peppa

yes I would have left last month, and as a tourist I am definitely leaving in just a couple of days, you guys can have this place I was overall not impressed by the three cities I visited. (Phuket Town, Patong and Chiang Mai)

Why? What was the main problem? I'm interested, as a tourist I like to get feed back from other travellers, if they see a problem with certain areas.

I would still come over, just not to Bangkok or the far south of the country. The curfew doesn't worry me, my day is well and truly finished by ten.

Thanks guys, you did give me heaps of useful information in that thread.

The hardest part of travelling with crook knees or back is the walking. I found it hard not to have to walk even though I booked my accommodation in the town centre or near restaurants/food outlets. And the trouble with travelling solo is sometimes tuk tuks won't take just one passenger, it's not worth their while, although lying in the tuk tuk and getting no fare at all does seem to be a strange way of doing business, but maybe a short trip isn't worth the petrol????

In Ao Nang I got a long tail boat around to Railay, most beautiful beach in the world, clear blue/aqua water, amazing cave and picture postcard scenery.....well! just like the pictures showed. I was a bit worried about climbing up onto the boat, the first step seemed fairly high, but I managed and the other tourists/locals were a great help, taking my bag for me. I managed to get off without incident, unlike the young bloke that fell in as we were getting off. Of course we all laughed, then I did the same thing when we got back to Ao Nang, head first into the drink....Karma!

I'm ok with walking if I take my time and have rests and luckily there always seems to be somewhere to sit and watch the goings on.

A tip for solo women.....I always take a little plastic door stopper, just for that extra security at night. I don't usually go out much at night or at least back safely in my room by nine. I met some other travellers in Chiang Mai and met them for tea, had a tall bottle of beer, tripped over on the crooked pavement and wrecked my hand lol!!! not sure if it was the beer, not used to alcohol or the bad night vision.

This next trip should be a breeze if I get the wheelchair at KL airport, fly to Surat Thani, stay there for two days then onto Samui, Phangan and a day trip to Tao. I will probably stay at Bophut and Lamai, both seem to have markets nearby.

Oh! another tip for women, I hope I don't sound alarmist, but I carry a little personal alarm that makes an extremely loud siren when the little tag is pulled.....I think it would scare off any would-be muggers.

Over the last three weeks I've put on almost a kilo, have buckled down and lost it now, but gee it's hard to get back into the routine once you break it day after day.

Feeling good now though, chocolate everywhere over Easter and I managed to abstain from it.

I'm getting some interesting places to visit this year courtesy of some of the comments.

Me too, it's always best to get it from the horses mouth, so to speak. I had Kata beach Phuket on my list until I saw the report yesterday about the raw sewerage washing up on the beach. Shame about that.

I've had another bad week, well not exactly bad but not good. I gained 0.1kg, I know it's nothing really, but the first gain since 13th January, bit disappointing. I know why, I just didn't stick to my eating plan every day, then when I went back to eating between 1000 and 1200 calories a day I was losing the weight I had just gained, so instead of a loss I got a small gain.

Oh well! put that week behind me and re-focus now.

I weighed in yesterday and I was the same as the week before, I don't know how I managed that, three days of really low calorie intake I suppose, but I don't want to get back into the habit of binging and starving, I just don't feel that's good for my body.

I booked my flight to Thailand yesterday, not coming over until September but I hope I don't put it all back on in four weeks ha ha.....I sure love eating when I'm on holidays and I know I will let my guard down once I'm settling into relax mode. I'll just have to make it a cultural holiday rather than a food holiday, beach culture on Samui and Phangan.

That is so true. As I've been losing VERY SLOWLY (and fine with that) I am especially aware that it wouldn't be hard at all to reverse six months of progress in a few weeks, if that. Vigilance is the only way and nobody said it was easy.

You know JT .... I gave up smoking 30 years ago and even today even though I dont get cravings , it would be easy to start again in I was in that freame of mind. Losing weight is the same for us ...Always have to keep your mind on it .

kevvy

Ha! I can relate to that, especially when you're standing next to a smoker and they exhale and you breathe it in, that sensation of nicotine is reborn. I've often said if I knew I was on my last leg, I'd take it up again, but the price if ciggies here in Australia wouldn't allow that to happen anyway, so I'm pretty sure I'll always be an ex-smoker. I don't get cravings for ciggies either, but I still remember the satisfaction of that first puff in the morning.

