Today's weigh in and todays visit to Cappagh

Weighed in 2 hours later than normal because I had my first appointment at the Muscular Skeletal Clinic in Cappagh Hospital Dublin regarding my bastard hip and the news is that I have osteoarthritis on the right side of my hip which basically means the the joints attached to my hip and thigh bones are this fucked that the bones are touching together causing me pain and that I will definitely need a new hip as soon as I can, the only downside is that because of my age I will need a 2nd replacement in 10-15 years time but I now know what I'm getting myself in for.

Back to weight loss, weighed in and was 0.5lb up and i'm happy with that as I was dealing with constant pain and was expecting the worst so coming off the scale with a positive mindset and i'm ready to kick some fucking ass this week and I will come back from London (gonna see the legendary Black Sabbath original line-up with Ozzy himself) with a loss

Have an A1 week

Dealing with pain and how it can affect weight loss

One of the reasons for me losing weight is because of my arthritis and i'm dealing with constant pain and in recent weeks I've not only been suffering with constant pain but I'm suffering mentally too and that's playing on my weight loss so me highlighting this in my blog and on Social Media is telling people who are in the same boat as me if you are suffering from arthritis or back trouble that you are not alone and there is good people out there who can help and recently when I posted a blog update on a private slimming group on Facebook and one lady went out of her way to send me these little booklets as she is a volunteer for Arthritis Ireland and going through these are very helpful and they actually have courses in how to deal with this bastard condition so in the next few weeks I'm gonna enrol in a pain management course in Dublin, the pain right now has got so bad that I'm currently using a walking stick just to get by but I aim to keep moving, may not be able to do the gym for now but I have to think of what is needed to do but I will still fight my battle with my weight and as long as I'm spot on with my food I should be able to lose weight and I know myself and good people around have total faith in me

A big thank you to Bernie who supplied me with the booklets and anyone dealing with arthritis should look into seeking alternative help as I believe the pain meds I'm taking are not really helping but instead is fucking up my mood swings and I have to think of my loved ones as well especially my dad and Jennifer who are the closest to me

This weeks weigh in and news regarding my hip

Weighed in on Monday at my normal class and definitely back in the game with a 6.5lb loss and a much needed boost to my journey and my mental state especially after the nightmare gain from the week before and me feeling like shit due to the pain caused by the arthritis.

Unable to go to the gym as I pulled up in the gym 5 minutes in to my normal session and it turned out I have a slight torn thigh muscle and only rest is the cure there but I'm determined to remain positive and not turn to food.

Recieved a phone call from Cappagh Hospital monday just gone and have managed to get a call to see a hip specialist which is a huge step for me and this will start the ball rolling and I hope to have a new hip within 6 months, had to go for an x-ray this morning in Kilkenny and I will know the full knowledge of the damage caused by the chronic inflammation caused by arthritis since my last x-ray 18 months ago.

I'm feeling good mentally and physically despite the injury and I hope to get any loss come Monday

What to do in the beautiful warm weather

The past week or so the whole country has been experiencing some decent warm weather and some folk would be thinking of going to a beer garden to have a few beers or setting up a bbq at home and paying a trip to the off-licence to buy cans of beer or other alcoholic beverages and I used to be one of these people until I chose to stamp out alcohol completely (I was no longer enjoying it so it was better for me to become teetotal and that contributed to my weight loss as when I drank, I would eat a ton of crap and recently Slimming World has highlighted the dangers of what alcohol can do to weight loss and the day after).

As Jennifer was off the past week off work and I was planning to hit the gym until she mentioned the Tramline Loop in Howth (a coastal suburb in North East Dublin) and I said yes straight away, it's one of my favourite places to walk and psychologically I needed to do this again (done 3 different loops on 4 occasions) just to get back in the swing of things and it felt pretty damn good afterwards.

