50 pounds and 5000 bucks to go for Platinum July 2012!

[hpfan100]

Hi everyone,

Typically when I travel I spend as little as possible. I'm the lady bringing in my own diet cokes, granola bars, crackers, fruit snacks and stuff so I don't have to pay for them. I pretty much always stay off site and like to use my holiday inn points to cover the cost. My trip budgets are usually around 500-1000 dollars max. Well this trip is going to be different....

My budget is 5000 dollars!!! I am going to stay onsite deluxe platinum at the fabulous AKL savannah view. I also plan to spend a few days before at Universal soaking up some Potter goodness

I coupon every week to buy groceries and haven't had a raise in 5 years so where will this 5 grand come from you ask? Well I plan to earn it and discover it between now and July and that is where the pre trip report comes in. I'm hoping all of the 5 grand will come from somewhere other than my pocket so let's see if I can do it...

The 50 pounds well that is something I plan to loose before this trip since the purpose of this trip is celebrate that very tough feat.

So tune in to see if I can find 5 grand while I loose 50 pounds all by July!!!!

 

[hpfan100]

Ok so here it is....the post holiday diet begins. I decided to not wait until New Year's Day for this. I am following the Fat Smash Plan from Ian Smith (the guy from Celebrity Fit Club). I plan to exercise 20-45 a day. Today begins phase 1...the 9 day detox. I can have unlimited fruits and veggies, beans, tofu and limited egg whites, yogurt, oatmeal and brown rice. I'm a vegetarian already so this should be manageable for me. As I type right now I'm sipping a homemade fruit smoothie and preparing to head out for a walk/jog along the canal.


As for the budget part of this report I'm on a roll....I have 880 dollars in my pot already! Pretty good and the best part is most of this did not come from my pockets

Here's the breakdown so far...
found money in old birthday and Easter cards...240
Christmas cash from cards and gifts...370
Check from ASU for completing a survey...30
Gift cards to Southwest air from My coke points...50
Disney gift card from my coke points...15
Kelloggs Cars Cash Visa card...5
gift card to Best Buy from my coke points...50
AMC movie gift card from Christmas gift...50
Target gift card from coworkers for birthday...25
Target Gift card from student for Christmas...25
Target gift cards from ink purchases...20

TOTAL...880!

My plan with the gift cards from AMC, Target and Best Buy is to use them for groceries and other things I planned to buy anyway and then take that cash out of my bank to use in place of it. I may hang on to some of the Target ones to use on the trip for groceries.

Future plans for money making...more gift cards from my coke if I can, listing some books on Half.com, tallying up my sells from Half.com so far, mypoints surveys and email links to earn gift cards.


So we shall see how this goes...with almost 8 months to go I still need to loose 50 pounds and earn/discover 4120 dollars. Oh boy!

 

[shellbelle]

I like your plan!

I think I will work on a plan for my own trip this June.

Good luck. Can't wait to hear about your progress.

 

[hpfan100]

I like your plan!

I think I will work on a plan for my own trip this June.

Good luck. Can't wait to hear about your progress.

Thanks for stopping by

I hoping this plan will work too. I need some real motivation to get in better shape and who doesn't love a platinum package at Disney?

Happy New Year's to you

 

[hpfan100]

Alright so I'm four days and in and no results just yet. Infact I think I put on a pound I have exercised 3 out 4 days by walking/jogging along canal for 2.5 miles. Not too shabby. My eating has been mixed. 2 days were great. The other two not so much. Yet tomorrow is a new day and I have a plan in mind. I'm digging out some old DVDS and might do one of those for exercise. I also plan to jog some more as I enjoy it.

I cashed the 30 dollar check and added the cash to my envie of money. I was cleaning out my wallet and discovered 70 dollars that I can't account for. I know 20 was my emergency 20 I keep but the rest I have no idea so another 50 in the pot. I started cleaning out my closet and I have a few pairs of Steve Madden shoes I planning to list on Ebay so that might be some extra pennies too.

 

[wakica]

wow those are some ambitious goals but i don't doubt you can pull it off!! I will enjoy following your pretrip report. i find it inspiring too - i saved money by offering babysitting in the evenings and we were able to purchase a sauna plus add on 4 nights at royal pacific resort onsite at universal studios to our trip and that was from babysitting for about a year and a half so it really can add up fast. i'm going to look around for other ways to add to the pot now that youve inspired me though. lol normally we are the ones doing everything to cut costs too so i can relate and this time we are so excited to finally splurge a bit at universal.

 

[archdandy]

Wow those are some impressive goals! I can't believe how far you've come with the money so far! Awesome job! And don't worry about the weight. Just keep doing what you're doing and it will come off. I've been in the weight loss boat before and it can be frustrating at times but the trick is just to push through the frustration and keep going!