I think it was easier giving up smoking because you don't have to buy them or have cigarettes in the house, whereas food, we still have to eat, don't we? I've got an addictive personality, if it's not one bad habit, it's another, I hope I don't take up anything to replace overeating.

Good work Jingthing, slow and steady wins the race.

Hi all

mmmm It seems hardr to lose this weight I put on , lose 800grams of it and by next week should be back on track .

these pictures make me think "I can do it "

http://www.ranker.com/list/celebrities-who-lost-weight-before-and-after-photos/ranker-celebrities?format=SLIDESHOW&page=30

kevvy

p.s how are you going Peppa?

How am I going? The same as you kevvy. I've had a bit of a shocker this week too. No Chiang Rai....if only, just hit the biscuits again, earlier in the week. I've lost most of it, but trying desperately to get back to what I was last Monday for the fat club weigh-in tomorrow. It will be close but I don't think I'll quite get there.

I'm glad you're back on track, guess we wouldn't be human if we didn't go off the rails once in a while.

Sometimes I scare myself knowing how easy it is to slip back into my old ways.

Anyway, we must battle on, don't lose sight of the big picture and how good it feels to fit into the smaller sizes.

Those before and after pics are inspirational, hope they managed to keep it off.

Another week, another 0.6 kg off. I got a complete surprise when I weighed in, my home scales are erratic and were giving a false reading. Here I was thinking I'd gained weight, don't actually feel like I lost this week, but there you go. I didn't stick to my eating plan 100%, had a couple of bad days, but put them straight behind me and worked harder, and it paid off in the end. I'm on the home run now, with 1.9 kg to my first goal woohoo!!!

Check in kevvy, interested in your progress.

Weighed myself this morning .I am happy with the results I have achieved .It has been a struggle the last 2 weeks as I have been tempted to eat the wrong kind of foods as my body was not losing the weight I wanted.I stuck to my program and now I have lost 15 .3 kg's...... I actually put on a shirt that I haven't worn for 3 years.After I got sick they were hung up in the wardrobe.

Now I have the desire to reach my goal of 20kg by July. It really makes you feel good when you actually see the results .

Thanks

kevvy

Hey Kevvy, great going! Nothing tastes as good as a successful week of weight loss. I lost 0.9 last week, have 2.5 kg to go to my first goal, then five more after that.......I'm fitting into clothes that I haven't worn for a couple of years too. Sometimes I can't believe that I've actually lost almost 8 kg since the middle of January, that's 16 margarine containers full of fat ha ha. I have slipped up a couple of times in the last two weeks but I put it behind me straight away and continue my healthy eating plan, one meal, one day at a time.

On the weekend someone plonked a huge bag of hot chips on the table in front of me. I actually resisted, if I had even one little chippy I would have lost the fight, the first mouthful being the catalyst, so I completely ignored them and continued eating my carrot sticks. This weight loss caper is certainly a war of willpower!!!....let's be victorious, for better health and a happier life.

Keep up the good work!

Great news kevvy, it is a real milestone to fit into a size smaller, or is it two sizes down? I'm just starting to fit into clothes that I haven't worn for a couple of years too. I've got a fat and skinny wardrobe, given too many clothes to the op shop over the years, so I keep them now, just in case. I really feel that I will have worn the fat clothes for the last time though. I'm determined to make this a life long life style change. I haven't had any great loss this week although I have stayed on the same eating and exercise regime. I seem to lose nothing for five or six days then lose about a half a kilo the next day. At least I know to stick with the program and it will come off eventually.

I started 'psyching' myself into believing the foods that are bad for me are poison, it works, just look at it and say to myself "I can't eat that or I will be sick'....a state of mind, thanks for that tip, was it h90? train the mind.

I do still miss sweets, but not as much as at first when I used to have sudden urges to go to the shop and buy a packet of choccy biscuits or a chocolate bar.

Thinking of your old dog, I know what it's like, a little bit breaks off your heart when you lose a pet, thankfully he's not in pain.

