Wednesday 2 December 2009

New Skirt and a hip update

On my charity shop browse last Saturday I spied a cute orange skirt for a fiver and thought I'd pop back on Monday to get it. It is a woollen M&S number of quite a few years ago and it is a UK size 10. I also found a £199 Dolce & Gabbana gold dress in TK Maxx for which I couldn't return to buy!
Back to the skirt - well I just about squeezed into it! It was a shocker as I realised my fat hip issue was really a fact that was here to stay unless I tackled it pronto. I engaged in public ritual humiliation by using a weighing machine that prints out your height, weight and body mass index. The one I choose actually said it out aloud. At 169 cms, 5 foot 6.5inches I'm officially 64kilos, 10 stone or 140lbs. According to my BMI I'm in the healthy range but nearer the borderline than I'd like to be. If I go by Edith Head's 1967 assessment of healthy weight ranges I should be 13lbs lighter at least!

Basically I've eaten and drunk like a good 'un during my MA and done little in terms of exercise. My hips are a frightening 38 inches where once they were 33 inches - opps. In fairness I will have a Master's degree and I have managed to work when I can, look after petit garcon and run a home. But it is time to stop the rot. I'm going to have to exercise a lot to get rid of the deposited fat and seriously pull a healthy balanced diet together that stops me from adding any more pounds.

Any top tips other than zipping my mouth!

29 comments:

  1. I used to weigh 8stone 2 (I am only 5foot) but that had crept up to 9 stone. It is just inthe healthy BMI range but I still feel overweight. Two weeks ago I started the one day on, one day off diet, upped my cardio at the gym and have lost six pounds.

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  2. i feel for you!! i used to weigh 75 kg at my largest. i'm 1,74m. now i weigh 61kg, so you could say that i lost 2 stone. in the space of 3 years... it just came off more or less naturally. i have tried every diet there is in this world and can't recommend any of them as the disadvantage of losing the weight quickly also means that you will be putting it back on faster. the easiest trick now is to cut down on sugar and eat regularly (small breakfast, big lunch, small dinner). this way i am now going down naturally, losing about 1 kg per month. good luck with it all! it's all about sticking to your body's natural eating pattern & you will go to your natural weight by not even dieting. (after all, we all know what's good for us and what isn't)

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  3. Pilates and riding. Can't recommend them highly enough. A healthy glow and a tiny waist - what more can any one ask for (except perhaps a Masters!)

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  4. Nice!

    P.S.: Check out my newer giveaway! (if U have a mood) Are you ready a winter party, Honey? :-D Enter!

    X♥X♥

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  5. I think your stats sound completely fine! I am 163cms, and weigh 61kgs - until about a month ago it was 64kg! I can understand that you want to get back to your old body though.

    If you want to loose weight through exercise, I highly recommend ashtanga yoga. Its a complete forms of exercise, it's got cardio, stretching and weight training all in one. I completely see why all the hollywood stars love it. Though I would do it alongside some other form of yoga (I do iyengar) that focuses more on technique, because ashtanga can be a bit light on that side of things.

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  6. Know the feeling, fat just sudddenly creeps up on you when you are least expecting it! My fat busting weapon is my Givenchy belt, I bought it when I was at my ideal weight (there is no moving it down a notch) so I know when it doesn't fasten up I have to cut down on junk, start eating real food and get my ass to the gym. Also don't forget if your skirt is vintage its going to me miles smaller than a modern size 10 xx

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  7. Give yourself a break, remember you had a kid too!! But I know what you're saying, I'm old enough to notice a drop in my metabolism and it sucks, especially since I need to be skinny for my job! I try not eat carbs (or at least any kind of starches) after 12pm, which usually works pretty well. *sigh*...

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  8. You know how I feel on this subject ... I am still fighting my battle . I think you have to see it as no quick fix and a long road of life changing habits. But also that skirt maybe just small !
    I weighed less than ever after two boys but yet I will never have the same waist as before .. bones move in pregnancy and things dont always go back as before x

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  9. hey ! don't beat yourself up about it - you've written a great post anyway

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  10. Small Fabric - good tip, I do agree upping cardio is required and I can't diet but hopefully I don't need the stress fuelling I've been prone to now dissertation is done.

    doraetlabora - I'm thinking a steady approach is the right way. I've just got in to bad habits and been a bit of a sloth. Thank you for your advice.

    The Pinapple Tart - yes pilates and I do like a horse ride. Must take petit garcon soon.

    janetaylor - will check out your giveaway!

    Oranges and Apples - I've gone and got stress cortisol fat so it really does deposit hard and fast. I used to do Iyengar yoga all the time and I've tried Ashtanga but loathed it. Hard cardio will help rid the fat and no wine!

    Pearl Westwood - that would be nice to think but nope just pure fat! The skirt will be my benchmark now, not as glam as having a Givenchy belt!

    Couture Cookie - thank you. I'm never harsh on myself but I do like to remain trim! I'm not eating after 6pm and no wine so fingers crossed!

    Wilderness Chic - well you've been a true inspiration. I've got Mr MDS delivering me hot lemon water before he skips out of the door in the morning now.

    Elise - I won't beat myself up, I'll just go a few rounds with the punch bag in the gym x

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  11. Love the skirt, great shape and colour. xxx

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  12. oh, that's a shame, I feel quite evangelical about ashtanga, and i always want everyone to love it too! Good luck with the cardio!

