Week 1 Results, 33 more weeks to go until my ship sets sail!

Of course I am a little bit off schedule with reporting my weight loss for the first week.  What's new, right?  So the end of the first week was on Tuesday.  I am excited to report that my weight was at 255#!  The exclamation mark is included because my overall goal was to be down to 256# minimum, and I am less than that.  It was fun to go to Weight Watchers and have the person checking my weight tell me that I did great.  I told him the number was even better when I didn't have any clothes on.  He replied telling me that he would be facing a lot of law suits if they had us take off our clothes.  Here is what I have been focusing on this last week to achieve my weight loss:

- Track intake:  I have been using the Weight Watchers food tracker online for this.  I like their tracker but I have to admit that I enjoy FatSecret.com a little bit more.  FatSecret has a larger database including more restaurants than the food database for Weight Watchers.  But I still like Weight Watchers and will keep using it, especially since I paid for it. 

- Exercise exercise!  I have been trying to make sure I get at least a 1/2 hour each day.  But this past week I have been able to get at least an hour each day except for a couple (Friday and Sunday).  I have been focusing mostly on cardio again but also strength training to tone things up too.  There is a new workout video kicking my trash this week.  It's Jillian Michaels Fat Burn Boost Metabolism.  It is hard core and I've been very sore all week.  Jillian Michaels and I are having a love/ hate relationship.  My coworker gave me the great idea to say "VIVA ITALIA!" every time I want to give up while getting my butt kicked by Jillian. 

- Limit the eating out.  Mostly this has helped me stay in my calorie goal range.  But it has also been quite pleasant on my wallet.  Love that! 

There you have it my friends.  I am going to keep this going.  Thank you also to all of you for sharing what you have been doing too.  It helps to know that other people are out there working towards the same goal too.  I know you all can do it.  Here is an inspirational video to help push you along.........................

http://youtu.be/eaIvk1cSyG8

Now I am going to go ride my stationary bike! 

P.S.  Here is a great quote I got from Weight Watchers on Wednesday.  "Weight loss is not about perfection.  Weight loss is about persistence." 

The clock is ticking....tick tock!

So for those of you who have been following my blog from the very beginning, you know that Angie and I have a goal to go to Italy when we reach our final weight loss goal.  Well, we both really want to reach our goal weights.  We both also really really want to go to Italy.  The time has come to actually put an expiration date on this trip and we have found the cruise to do just that.  Tonight we both put down a deposit for a 7 night Mediterranean cruise which will be leaving on May 20th, 2012.  The cruise will leave from Rome, Italy (ROME!) and then have ports in Messina (Sicily) Italy, Ephesus Turkey (I've already been there but I am okay to visit again), Athens Greece (ATHENS!), Crete Greece, and back to Rome.  Here is just a glimpse of where we could go.......

Messina Italy!

So here's what HAS to happen before we pay our final payment in March 2012.  We both have to be down to a certain weight before we will pay for the whole cruise.  To save our spot, we had to put down a $250 deposit that is refundable.  So if we aren't to a good weight by March then we will pull out of the cruise and be super sad.  We aren't going to go on the cruise looking like this...................................

The cruise is going to be our celebration for losing the weight.  Plus it is going to be A LOT of work from here on out.  The cruise will be a great treat (better than awarding ourselves with food!).  I have officially joined Weight Watchers which includes me going to weekly meetings with a friend of mine.  Also I am having my coworker check my weight at the beginning of the week and at the end of the week.  She is super skinny and in shape and she is going to keep me on track because it will be embarrassing to not be losing weight with her checking it.  My work is also going to start giving us time to work out for a half hour on our lunch break,, this is time I would be silly not to utilize. So I have no excuses.  I have to check in to people IN PERSON which should be motivation enough to keep me on track.  Plus I really want to go on this trip.  And I want to be able to wear a cute swimming suit like this.......................................................................

In exactly eight months from now I plan to be down an overall 100 pounds.  Right now I am at 258#, which is an overall 21# weight loss since the beginning of my weight loss competition with Angie.  This means I need to lose 78# to be at my overall goal.  To make things even/fair between Angie and I with losing weight by our trip, we have figured out that I need to lose a minimum of 60#.  But I would LOVE to lose the full 78# to be down to 180# by our trip. As I have told some people about my goal, they think it's crazy to be down 78# in 8 months, but 2.3# per week (that will be my goal to acheive this) is considered a healthy weight loss.  When I started my weight loss competition on May 20th, 2010 I had lost 30# by my birthday on July 20th, 2010.  That was only 2 months!  This is doable.  This is attainable.  And I am investing a lot into it. 

Thank you all for your help and support in this endeavor.  You all are the best!  Next week I will be reporting my weight at least at 256# (hopefully more!).  See you on the skinnier side of things.