Lose it All Challenge Part 2

It has been 15 weeks since I started the Lose it All Challenge. I wanted to give everyone a quick update on where I stand as well as provide the next set of challenges. Since I last posted this entry, we had a few more girls join the competition so there are currently 4 of us competing to lose it all before the cruise. Unfortunately though, I am not doing very well. In fact, I’m losing. Yes, its quite pathetic I’m losing at my own competition. But, don't worry, that's all part of my strategy, I'm going to step it up this second half!

Here are the rest of the challenges that will take us right up to the cruise:

Week 16: Create a new Backstreet Boy play list at least 10 songs long and go workout to it. I’ll tell you that ‘Burning Up’ will be #1 on my playlist!

Week 17: Honor Nick week! Nick has stated in recent interviews that he is “85% vegetarian.” While I’m not sure how he came up with 85%, being vegetarian certainly has health benefits. This week’s challenge is to go vegetarian for 1 day, or at the very least 1 meal.

Week 18: One of the best motivators for working out is to have a friend to go with. Grab one of your “backstreet friends” and go for a walk together. You can chat about BSB the whole time and will burn calories without it even feeling like exercise. If you don’t have a backstreet friend nearby, shoot me an email and we can be virtual walk buddies for the week :)

Week 19: Nick has said his favorite nutrition books are The All-Pro Diet and The China Study. Pick up one of these books at your local library or another nutrition book that catches your eye in order to learn something new or find some new motivation.

Week 20: Honor Howie week! Lets honor Howie’s Irish half and create a healthy Irish dish this week.

Week 21: Did you know shopping burns 75-100 calories an hour? We’re going to kill 2 birds with 1 stone this week. Go shopping for a new cruise outfit and lose weight while doing so! Win, win. Just don’t stray towards that food court. 

Week 22: Cruise Prep Challenge: In preparation for all the good, tempting food that will be available on the cruise, this week is all about only eating when you're truly hungry. So no mindless snacking this week. Here's a trick I heard: Ask yourself, "Am I hungry enough to eat an apple?" If the answer is no, you probably aren't that hungry.

Week 23: 10,000 Promises is your inspiration for this week because we’re going to work out for 10,000 seconds! Don’t worry, its not as bad as it sounds. That equates to 2.7 hours of any workout of your choice.

Week 24: Honor Brian week! Brian said one of his favorite home cooked meals is “baked chicken breast with rice with a cream of mushroom sauce and steamed carrots and green beans” This sounds nice and healthy so take some inspiration from Brian and recreate this for him!

Week 25: You’ve heard of a drinking game?  Well, I’m taking that same concept but challenging you to a Backstreet Workout game. Put in the cruise DVD (or any other BSB video) and you have to do 20 jumping jacks every time Brian cracks a joke, 10 pushups anytime you see AJ ham it up with a mic, 10 crunches anytime you see Howie wink, and 10 lunges anytime you see Nick without a shirt. Also, run in place anytime you hear a song from the This is Us album. Feel free to create your own rules as needed.

Week 26: Get those creative juices flowing again and this time come up with a healthy dish inspired by the album “Black & Blue”

Week 27:  Honor AJ week! Time to switch it up a bit an do some weight training but you’re going to do it while listening to AJ’s album ‘Have it All’

Week 28: Cruise Prep Challenge: We've got to get ready for all those buffets that are available on the cruise so your challenge is to work on portion control. Pay attention to the servings sizes of food and don't overeat. I like to use smaller plates to help keep myself in check.

Week 29: It's been a little while since NKOTBSB has been on tour, so lets have the good 'memories come flooding back' by learning that dance routine for Don't Turn out the Lights and burn some calories in the process.

Week 30: Congratulations, hopefully by now you did 'Lose it All' or are well on your way to losing it all. With the cruise 1 week away, time to take a break, celebrate your successes, and pack!

Good luck everyone!

Lose it All Challenge

I know I'm not the only who is trying to watch their weight for this cruise. I lost about 25 pounds for the last cruise, but have since admittedly put a few of those pounds back on. With spring in the air, I'm finding motivation again to get back into my regimen and lose those lost few stubborn pounds.

My friend, Chrissy, and I came up with the idea of doing a friendly weight loss competition leading up to the cruise inspired by the show, the Biggest Loser. We want to make sure we get in shape and shed some weight to look good for our boys (and of course ourselves), all the while having fun doing it. In case you aren't familiar with the show, The Biggest Loser is a reality show where overweight contestants compete for a cash prize by attempting to lose the most weight. We're going to do the same concept but Backstreet style. Hence, the Lose it All Challenge!

We will weigh in once a week with final weigh-in happening right before the cruise. But instead of competing for a cash prize, we are competing for BSB merchandise on the cruise. We're also going to give ourselves BSB related challenges every week to keep it fresh and exciting.

Feel free to join us in the Lose it All Challenge. The cruise is 30 weeks away so here are the first set of challenges:

Week 1: Do the elliptical or a cardio exercise of your choice at least two times this week while listening to the entire This is Us album

Week 2: Time to Honor Nick! Make his favorite home cooked meal. Remember his quote from the last cruise? "My favorite home cooked meal now is dill salmon, in a poached type of salmon with some really cool complex carbohydrate vegetables. Sorry I'm getting scientific with you. With maybe some brown rice on the side instead of 2 high starch type of stuff." Get cooking!

