The scale moved today.  No, it wasn't because of an earthquake or because I got so angry I strangled it.  It actually showed a 5 pound loss ....no lie!   I gained two over the weekend so it was a great surprise to see not only was the mood food gain gone but more of the hard core fat too!

One of my small indulgences (non-food reward) is the magazine Woman's World. Let's here it for $1.79 non fattening treat! That's where I usually get my new diet of the week. This one is from John Hopkins that ran true in my own experience with trying to lose weight.

According to scientists from Grand Valley State University in Michigan, an exciting new study proves that if you simply cut back on carbs a bit before your next stroll, you'll burn a whopping 29% more fat as you go.When you reduce carb intake, you force the body to use fat as fuel. John Hopkins University did a study comparing walkers who ate low carbs to those who ate low fat meals.  Both groups got the same amount of calories and the same amount of physical activity- yet the low-carb walkers lost and average of 28 pounds while the low fat walkers just lost 18.

 The article suggests that this combination is the fastest way to get the results I want (as in 80 days till the wedding!)  So this girl is eating 1600 calories and staying below 70 gms of carbs a day.  I've been doing a 3 mile walk with Leslie Sansone in my living room before work and working out with my exercise buddy in the evenings.  So far I've gotten my 10,000 steps in every day this week.

Tomorrow we leave for New York to help our daughter pack for their move.  I'll be staying there for a week to help with the boys so I know I will have many challenges as my routine will definitely be different.  I'm planning on taking a couple of exercise videos I can do when the boys go to bed or hopefully napping.  I know I will be running after them most of the day so that should help burn some calories.

Wish me luck.  I'm finally on my weigh.

There, I've said it, I can still fit into the earrings I wore in High School.  Does that make me feel better about my body image?  Not really, but I'll take all the help I can get.

Yesterday I started my do over diet.  It is 1600 calories and keeping to 70 gms of carbs.  (A modified Atkins with exercise included!)  I walked with Leslie in my living room for 3 miles as well as did house cleaning, cooking, and watering the flowers.  I also walked another 3 miles with Leslie and my exercise buddy that evening.  I was delighted to know that I had put in over 14,000 steps by the end of the day.

This morning when I weighed I noticed the two pounds I gained over the weekend had been worked off. (Praise the Lord!)  Mr. Wonderful worked out with me this morning.  I got in another 3 miles, he got 2 done.  Now I'm working in the clothing pile so that should burn off some more calories by this afternoon. 

I'm going to be gone next week so I'm going to have to make some plans for my eating program next week.  I know I will have lots of opportunities to "stray".  So Lord give me strength, I'm on my weigh.

    Welcome to my world!

My exercise buddy and I just completed 2 weeks of exercising together.  She lost 3 pounds, I lost my will to live, my sense of humor, and two weeks.  The scale seems to be permanently stuck and refuses to move for me.  I'm thrilled with her success but I will admit I've picked up some bad habits along the way that I really need to drop.  (There are probably more than 5 but you know how much I love my lists!)

1.  Setting unrealistic goals.  When I finally decided to do something I plunge into it without reservation.  True, it does take me a long time to get myself motivated but I go "all in".  I don't seem to be an "all things in moderation " kind of girl.  So I'm thinking big energy expenditures should net a big weight loss.  I want to lose 100 pounds by tomorrow.  Lord give me patience, but give it to me now.

2.  Expecting to see results right away. According to ivillage,

Just because you can't see any visible changes yet, doesn't mean you body isn't changing. Instead of focusing on immediate gratification, focus on how you feel instead to stay motivated. Chances are you'll start to feel better, have more energy, and slowly start to feel less winded and stronger before you'll actually see your scale weight or dress size drop.  The truth is change takes time, so patience is the key.  Most experts agree that it can take 6 weeks  ( or more) to begin to see changes in how you look.

