me

me
Before/After

Saturday 30 April 2011

WOWSAS! My most used word all week, well it saved me swearing in pain!! lol. Well, I made it home in sort of one piece, in fact, even if I do say so  myself, my recovery has been amazing. Three days after my surgery I was discharged, it was on Good Friday, a very Good Friday indeed. I spent a lot of time in hospital being very mad with myself for putting on all that colossal amount of weight in the first place and then needing these operations to remove all the floppy skin that just doesn't shrink back, it's all a slow painful journey at times, but it is all worth it and very necessary for me then to feel like the person I should have always done, one with not just self belief and confidence, but with a life!!! It also stops me revisiting my old life and gaining any weight I have already lost, all the incentives are there because there is 'NO WAY' I'm ever going through any of this again!  A week after surgery, my clips came out too. Now that was a good day, as i had about 100+ staples up and around my private parts going down both legs to my knees and around both hips. That was last Wednesday which turned out to be a very over whelming day for me. I just couldn't stop getting tearful, thinking about how far I've come in three short years. It's pretty amazing and with all the skin removal plastic surgery I've been through, as well as the initial 14 stone weight loss, I achieved all on my own, it just doesn't seem a long enough time to fit  all that in to, but I did and I now cant really remember my life before all this, it has changed in every way.  Anyways, everything getting better day by day, it just takes time, I don't think I'll be running many marathons just yet!
While I was in Hospital, little Christopher had one of his heart appointments at Alder Hey and the outcome is that he's having his next op at the end of June, so just as I get back to normal, another member of the family goes into hospital, typical in our family lol. Christopher also had to go to our family doctor's while i wasn't here because he wasn't feeling well, he had tonsillitus and is now on antibiotics, so is off school. That has been easier to be honest because I cant actually sit in a car to drive  so it means Chris hasn't needed more time off work. Chris and the kids have been wonderful while I've been in hospital, they've managed really, really well. everyones been fed and the house is clean and tidy with all the washing and ironing  done, bliss. All the cakes and meals I left in the freezer and fridge have all gone, so I'm just finishing off all the different soups I froze a few weeks ago. Since coming home Chris has googled a new recipe for tea every night, we've had some great food and thats from a man who usually cant boil water lol. My favorite to date has been a three bean chilli con carne topped with cheesey mashed potatoes. It had lots of cumin in it for extra spice which made it very tasty indeed and one I'll be making in the future.
I've also been kept going while I've been recovering by all the e-mails, texts, messages and cards I've received from family and friends. There all very much appreciated.  I was also contacted over facebook by a lady from Lebanon!?! She had seen my profile picture on facebook, of me before and after, then she had googled me and read my story. She said she had struggled all her life with her weight and now couldn't have a relationship with a man because she had no confidence. It was a shame, I really felt for her. She ended her message asking if i could help her. I hope she can take some of the things I told her and inspire her to make some simple changes to her life that will help her achieve her goals. Two nurses who were also looking after me on the ward wanted advice about weight loss, which just goes to show you, that just because they work with the aftermath of nursing lots of people who need skin removal surgery after weight loss, that still isn't an incentive not to put the weight on in the first place. Seeing the sights they all do on a day to day basis, it would have certainly put me off piling on the pounds.
Another reason why I have to get back to normal fast is that we're going 'Glamping' in a few weeks with the family and a group of our friends. We've done this for the last few years, weather permitting and it's such a laugh. We use to go somewhere overnight, but it's that much fun we've now extended it to a full weekender lol. The Glamping thing is apparently Glamorous camping, well you'd all know that if you watched TOWIE (The Only  Way Is Essex). Not that I watch it, but being in hospital and not being able to sleep much I had the pleasure of watching just about everything on TV lol.
Also, in a few weeks time, I've been invited to a luncheon in aid of the McMillan Cancer Charity at which they've asked  me to speek   about my weight loss journey, winning  Michael Winner's Dinning Stars TV program  and also my forth coming book. What an honor, I feel really privileged to be asked, as everyone at some point in their lives will be touch with cancer, whether it's through someone they know or experiencing it first hand them selves! 
Well, I'm feeling really tired now, so I'll stop my ramblings until the next time ♥

