Last night at weigh in I was gutted to learn (but not shocked) that I gained TWO POUNDS last week!  I'm angry at myself, this is two weeks in a row that I've GAINED weight and only I can do anything about it.

As I was standing in front of the lovely lady that weighed me in I said it had been a bad week, I said that I had been around family and they were always getting bad things (CHEESECAKE!) to eat, but even as I said this I knew the blame and fault were totally mine.

Before I walked out of the little room I said that next week would be better.  This isn't just lip service.  It WILL be better.  I will have a weight loss this week, I promise!

No more eating because it is there (can I help it if my family buys cheesecake, they don't FORCE me to eat it!!!) and I am NOT going to have any more late night eating with Morton.  UGH!

Enough complaining, it's time for me to start changing and getting my money's worth on my weigh in nights.  NO MORE CHEATING!

Tonight I'm going to finish paining (hopefully) in my kitchen and eat like my life depends on it.  It does!
Priscilla

No matter if you have five pounds or five hundred pounds to lose, the scale can be our worst enemy when it doesn't do what we think it should.

For the last week while I was in Scotland, I said NO to plenty of bad food.  I did have the odd pack (or two) of crisps (potato chips) here and there as well as a fish supper that was fried with chips (fries) and a nice sticky toffee pudding, but other than that, I did alright.

The naughty food time was offset (or so I thought) by lots of walking.  Lots of step climbing.  Lots of chasing after a certain Alexander.

But last night when I stepped on the scale it broke my heart.  The lady on the other side of the counter told me I was up two pounds.  UGH!!!  325.8 is my weight.  HOW HOW HOW?

This is the kind of discouragement that makes it so tough to keep trying.  But I will.  I'm not going to moan too much about this.  I know I ate things I shouldn't have.  I know that I don't want the scale to go up, just down.  I also know how to make this happen.

Today I'm eating oatmeal, then a sensible lunch and dinner.  No snacking.  No crisps.  Nae fish 'n chips!

This week is going to be full of big work and along with good eating, it should make the scale become my friend again.

Keep trying.
Priscilla

Hey out there!  A great reader of LittleChanges, Ida, just sent me this email and I wanted to pass it on.  Read it, take it in and then DRINK your water!
Priscilla

***
One glass of water shuts down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University study.

Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen.
Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

Are you drinking the amount of water you should every day?

The trip is feeling a bit better now (the flight was the worst part!) and I'm able to pull out all the nice times from the crying baby times...easier with my feet planted home in Pennsylvania with Morton!

Here are some pictures of the trip, parts were fun, but I missed Morton terribly and the grandchildren didn't travel well.  It is a longgggg flight and all the adults really learned from it. 

The photos don't show the flood we encountered (roads were washed away) or any of the frustrating moments.

Excited about my weigh in tonight at WW.  I'll post my weight as soon as I know and we can tell if my fish and chip supper did bad things to me!
Priscilla

Hello world!
Just got back from a wild week in Scotland (more on that later) and a trip that just might have put me off traveling forever...it was tougher than riding my bicycle 3,000 miles.

Pictures are going to be downloaded today and I'll post some great ones for you and give you a bit more on the details of the wild journey.

I'm not very nervous about the weigh in tomorrow at WW, I behaved myself in Scotland.  Only had a few bad things and not big portions of them.  The scale will tell me how it was in the evening and I'll pass the details on to you.

VERY glad to be back home and back with Morton, who I will NEVER go to Scotland again without!  The whole country and every moment just reminded me of him.  I think I've kissed him more in the last two days then I have in the last two years!  Absence DOES make the heart grow fonder.

Hope everyone out there is doing great, taking care of themselves and living in the moment! 
Priscilla

Tonight at WW I was thrilled to learn that I have lost a whopping 50 pounds since joining.  I really just go each week, weigh in and leave.  I haven't been logging points or counting them for ages, but for me just the thought of having to get on the scale each week is keeping me on the road to weight loss.

They gave me a lovely copper colored disk that I had to get a picture with for you, as well as show you the weight.  I know that until I hit 250 again my heart won't be as excited as it can be (after all, I re-losing this weight!) but I am still very happy and pleased with the 50 pounds gone.