Week 3: Straight Through My Heart Challenge- Do 5 minutes of cardio every morning to STMH before you head to work/school. It’ll get you pumped for the day as well.

Week 4: Get those creative juices flowing and create a healthy dish inspired by the song 'Shining Star'. And don’t forget to tell us what recipes you come up with.

Week 5: Time to Honor Brian! Go grab that basketball out of your basement and shoot some hoops.

Week 6: Go green for Nick. And I don’t mean for the environment. Green is Nick’s favorite color (or at least it used to be) so eat a different green vegetable each day of the week for Mr. Carter.

Week 7: Learn the dance to a BSB song. I cant think of a better way to enjoy exercising. And no, you can’t pick a song/dance like This is Us. That’s cheating. It must have a fast beat with lots of dance moves.

Week 8: Time to Honor AJ! Follow in AJs sober footsteps by refraining from all alcohol this week. Beer has a ton of unnecessary calories and mixed drinks are full of sugar.

Week 9: The Backstreet Boys have been together for 18 years. That means every day you’ve got to do 18 crunches, 18 jumping jacks, 18 lunges, and 18 push ups.

Week 10: Beautiful Woman Week. Time to reward yourself after you’ve been working hard for 10 weeks. Hit the spa and treat yourself to a massage or go get a cute new outfit to celebrate the pounds you’ve lost. Just don't reward yourself with food. That would defeat the purpose.

Week 11: Time to Honor Howie! Make a healthy latin dish for dinner this week. That means no cheese or sour cream. Try substituting greek yogurt for sour cream or use avocados to get the healthy kind of fat.

Week 12: Black and Blue week. Take out some stress by trying a kickboxing class at your local gym.

Week 13: Nick's Grocery Store Challenge. My favorite Q&A question of last year's cruise was when a fan asked the guys if they sing along to their own songs on the radio. Nick responded: “It’s so funny because I don’t ever hear it on the radio. I hear it in the grocery store... so I have to listen to it while I’m buying milk” So before you go to the grocery store this week, make a list of lots of healthy foods to buy. Stick to this list and don't make those impulse purchases strolling through the cookie isle. Just smile and think of Nick to help you resist.

Week 14: Pop your favorite Backstreet Boy video in your DVD player. Maybe its the Disney special or it could be Night out with the Backstreet Boys. Whatever it is, you must lift free weights, do stretches, or keep yourself active while watching.

Week 15: ‘Hold the pickles, Hold the Lettuce, Special Orders Don’t Upset Us…’ Even though the Backstreet Boys endorsed Burger King, we will not. No fast food this week. If you must, go to a healthy fast food place instead like Subway.

I ate there so much during that time to get all the BSB goodies

Even if you don't want to participate, I need everyone's help to help me come up with more challenges!

I've never been so excited to diet in my life. My first weigh-in was tonight and I'll keep you posted on my progress. Wish me luck, I want to win some good merch on the cruise.

Watching Your Weight on the Cruise

As I’m struggling to lose these last 10 pounds before we set sail, I thought it would be a good time to do a post on how to watch your weight on the cruise. It can be quite difficult to make healthy decisions; after all, you’re on vacation and want to have a good time. However by making a few healthier choices, it will help ease that inevitable regret once you get home.

I like to take advantage of the beautiful view and fresh air by going for a jog on the promenade deck. By jog, I really mean a brisk walk, but in my head it still counts. I would recommend going as the sunsets because not only will it be a little cooler but also because of the breathtaking view. If you’re more ambitious than I, perhaps you can go for the sunrise as well.

Rather than eating all of your meals at the buffet, try going to the main dining room instead. This will help with portion control since it’s not quite as extensive as the buffet. The other benefit of eating at the main dining room is that you will be eating slower as your meals are served in courses. This will cause you to feel fuller more quickly, and thus eat less. There will also be healthy options on the menu that are designated by a Spa Carnival symbol, which are lower in calories and fat. Check out more on special diets on the Carnival website.

Try grabbing some fruit for dessert to satisfy that sweet craving. There is so much fresh fruit available that it becomes a much easier choice to make. Though I must admit, the chocolate melting cake is to die for, so I recommend indulging at least once on that :)

The main problem that I face is that there is so much food available everywhere you turn, and all day long. While I don’t advise eating 6 meals a day, grabbing a light snack of fruit or yogurt before a larger meal will prevent you from overeating at that meal. Better to fill up on something healthy.

If you go to the buffet, scope out the entire room first and then decide what you want. I then like to grab a dessert plate because they are smaller, and thus I will put less food on them. And don’t forget to put some veggies on the plate!

Cruises generally have really nice gym facilities and a plethora of classes to take. I like trying a new class that I generally can’t do at home. It’s a great way to try something different and keep the workout fresh.

My motto on a cruise or outside of one is that I would I would rather eat my calories than drink them. Thus the majority of what I drink is water and the occasional lemonade. All those sodas and cocktails will add up on the calorie count and you won’t even realize it.

If all else fails, maybe the idea of running into a Backstreet Boy at the gym and watching him lift weights will get me motivated enough to actually work out... Yup that will do the trick.