mommyrocks74

Hi there :) I have two cruises booked, one to celebrate my daughter finishing middle school, she'll be 14, and one to celebrate my little sister turning 40, both are just myself and the one being celebrated so a lot of quality time coming up. I suffer from Lupus (SLE) and gave up on exercising many years ago. Also, I love booze. I like it all, beer, wine, liquor... And it "helps" with my stress and pain and seems to be the center of my social life. But, back in August I got on the scale and it said 240 lbs. I have no idea how I let that happen, but I did. Now, looking back, I was following the perfect formula for weight gain, no exercise, many medications and lots of liquid calories... I gave up alcohol for the rest of the year and started seeing a physical therapist to see what I could do. I made it to the end of the year and today weighed in at 210.2. Now I'm trying to enjoy alcohol when I want but counting it as FOOD. When I daydream about cruising, there is a huge focus on the food and drink involved. I love it all. I set a goal for myself of losing 70 lbs in 70 weeks, so for the June 2017 cruise I'd be nicely below 200 and for the Nov 2017 cruise I should hopefully be getting close to reaching my goal and high end for acceptable weight of 160. I can't do a whole lot when it comes to exercising, but with the guidance of my physical therapist I am up to walking 3.5 miles on the treadmill. I try to do it at least twice a week but the holidays got in the way recently. I'm trying to get back on track. I managed to enjoy food over the holidays without putting more than a pound or so back on. Since I met my "rest of the year" goal I have gone to one college bowl game party and had some beer, and after all this time, and knowing how it affects my body, I simply didn't enjoy it. It probably wouldn't be a big change for some people, but it is for me. I got the free UBP with my booking so, of course, I'm daydreaming all the time about starting my day with mimosas and ending it with a martini with some pina coladas in between. When I'm on the cruise I'll probably do a lot of walking and I hope to have lost a lot by then and be able to just enjoy the week without totally sabotaging myself or feeling guilty and then get right back on track. I want to be confident and a good example for my budding teenager and also be able to keep up with my younger and healthier cruise companions. Anyway...reading about everyone else's efforts made me want to share. One step at a time, I'm making progress, but I have a long way to go and some habits to change. It is SOO hard!!

I booked yesterday for June 2017 Caribbean cruise! have at it :) They were just released! Yay!