I don’t like being miserable around people if I can help it.

So, I went in and said hello to everyone as usual – and tried to smile as much as I could. Often I find simply the act of trying to make others grin can make me feel better – and thankfully today it was working.

When I awoke I didn’t feel lighter, but I did feel more agile/energetic. I can tell lately that I’m moving quicker and it’s a pleasing sensation.

Last night though I tried on my 7x shirts. Three of them are wearable – but the rest are off limits, meaning I’m still annoyingly wearing things I want to give to charity ASAP.

The other 7x’s fit until I sit down and then they tug across my stomach, which isn’t an appealing look – unless I happen to blunder into a room full of people who are drawn to the sight of a naked belly button.

It’s annoying me that with all I’ve lost I’ve barely scraped into another shirt size. It’s pretty clear that an 8x (the end of the line for all fatties – after that you’re wearing a tent or having things made for you) hides a LOT.

Because of this I always expect to stand on the scales and hear bad news. This week thankfully I didn’t.

I’d lost another 6.5lbs and picked up my 4.5 stone award.

I now have 2.5lbs to go and I’ve lost the full sized fire extinguisher from this previous post. When I wrote that blog it seemed like miles away but now it’s within touching distance – and that’s a great feeling.

For my European readers I’ve now lost 30kg. 

Honestly though it’s not quite as great as seeing another member get rid of Ulrik the cat, the 2 stone monster moggie that was the largest purdy tat in the uk last year.

I was so happy for her that I stood up and hugged her as soon as she told me (strangely she doesn’t seem like she could have at any time hidden Ulrik in her leggings – but the human body is an amazing thing) and in truth her success actually meant more to me than my own loss.

Another lady sitting near me lost a 3 stone giant cod this week and was rightly proud of herself. She too looked like it was inconceivable she could conceal this monster about her person, but somehow it happened!

Thankfully it was slippery and escaped.

Someone also said to me today in passing that they wanted to come along and see how I’d done and it struck me that to a greater or lesser extent (despite our own fears and shortcomings) that our little group seem to be gradually willing eachother forward bit by bit almost as much as we’re pushing ourselves.

It’s fantastic to see.

Not only is this hugely uplifting but they can make me belly laugh as well, especially the delightfully outgoing lady who is organising dancing walks in the park in September.

Yep. Dancing walks. 

She demonstrated this in the group with some funk music on her iPad to much good spirited laughter – but it was clear that she intended to suck the pips out of keeping healthy and consume every last drop of positive energy from the activity that she could before exuberantly exuding it for everyone else to lap up.

I like the cut of her jib (and the funk of her soul brother) although I’m not sure I’m ready for dancing in the park JUST yet!

Others were attending pole dancing classes deep in the countryside, (apparently a bruising experience!) riding their bikes for epic distances or still doing their garden archery (how cool are bows and arrows?!).

The approaches to keeping fit are many and varied – making my walking seem very mundane in comparison! I think I’m going to have to start figure skating or launching myself from a cannon in the back yard just to keep up with them!

I just love the energy of my group – and I NEVER FAIL to leave feeling better than when I walked in. This was a good thing as I was off immediately afterwards to meet my brother in the Fat Birds Cafe (remember this post?) for a cup of earl grey, which feel I must drink with my pinkie finger extended.

It’s what all the cool people do.

I parked outside of town, strolled in and arrived early and in good spirits. We sat and enjoyed a drink and a chat (he also ate some disgustingly nice looking crumpets) before walking around Leamington for a while. Although we see each other a lot this is something we’ve not really done together for a LONG time, which is really good for the soul.

Years ago we used to browse the computer fayre at the Motorcycle Museum on Saturdays for hours until we could stand no more and went home with our techno trinkets. The heavier I got the less we did it, until one day we didn’t do it at all.

This is just one more example of how my life and relationships have slowly constricted until there was barely anything left.

Things are changing for the better in so many ways, and not just for me. People are getting married, getting new jobs, recovering from health issues, becoming sociable and just simply sharing slow cooker tips.

There seems to be no end to it today.

As I left my brother and walked back to my car I passed the garden archer with her friend and waved, smiling. We were both out and about – enjoying the world.

Afterwards I came home and made myself an SP (speed food and protein) salad. I fancied loads of meat and only a hearty bowl of veg and pork would do. I dressed it with cider vinegar and wholegrain mustard.

It was flipping lovely.

So Internet – it’s not been a bad day at all. Later I’ll go for a walk in the park I think, just to top it off.

Six short months ago on a Saturday morning I’d have had a hangover from Friday or be already working hard on making a fresh one one for Sunday. I’d have a bin full of pie wrappers and trousers full of straining stomach.

While I still have a big stomach that’s no longer my life. Walking is. Walking with friends and family. Walking and sharing experiences with as many people as I can.

And that’s good. Very good. Very good indeed.

Davey