3.  Doing too much too soon.   Guilty! I've been exercising twice a day, once with Mr. Wonderful and then in the evening with my exercise buddy.  I've tried every machine and am trying to build up endurance as I'm not very good.  I've learned how to use a stability ball and am getting better getting up and down off the floor. My knee seems to be stronger, my abs hurt, and my legs feel like jello.  In my mind I know I have a "six pack of muscles" under all that fat.  I truly expect to see a big greasy spot on the floor where all the fat has melted away from the heat of my physical efforts. ( See habit 1 and 2)

4.  Not doing what motivates you.  So far I haven't found out what I like to do.  I'm motivated to exercise because I have a buddy that's sweating along side of me.  I do like sitting on the stability ball...Leslie Sansone calls it "active sitting".  Sigh, I'm such a lazy daisy!  I don't see myself as a runner (to hard on the joints) , not a swimmer,(no way am I putting this body in a swim suit ), not a biker (we live next to a highway) to old for basketball, or active sports.  Just getting vertical and putting one foot in front of the other is all I can do.

5.  Doing the same workout over and over.  The nice thing about our little community gym is that there are lots of exercise videos to try.  I haven't try belly dancing, kick boxing, hip hop or some other yet but you never know what this old Diva might try.  My exercise buddy is very patient with me (especially since I'm old enough to be her mother!)  So look out world I'm on my weigh.

Choose food that loves you back.  What a great concept.  I love the heart shape box too.

A few days ago I posted 10 Steps to a Positive Body Image.  So today I'm focusing on the next two steps.

Step 3:  Remind yourself that "true beauty" is not simply skin deep.  Beauty is a state of mind, not a state of your body.

Beauty is seeing God at work.  It can be watching a healthy child at play, a gorgeous sunrise, a perfect flower, or the peace of belonging I get in my safe little nest next to Mr. Wonderful.

It's true I'm not happy with the way I look physically but I know I'm a work in progress.  I'm not at the stage where I won't have my picture taken.  I know that chances are, I'm not going to get better looking but I am very visual.  I want to look back on the pictures of my life knowing I was fully present.  I want my grandchildren to see Diva on the floor playing dolls, building with Legos, or playing with cars.  Hopefully they won't remember that it took a crane to get me back off the floor (but that's a story for another day!).

I love to see people working in the areas that they are truly gifted.  I loved the Olympics, seeing athletes preform physical feats they have trained years to accomplish.  I loved that the world came together to participate and that the woman runner from Saudi Arabia who came in last got a standing ovation and cheered on to finish.

I love the beauty of creativity. Mr. Wonderful thinks it's funny that I watch Top Shot (a program that pits marksmen in various challenges to preform shooting accuracy.)  I love to watch cooking competitions, design contests, even craft war.  There is a beauty of seeing something done well.

Step 4:  Look at yourself as a whole person- choose not to focus on a specific body part.  On the whole I like who I am and who I'm becoming.  I'm changing every day.  My yard has never looked better.  I seem to raise flowers better than vegetables so I'm concentrating on raising better flowers.  I like to look back over my old posts and see moments of genius .....so I'm concentrating on writing more, watching TV less, reading more and trying to be more positive.

  My momma raised me to be a gracious woman.  A gracious woman is a grace-giver.  She gives willingly-not just materially, but of herself:

• because she receives inexhaustible grace, she can extend grace.
• because she is deeply loved by the Father, she can love others.
• because she is forgiven, she can forgive.
• because she hears the Lord speak graciously to her, she can communicate with grace.
• because her strength and peace are from the Lord, she can impart a gentle and quiet spirit to those around her.
• because she is humbled by the privilege of being God's child, she can serve selflessly, delight in bringing glory to Him alone.  (Ok, so I need a little more work in this area, but I'm getting there!)

There you have it.....I'm being as positive as I can be.  So wish me luck, and say a prayer cause I'm definitely on my weigh.

Mr. Wonderful and I did yard work this morning before going to work. We got all our flower beds mulched, watered and the birds fed all before 7 a.m.  By the time we got home from work this evening I was really tired.  So tired that I went to bed and promptly feel asleep for over an hour.
I woke up just in time to change my clothes, eat, and get out the door to go exercise with my exercise buddy.  We took the weekend off as both of us have injuries that needed some time to heal. 