Now after WW we went to the grocery store.  I wasn't shopping for myself, just pushing a cart with Alexander in it.  Since my back and really everything on my body was aching, I leaned heavier than I normally do on the front of the cart.  It was really an odd feeling, but putting a lot of weight on my arms and shoulders, I could feel my legs and especially my knees, feel instantly better. 

People, I can't tell you how bad I want this weight gone.  Nothing I eat can ever taste as good as feeling healthy.  My body is glad for the 50 pounds that are done and if I have any doubt about just how horrible it is to carry that around, I can remember how hard I struggled to carry a 5 gallon container of drywall joint compound in to our house the other day.  It weighed almost 50 pounds on the nose and I could barely do it.

WAKE UP and take charge of your own health people.  I feel so much healthier now and I know I'll be walking on air when I'm down to 160!!!

Priscilla

As I was putting drywall compound in all the cracks and crevices in our kitchen, I was thinking about how much better I'm feeling losing weight slowly and realistically.  My arms stretch higher, I climb on and off the ladder with less grunts and groans and after the work is done and I take a shower, the mirror shows me the changes really are working.  I'm getting smaller.

So in no real order, here are MY top ten reasons for wanting to get fit and lose the fat.  Remember I was on a ladder for most of the time I was thinking about them, so the physical aspects are way up there for me!

1. To live as long as possible!  It is a fact that our length of life can be hindered by what the scale says.  Lose the weight, add some years!

2. To be able to get up and down off the floor where my grandson seems to always want me to sit!  Playing is easier the fitter I'm getting.

3. Stairs, stairs and more stairs!  There was a time in Scotland at 440 pounds that I had to use two special handrails on either side of our staircase to be able to climb them to go to the bathroom or to bed.  There were a few times when my husband would have to actually get behind me and push.  I'm pleased to announce I can go up and down the stairs in our house in Pennsylvania unassisted and getting easier by the day!

4. Riding the bicycle!  After my bike being such a wonderful part of my life, I'm looking forward to the day that I get the other half of my body off (I'm double what I want to weigh) and can go for a ride again on a regular basis.

5. Crossing my legs.  This might not seem like a biggie, but it is impossible for me to cross my legs (and has been for most of my adult life) and I dream of the day I can wear a dress and cross my legs. 

6. Seating that doesn't pinch my thighs.  When my backside is smaller, riding on planes, trains and even in automobiles will be easier.  Do booths scare you?  If so, you know just what I mean.

7. Dancing until the stars come up!  I want my husband to take me dancing and not feel like I'm a bowl of jello on the floor.  It will also be nice to dance and not have my knees aching and things feeling like they are going to break.  At the moment, I give new meaning to the term "break" dance...if I danced, something would most likely break.

8. Dressing room drama.  I don't want to go in to a fitting room and come out traumatized.  I want to be able to buy normal clothes, current styles and not hate what I see in the mirror.

9. Mental outlook.  If I'm fit, I'm happy.  Simple and very true.  It will be so nice to not have to think about losing weight every single moment of my life.

10. Quality of life.  I WILL climb every mountain, live like there and no tomorrow and I refuse to wait until I lose my last 160 pounds to do this.  I'm so glad to be alive, on the road to wellness and making the scale do my healthy bidding!

Go for it...make up your top ten list and email it to me.
Little changes people!

The scale was good to me this week and I cracked into the 320's...woohoo!  It is going to be so great to fall below 300 pounds again, I just can't tell 'ya!  This is the LAST time I'm going to do this to myself.  My body is getting to old and tired to take this weight anymore.

The kitchen floor is sanded, varnished and I have to say, it's looks STUNNING!  Not in a glossy museum way, but in a rustic old house sort of way.  It is shiny, there are flaws here and there, but it beats the heck out of having to buy something new and put down.  Recycling at it's best!

Our kitchen is kinda sorta coming together.  We have a stove and refrigerator that were delivered this morning (haven't had one since we moved in back in the beginning of August!) and we were both a bit heart broken when the delivery guys put a huge scratch down the side of the fridge that faces the dining room.  They painted it white (had the weight paint with them, so I guess this happens) and it really does stick out like a sore thumb.  Since we had been saving and waiting to buy new because we didn't want the dented and scratched look, we called the store and they are going to deliver another one.  I hate to complain but it is a rather expensive item, actually the most expensive we've bought besides the house!