 

[hpfan100]

wow those are some ambitious goals but i don't doubt you can pull it off!! I will enjoy following your pretrip report. i find it inspiring too - i saved money by offering babysitting in the evenings and we were able to purchase a sauna plus add on 4 nights at royal pacific resort onsite at universal studios to our trip and that was from babysitting for about a year and a half so it really can add up fast. i'm going to look around for other ways to add to the pot now that youve inspired me though. lol normally we are the ones doing everything to cut costs too so i can relate and this time we are so excited to finally splurge a bit at universal.

Babysitting...what a good idea! I bet you enjoyd the splurge too. I hear the universal hotels are amazing.

Thanks for popping in.

Wow those are some impressive goals! I can't believe how far you've come with the money so far! Awesome job! And don't worry about the weight. Just keep doing what you're doing and it will come off. I've been in the weight loss boat before and it can be frustrating at times but the trick is just to push through the frustration and keep going!

Thanks for the pep talk I was already starting to feel a bit disappointed. I'm pretty excited about having that much money already too.

 

[hpfan100]

So yesterday was difficult...my mom is here so that means no support. We went out to lunch and I had 1 and a half pitas and I'm not supposed to be having bread. Plus we had to go run around all morning doing her errands and then come back to do her household projects so I didn't get my exercise in. UGGG well see leaves tomorrow so then I can get back to normal.

Today I have a dentist appointment so that may throw a wrench into my plans but we'll see. I discovered a new program on discovery fit to try out...Body sculpt with Gilead. Looks like a good option. It's 30 minutes and on every morning. I set it to DVR for me so I can do it when I first get up.

See you all soon!

 

[wakica]

hey! that's a GREAT idea to dvr an exercise program you like. I've been getting better and better at my running but i REALLY need to add maybe 1 strength workout and a few stretching/pilate/yoga type workout per week b/c as I get older I'm finding myself STIFF!!!! Thanks for the idea - I'm off to peruse through the channels now to find one to tape

and good luck getting back on track. It is hard when your routine gets changed. Seems like life is SO busy that it can be hard to fit things in.

 

[danimaroo]

Just popping in to let you know that I love these goals and it's doable! I lost 50 pounds from April-September. I'm still working on losing a bit more, but I am proud of myself for where I am so far! The key truly is what you eat. Sure, the exercise is great, too, but you will not get anywhere without changing your eating habits.

Personally, I count my calories. I recognize what I'm eating and make sure to stay at around a certain amount of calories every day, and allow myself to eat a little more on days that I work out. The other key to success? Letting myself have a "cheat" day on the weekends. If I didn't allow myself that, I would NEVER get through it. You have to let yourself indulge on occasion, just not all the time. I love having a cheat day because it's something to look forward to but also good to keep yourself on track throughout the week.

Just eating more veggies, drinking more water, eating more fruits will all help fill you up. We also tend to eat a lot of lean protein, like chicken, chicken breast, fish, and love eating those whole wheat low-carb tortillas (not on a low-carb diet, we just love the taste and they're only 80 calories for a large tortilla!)...

Do what works best for you, but if you want to keep it off, make sure you let yourself indulge on occasion, so you're not tempted to overboard! Good luck; I'll definitely keep following along.

 

[hpfan100]

hey! that's a GREAT idea to dvr an exercise program you like. I've been getting better and better at my running but i REALLY need to add maybe 1 strength workout and a few stretching/pilate/yoga type workout per week b/c as I get older I'm finding myself STIFF!!!! Thanks for the idea - I'm off to peruse through the channels now to find one to tape

and good luck getting back on track. It is hard when your routine gets changed. Seems like life is SO busy that it can be hard to fit things in.

I was pretty excited about the DVRing too. No need for a gym membership when I can get a new workout each day. I tried one yesterday and it was good. Lots of moving around and sweating. I know what you mean about getting stiff. My back and some joints get like that too.

Just popping in to let you know that I love these goals and it's doable! I lost 50 pounds from April-September. I'm still working on losing a bit more, but I am proud of myself for where I am so far! The key truly is what you eat. Sure, the exercise is great, too, but you will not get anywhere without changing your eating habits.

Personally, I count my calories. I recognize what I'm eating and make sure to stay at around a certain amount of calories every day, and allow myself to eat a little more on days that I work out. The other key to success? Letting myself have a "cheat" day on the weekends. If I didn't allow myself that, I would NEVER get through it. You have to let yourself indulge on occasion, just not all the time. I love having a cheat day because it's something to look forward to but also good to keep yourself on track throughout the week.

Just eating more veggies, drinking more water, eating more fruits will all help fill you up. We also tend to eat a lot of lean protein, like chicken, chicken breast, fish, and love eating those whole wheat low-carb tortillas (not on a low-carb diet, we just love the taste and they're only 80 calories for a large tortilla!)...