The only thing that got me out of the door is knowing that someone else was waiting for me.  Neither one of us like to exercise but no one wants to disappoint the other so we drag ourselves to the gym.  We had a nice surprise when we arrived (two other ladies were there) so we did a fast walk with Leslie Sansone.

We found an exercise tape that both of us like.  It's a Leslie Sansone tape but she also shows you how to shape and tone without having to lie on the floor.  We just did the shape portion but it really "kicked our butts" .  We've decided to start with this tape tomorrow.  I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow.  Who Knew?  Wish me luck, I'm on my weigh.

Yesterday I made a list of all the things I'm not.  I did hear from a few people today that thought I was too hard on myself and saw qualities in me that they like and admire.  One of them even sent me this list on 10 Steps to a positive body image.  So here goes:
     Step 1:  I'm sure I don't appreciate the body I have till something goes wrong.  I sprained my knee a few weeks ago and the more I exercise the more it hurts. I'm aware that I have a knee every time I walk.  The pain is a reminder to me to pray for those I know experiencing physical pain or needing physical healing.  So thank you God for a strong body that you've given me (despite that I'm built like the refrigerator).  At my age it's a blessing to wake up at all, knowing who I am and where I'm going and have the ability to do it.  God is Good all the time.
    Step 2:  I started making a list of things I like about me
 1.  I have a great smile, it makes my face light up and always gets a positive response from others.
2.  I have gorgeous blue eyes (especially if I'm wearing blue).
3.  I have great ear lobes (nice and skinny).
4.  I have a small frame, small wrists,  delicate hands with long fingers.
5.  I have beautiful silver hair....(I told God I could do silver but not grey!)
6.  I have a great sense of humor. 
7.  I'm a good communicator.
8.  I'm creative.
9.  I'm a good encourager and cheerleader.
10.  I'm a good pray-er.


Whew, that wore me out.  Two steps in one day, watch out world I'm on my weigh.

If this statement is correct then I have some serious thinking to do.  I can probably come up with a long list of who I think I'm not.  So lets try.

1. I think I'm not beautiful, or even pretty.  If I try really hard I can sometimes be cute.
2. I think I'm not a good role model since I can't control my weight.
3. I think I'm not very smart. 
4. I think I'm not the woman my husband deserves.
5. I think I'm not worthy of love.
6. I think I'm a captive of  my past mistakes.
7. I think I'm not ever going to succeed.
8. I think I'll embarrass my son at his wedding by my appearance.
9. I think I'm not ever going to feel healthy or attractive.
10. I think I'm really superficial because I'm worried about all the things above.

    I guess I should be glad that hardly anyone reads this blog.  I don't know when I've ever been this honest with myself .  So there it is....the big ugly truth, I don't like me very much.  BIG SURPRISE??? 

The scale isn't moving and I'm embarrassed that my self esteem is measured by my dress size.  Guess I'll have to work on that.  I'm weighed down tonight but I'll get over it.

 

     Here it is, the dreaded picture that every woman of traditional build hates .....my HUGE BUTT!  In my defense this picture was taken before I started my current weight loss plan.  This is me, Mr. Wonderful and baby Charlie at the fair ground in Kutztown, Pennsylvania.  My backside is bigger than baby Charlie!  I'm thinking of posting this picture on the refrigerator as an incentive to back away from the food.  There's a reason fat people only look at themselves from the neck up, the rest is too depressing.
     I really need to lose all this extra weight especially on my butt and belly.  I know my joints would send me a thank you note.  Again, I know that the weight is not going to just fall off but it doesn't mean that I don't rush to the scale every morning in hopes that it did.
      Since the scale isn't moving I need to take measurements .  I've notice that my clothes aren't as tight  so maybe the inches will be incentive to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

     Last night my exercise buddy and I did walking and boxing with George Foreman.  I can now throw a jab, a hook, a cross over and know how to bob and weave as well as how to do the Foreman shuffle.  So take that big belly,  take that big butt, this chick won't go down without a fight.  Wish me luck, I'm on my weigh, fighting for every pound.

