80 lbs in 8 months

[RB Bonzo]

In March '06, I will be on a cruise to celebrate my 20th wedding wedding anniversary. On my wedding day, I weighed about 161 pounds. This morning, I weighed in at 261.

 

Now, I don't expect to get down to my wedding day weight - but I sure would like to be down to 180. Ten pounds a month seems like a sensible pace.

 

Would anybody like to join me on this?

[sharonella]

In March '06, I will be on a cruise to celebrate my 20th wedding wedding anniversary. On my wedding day, I weighed about 161 pounds. This morning, I weighed in at 261.

 

Now, I don't expect to get down to my wedding day weight - but I sure would like to be down to 180. Ten pounds a month seems like a sensible pace.

 

Would anybody like to join me on this?

 

I don't want to discourage you, but 10lbs per month is a pretty aggressive goal - not that it can't be done. I suggest (if you haven't already) you poke around a lot of these threads & see the great advice & inspiration many of our fellow cruisers have to offer. My main suggestion - don't focus on the the "number" you want to be next March. Get yourself measured (full body, bust, waist, hips, neck, upper & forearms, thighs & calves) & if you are planning on joining a gym - have them do a body fat measurement (or maybe your doctor can do that). Yes - the first time you have your inches & BF done it IS kinda depressing :( , but there's more to weight loss & getting healthy than the number on the scale. Sometimes weeks will go by without the scale budging much - and voilà - you'll realize you're building muscle, because your inches & / or body fat are down! Break down your weight loss goals into 10-15 lb increments, as well as other fitness goals. Like, maybe today you can barely walk around the block without wheezing - next month, you're walking for 1/2 hr comfortably!

 

FYI - I started at 221 & have lost almost 60lbs VERY slowly, and am stuck at a plateau right now. I have about 20lbs to go to my initial goal of about 145. Just wanted to let you know where I where I'm coming from.

 

Good luck, RB

and keep us posted!

 

Sha

[RB Bonzo]

Thanks, Sha

 

Turns out that I can't count - - March is just 7 months away, not 8. So, that means that dropping 80 would mean about 11.5 lbs/mo - not the already ambitious 10 lbs. That's the bad part. The good part, of course, is my cruise is a month closer than I had thought.

 

I think I will take your advice about getting a body fat measurement. I have belonged to a health club for a while, but I have been irregular in going there. That, obviously, will have to change. I do see weight training as an important part of what I need to do.

 

Congratulations on 60 lbs! That's terrific.

 

Thanks for your support and guidance. Although I'm going to shoot for 80, I would be pleased if I managed to drop half of that by March, so long as the weight was moving downwards.

 

RB

[RB Bonzo]

I'm bumping up a thread that I started a year and a day ago - it was 8 months prior to a cruise that I took this past March. It is interesting to look back and see what my goals, attitude, and expectations were in July 2006.

 

So, looking back a year later, how did I do? Well, by the time I started that cruise, I was actually heavier than when I was when I wrote this. I did lose weight that summer, but then I gained it back. By the time the cruise came around, I was up to about 265.

 

I probably gained 5 lbs during that 11 day cruise, but that came back off pretty quickly. A couple of weeks later, on April 5, I started Weight Watchers. In the past 15 weeks, I have lost about 30 lbs and am now about 235.

 

What is different this time? Several things:

 

1. I have really bought into the WW motto re lifestyle. I am not dieting. I am living the lifestyle of the thin person that I am in the process of becoming. I am enjoying what I am eating and I am enjoying the exercising. I don't see why I can't do this for the rest of my life.

 

2. I am not focused on short term goals. See no. 1. The weight will come off when it comes off - it doesn't matter to me how quickly, because I more focused on the lifestyle issues than on the pace of the weight loss.

 

3. The program is solid. Weight Watchers works.

 

4. I have a good support network. I am attending the meetings. I am sharing the experience with family and friends, who are very encouraging. I have found good support on the Weight Watchers website boards and hope to develop it here as well.

 

5. I have made fitness a priority in my life.

 

So, I managed to lose over 25 lbs since posting that thread. Too bad that I didn't get things together when I first wrote this. Maybe, in another year, I'll dredge this old thread up again to see how the next year went!!

 

So, for those of you focusing on certain weight loss goals prior to a cruise - BEWARE! Diets don't work. Lifestyle changes do.

[ANNIE121105]

Wow! RB Bonzo, you had me going for a minute! I didn't notice the date on your post:D I know you are on the 10% thread.

 

"So, for those of you focusing on certain weight loss goals prior to a cruise - BEWARE! Diets don't work. Lifestyle changes do"

How true! I will print this and place it on my fridge at home.

 

And congrats on the weight lost so far and the lifestyle change too!

[RB Bonzo]

Thanks, Annie! I wonder how many others didn't notice that the original post was a year old. LOL!

[swtpnk]

RB,

 

I didnt notice the date either!! GOOD GOING my dear!!! Keep up that good work!!!

 

diane