Monday 11 April 2011

Well, I thought I'd get this done before I start baking my orders. It's another very busy week in the Forrest household, so I don't know if I'll get another chance for a catch up before I go into  hospital next week.
On Friday last week, Millie was awarded a huge easter egg at school for all her achievements. Millie started crying when she had to go up on stage and accept it, all her friends had tears in their eyes and even her class teacher, Mr White ,was  moved in the same way. Millie is absolutely inspirational, she touches everyone that meets her. Millie is one of the reasons I finally came to my senses about my huge weight and then finally did something about it. Two of our children don't have that luxury about their health, but I did. I foolishly and selfishly was eating myself to death like a slow suicide. Not anymore. Millie and Christopher inspired me to choose life and do something about it. I have and I've never looked back!
Just before Christmas, someone I know contacted me to ask me for  help because she said in 2011 she wanted to try for another child with her husband. Again, that touched me and took me back to when I started losing my weight. At that point we, wanted another child and as I was massively obese at that stage it wasn't an option for us, as when you're the size I was it can stop you conceiving and it did. I think, in my case, it was natures way of telling me there was no way I could possibly carry anymore weight around as it would be very dangerous. Straight after Christopher was born we wanted another child. I suppose at the time we felt robbed that Christopher was so poorly and struggling with life and also the fact we spent so much time in hospital, we felt the first few months of Christopher's life were taken away from us and all those precious first new born baby months were gone forever. The lady who wanted advice was moved that I new exactly how she felt because I had been there. She wanted to lose about 5-6 stone and was struggling getting started. I gave her some advice and told her to make some small changes and include as much exercise as she could in to her daily routine. Even 20 minutes walking daily can make such a difference. I lost my first ten stone through choosing walking as my exercise daily, it works, I'm living proof!!! So I'll just have to wait until she can hopefully tell me she's pregnant again, yay!
It's a very exiting week for my Charity, Ronald McDonald House, as it's the" first dig" for the new house in Manchester, on Wednesday. Shameless actress, Rebecca Atkinson and myself will be doing the first turf dig, which I'm looking forward to very much and then we're going to be interviewed by the press and have some photo's taken. I've also been interviewed by the Longridge News and the Lancashire Evening post for their papers this week. I'll be a guest on  John Gillmore's BBC Radio Lancashire show tomorrow (Tuesday) from 3pm. I love Gilly, so that should be fun and I'm taking the children with me, as they've broken up for Easter and they love being included in all these exiting things.
Well, I'd better start baking, these cakes wont bake themselves and my orders are coming in thick and fast at the moment because, from next Monday, I'm going to be off for 10 days recovering from my next excess  skin removal operation!!!! The only down side from losing such a vast amount of weight!!(But I'm hoping to feel the benefits in my running!!
Oh, a note to self:- When I make chicken and veg soup for the freezer, I should freeze immediately as it's far to good . Suffice  to say, it got all eaten within a day or two and there ' s none to freeze!! Next on my freezer list are cheese and onion pies and our old family favorite healthy chillie con carne, which I will freeze as soon as they have cooled down. I must buy some more soup freezer bags, they are a must have and so handy.  X

Thursday 7 April 2011

Well what a very busy day I've had. Millie, Alex and myself have all had appointments, so I've been running around like a headless chicken today lol. The big news of the week is that, today, Christopher went on the surgery list at Alder Hey Children's Hospital for his next heart surgery which they inform us will be in a month or two, eeeeek. Christopher's very cool about it all and exited at the prospect of not being able to go to school for at least a month and being able to play on his xbox all day. God love him, bless. While we where there we visited Ronald McDonald House again and they told us, up to now, we've raised nearly £4000 in Christopher's name, so that was nice to know.
Next week I'm going to my first official outing on behalf of Ronald McDonald House Charities, I've been invited to dig the first turf for their new Manchester house build, so I'm very exited. All the press releases have gone out and the Longridge News are doing a piece on it for their paper next week too. I'll also be taking lots of my cakes with me for all the builders on site lol.
I've had the paperwork through for my next op which is on 19th April, fingers crossed. No I'm pretty sure this time it will go ahead. I went for my pre-op at RPH this morning, the nurse doing all my tests recognised me from the telly, it was very funny when the penny dropped and she said meeting me had made her day as she loved the show, aw. I still cant believe I still get recognised as it's been over a year since I was last on the telly and, since the show was filmed, I've lost a further 4 stone in weight.
Last week someone from the area I live in, that I vaguely know, contacted me wanting advice on losing weight as in her words she's become too embarrassed  to leave her house in case anyone sees her. Her e-mail had me in tears and sent me straight back in time to my old life. Everything she wrote, I once felt, it was like reading my life. I felt very moved by her predicament and very touched that she wanted to share it with me and ask for advice. I sent her an e-mail back giving her some tips and things to think about, only time will tell if anything I said helped. I do wish her luck, it's not easy but its not that hard either, I know I've been there.
Well I'm going to start stocking the freezer up for all the family while I'm in hospital ,starting from tomorrow. The first thing I'm going to make batches of is my very healthy chicken and vegetable soup which will have me up and back on my feet after my op in no time. I roasted two large chickens in the oven yesterday for tea, so I'll be using some of the leftover chicken and all the stock and juices that came from them as a base for my delicious soup, it's making me hungry just thinking about it.