The logistics of it all

OK, so these two pictures are my official "before" shots. Taken on Monday, Sept. 28, 2009, the first day of my second round of the weight-loss challenge in 2009. And the first official day of Operation: Get Wedding Hot.

I thought that since I'm now on day three, I'd give a rundown of stats, goals, methods, etc.

So without further delay....*drumroll please*

Starting weight: 185 lbs.

Starting date: September 28, 2009

Target weight: 165 lbs.

Target date: January 1, 2010 (I really had to think about typing 2010. It's weird.)

Method: Basically, I'm doing Weight Watchers without the meetings and without paying for it. I've still got all my resources from when I did it three years ago, so I'm just going on those principles again. I think it's really an effective method of teaching how to eat healthy and still eat things you like. So I'm keeping a food log to keep me on track with that. I'm giving myself 24 points per day and at least for the time being I am NOT doing an activity points exchange (aka if I work out, it doesn't mean I get to eat more). Food is really my main problem with the weight, it's not the exercise. I am an endorphin JUNKIE. Nothing makes me feel better than working out and I work out in some capacity every day, usually going to the gym 5 days per week.

Weigh-ins: I'll be doing my weigh-ins on Mondays, so hopefully I'll remember to post every Monday (with good news!).

Goals: I do have some specific goals I'm setting for myself in the process. They are as follows:

• Drink my eight glasses of water per day - I normally have no probably meeting/exceeding this, so this is a bit of a cop out
• Remember to take my multivitamin daily - I'm horrible at this, but it's really pretty important for weight loss
• Get my five fruits and veggies a day! - I pretty much NEVER get this done and it's a big problem. I don't know why I suck at it because I LOVE fruit and vegetables.
• Alternate days focusing on strength training and cardio - Sometimes I just want to crank it out on the elliptical for an hour, but I really need to focus on strength too, so I'm alternating days on this
• Start attending some of the group fitness classes at my gym - There are some awesome ones to choose from and I've never taken advantage
• Cut back on alcohol consumption - I really only drink about once a week and that's at most three or four drinks, but it's empty calories so I know I need to work on it. But this could be a problem particularly in the month of October when I have a reunion with an old friend, a trip to my alma mater for a concert, a blogger meetup and then homecoming at my alma mater. ...yeahhhh, I foresee failing on that goal in October...

There are some more, but I can't remember right now. I've signed up for SparkPeople (at the suggestion of the always wonderful M) to help me track my nutrition and fitness, so I'm looking forward to getting into using that.

Any other suggestions from folks on what I should focus on?? I'm doing OK so far this week, although today I did engage in some boredom eating, which is a big problem for me. Hopefully I can keep up with the good things though and kick that habit in the booty. :)

I'm looking forward to keeping you all updated on this journey!

xoxo

Late-Night Drama Queen :)