Hey guys how's the weight loss going? I lost 0.6 kg this week and I'm happy with that. I won the monthly award at my weight loss club, that felt good after the hard work. I do consider it to be hard, denying myself the foods I love, but then again it is best for me in the long run so I am finding it a bit easier to accept that I can't eat like other people. I've also joined another challenge on my online fat club.....don't go over 1200 calories a day for 60 days, actually I've been sticking to a bit under the 1200 since I started on this new food regime. See....I need all the help I can get because I'm pretty weak willed when it comes to food.

Two cups of home made chicken and all sorts of vege soup for lunch....about 200 calories.

I'll go by objective statistics. The success stories tell us that weighing often is very helpful. It provides a WARNING SIGN that you're doing something wrong when your weight spikes. Most people with a history of obesity can easily gain 10 kilos in a very short time. If you weigh yourself a lot, you have a message to put on the brakes. Denial becomes more difficult. Obviously there are constant daily fluctuations in weight. A one kilo change would be that most of the time. A three kilo change is almost definitely a trend. People who have been successful in weight LOSS need to be VIGILANT of slippage for life and weighing yourself is part of that. People who have lost A LOT of weight are NOT THE SAME as people who have always been normal weight, and they never will be.

While obviously not the same thing, a comparison to alcoholics might be instructive. Former alcoholics need to be vigilant for life. Having a glass of wine is not the same thing for them that it is for people not afflicted that way.

There is a worldwide Overeaters Anonymous support network that follows the twelve step program of AA. They replace alcoholic with overeater and alcohol with binge foods/danger foods etc. The long time members are super thin (too much for my liking) but they say it's normal weight, they are seriously entrenched in their eating plans to the point of fanaticism. Some go to three meeting a week and have done for thirty or forty years.

I'm thinking that's the type of regime I will have to maintain for life. I can't wait until I can look at a chocolate cake the same way I can look at a celery stick (with little interest) I have a sweet tooth, just love chocolate and desserts.

Incidentally, they recommend not weighing because the emphasis is on food, not weight, that comes off naturally if the program is followed. It's a new way of living life for your whole life and we need to replace the food with a new way of thinking.

I suppose after time, giving up danger foods, bingeing or overeating is like giving up ciggies. I could easily take up smoking again, but I never will and I never think about it.

I think anyone can join a chat session and get support.

http://www.oa.org/

wow great news again..I was feeling down for a while as the weight went up 1 kg. And when I weight myself after 2 days the weight went up a little bit. I was feeling so down , but i kept going with my eating plan . Just weighed myself today and I had lost that weight plus another 1 kg!! So now in total i have lost just under 12 .4 kgs... I feel so wrapped in doing this and really it has not been hard .The hardest thing is fighting with my mind .I know now I can say NO. I think that is the hardest thing to do .Learn to say no.!!! So guys once again thanks for all your support and I know you guys do help me , as it is like going to report to the headmaster about my progress in a good way .

thanks all

kevvy

Hey kevvy, good news and good on you for persevering

I find the hardest part is saying NO when a friend tries to shove food into you. I have this wonderful elderly German friend who loves to cook strudels and stuff, she gets offended when I refuse to eat it. I have had to persevere with her for a long time, but finally she is coming to understand that I really mean NO. Other people....that's my hardest part, but I'm getting more forceful than them because this means so much to me.

I lost 0.9 last week, but this week it's not coming off for some reason although I am eating almost identical food. Hopefully it will just happen suddenly. I know that I weigh myself far too much and I know it's not good to be that compulsive....crazy??? for sure!

Keep up the good work, you'll reach your goal in no time.

I'm making myself a six week challenge. When someone offers me food that is not in my eating plan, say "NO" and mean it.

I have the little cans (95g) of tuna or salmon, they come in different flavours, like tomato and onion or lime and chilli, about 450 kj per serve, but a man could easily have two cans with a salad and still not break diet plan.

