(There) and back again!

Hi guys,

Sorry I've been a bit AWOL for a while - life fell on top of me a bit, I lost my beloved Mieke (Irish Setter) of 14 years (a huge ray of sunshine in my life!) and then my grandma a few weeks later. Then uni got more hectic. And i wallowed in despair again.

the good news is, that it allowed me to take a break again from 'weight loss'. My weight went up about 2 kilograms, but I'm exactly the same size as before so I can happily and truthfully attribute that to gaining back my normal fluid again. And all this I've done by eating whatever I want, when i want - with (in ALL honesty!) not a single restriction!!! So my metabolism seems to be working quite happily again :). When I feel ready, over the next few months I hope to tackle those last few stubborn 5 kilograms and get to that nice, healthy 60kg that i've been dreaming of since I was last 60 kilograms! But gone are the days of stopping a diet and watching your weight escalate to more than before. Can you believe it??? I surely can't! It's far too good to be true!

With all thats gone on over the last few months, and my depression and social isolation slowly getting worse - I regret to say that I started being more and more absent from uni and my concentration was out the window... and so I had to take the rest of this term off uni. I'm going to be doing this term again next year in summer semester, and using the rest of this term to try a new anti-depressant medication, and eventually get some CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy - psychotherapy training me to prevent depression relapse, and positive thinking. It sounds very waffly, but there is good evidence to suggest it can be extremely effective!) to help me out of this - so I can start being (once again) the motivated, enthusiastic med-student that I know is hidden in me somewhere!

Tips that helped me keep the weight off while taking 'weight loss holidays':

- don't think too hard about food or what you are eating or worry too much. If you eat too much, don't punish yourself - allow your body to subconsciously sort it out...!

- still try to get some exercise. Most days I've been trying to get between 8000-10000 steps a day on my pedometer, i just mindlessly put it on in the morning and mindlessly take it off at night as a part of my normal routine. Some days i get only 5000 (bad me!) but others i get 15000 so it works out to have a good average.

- keep up the water intake!

- even if you are bingeing on chips and chocolate, still try to fit in your 5 serves of veg and 2 serves of fruit. Try to get 3 serves of calcium (dairy), and try to keep up your omega-3's (linseeds, salmon/tuna). But whatever you eat outside of that, is up to you! By getting those nutrients in, you're helping your body realise it isn't starving, and help regulate your metabolism (and energy and hunger levels) to burn off extra calories that you may (or may not) be eating!

- a couple of times, yes, i ate well past overfull - but i didn't stress about it, and let my body sort it out by just trying to get on with life (tried to forget about it) and eating when i was hungry later on. But just try not to make yourself really overfull for a few days in a row, if you can, as this will play havoc with your response to insulin and leptin (hormones that give you energy and help burn fat)

Anyway, I Better go clean my very messy room.

Nikki