Friday, March 20, 2015

Six Months to Berlin

Today is March 20th.  We are scheduled to leave for Berlin on September 20th.  That means that we're exactly six months away from the trip.  Time to take stock.



I have lost 48.8 lbs of my 100 lbs so far, which leaves me 51.2 more to go.  At 26 weeks away, I will need to average 1.97 lbs a week until we leave to reach my goal.  This is a healthy and realistic average for weight loss.  What makes this even more realistic is that we're approaching the spring and summer months, when my activity jumps up and it's the start of grilling season.  These two aspects of the warmer months makes it much easier for me to lose weight quickly.

Here's to the next six months!

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Staying on Track while Sick


One of my biggest difficulties has been staying on track with my healthy eating while feeling ill.  When my normal routine gets disrupted by being bed-bound and not working, it has been far easier in the past to simply order some fast food and not track.  Since the progression from sick to well is not a sharp transition, this has always been a problem for me to start eating well again, because it was far easier to keep eating badly.  Essentially, being sick has been a traditional point where I would typically fall off the wagon.

Unfortunately, I found myself in a situation again where I am not feeling well.  On Tuesday, I started to come down with a head cold and sore throat.  Today, I have lost my voice.

Fortunately, I haven't fallen into old habits this time by pushing my Weight Watchers tracker to the side and eating what was easiest.  Instead, I recognized this bad habit and continued to eat fruits and vegetables, while tracking all items that I ate.

The big lesson here is that it is important to recognize and visualize past difficulties in order to change those behaviors and make new routines.

As an additional note, I'm spending this morning watching European travel videos, which is a good reminder of my ultimate goal - 100 Pounds to Berlin.

Monday, March 16, 2015

Not Just Berlin Anymore...

Another update to the plans surrounding this blog is our travel itinerary, as well as who is taking the trip.  In addition to my wife and daughter, my mother will be coming with us for the entire time and my brother will be flying in during the middle of the trip for two weeks.  Instead of traveling only to Berlin, we're planning on traveling a little more extensively.  Here is a breakdown of our upcoming travel plans.

Berlin


We're flying into Berlin via New York and staying there for a little less than three weeks.  We're renting a nice apartment in Pankow through AirBnb (I'll have a post about AirBnb coming up).  My brother will be arriving our last week there.

Paris


In the middle of our time in Berlin, we will be flying to Paris for two evenings.  We're renting an apartment in the 10th ARR near the République Metro Station.

Prague


After Berlin, we will take a train to Prague and stay there for a week.

Munich


After Prague, we will take a train to Munich and stay there for a week.  In the middle of this stay, we may take a day trip to Austria.  At the end of this stay, we will fly from Munich, back to New York.



Sunday, March 15, 2015

Long Overdue Status Update

It's been awhile since I last posted to this blog and I've got a lot of catching up to do.  I fell off the blogging wagon mainly because of being so busy with the birth of my daughter, Clara, last July.


With her now approaching eight months old, life has now started to even out and I've been focusing on my weight loss again.  Luckily, I didn't fall to much off track during her first half year and I didn't gain weight since then.  Now that I have a bit more time and freedom, I plan on updating this blog frequently with my progress to 100 pounds to Berlin.

Errrr.. Well, my goal has changed a bit.  Instead of waiting until I lose the hundred pounds before planning the trip, I'm hoping to hit the hundred pound mark by the time we leave for Berlin.  Due to several factors, we decided to plan the trip for this coming fall, so I have until Sept 21 to hit my goal.  I believe this is very possible.  Wish me luck and follow my progress.  Let the adventures begin!