With my stir fry veges I just put a very light spray of olive oil in the teflon coated pan, then pile in onion, zucchini, mushrooms, carrot, cauliflower or broccoli, you could also add capsicum, but I don't like cooked capsicum, or any veges you have in the freezer. Then I add some pre prepared chicken or beef that has been cooked in the non stick pan with some spices and a little Asian sauce or just microwave some fish with lemon or soy sauce.

I used to have noodles with my stir fry before I started counting calories, but I've had to cut them out, way too heavy to fit into my eating plan. It's sad because I love noodles and fried rice.

I only have one piece of fruit a day now, usually a boring apple, because stone fruits were my downfall, just love nectarines and I would eat a kilo in one sitting.

However, a boiled egg would be a very nice change to have with the salad and maybe some cheese once in a while.

It must be hard for you guys, here in OZ we don't see food being sold en masse, whereas food is everywhere in Thailand, just everywhere. You can never escape the tantalising smell, the temptation of trying those delicious meals. I don't know how I will get my mind around that when I come over.

Hi Guys

Well the weekly weigh in is here. I am some disappointed as I have put on 1 kg. I dont see how this happened as I have not binged out . The only difference was that on one night , my wife and I went out to dinner in a good restaurant as we sold 5 houses this week in our village.I had a plate of veggies and a medium size bowl of rice, a small bottle of orange juice. Apart from that I didnt change anything else for the week.I know the body can trick you , so I did not give into it. I am still 100% committed to my life change . So I expect to lose that 1 kg soon . Thanks everyone

kevvy

Hi kevvy

Don't despair, it's just a little stumbling block, you'll ditch that kilo quick. The most important thing is to keep on with your eating plan that was working so well for you.

I have binged in the past and found that weight gained from one meal or one eating session comes off surprisingly quickly once you start back on the sensible eating plan.

I find now that I'm counting kilojoules, if I have just a small amount more, even one apple or a cappuccino, it makes a difference to my daily weight loss, that's why it's so hard to maintain my weight when I reach my goal. Unfortunately, there's not much food between weight loss and weight maintenance.

One day through the week I had a huge vege stir fry, twice as much as I usually have and the next day I had gained 300 grams, just that easy to put it on.

I'm enjoying this thread.

Good luck this week everybody.

Update. I'm losing between 0.8 and 1kg a week. I've lost 4kg since the 13th January.

The Garcinia Cambogia doesn't seem to make a whole lot of difference re appetite suppressant.

I'm trying not to look too far ahead, just one meal or one day at a time.

I joined an online weight group for support and motivation, it does help and they have some interesting challenges but you have to be honest with yourself.

Thats great mate..

you are right you have to be honest. If you can be honest with yourself it makes it easier to lose the weight. Keep it up , and I am doing the same . I have been wearing shirts now that I thought I would never wear again.

Good work kevvy!

Doesn't it make it all worthwhile when your clothes get looser?

My weight fluctuates (with my bingeing) so I have what I call my 'fat clothes' and my 'skinny clothes', not what some would class as skinny, but closer to a 'normal' weight for age, always a few kilo's over the standard BMI measure tho.

I'm hoping I can maintain it this time, so sick of going through this every year. It's Thailand's fault, I lose my weight, come over for a few weeks and eat all that cheap delicious food and whammo!!!!....five or ten kilo straight on, back to square one. I don't know what I will do when I come over for good in 2016....hopefully.

Anyway keep us posted on your progress.

I'm not expecting to keep losing at that rate. I think it will slow down to around the 0.5 kg or less per week soon.

I don't really care if I lose it fast or slow, as long as it's coming off.

I was on a plateau for weeks and weeks, it can be very frustrating. It was only when I started adding my cal/kj intake that I realised I was kidding myself, I thought I was eating much less than I actually was, not counting every bit of food like salad dressing or the milk in a coffee etc, although there are other reasons for your weight loss coming to a sudden halt.

Anyway, good luck guys, it's a lifetime battle, but just remember how much better you feel without carrying all that unnecessary weight.

By the way I'm taking Garcinia Cambogia but the juries still out on that one....just not sure. I will wait another month ans see if I will keep going with them or quit.

Update. I'm losing between 0.8 and 1kg a week. I've lost 4kg since the 13th January.

The Garcinia Cambogia doesn't seem to make a whole lot of difference re appetite suppressant.

