In the beginning......

Hi Readers,
Before I start my first rant, it is always polite to offer my guests some refreshments and perhaps a little something to eat. So I am offering you some delights I made recently for Ralphy's surprise birthday party, less the birthday cake which was a very yummy chocolate orange flourless cake with chocolate ganache icing.  OMG was it delicious..... and so poisonous!!! But I am getting ahead of myself.

The Surprise Birthday Party Spread For Ralphy

So....back to the beginning. I guess this is where I need to add a little bit of info about myself that makes losing weight harder for me than the norm.



I had Hodgkins Disease when I was 24 years old and single. It is a cancer of the lymph system and I had it in my  groin glands spreading into my pelvis. Treatment was removal of the lymph glands in my groin and radium treatment to my groin and pelvis. As a result of the radiation, I went through instant menopause as my ovaries were 'cooked'. And with the lymph glands gone, I eventually developed lymphoedema in both my legs. This is swelling due to lymph accumulation in the tissue from poor drainage, the same as women get in their arms when they have breast cancer surgery. It makes my legs very heavy and firm and I have to be very careful not to injure them in any way as the healing isn't the greatest. At work I have even resorted to wearing the strong support stockings for lymphoedema, as otherwise my feet and legs swell unbearably some times. 


Why I am telling you this is that on the scales I am presently around 18 kgs overweight, and most  of it is in the legs. Because of my lymphoedema, I may never get down to my ideal weight but I never say die. I believe there is always a solution to everything...you just have to find it and never give up.... and I have been searching for it for years now. 


And guess what? I think I have found the solution to our weight problems, thanks to a book given to Ralphy at his surprise birthday party New Years Day this year. Can you picture this....a table covered completely in cakes, chocolates, slices, cheesecakes, dips, and all my other pride-and-joy cooking that I somehow managed to keep a secret from Ralphy. And he opens a gift from a friend and it is a book called Sweet Poison, Why Sugar Is Making You Fat by David Gillespie. Uhmmmmmmm......


Well I had a day or two off from work following this party, and so decided after the party cooking effort, to put my feet up and read this "How to put a Dampener on a Party" killer book. And in a word. WOW!!!! I can honestly say that a light bulb went on in my head when I read this book. 


Thankfully I have an ebook and so when I closed the last page of this book in the middle of the night, I was able to immediately purchase David's second book, The Sweet Poison Quit Plan and get started on this revolutionary way of looking at our foods. There is now a third book that David has just had published titled Big Fat Lies, that apart from enlightening us about all the lies we have been fed over the years about foods to eat and not eat, vitamins and exercise, also incorporates removal.... yes removal.... of polyunsaturated fats from our diets. 


Now....I know what this looks like. So, before I go on, I must say that I am not connected in any way with David...wish I was.... and do not receive any royalties from the sale of his books. But I urge all of you reading this blog, pleeeeeeease... do yourself a favour, get these books and read them for yourself and your family and have that electric lightbulb switch on in your head. You will surely be saving them from much suffering and illness when they get older and I am not talking geriatric. I kid you not. Go on - google the books when you have finished reading my blog page and decide for yourself.


Anyway, this is where Ralphy and I presently are. We each need to lose 18 kg in weight... no mean feat..... but we believe we can do it (despite my lymphoedema). So I hope you will stay with us on our journey to a slimmer, healthier weight and offer encouragement when we need it, praise when we achieve, and a scolding when we 'fall down'. 


Until next we meet, sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite....... Noels