For people having bbqs and paying visits to beer gardens for a few bevvies enjoy them as it's the time of year to do that :-) getting active is my buzz and i'll enjoy that

Eating out/Takeaways while doing Slimming World and hope it brings

When someone starts off their slimming world journey and the discussion on how many syns you are allowed (a member gets 15 syns a day to use on treats like chocolate or other naughty treats while I normally use syns on my post-workout musclepharm combat protein shakes or a quest protein bar but have the occasional bar of chocolate or a bag of buffalo flavoured hunky dorys), when it comes to meeting friends for lunch or having a weekend takeaway you are normally limited unless you are willing to overload your syns and that could end up messing up your weight loss but thanks to the power of social media there is help, slimming world members tend to go for the safe option of getting chicken/beef in black bean sauce, boiled rice and a side salad and that would only use up 5 syns but my usual takeaway from the Chinese would use up a possible 2-3 days syns (salt and chilli prawns with chips at 40 syns) so I make my own fakeaway instead, recently Slimming World brought out a cookbook called Fakeaways and you can eat your favourite takeaways made from home and still stay on plan. This was a masterstroke by Slimming World and me and Jennifer has enjoyed some cracking meals from it.

Another problem while keeping to plan is eating out during the day and in the evening and now cafe owners in Ireland have took the initiative and started doing a slimming world friendly menu, I can name 3 cafes right now that do this as the head chefs/owners are members of slimming world, not only it's a good business move for them but it also gives members peace of mind when ordering food knowing they are still on plan and there is more cafes doing this now.

Finishing off with a pic of 2 meals me and Jennifer had this lunchtime courtesy of the Good Food Cafe in Newbridge owned by a girl who attends my own Slimming World class in Athy and has a huge range of Slimming World friendly meals on offer

The day after that horrible weigh in and my plans for the week ahead

After storming out of my slimming world class yesterday in a really fucked off mood, it would have been easy to go for a full on eating binge which is common with food addiction and I was very tempted to do so but I did go out and buy a white chocolate magnum but thats how far it went, did it feel good afterwards? Yes and no it was good to actually eat my fave all time ice cream but I drew the line immediately and I didn't binge at all and I have my beloved Jen to thank for that.

Today I'm gonna try seek pain management from the doctor in order to get this bastard pain in control and do something to control my mood swings because this weekend was the final straw for this, I need to use new ways of stopping me from being cranky and in constant pain but at the same time I'm carrying on with this journey so I can have a better quality of life.

Other than the pain I'm in positive spirits and is looking forward to this week and what it has to offer and I will be hitting the gym regardless of how much pain I'm in as the gym makes me feel good

Thought I end the blog with a before and current pic just to remind me how far I have come and that this ain't no sprint but instead it's a lifestyle change and when I see people get disappointed with 0.5lb or a 1lb loss it pisses me off because to me it's a possible result and it's a step further to your goal and throughout my journey I've had these kind of losses and I've always been happy with the losses

This weeks weigh in and my current struggle with arthritis

I weighed in at a class in Donnycarney today as I was in too much pain to travel on the bus to Athy and today I wish I just took the day off and weighed in tomorrow elsewhere as I was up 4lb and the girl that weighed me in was a bit rude to me saying 'ohh you've put on 4lb' in the tone of voice that in my eyes it's unacceptable, of all the times I weighed in at a slimming world class, the weighers all had dignity and respect for the person who has paid their money to weigh in, I already had a shitty weekend dealing with my hips and the constant pain I'm going through and that makes me feel shitty because I can't do fuck all about it and not even the strongest painkillers can take the pain away from me.

After my facebook status when I said I was raging after weigh in I was inundated with goodwill messages telling me it's gonna be ok and to keep going and that is what I aim to keep doing, I can place a bet with Paddy Power right now on how many begrudging pricks out there laughing at me right now but this is only temporary because I promise each and every one of those fools and the good people that support me that I will fight back and that me storming out of a slimming world class before image therapy which I always stay behind for is a one off

A big special thank you to an inspirational woman for the nice chat this afternoon and you know who you are and look forward to meeting up for coffee next week