This is a weak update

Bad news first: I gained back a little of what I lost, but I've still lost overall. I've been really bad about keeping track, so I'm going to try and get better at that.

Good news: Today, I went to the gym and pushed it hardcore on the elliptical. It felt incredible. And of course by "incredible" I mean "exhausting and sweaty and painful." But seriously, it was a great workout. Somehow, I managed 3.65 miles in 33 minutes. That has to be a new personal record. Either that or miles at the YWCA are shorter than they are in real life.

Up next: figuring out a way to eat healthy when all of my healthy foods go bad so quickly :[

♥Sassy

The Beginning

Alright, so I guess I should finally update this and let you all (umm, all three of you...) know how this week has been so far.

I went to the grocery store and bought a bunch of healthy food so I can start cooking for myself again. Let me tell you, it is really hard to cook for one person And to eat by yourself. I feel like such a loser. But a lot of times, if I'm going to a friend's apartment for dinner, I might as well drive myself to the hospital afterward to have my arteries unclogged. Luckily, some of my friends have been kind enough to let me cook for them, so I made a delicious and healthy stir fry the other night and it was great. I need to do more of that. Or just start cooking for myself.

Next week starts the butt-kicking workouts. I've been really, really terrible about getting to bed at a reasonable hour. Mostly because I go and sit in my friends' apartment for a few hours every night. I should probably nip that in the bud, but it's hard when I live by myself and get really lonely when I just sit in my apartment and do my own thing. Anyway, I need to start getting to bed by 10:00 (oh geeze) so I can get up and be at the gym by 5:45. I figure I can still get seven hours of sleep with that kind of a schedule; it's just a matter of sticking to it. I'll probably do the gym on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, since the previous nights aren't too terrible.

I talked to Pinks last night (btw, that's the new nickname for ALP, the bride) and she was asking what I see myself in for the wedding. We got to talking about O: GWH, and she was so incredibly supportive. Not at all because she wants me to look a certain way for her wedding, but because she wants me to be happy. It's great to have such awesome friends :]

Alright, so now for the goals. By Christmas, I want to have lost 20 pounds. That's in 11 weeks, so it's going to mean some serious business. But it needs to be done. Ideally, by July, I would like to be down at least 50 pounds total. I'm not sure if that's feasible or not; it assumes more than a pound a week overall, and I know from experience that when I get to a certain point, I hit a plateau and can't get past it. I think it really is about having a goal in mind, in terms of how I want to look for the wedding, and just always striving for that.

Now, a practical question...how do I get a bridesmaid dress in the next few months when I'm hoping to lose so much weight?!

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 :)