Start and Finish

Had sewing day where I started to reduced the last of my big clothes which were mainly summer ones, getting ready for summer, but these favorite size 22 jeans beat me. for now.  I am thinking some kind of overalls or dress with big overall thing.  Not sure.  But it did remind me just how much weight I had lost. A nice 6 months at target weight celebration.  Now that I have all my clothes ready to wear I can wear them, get bored and so get rid of some more.  Its just a matter of deciding shat I really like.  I have 3 pairs of huge linen trousers which I have taken in the waists and will wesr as lounge/sleepwear.

Start and End

 14'4 to 7'

Need to post pics online so can copy to MFP Blog as an experiment.

Shocked at weight classifications (from my MFP blog)

As far as I know words like obese and morbidly obese have been in common language, only recently - ladt 2-3 decades as obesity as spread.  I grew up knowing I was usually fat, maybe short times of being chubby or curvaceous.  I decided to research the obesity terms and what they meant for me.  What would if had meant for me if I had been classified then.  I was shocked to find I had been seriously fat.  

Now on the one hand, it is difficult to know whether these harsher classifications are based on good science or how many studies are paid for by diet food companies etc.  For example it may be that its healthier to be the old normal BMI of 27 instead of the more recent 25.  We just cant know.  Studies are confused, changing all the time and misreported by sensational news headlines.  Waist size seems to be a better guide but that doesnt help me because even though I always kept a waist except when i was about 9 when i looked like an egg, I fear my waist would also tell the same unhealthy story as my weight classification.  On the other hand, though some of you would say I was not usually that severely obese, I always hid it - never tight clothes and my face mostly didnt put on as much weight.  I am also tinyer than I or anyone would have i imagined without the fat.  I have always been able to overlap my fingers round my wrist which should have told me how small I was.  The fact is at 7 stone plus a stone of lost muscle due to arthritis, at 17 1/2 stone, i was carrying an extra 9 1/2 stone person around.  At 14 stone I carried a 6 stone child around.  For most of my life.  No wonder my knees and hip needed to be replaced!

I have looked back at the few fat photos I have and I dont hate them.  In some ways the rounded shape looks better than the skinny upper body I now have.  But I feel better standing on my arthritic knees.  I didnt notice this really till I got under 8 stone.  Health wise another stone of muscle, and 1/2 stone of fat would be a good backup for illnesses and that is my aim.  Unfortunately 90% of the fat goes to the stomach - this can be seen in a photo of me at 8 stone with largish pot tummy that has now almost gone.   Without expensive viceral fat scans, I dont know if, that matters.  Viceral fat, the deadly fat atound our organs can still be there anyway if I dont exercise enough.  

So the external fat me I think is  over.  So the worry of certain health issue, being called fatty, being the fattest person in the room or amongst my friends is over.  I wasnt always obsessed with being fat but it was a big part of my life.  Now learning about eating healhily with tons more fruit and veg than ever, cooking my own versions of my fav processed treats, worrying about old age illnesses, all this takes up the time left free of fat worry - yes I am still the same person.

The table below shows how I spent most of my life overweight and obese.  I am so lucky I am so healthy or perhaps one can be healthy and overweight more than we are told.  This might depend more on ones genes or how much exercise one does.  I dont think we know for sure yet.

Weight classifications for me (Stones)

1. normal 7-9'6. - not normal range since 7yrs old, except maybe a few weeks at end of diets, now so far its been over a year, the longest time in my whole life.

2. overweight 9 1/2 - 11'4. - overweight mabye 10% of my life  9 1/2 -11 towards end of diets

3. obese class I.  11'5 - 13'2

4. severe obese class II. 13'3 - 15'

        most of my life spent as obese or severe obese - i ranged between 11-14 stone

5. super obese III. 15' plus. - 2-3 years in my 40s in a very stressful job i went up to 17 1/2 stone.  Thankfully? the beginning of arthrits took away the job and lost me 3 stone without trying.

6. morbid obese class IV= obese class II or III PLUS associated health probs - eg diabetes, heart, blood pressure etc. - 

  Never - i have been lucky with genes i guess.  Even at my highest weight and most non active, I always had good blood pressure, lowish pulse, flexibility, etc. even into older age.

weight

din most clothes are too dark.  Lesson - wear light clothes.

7 stone

7 1/2 stone

8 stone - same trousers as above before being taken in.

8 1/2 stone

9 stone

9 1/2 stone, top of my normal weight range.  - very funny, trying to look natural

10 stone

Some real up-cycles from shirts and suits (from my sewing board on Pinterest)

Even the high st is now try to get in on the upcycling look.

Dress made to look like it was made from a shirt.    Doesnt look as good as the real thing though.

