A return to happy

I just read a blog post by Danita about how happy she is to be losing weight and realised that I haven't really updated the blog on my own weight loss. I got told I had gallstones after a weekend of terrible pain and fever. I was given the option of a trip to hospital and immediate surgery or go home and try to move the stones with a lot of "flushing" (ie: drinking water until it makes you sick basically, then drinking more water, on and on) knowing that once the fever was gone I would have to stick to a very strict diet forever pretty much.

I chose the latter route. I am not keen on the idea of surgery at all (who is?), but knew I would have no choice if the flushing didn't work within 24 hours. Thankfully it worked after about 8/9 more hours of fever and pain. Since then I have stuck to this diet religiously, a miracle, for someone who has never been able to stick to a diet before! I can't eat nuts, any drink which is carbonated,onions, cauli/broccoli or anything with over 5% fat content, other than that there are no restrictions. Go and take a look in your fridge and kitchen cupboards to realise just how restrictive that is! Once you get used to it though, it's easy.

I have had to be careful not to bulk up on sugar and salt though, because your body knows something is missing from it's usual routine and tries to compensate with something else "bad". Apart from the odd rumbly stomach on days when I have maybe eaten a little too much fat, I have been fine. I feel healthier and brighter and generally much happier in myself. The weight has been dropping away steadily and I have gotten so used to it that I forget to check the scales anymore.

I was 13 stone and 10lbs when I started this in May and now I weigh 12 stone, which is pretty impressive in only 3 months. I have even stopped being quite so camera shy, as the photo of me on my avatar proves! I still have another stone to drop before I get to a weight were I put no extra pressure on my joints and a further stone before I get back to my pre-arthritis weight, but, I know I will get there ;o)