here's the plan, stan

I deleted every single post on this blog! Yep ... time to start from scratch. I've been battling with my weight for quite some time now. I did Weight Watchers in 2008 after I had recovered from my knee surgery, and had great success with it. But then I had shoulder surgery in April of 2008. I was doing a great job maintaining my weight until Thanksgiving. That's when I threw in the towel. And then I had more surgeries: left knee in 2009, left shoulder in 2010, and left shoulder again in 2011. I have started and restarted a weight loss plan too many times to count in the last four years. It's time to do it for real!

This time I have a new motivator: my knee. That darn left knee started bothering me last year. You can CLICK HERE to read on my other blog about the surgery I would need if it gets worse. The doctor suggested losing weight to see if that would help. But then he also recommended getting my shoulder fixed ASAP so that I would have a good shoulder for crutches in case I needed the knee surgery. So I did the shoulder and never lost weight. That takes me up to now, fully recovered from the last shoulder surgery. It's time!

You would think the knee thing would be enough to kick my butt into gear. Apparently not. The TRUE MOTIVATOR here is our anniversary trip coming up next spring. Mike and I went out to lunch yesterday (since he was working at home due to the storm), and he brought up our annual trip. And we decided to go to Sedona, Arizona again! And we are going to stay at the Enchantment Resort again (stay 3 nights and get the 4th night free). I am so excited. We loved it there. Who wouldn't?

We actually had a few freak bad experiences while we stayed there,

but we chalked it up to bad luck. And they were under a major renovation

at the time. The renovation is all complete now, and should be awesome.

It was a little cold though. Like colder than it was at home in Connecticut! We went at the very beginning of March so that we would be in Arizona for my niece's wedding. And since we combined the trip with the wedding, we only had two days and two nights there. There were a few things we didn't get to do that we would like to go back for. And then there is the Elote Cafe ... We could definitely eat there again!

So, this time we will go at the beginning of May (depending on when we can get free flights with frequent flier miles) which will be much warmer. I would love to do the easier hikes with Mike this time without worrying about my knee or dying from my fatness. And wouldn't it be nice to sit by the pool and soak in the warm
Arizona sun without feeling like a total whale? Yeah ...

HERE IS THE PLAN, STAN: I have six months before we go. If I lose five pounds each month, I could lose 30 pounds before the trip. Wouldn't that be amazing? Five pounds per month is totally realistic, right? I can do that! So, I will weigh in each month on the first Friday, and report back. This table will be on my sidebar:

I invite you to follow along. Or join me!