Skirt from a jacket

Had bought  some ultra light compact 90% Down me'ns jackets on sale XS for me and XL for J for 30% off as well as the last one in store, L blue with a zip that has puller tab missing but works, for 60% off.  The ere very soft and light, warm enough and thin enough to wear under a coat etc that may have not been warm enough for the coldest days.   I had seen down quilted skirts in Muji a few years ago and wish I had gotten one as the longer seem to be around.  Following on from my collection of Pins on Pinterest of people making dresses etc from mens shirts and jackets, I,thought up this idea of skirts from jackets.

The black XS is a bit short for me.  The blue, tho I dont love colour is a better length.  Js black XL gives a bit more gather.  sleeves can either be tied into a bow or hanging down.

Mittens project

being lazy and using screen grabs of facebook post, hency doubling of images to fit in the text.

UPDATE

Went ahead and did left thumb since am left handed.  Won't do right thumb as i like the asymmetry, the utility look of it.  I've also started blanket stitching the seems.

Weight loss finished, now continuing into maintenance

started. at 200lbs, 14'4

now 98lbs, 7', less than 1/2 the person i was

loss 102lbs

measurements. 34.5/26/34.5

never been less than 9 1/2 ' so still experimenting to find out maintenance calorie amount, probably 1600-1700

will report back on maintenance,  in 3months on Jan 11th, the 2 yr anniversay of starting on this journey, 

am a bit boney on top because of muscle loss but have finally lost most of belly fat i have had since 8yrs old

starting new arthritis drug next week so hopefully with less inflamation and pain, i will be able to exercise and build a stone of muscle.  If not then may add some fat back on.

Granny Chic Fashion Trend

This months Vogue reports on it.  This autumn/winter catwalks have plenty of traditional old lady fabrics like Herringbone etc. so I guess it will hit the high street as well in a mainstream way.  I guess the baggy jumpers in stores now are part of it.  It seems to build on the whole 'nerd', dress down /'Norm'/ 'Mom jeans' looks developed in economic hard times where make do and mend, and vintage has gone mainstream.  Of course there will be those who will pay thousands for the catwalk version rather than rummaging the charity shops.  

 When you Gooogle it you find its been round for at least 3 years and it ranges from we oldies dressing boldly to the young taking on granny look from dressing down to classic 40s look.  Some of the pics here are taken from 2011 news articles on why celebreties are dressing like their gran etc.    There iseven  granny look interior design.  I like it, most of it.  Encourages me in some of my more adventerous sewing projects.  There are different takes on it and it can be different for young and old wearing it of course.  

c

x

Revamp Js trousers and old jumper part 1

cHere is where I am with my next sewing project.  I will update post when finished.

Four pairs of Js old trousers.  Since he has seen how I used my small red jeans as apattern to restyle my black cord jeans, he now wants me to use his narrower style trousers as apattern to revamp the two trousers on the right.  The two on the left are what I am revamping for myself.

This shows how I have added two 6" in tucks - where the cross stiching is and the black striped pair behind show the original 40" waist size.  I will leave the crutch baggy and low and now just need to take up legs to 3/4 lenght with a cuff.

Even tho I have been doing this before I sought inspiration from Vogue, it has been useful to see various ways to do it depending on where pockets are etc.  For eg thsnkfully J is going to have the black striped ones revamped bc it it would be difficult for me to find rooms for big tucks, as the pockets go acroos the front horizintally whereas the ones i am doing above have more vertical pockets.  I didnt mind having hanging out horizontal pockets on my jeans, I didnt want that here.

Eg of hanging pockets where tucks were done inside pocket.

Other inspiration of how to reduce trousers.  These weren't taken in but created that way as part of the oversize fashion trend.

VB's version is about the lenght I want altho i will need to adapt as is more difficult to get it right on short person like myself - can make legs look even shorter.  I will add cuffs as well. My current ones are waisted, the second pair I will add smaller tucks so they sit more on hips like these.    Love the whole look here - vest and shirt.  Was looking at one designer on Vogue who always has a white shirt in every new collection bc she believes it is most important and versatile part of wardrobe.  I do agree that crisp white shirt is a wonderful thing.

 MY JUMPER REVAMP.

So far have started de-balling jumper, sewing wholes, taking up sleeves and using wool to crisscross edges - see left sleeve.  I will need to to add wool stiching to bottom and top of crosses as I can still see the grey cotton thread i add years ago to edge to stop it fraying.  I have also taken up bottom of jumper with sewing machine to create pockets in front and a dropped curved back.  This jumper was baggy when i was twice the size i am now so it will be very baggy.  I may extend the polo neck and make it bigger by knitting with black wool or may just edge it.  J thinks latter.

Some inspirstion from the big knit trend.

Update. Finished jumper.  Only OK but good for around home.