We are installing our kitchen cabinets on our own to save a buck (or several!) and it is a job we are going to tackle in stages, starting in the morning.  Between Morton's long shifts at work usually seven days a week and my babysitting the grandchildren, our time is slim that we have together.

Back to my weight...328 may sound horrible, but coming down from a high of 440 and weighing in at 374 back in June of this year, I'm very happy with it.  Little by little it is coming off and I really don't feel like I'm dieting at all.  Just really trying to always make the best food decisions, not starving myself and indulging every once in a while.  It does feel GREAT to tell Morton I don't want him to bring me anything home from the fast food joints when he gets off work at 11 pm.

Morton has really kept his weight off great.  Don't you just HATE men!!!    He works really hard though and being physical is so important with being fit.

While I was digging out photos I want to put into frames I found this great shot of him that I couldn't believe.  We were on a lovely holiday on the Greek island of Rhodes and he was in a SPEEDO and weighed about 40 pounds more than he does now.  It was cute but shocking.  I showed it to him and asked what he thought of it.  He said, "I'm still a fat *@#$&!" which really shocked me.  Not his swearing, I'm use to that!  The part that shocked me is that he still thinks of himself as fat.  He said he will always feel like that.  It was odd to hear and it made me wonder if I'll always feel like I'm fat.  I hope not.  I'm working really hard to get fit and weight is ALWAYS on my mind.  It is kind of scary to think that I still might think I'm fat when I hit 160 pounds.

Now about my bruises.  My legs have so many on them I really can't even count them all.  There is a straight one on my leg about four inches above my knee.  It came from trying to push a several hundred pound desk on my own.  The others are mostly house remodeling related, though I have to say that my grandson has given me quite a few of them.  When I'm sitting on the floor with him coloring he has been known to stand up and step up on my leg and jump off.  Apparently it is just the right height!

Alexander and I have been talking a lot about flying to Scotland.  He is sitting beside me on the flight and it should be interesting to see if he can sit still for seven hours!  At just two years old, this will be his second trip back to the UK.  My little world traveler! 

Hopefully me backside will fit better in the seat and the seat belt will actually close without the need of an extender.  At least sitting beside Alexander I don't have to worry about the person beside me on the plane sleeping on my shoulder.

Back to work now, I have a lot to do before I can actually take a break.  Keep making those little changes people, they really do add up!
Priscilla

The weather has gotten cold here in Pennsylvania.  Add rain and gloom to it and you have the recipe for a great weekend to stay inside and get projects done.  My goal this weekend is to get all the nails out of the old rafters in the kitchen ceiling and paint it all snowy white.

Morton is suppose to actually have a weekend off (I can't even remember when his last day off was) so we should be able to accomplish a lot.

Exercise from doing the DIY is a great way to not get the munchies and when you are working with paint, drywall, insulation and other home repair stuff, I find that I really don't want to eat anything. 

At times my house feels like my weight, it is NEVER going to get finished.  But then I ran across old pictures from earlier this spring of just how different the house looks and I realize that we are both a work-in-progress.  And just like the house, if I stop, it will never get finished.

Off to combine weight loss with remodeling!  Have a brilliant Friday and do something this weekend you have been putting off.  Come Monday you will feel GREAT about it!
Priscilla

The part on my body I dislike the most is a tough one.  There are so many things that make me cringe when I walk in front of a mirror.  Since we have BIG mirrors all over the house (they were FREE on Craigslist!) I have to say, as my weight is going down, even though it is slowly, my body is shaping up a bit.

My upper arms, though browner from the summer sun, are still flabby and quite disappointing.  The left one has a bigger fat roll that I suppose is from being right handed.

Thank goodness I have a spoiled little granddaughter!  Miss Maggie is helping me flap my bat wings and eventually I know I'll lose them.  It seems she loves to be swung back and forth in her car seat and when I do this, it is never any less than ten minutes on EACH arm.  I can really see it now, they are toning up.

Since the combination in her weight and the car seat is about 45 pounds, it is really a great workout that I get almost every day.  Tough on the back, true, but very good on the arms and making her happy.  And after all, isn't HAPPY babies what life is all about?

I'm off to the store to buy some paint for the kitchen ceiling.  We pulled down the drywall that was held up by over 100 nails per sheet and guess what???  We found beautiful beams and boards that we are painting all white to brighten the room. 

It never ends...