I didn't work out the night before with my exercise buddy as she was at the fair with her family.  Today I got this email from Calorie King on Catastrophic Carnival Food.   I couldn't believe the calories and grams of fat .  Some of these entries I've never seen at the fair and I guess it's a good thing.  The Caveman Turkey Leg is a 2 lbs leg with a pound of bacon wrapped around it and deep fried.  Talk about excessive!  I don't think I would have trouble passing on that one.

I have seen this at the fair.  Deep Fried Butter on a Stick.  Now I will admit to a love affair with butter.  I like to slather it on hot biscuits or hot grits but I've never been tempted to deep fry it and put it on a stick.  Maybe the batter surrounding it makes it taste like a hot biscuit, but this girl will never know.  I'll take a pass on that.

There were other delicacies like fried Kool- aide  (no lie) , Chocolate covered bacon, deep fried Oreos , Twinkies, Mars bars, Klondike Bars and even Krispy Kreme Chicken Sandwich.  Of course my favorite foods at the fair are Funnel Cakes with powdered sugar, and Kettle Corn, both  outlandishly high in calories and fats.  If you really want to get the scoop on Fair food go here.  Thanks Karen for ruining my desire to go to the fair! 


On a less fattening note:  I think the higher calories 1200 to 1500 have helped keep my blood sugar where it should be.  Of course the scale is not moving.  It's probably cause I gained 5 pounds just looking at these pictures of fair food.

Wish me luck I'm well on my weigh.

Yesterday we got up early to exercise and the first thing I did was eat a banana.  During the night I woke up with severe cramps in my legs so much so that all I could do was cry and pray they would let up.  They eventually did but I thought I might be low on potassium.  I think the banana help me get through the workout but I didn't think anymore about it till today.

I've been working out in the morning with Mr. Wonderful and in the evening with my exercise buddy.  We worked on toning using a balance ball.  Wow, was I sore today.  I worked muscles I never knew I had before and they were definitely complaining.  After working out this morning I just didn't feel quite right.  I fixed breakfast while Mr. Wonderful showered.  We had our standard breakfast of Southwest Egg beaters with cheese, and mushrooms with bacon, and fresh fruit.  I still wasn't feeling very energetic even after eating so fixed a Slimfast shake with Soy Milk .  That seemed to do the trick.

I've been eating about a thousand calories a day and I'm wondering if I'm not eating enough.  I know my body seems to be holding on to every single calorie thinking I'm starving and it could be a while before we see food again. I had a another shake this evening before working out.

It was a really hard day at work and I'm already falling asleep .  So wish me luck I'm on my weigh.

I hate to exercise.  I hate being sweaty, smelly, and having sweat roll into my eyes.  I hate that I'm short of breath climbing the stairs, and that my joints ache every day whether I exercise or not.

I hate getting up early in the morning to accommodate an exercise program .  Do you know what you get when a" morning dove" marries "a night owl" ?   You get a couple where one of you is always grumpy no matter what time of day it is.   Mr. Wonderful is my morning dove.  He functions better in the morning.  He's more rested, chatty and more inclined to take on a new challenge.  Since I'm the one initiating all these changes I'm also the one who has to accommodate him since he's the one doing me the favor.  He gets up happy and singing, "Good Morning Lord, " I get up grumpy and irritated saying," Good Lord is it morning?"

We got up later than usual this morning (which translates into not enough time to walk over to the gym and exercise )so we walked in front of the TV for two miles with Leslie.  Leslie Sansone is a Christian and a lovely lady but a little bit of Leslie at 6:30 in the morning rates high on my" just a little too perky for me "radar screen. However, at my current rate of fitness being upright and breathing is about all I'm able to sustain.

We both survived the 2 mile walk and that mad dash  that follows of showering, dressing, making breakfast and lunch, filling water bottles and making it to work.  Did I tell you that I hate to exercise?  Daily exercise is just so daily!

Exercise just for the sake of exercise is boring.  Give me a tree to cut down, dirt that needs to be moved or a train you have to run to catch.  At least when you finish you have something to show for it and bragging rights.  When you say, I walked away the pounds someone will surely inform you that there are quite a few that didn't get the memo and have taken up permanent residence on your back side.

