On The Road Again

The right road that is.

It's been a funny year has 2008. Stuck at over 17st for a while and then gained a little more weight which was incredibly depressing. By summer I was getting desperate and needed some kind of help. The water retention was back with a vengeance.

I went to see the doctor before we went on holiday and was given some leg hugging socks to wear to combat it but that didn't help. They were very difficult to put on and squeezed my legs from toe to knee but at the point where the socks ended the swelling began and the result was that the edges of the socks cut deep into my legs and felt like they were cutting off my circulation. After that first day, with deep, blue ridges below my knees and red, swollen knees, I didn't wear them again.

However, before Emma and I went to stay in the caravan I was prescribed a course of tablets by the doctor and also bought some oil to massage into my legs.

We walked quite a lot during those weeks, into Heysham and then into Morecambe. Or we walked along the prom from one end to the other, just enjoying the fresh air. I think that did me a lot of good. One day we even went for an exploring walk and ended up miles from the campsite when the heavens opened and it bucketed down. When we found civilisation we took refuge in a pub porch and phoned a taxi. I determined to walk every day when we got home,whatever the weather.

I also have a monthly apppointment with the nurse at the surgery to be weighed. That is encouraging as it gives me a monthly goal. I was given targets to aim for but haven't lost as much as the target each month, but I have actually been losing which is better than I was doing before.

The thing which seems to have made it easier is that I am now weighing myself in kilos rather than stones and pounds. I used to look at each half stone as a target point and get demoralised when I didn't reach it. Now I set each challenge as a kilo and when I see it go down from 6 to 5 to 4 to 3 I feel encouraged. The scales weigh in tenths of a kilo so I feel like I have acheived something as each tenth of a kilo drops away.

This morning I am 103.1Kg which is equivalent to about 16 stones 3lb, or about a stone and a half less than I was around this time last year. It may not seem like much but as I had gained some too it's not bad. I'm hoping to be 102Kg by the time I go to get weighed next Thursday.

Unfortunately with the weather being bad, it's ice and snow out there, I haven't been going for walks and before Christmas I twisted my knee so I am nowhere near as fit as I could be. Hopefully that will change when the weather improves.

One good think is that the water retention seems to be under control. I don't know if it's the massage oil but it does seem better when I use it, so I'll have toremember to replace that when I run out.