Do what works best for you, but if you want to keep it off, make sure you let yourself indulge on occasion, so you're not tempted to overboard! Good luck; I'll definitely keep following along.

WOW great tips! I don't count calories but that's a good idea. I'm not sure how many would be a good choice either. I assume about 1500 but I have no idea. I also like the cheat day. That would be a good motivator for me too.

 

[hpfan100]

So my dentist appointment didn't really mess up my routine but having a hair appointment did. I ate out with my mom but I did alright. I had a bowl of veggie chili and a half garden salad and half of a cranberry scone. Today is going to be much easier as I have no appointments, no work and no one else around to derail me. I'm planning on a walk/jog this morning and an episode of my new favorite guy Gilad this afternoon. I also am going to do my prep work for the rest of the week's eating. I plan to make my steel cut oats, cut up veggies for snacking, make my lunches for Thursday and Friday to pack to work and a small meal plan for the next 3-5 days.

I like the calorie counting plan--danimaroo so I think I may start writing them done in my weight loss log.

Thanks for all the support and ideas everyone! It really is helping me.

 

[oceanwave]

Joining in on your PTR! You can totally do it

I have a similar goal to you. I get to go to Disney when I have lost 80lbs. Hoping for sometime in September/October.

Good Luck! Hope that weight comes flying off and that money starts piling up!

 

[danimaroo]

WOW great tips! I don't count calories but that's a good idea. I'm not sure how many would be a good choice either. I assume about 1500 but I have no idea. I also like the cheat day. That would be a good motivator for me too.

I should be eating probably more but I stuck with 1500 to start and that lost me a good amount of weight. However, I've started upping it to 1800-2000 on workout days to avoid starvation mode. 1500 tends to be a good place to be though for most women, but no lower than 1200 EVER.

The cheat day is good to have. Gives me something to look forward to and a reason to skip out on an office doughnut, as hard as it might be... I just remind myself that I can enjoy whatever I want on Saturday.

 

[MrsDrewsky]

I'm subscribing.

Best wishes for a healthy weight loss. You can definitely do it!

I love how you're posting all your little money finds, they really do all add up.

 

[hpfan100]

Thanks for all the kind words and motivation all I need it. It's been a very stressful past couple of days with today being the most. Everything was stinky and I mean everything!!!!!!!
On a good note I'm loving the Gilad Body Sculpt show and I feel like it is helping me out. My pants are a little looser already I weighed myself a little early and it looks like I might be down some pound this week


On the budget side...I got a raise on my paycheck so now my check is about 5 dollars more after taxes so I'm thinking that 5 bucks extra can hit the fund. Also got my tax forms in the mail so if I get another refund this year that'll be more dough in my pocket.

 

[hpfan100]

Hello everyone!


I weighed myself yesterday and I was down 3 pounds!!!!!! I'm pretty happy about that as my eating has been not so great and I've been really stressed at work. I am working out 3 days a week at least and feeling better. I even went outta town for the MLK holiday and was able to maintain a weight loss.

On the money front I got my W2 so I should be able to do my taxes soon. I'm hoping for a refund to add to my vacation fund!

Tomorrow begins detox day 1...totally nervous about it but I'm needing it.

 

[wakica]

congrats on the weight loss! That's GREAT!!!!! I find being consisten and getting for sure 3 days/week in for exercise is key to losing weight. I am trying to keep at jogging 3 days/week myself - I'm training to run the Animal Kingdom Expedition Everest Challenge which is a 5K, obstacles, and scavenger hunt so i need to keep at it so i can get to the point that i can run itwith ease. You can read up on it in my pretrip report which is in a link at the bottom of my posts.

I'm so sorry you had such a hard week at work I hope it gets better.

Good Luck with your detox. I havn't done one for years but should probably fit one in soon b/c they always make you feel so much better.

 

[hpfan100]

congrats on the weight loss! That's GREAT!!!!! I find being consisten and getting for sure 3 days/week in for exercise is key to losing weight. I am trying to keep at jogging 3 days/week myself - I'm training to run the Animal Kingdom Expedition Everest Challenge which is a 5K, obstacles, and scavenger hunt so i need to keep at it so i can get to the point that i can run itwith ease. You can read up on it in my pretrip report which is in a link at the bottom of my posts.

I'm so sorry you had such a hard week at work I hope it gets better.

Good Luck with your detox. I havn't done one for years but should probably fit one in soon b/c they always make you feel so much better.

thanks for the encouragement! That's exciting to do the AK challenge. I wish I was strong enough to do that...maybe next year.
Work is always stressful this time of year. We sped teachers refer to it as IEP season BLECH!!!!




Detox is going well. I started a day late since I had a birthday party to go to. I'm liking my yogurt and fruit in morning routine. Also the DVR Gilad is working out perfect. Bob Harper is right get your workout in first thing. It makes a big difference to your day.