Yo - Yo Weight

The news, current affairs programs, reality TV shows and those most annoying marketing shows continuously have stories on weight loss.  It's an epidemic of overload do's and don'ts.
It's got to a point you might as well just ignore whatever they say because tomorrow there will be another supposed easy solution for weight loss.
In 2012 it took me over 12 months to lose 18 kilos.  I was ecstatic when I finally found my hip bones!   I soon put back on 5 kilos but I was comfortable with my weight.  Since selling the house in January and moving I've put on an extra 5 kilos which is no friend of mine, it has to go!  With the arrival of Spring it is easier to eat salads and less filling foods, I feel I'm finally making headways but I know it won't be an easy journey. I travelled that road before...
Mel has been on her Weight Watchers journey since May and her journey is that of any inspiring yo-yoer.  "I have lost weight,"  she cries,  I remind her she is losing only what she put on last week.
Yesterday I decided I better check her food diary only to find her pro-points aren't matching the foods she is listing.  She ate a whole pack of Allens Party Lollies and a chocolate caramello bear.  She had recorded the points for the lollies as 3 points which is one serve but there are nine serves in the pack.  I searched the Allen's website for the information.  Ooops from 3 points to 27 points. I'm hoping that's a wake up call for her.  I have vowed to go through each day with her and we will  add the points together.  Her daily limit is 35 points, yesterday she ate over 89 points and wondered why her weight increased.
Eating out is difficult when watching the calories.  You either decide to say, "what the hell," and eat whatever you want or calculate the calories, fat and sugar contents.  I despair at the so called healthy cafes which list the calories (kilojoules) of their menu items.  They sound like scrumptious meals but most of them have 500-700 calories for a lunch dish.  Mel and I often chose to share a meal, thus halving the calories.  Last week we had calamari and salad, it was a big serve and filled us both.
We've begun measuring her again, every couple of weeks and it's now beginning to show a difference.  Mel is smiling once again,

Sharing 2 huge meals, we should have just bought one!

A Different Group of Friends

Mel spends hours texting her friends in Midland.  They send back messages.  She wants to know what they are doing.  I'm sure she feels she is missed.  In Midland she would walk through the shopping centre and greet not just one or two people she knew but a crowd of people!  I'm sure she misses that.
It's been six months this Sunday since we left the suburbs and moved south.  I have no regrets.
Mel has left a community group she joined here a few months ago.  They didn't connect together as she had hoped.  I believe in the saying, 'When one door closes another opens.'  We put our heads together and worked out a list of places and things she could do instead.  She now joins an art group every second week and the the alternative week joins a lunch group.  This has opened up a greater group  for her to meet and build relationships.  These groups have created a contact for her to join a Saturday morning group and another lunch group on the alternative Wednesday.  I must say I'm pleased.
My sister recently arranged to meet people she hadn't seen for awhile.  She said it was good to spend time with a different group of people.  We so often socialise within our own family and close friends boundaries and don't take that extra step.  It can make us feel so vulnerable.  What if they don't like me?  What if they find me boring?  Can they understand my reasoning or humour? What if I find them boring?  The list goes on,
Since we moved I also text my friends from before but not so often.  I have put myself  'in the firing line' by attending the community dinners, lunches with a group at local restaurants, even the 'busy bee' group raking leaves and other mundane chores at the resort.  The resort is open to all homeowners in our small housing estate.  It is community.  I'm glad to be part of it.