I hate to exercise.  What do you wear to exercise?  You don't want tight fitting clothing  and let's face it all your clothes are tight fitting or you wouldn't be exercising in the first place.  I won't wear shorts as I don't want to traumatize anyone else working out with me. ( I understand therapy can be very expensive!)  Does anyone ever look good while they are exercising?   I always have wet stringy hair, flaming red cheeks, flaring nostrils, sweat soaked t-shirt, and  puffy cellulite infested thighs and butt cheeks largely protruding from my too tight for exercising pants.  Not a pretty sight!

Did I tell you how much I hate to exercise?  Just thought I'd mention it.  Wish me luck I'm on my weigh to exercise.

Boy am I enthusiastic!  Work was hard today, and hard to stay motivated.  I was more than ready to leave and when I got home my back was hurting, my knee was hurting from standing all day and I still had to finish up my crock pot dinner.  Tonight we had Mandarin chicken and it was pretty good.  Definitely not my favorite dish but a nice change.

At 6:45 I headed over to my new exercise buddy's house (she lives two doors down and in the same direction as the community center.  We walked over and found out that we were the only ones there.  We did manage to unlock the room and walked a mile with Leslie.  This was a different tape than the one I did this morning and by the end of the first mile we were definitely sweating.  My new friend showed me some of the stretch bands, balance balls, and hand weights and showed me some pretty impressive moves on the balance ball.  I made sure my ball matched my outfit and secretly feared I'd find myself on the floor from either having fallen off or popped it when I sat down. (Do these things come with a seat belt, forget that, then I'd have to worry if the seat belt would fit.)

After our work out we exchanged phone numbers in case one of us can't work out.  I casually asked how often she wanted to work out....once a week? every other day? never again?  I was delightfully surprised when she said she wanted to work out every evening.  I was also delightfully surprised to see my pedometer  reading was 12016 steps today. That's almost 6 miles!

I'm sure I'll pay for it tomorrow but tonight I'm a happy camper.  A new exercise buddy and some extra motivation.  Wish me luck I'm on my weigh.

I had to laugh at this poster of fruit and what they might think about their body image (if fruit could think and talk).  It seems no one is content with their bodies and we all tend to focus on the one of more traits that we don't like about our bodies. 

Being a woman "of traditional build" (translated extra large woman) it's easy to focus on the negative and forget all the good work I've already done.  Today we were up at 5:30 am, I thought we were going to work out at the gym.  Mr. Wonderful had an email he needed to send and one thing led to another till it was too late to work out, shower, and get to work on time.

We compromised and worked in the yard.  I bought some shade loving plants yesterday so we planted them before it rained.  They added much needed color to our little white nest.  Mr. Wonderful bought me some solar lights to put in the little container garden of flowers at the edge of the yard so he activated them and placed them in the garden.  I'm looking forward to seeing how the garden looks at night now. 

I was still disappointed when we came in from the yard so talked my exercise buddy (Mr. Wonderful) into doing a one mile walk in our living room with a Leslie Sansone's tape.  He was surprised to see how much of a sweat the one mile walk generated.

I'm trying to focus on my good physical aspects instead of negative ones.  So here goes:

1.  I have a great smile, it makes my face light up and always gets a positive response from others.
2.  I have gorgeous blue eyes (especially if I'm wearing blue).
3.  I have great ear lobes (nice and skinny).
4.  I have a small frame, small wrists,  delicate hands with long fingers.
5.  I have beautiful silver hair....(I told God I could do silver but not grey!)

Well, that's it.  I was trying to come up with 10 but I'm ok with these 5.  It can only gets better!

Wish me luck, I'm on my weigh.

When my children were growing up we read a book about animal manners.  The ones that sticks with me still are "Bears Share" and "Little Rabbits have good habits".  Looking back over my blog since 2006 I found out that I am a good starter but not good for the long term.  I've started over every Monday morning for years!

Today the scale finally moved 2 and half pounds gone.  I was thrilled as I weigh everyday and had seen no progress in almost a week.  In my heart of hearts I know that the weight will not just drop off overnight but it still doesn't keep me from hoping it will.