I'm trying not to look too far ahead, just one meal or one day at a time.

I joined an online weight group for support and motivation, it does help and they have some interesting challenges but you have to be honest with yourself.

I agree. Great advice and great information.

I have another three loooooong years to wait until I come over on a permanent basis, but I am gathering a wealth of information in the meantime.

This is a fantastic forum!...a big thanks to all of you

Keep up the good work Kevvy.

I started my reformed eating regime about three weeks ago too. I've lost 3kg so far, about one a week.

I can't walk far because of bung knees, but I get down the gym three times a week to do some cardio and upper body resistant weights, just to keep toned more than anything, but I burn about 200 calories for a session, so it's something.

I've been sticking to steamed veges and salads with small portions (125g) of chicken, beef or fish, usually once a day.

I want to lose 12kg by June.

These threads are great for support and information.

I'm going to try the Garcinia Cambogia when they arrive from Thailand to see if they suppress my appetite a little.

I tell myself 'one day at a time'....if I did it yesterday, I can do it again today.

Great , keep it up . Even if we lose 200 gms a week it is still losing something , that is the way I am looking at it. I will post you on more of my results so we can help each othert if you like .Let me know cheers and keep up the good work ..well done mate.

Great idea!

Maybe some meal ideas too. My diet is very boring at this stage. I'm a bit reluctant to introduce other foods just yet, not until I get a few more kilo's off.

Do you cook your own? I know if I lived in Thailand I wouldn't.....too much cheap yummy food.

I'm making a vege soup tomorrow so that will make a change.

Keep up the good work Kevvy.

I started my reformed eating regime about three weeks ago too. I've lost 3kg so far, about one a week.

I can't walk far because of bung knees, but I get down the gym three times a week to do some cardio and upper body resistant weights, just to keep toned more than anything, but I burn about 200 calories for a session, so it's something.

I've been sticking to steamed veges and salads with small portions (125g) of chicken, beef or fish, usually once a day.

I want to lose 12kg by June.

These threads are great for support and information.

I'm going to try the Garcinia Cambogia when they arrive from Thailand to see if they suppress my appetite a little.

I tell myself 'one day at a time'....if I did it yesterday, I can do it again today.

It is embarrassing to admit this, but I got caught out by these Filipino scammers.

My first trip to Cambodia in August last year, 62 year old female, travelling alone.

Day three in Phnom Penh,I was just around the corner from the mall looking at some hats, a lovely couple started chatting. Where you from? Aaaah! my sister go to Australia for nursing, mama so worried, she with bad heart, please you come for lunch assure her is safe in your country.

I said I was busy....we pick you up, he's on the phone...see I arrange mama has prepared dinner for you is just around the corner. They stop a tuk tuk....this is where my brain disconnected from my body....I got in with them. The ride took forever, going through back streets and lane ways, I'm thinking I'm in trouble now.

We get to their place, he puts the chain and padlock on the gate after we go in. I'm locked in now.

Where's mama? She be taken to hospital with heart trouble.

The female and myself sit down to lunch and uncle comes out. What does uncle do for job, you never guess......he's a croupier on a cruise ship. The bad woman from Belgium owes him much money, we can play the cards, I know the system how you win $100,000 from her, I can deal the cards so you win and you give me $50,000 she owe to me.

I say sorry I don't gamble....uncle still trying to convince me, I say must go have people coming to take me on tour soon and I don't gamble and I have no money on a pension and my lovely son pay for my little trip.

Ok....were heading out whew!!!! the lady say I take you to hospital to see mama....I'm on the street, jump in the first tuk tuk that stops and yelling Russian market quick quick....we're off, I didn't look back.

I googled Phom Penh gambling scam when I got back to the hotel and feel that I was very lucky, some people claim they were drugged at lunch.

Later that day there was a glitch with the ATM and I couldn't withdraw money ( I had left my bag unsecured in the lounge room whilst having lunch in the kitchen) thought for sure they had copied my credit card details and taken the lot. It wasn't until the next day that I was able to get access to my account....then I felt like hugging them for not touching my purse.

I will never know why I went away with strange people in a foreign country.

Call me stupid, I deserve it.