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  13. Well, I think you look amazing, but if you do want to lose weight, my only tip would be making sure you're always aware of how much you're eating. A little snack here or there, plus meals and drinks if you like the sugary coffee ones (like me!) or sodas, can really add up over the course of the day. I usually try not to snack, and to eat plain food (hello oatmeal!) for breakfast and lunch. Then I usually have what I want for dinner (within reason). It all seems to keep me fairly steady. Anyway, good luck! I'm glad you'll get your MA, too! Congrats!

    xx

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  14. You look great. As long as you are healthy then you should do what makes you happy. : ) xoxo

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  15. I'm also an advocate of not eating after 6:00 pm. And I always have Greek yogurt, blueberries, and granola for lunch, which is surprisingly hearty and filling. And when it's not the holiday season, I avoid desserts (I can never have only one).

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  16. Well, I think you have a lovely figure and that skirt is just annoyingly small! I do have some tips to share, though - I weighed 67kg at the start of last year and have got down to 55kg over eighteen months, so I've been there. Not all of these will work for/appeal to you, but this is what I did:

    1) Cut out all bread and baked goods (this actually made me feel amazing, I think bread was bad for me)
    2) Bought a little bowl that represented a good portion size and measured all my meals into it before I put them on the plate to be sure they were a good size
    3) I don't drink Coke or fizzy drinks anyway, as a rule, but I cut them out entirely
    4) Kept lots of healthy snacks in the house and stopped buying unhealthy things - so the temptation wasn't there. :)
    5) Started doing 20 minutes of exercise in the morning and evening
    6) Avoided desserts
    7) Cut down on pasta and rice - still had it, but in smaller portions
    8) Drank lots of water - helps with feeling full more quickly
    9) Walked places instead of driving where possible
    10) Allowed myself a few glasses of white wine and some dark chocolate every week, so I didn't go mad. ;)

    A xx

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  17. what a beautiful shade of skirt!!! and how we are all struggling to keep fit amongst all the crazy schedules!!! i wish you best of luck :-) xx

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  18. Seriously, that skirt is small! And you are of lovely proportions as you are - not that I'm trying to derail you from your goal of getting back to whence you came.

    38 inch hips are not fat in the least. And at your height, you are a really healthy weight.

    I'm sure you will be as gorgeous as you shave the pounds that upset you. I am rooting for your success!

    (And congrats on sitting on your bum for the betterment of your mind and your long term earning potential) :-)

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  19. My recommendations:

    1) Exercise every day.
    2) If you can't cut out something like, say, Cadbury, cut out all healthy calories in order to keep your Cadbury consumption high. What?!? It works for me!

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  20. Hi there-really hope you can get to grips with this, I've ignored the scales, I'm sure at my peril! I love this skirt, a gorgeous addition for the winter wardrobe my dear!

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  21. I sympathise because I have put on weight over the last couple of years following a considerable weight loss several years ago which I managed to maintain. This in spite of daily workouts. I think the culprit is stress. I'm agoraphobic and have a part time job that I can just about deal with but a succession of "difficult" colleagues has led to my comfort eating the rubbish I used to avoid after particularly bad days. Can't do anything about the job but I am trying to drink more water when I get the munchies, plan my food intake as much as I can and make sure that there is only the good stuff available if a snack attack does hit. You might want to consider keeping a food diary that also takes account of what you spend on food each day. Sounds obsessive but it can help because what you've spent on lattes and (in my case) bagels could have been saved for clothes!

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  22. You look great in all the pics you post up, but I know that when clothes feel tight it's annoying.

    I've lost just over 3 and half stone in the last year after putting it all on over the last 6 years. I've done it the old-fashioned way - I've cut out nothing and just have everything in moderation, but have started exercising a lot! You wanted my workout well here it is... (I worked up to this mind - I couldn't run 2 miles when I first got back into it!)

    Monday - 6 mile run and an hour in the gym on free weight and doing mat work (sit ups press ups etc...

    Tuesday - Step and tone class followed by Body Pump class

    Weds - (rest day) so an hour pilates matwork class

    Thurs - Body pump class followed by 45 min spin class

    Friday - Same as Monday or a 6 mile run on the seafront (which is a good start to the weekend)

    And not a scrap of exercise on the weekend!

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  23. You have a fab body, give me curvy over skinny any day. The skirt does look tiny, though.

    And for once don't listen to Edith Head for weight advice! xxx

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  24. You are fab my dear and nowhere near fat! 33inches on the hips is way too small and 38 inches is nowhere near fat.

    But you've heard all this and I can understand that if you feel fat, you feel fat. Cycling worked a treat for me. Lost a stone in the past year on that alone and still eating EVERYTHING! And a money saver too.

    Also rememeber that we "older" gals need to not lose too much weight or our faces end up looking haggard. No one wants that. But seriously lady, you're gorgeous. Give yourself a break. Dx

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  25. You and I have the same little decision to make...stop the rot, zip the lip and loose those lbs. Boring though.....xv

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  26. WendyB has the best recommendation so far! Just kidding (but I do tend to do that from time to time-oops)!
    I eat all my carbs before noon, followed by salad and fruit for lunch, and salad, a protein, and fruit for dinner. So boring, I know, but in the last thirteen years I've only gained 5 lbs.

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  27. darling in my opinion the stats sound perfectly to me hun,if you do try to lose weight I wish you the best honey bu think you look gorgeous as you are sweetie
    xx
    marian

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  28. Broccoli! Brussels sprouts! Bigger skirts!

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