There is an old saying that it takes 21 days to change a habit.  The theory is that if you do something for 21 days there is a good chance that you will continue to do the same thing on day 22 and 23 and 24 and beyond.  So I'm focusing on the next three weeks, on diet, fitness and faith..

" Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it."  Thomas Mann

Thought for the day:  " When you form a deeper relationship with God, you can start establishing healthier habits, starting now."

This evening my friend Sandy came over for a marathon cook-a-thon.  We made turkey vegetable chilli, cabbage soup, and two crock pot dinners.  There was lots of laughing and catching up while chopping up vegetables and fruit.  Sandy started a new job and she told me that she has gained 10 pounds from stress eating and eating fast food.  Since I'm seeing results from healthy eating I decided it might be fun to do a  cook off while our hubbies were at a church meeting this evening.  I know I hate to have to cook when I get home from work.  I don't want to make one more decision so usually go with a bad choice because it's easier than having to come up with a healthy plan that demands more energy.  (Did I mention that I'm notoriously lazy?)

Misery loves company so we made enough food to feed both of our families for the next week.  I also cut up watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, blue berries and strawberries so they are readily available for snacking.

Good start of a good habit.  So wish me luck and say a prayer, I'm on my weigh.

Today was one of those rare weekends that we didn't have some responsibilities out of town or a volunteer group to accommodate.  We have been getting up early 6am and working in the yard because of the heat.  We slept in today (7 am) had a leisurely breakfast and started on work in the yard and garden around 9.

We got so much done today.  It was amazing.  We shoveled the mulch pile in the trailer and mulched all the flower beds, and under our big shade tree where the grass refuses to grow.  Mr.Wonderful actually put the the fire pit together (a project that has waited about 2 months).  We finally got our dirt pile spread out over the cistern and in the flower beds and garden.  We put out grass seed over the cistern and then put straw on top and watered the whole thing.  These are projects that we have been meaning to do for quite a while now.  Usually we are working on the weekend or we are too tired when we get home from work.

While we were putting the fire pit together I noticed a "woman of traditional build" ( code for a large woman) slowly jogging up the long drive way to a house that is empty now.  We live next to a highway and even though we live in a small "Mayberry-esque " town there are cars that like to speed through town.  There are no sidewalks so there is really no good place to walk.  I've jogged, walked, wheezed and crawled up that same drive way myself looking for a safe place to exercise.  The woman was jog/walking with a young boy.  I watched them till they came back down the road and then I followed them to see where they lived.. Turns out that they are neighbors and live two houses down.

I have been looking for an exercise buddy and God dropped one in my lap.  I promptly walked over to her house, introduced myself and asked her if she was looking for an exercise buddy.  Talk about being out of my comfort zone!   I found out that they are members of the New Hope Community gym also.  I asked her if she knew about the nightly exercise classes  for women there.  She did not know about them even though she knows the instructor well.  So long story short I've got a date, I'm walking over to her house on Monday and we'll walk over together to check out the class.

We've lived in New Hope for 10 years now and I've finally met one of my neighbors and we may turn out to even be friends.  God is good all the time and knows our needs even before we do.

Wish me luck I'm on my weigh, and with a new friend in tow.

It's Friday (99 days till the wedding).  On Friday's I've decided to try to write something inspirational to keep me going on this flight to healthy living.  I found a beautiful silver dragonfly necklace the other day.  It came in as a donation and I was instantly drawn to it.  I'm usually a butterfly girl as butterflies symbolize new life and this diet journey certainly will give me new life and vitality.

On doing some research on dragonflies I've decided that it is a better symbol for me.  The dragonfly in almost every part of the world symbolizes change, emotional maturity, and an understanding of the deeper meaning of life.

Power and Poise....The dragonfly's agile flight and its ability to move in all six directions exude a sense of power and poise-something that comes only with age and maturity.  The dragonfly can move at an amazing 45 miles an hour, hover like a helicopter, fly backwards like a hummingbird, fly straight up, down and on either side.  It can do all this while flapping it's wings a mere 30 times a minute while a mosquito and housefly need to flap their wings 600 to 1000 times a minute.

