Welcome 2013 and #ThinThursday

Hello my darlings!

hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that 2013 is going well for you so far! Apologies for going missing for December – part of the reason for that ties in to my #ThinThursday post and the rest was mainly work and general Christmas mania! Did ye miss me? I missed ye!

Now, on with the show!

#ThinThursday is a tag/linked blog post that a few of us on Twitter are engaging with in an effort to support each other in weightloss. We’re being co-ordinated by @raragiggles. If you use Twitter check out the hashtag each Thursday and I’m sure you will find some wonderful posts if it’s something you are interested in.

This is a group of us trying to feel healthier and not about anyone being the ‘wrong’ size! Some only have one or two lb to lose, some (like me!) have a lot more. Some are doing it to fit into outfits for special occasions, some are doing it for health and self-esteem reasons – the reasons are as varied as we ourselves are and we all just want to support each other and anyone else who wants to join us on the journey! We’re not following any particular plan so each blogger will be letting you know what they are doing, whats working and what isn’t, where we are succeeding and even where we are failing!

You can check out some of the other bloggers involved:

@RaraGiggles: http://raragiggle.blogspot.ie/
@Audrey_OReilly: http://nail-affair.blogspot.ie/
@Adoreabubbles: http://adoreabubbles.blogspot.ie/
@TarMarz: http://tarmartales.com/
@Shannairl: http://miss-greeneyes.blogspot.ie/
@madamesmadeup: http://www.madamesmadeup.blogspot.ie/
@Lisa_san: http://scatterbrainedblogging.blogspot.ie/
@Lorrrrrrrrraine
@scarie
@HappyBubbleGal: http://happybubblegal.blogspot.ie/

And now for the difficult bit – why have I chosen to do #ThinThursday?

For one thing, I have always struggled with my weight. I don’t remember a January that I haven’t resolved that this is going to be the year that I would lose it all! The main thing for me this time around however is a necessity to lose weight for very real reasons! In August 2012 I got a massive wake-up call when I was diagnosed as being Type 2 diabetic. I had gone through about a year of feeling run down and blaming it on everything but the fact that I was obese and this was the outcome. There is other health stuff too but the reality is that I am in a vicious circle where the doctors have said that they don’t know if the health stuff is because of the weight, or the weight is because of the health stuff. The end result, regardless, is that the weight has to go!

Since being diagnosed as diabetic I have been watching what I eat and trying to exercise more. The side effects of the tablets and generally adjusting to this new life have been extensive and exhausting (hence my absence in December!). I have felt helpless, hopeless and at times it has gotten me completely down. At other times I have felt on top of the world and resolutely determined that I am going to reclaim my life and my health. I’m too young to give up on myself yet! 😉

So here I am, five months into my new life and still learning everyday. I make mistakes, I fall down, but I get back up and start again! I’ve lost approximately 20lb since the start of my journey which is great and have dropped about a dress size. It’s slow progress, but it’s progress all the same. I didn’t gain the weight in a day, so I won’t lose it in a day (unfortunately!).

My aims short term are:

• Lose 2 stone by mid-May for a family event
• Reduce my cholesterol levels
• Learn new recipes for lunches and snacks as these are what I struggle the most with.

I’m really hoping that the #ThinThursday posts will give me the motivation and support that is invaluable and I will continue to keep ye updated although I may not get to post every week about it!

Is there anything in particular you would like to hear about? If so, please let me know in the comments!

Positive thoughts going out to all of you joining in – whether you are posting or just reading! we can do it!!