Sometimes I read something or watch something that resonates…and today contained one of those moments, so I thought that I would share it with you.
Before I talk about what I watched, please take just two minutes and ten seconds to watch this. Have you watched it? If not, go back and click the link! 
Each of us will have a slightly different reaction to this. For me, this is all about living in the moment. How often do you give yourself time to actually stop and enjoy the ‘right here, right now’? I know that I am often so busy dashing around – to the horses, to the gym, to uni, to the shops, working, Slimming World. And then the rest of the time I am on Twitter, or updating my Facebook page, or writing the blog. I rarely take any time to just ‘be’.
My other half is terrible at this too. He lives in his mind – if that makes sense – always thinking about stuff, but never noticing what is going on around him. Take today for example. We had a little bet on the way back to the cottage. I bet that we would see five deer / stag on the way back, and he bet six. I spotted one, then two, then another one…and then this beauty…
…who was stood on the road in front of us, but slowly moved off the road as we got close. Mr WLB didn’t notice him until I pointed him out…but he was on the road in front of us and Mr was on the lookout for them!
This has nothing to do with eye sight or intelligence – as Mr WLB is pretty sharp on both counts – but it’s more to do with just being mindful of your surroundings. Now, a martial arts chap I know would scare the crap out of you now with his talk about mindfulness and what can happen to you if you aren’t…but I am not referring to this kind of safety mindfulness. Instead, I am referring to just taking time to soak up the atmosphere.
Think back to that little video you just watched. The woman had forgotten her phone for the day…and she was living in the moment. Yet she noticed how many people don’t do this. Yes, it was a video and that message was intentional. However, I went for lunch with a friend a few weeks ago, and at the table next to us was a family of six. During their meal, there were many instances when they were all tinkering with their phones…no communication, no laughter, no interaction…it was all about the phones. And to see it was a bit of an eye-opener.
I am a nightmare for my other half…he loves his gadgets and his phone is always in his hand. He is like the chap in the video…his phone is in bed with him in the morning, and in bed with him at night…and rarely leaves his company. I hate phones. Mine is not connected to the Internet…I don’t take photos on it, I don’t tweet from it, I don’t pick emails up on it. When I am away from my house I like to enjoy what I am doing. I might get Mr WLB to snap a picture for me, and I borrowed his phone today to take the pics I got. Yet most of the day I was soaking up the atmosphere, communicating with him, and just enjoying ‘being’.
The same goes for family events. I might want to capture a couple of pictures…but more than this, I just want to enjoy the memories and be part of it all. How can I do that if I spend all of my time tweeting, or posting pictures on Facebook? So I enjoy my time and had a set period when I will catch up and do the blog etc. Anyway, I am rambling now…so I will wrap it up!
Just take the time to enjoy those special moments…enjoy time with loved ones and just ‘be’. I never used to notice stuff…like the faces I posted. I could always see faces, but there was a time that I was so wrapped up in me and my issues that I lost the zest for life and stopped noticing the weird and wonderful. I am pleased to say that this period is well and truly over and I am back to the weird and wonderful!
So then, the usuals…
Today we decided to take a drive to Mallaig – which is a fishing port from which you can get the ferry over to Skye. It is a lovely little town with such scenic views. However, most of it was closed today – with the exception of two shops…both of which we went into! So we decided to grab some lunch and have a scenic car picnic instead of shopping. From our lunch spot I could see the Ardnamurchan Peninsula, the Isle of Eigg, the Isle of Rum, and the Isle of Skye…and I even saw a little seal bobbing around nearby.
We also took a walk on the beach. This was lovely. I took this picture, as I loved the pattern on the sand…
And then I took a few other shots…
It was pretty bracing! We had a lovely stroll and the dog loved it…until a couple of Collies tried to jump on her. My dog is fabulous with humans, awful with other dogs as I don’t think she was socialised with them as a puppy…she was on the lead, but the other dogs weren’t and weren’t listening to their owner who was calling them. We had to pick our dog up – she was wriggling like a bugger and growling – and the Collies were jumping up trying to get her. Imagine the story if our old Staffie had done the same to them! 
After our beach walk, we headed towards Glenfinnan and took a walk up the hill behind the monument. This is the Harry Potter viaduct hill, and it had a lot of water trickling down the hill and was pretty slippery. I was a true mountain goat and got up there quickly…a lot quicker than I did back in October. So I guess the work that I have been doing in the gym is paying off! I remember having to catch my breath a couple of times on the way up before, and my recovery took a while. This sounds quite lame, as it’s hardly Ben fecking Nevis…but it was another one of those moments when I could see the progress for myself. Here are a few pics…
After this, we headed back to the cottage for our stag spotting opportunities…and we played that game along the way – the one where you plan what you would do if you won the lottery. We saw so many houses for sale, and fabulous plots of land that my horses would love…one day, one day! This pic of Ben Nevis was taken just outside a nice plot of land that we fancied…what a view!
This evening will mostly be spent watching TV and cuddling under a blanket…I will be cuddling the dog…Mr WLB has his eye on a football match!
Breakfast: Smoked salmon, cream cheese and pea shoot toasties (HEA and 2 x HEB).
Lunch: Car picnic – fruit and turkey…excuse the photo, Mr WLB wanted to capture the ambience of the location!
Dinner: Pasta with veggies and smoked chicken.
Snacks: Two packets of French Fries (8 syns), a mini Green & Blacks bar (3.5 syns) and some fruit with smoked beef.
A lush food day…I was so hungry…I am sure that there is something in the air up here. I toasted my HEB bread and used some garlic and herb Phili Light for my HEA, and topped this with smoked salmon and pea shoots. I think it is the poshest brekkie I have had in a while…and so bloody tasty! Lunch was just grabbed from the CoOp as the fish place I usually buy stuff from was shut. Dinner was so easy but tasted fabulous. I put some of the broccoli and cheese Pasta’n’Sauce in the microwave whilst cooking some tenderstem broccoli, onions, mushrooms, garlic, green beans and red pepper. This was all mixed together once cooked and I added a sliced smoked chicken breast…delicious. A word of caution regarding the mini Green & Blacks bars…they vary in syns depending on flavour. The ginger one tonight was only 3.5 syns…my usual ones are 4 syns, but I know some are 5…so just be mindful!
Exercise: A good beach walk and a climb!
Thank you for reading,
Weight Loss Bitch xxx
WeightLossBitch
On a health and fitness driven journey to lose over 32st / 448lbs / 203kgs – yes, it is a considerable amount – I am committed to losing my excess weight without the aid of weight loss surgery, diet pills, or quick fixes…as there aren’t any! Changing my eating habits and building up my fitness levels, along with addressing the ‘head issues’ will be crucial in order for me to achieve my goal. Living in England as a 31 year old super morbidly obese woman can be challenging to say the least. I have been shouted at in the street and verbally abused far too many times to mention; hence the name ‘Weight Loss Bitch’…the day I am just called a ‘bitch’ instead of a ‘fat bitch’ will be the day that I know I have cracked my weight loss! With many reasons to lose this weight I am documenting my journey for a number of reasons. Firstly, I would like to keep a record of the ups and downs, the highs and lows, and the challenges I face with such an enormous task to tackle. Secondly, I would also like to inspire and encourage other people who are in a similar situation and to show them that significant amounts of weight can be lost naturally…with a bit of motivation, hard work, dedication and will power. Thirdly, all of the blogging, Facebook-ing, Tweet-ing, Pinterest-ing and YouTube-ing keeps me occupied and keeps my fingers out of the fridge!
Join with Google
Join with Facebook