Focus on living in the moment....the dragonfly normally lives most of its life as a nymph.  It flies only for a fraction of its life and usually not more than a few months. Because of the brevity of it's life and it's abilities the dragonfly symbolizes living in the moment and living life to it's fullest without regrets.

The opening of one's eyes.....the eyes of the dragonfly are amazing.  80% of the insect's brain power is dedicated to its sight and it can see in all 360 degrees around it.  This symbolizes the ability to see beyond the limitations that we place on our self.  There are lots more information that can be found here .


So why would a dragonfly apply to me?.... As you can see by the picture of the dragonfly I chose, I don't have a healthy self esteem.  I see myself as a fat little bug with tiny barely functional wings.  I desperately need change , emotional maturity , power and poise.   My body is changing but it's very easy for me to get discourage and quit.  I need to rise above my limitations, quit looking at the obstacles, change my perspective and look beyond my self for power and strength.  The poise part....comes with confidence and success.  So I may be a fat little bug with tiny wings now but watch how I'll change in the coming weeks.  Wish me luck I'm on my weigh.

According to my future daughter in law, the count down has begun and the wedding is in 100 days so all I need to do to make my overall goal is lose a pound a day!  Right!  I think I would have a better shot at winning gold at the Olympics against Michael Phelps! (Just a thought!)

Yesterday started off well.  We got up early, exercised and still made it to work on time.  I was interested in going to the ladies evening exercise session but missed the step on the front porch and hyper extended my knee  almost smashing my face into the sidewalk .  I think my guardian angel was looking after me cause it was a close call.

Needless to say I went back inside, iced down my knee and took some Tylenol.  This morning my knee is stiff and mildly sore but I can walk on it.  We got up this morning at 6am and decided to work on the yard.  Most evenings we are so tired that we have no energy left.  We had a truckload of dirt delivered when the cistern had to be replaced and it hasn't been spread out yet so we tackled it this morning.  We put dirt in the flower beds, over the cistern and in low spots in the yard.  It was a good workout and nice to see something accomplished.

I weigh myself everyday and the scale is not budging this week.  I tell myself it's because I'm building muscles  and muscles weight more than fluffy fat.  I tell myself that  my body is in shock from last week's lose and has to level out.  I tell myself that the gravitational pull is stronger at my house and seems to be centered over the spot that the scale is located.  I definitely feel like the red bird on the branch above.

I'm impatient and want to see the weight drop off and leave a big  greasy spot on the floor.  It's not happening quick enough for me (not that I'm in to instant gratification....but it would be nice!)  So I'm plodding along, writing down everything I eat, only snacking on healthy items at night, staying below 1200 calories and not cheating.  I have to believe that the weight will come off.  So wish me luck I'm on my weigh.

Dear Future Self,

You owe me big time!  Last night Mr. Wonderful and I joined our Community Center's gym.  It is very small but has treadmills,  two elliptical machines,  weight machine, push/pull machines and several others that I'm not sure how to operate or feel the need to know.

I have a key so literally it's like having a membership to 24 hour fitness.  I found out that there is a nightly class of ladies that do various exercise tapes together.....everything from Zumba to Ta-bo.   I met the young lady that organizes the group (she looks like she's 10 years old but then everyone younger than me looks like they are about 10!)

As you know, I hate to exercise but I am very social.  It would be nice to have some local ladies that I can exercise with and get to know.  I know I enjoyed it in Savannah.  I made some really good friends at the ladies gym that I joined.  I also need a place that I can scream out loud and people just think I'm enthusiastic

Mr. Wonderful and I got out of bed at 6 am just for you.  We programed the coffee maker so the coffee was ready before we were.  We had our coffee and walked over to the gym together.  Mr. Wonderful is my work out buddy.  We were the only ones that had ventured out at that time in the morning.  We had a light work out (about 5 minutes on each machine) we wanted to be sure that we could still walk home and be able to go to work.  We got home at 7, showered and had breakfast, fixed our lunch, emptied the dish washer, put away a load of clothes from the dryer and started a new load in the washer.  So today marks a special day in your life....the day you finally got off your butt and started to exercise on a daily basis. 

You can pay me back by wearing skinny jeans and being more adventurous.

Your former Fat Self.