Hey! I forgot I have this thing!! Well here I am probably on my 3rd or 4th Weight loss crusade since that last one. Hehehe! But this time I'm doing pretty good. Not exactly making any weightloss speed records, but I think I am definitely on the way to a healthier lifestyle.

I've been avoiding gluten, salt, sugar, alcohol and fat for the past 5 weeks. I have lost a total of 16 lbs and I feel pretty good about it! :) My goal is to be down at LEAST 40 lbs by summer. I don't think that is too lofty of a goal, do you? I lost 7 lbs my first week and its been 2 or less each week since then. In the middle of all of this, I went on a 3 night caribbean cruise! I tried to live as healthy as I could on the cruise.

The diet oops, I mean lifestyle change, is pretty simple and its been really easy to maintain! I think that the biggest help is 1) being prepared, 2) support at home. As far as number 1 goes, I not only have been actually weighing and measuring my food, but I've been preparing a bulk in advance and freezing it in the correct portions. This has helped tremendously since I usually get overwhelmed at mealtime as to what to make. Now, I can open the fridge and just pick something and get it over with! No lamenting over what to eat, how long is it going to take, etc. etc. if I get into that situation, thats when I used to go out for meals or go to fast food for instant gratification. NO MORE! I haven't ate at a restaurant (excepting the cruise) since 2009! For number 2 (maybe that should be number 1!!) I have the unwavering support of my boyfriend! He has been an absolute godsend this time! I set the ground rules early. I'm going to follow the plan prescribed for me and he will not poke fun, over his opinion, laugh, or poo poo it in anyway. So far this has worked! Not only has he been supportive, he's been instrumental in keeping me on track! He has become quite the cook! I bought a gluten, salt, sugar, fat free cookbook and he's been a regular Emeril in the kitchen, putting together these fabulous meals that you would never know were "DIET" food. I love that guy!

See, I don't know about you but I get hungry and then soon after, I get RAVENOUSLY HUNGRY really quickly. When I am ravenous, I can't think straight and when I can't think straight, I generally don't do the right thing. Having some food ready in advance really helps!

I've also been posting on an online discussion group, which gives me accountability, and a lot of support from others in my same situation. Sadly, though, I think I am the only one left in my group now still on the plan, as I post and no one else does anymore... :(

I've been exercising regularly. I have a Droid phone and I installed an app on it called Cardio Trainer! That app rocks. Right now, I just use it for walking. It records my walks, whether indoors or out, and gives me real time data about it. Calories burned, distance, etc. I love data so this is a great incentive for me to make those stats improve! I've also been using the wii to track my weight and bmi and I've been doing wii fit plus and other programs as well to keep myself moving. My goal is to do as much as I can physically, until around 8 or 9 pm each day. No sitting around (except at work where I have to.)

Since my other online support group went bust, I'm going to try and remember to post my thoughts, trials and tribulations here. :)