Day 7: Last full day and it’s at sea as we head back to Ft. Lauderdale. Slept in a little bit this morning. Lisa had a spinning class at 9am. I started out with breakfast (egg beater omelet with salmon and spinach and some pineapple). We hung out on deck and I hit the gym around 11:00pm – 5 miles on the treadmill while I watched a movie followed by 20 minutes of core. For the rest of the day, we hung out on deck and just relaxed. (I did have my first very small –finished half- of an ice cream cone). I figure that I did walk the ship enough to negate the ice cream cone and stayed pretty healthy for lunch. I have been careful the entire cruise to select a normal size dinner plate for my meals and not the oversized that everyone else seems to fill up. I have been very careful to balance what I have put on my plate and have definitely included about 75% fresh vegetables and fruit. We have also learned that when we go to the sit-down dinners and lunches, the portions are always very small but adequate and there are always a lot of healthy choices on the menu. Tonight we plan on catching a show but we will definitely be dancing afterwards. We are heading home in the morning and I will make sure that I include a couple more blogs to report how we did and also an outline of our best secrets to what you can do to cruise, lose (hopefully not gain) and still have fun!

Day 6: Up at 6:30am and easy run on deck 7. We attended a workshop this morning on “eating more and losing weight”. It was a very interesting. I really never understood the importance of “detoxification” which was the primary message. The foundation for a healthy body (and weight loss) is detoxification. Unless you have a healthy liver that is working correctly, your body will not filter efficiently. It’s very important to have the right amount of water in your body (slightly different BMR for men and women). Once the filtration system is working right, it’s all about what you eat and drink. He stressed that even the vegetables and fruits are toxic and we should make every effort to go organic. He banned Coffee, Refined foods, Additives and Preservatives (CRAP). Finally, with healthy food and plenty of water, you have the energy to exercise. The instructor emphasized not to over exercise. He stressed the importance of balancing cardio weights and core. A lot of women ignore the weights and a lot of men ignore the cardio. He said that many of us also forget to exercise the legs, back and chest. If you don’t build muscle building into your workouts you will burn muscle more than fat. The instructor explained that the body is like a house. The foundation is detoxification (need better absorption). Proper Nutrition represents the walls. And the Roof is built by using your energy to Exercise regularly. By mid-day, we arrived at Grand Turk Island and spent the day snorkeling in the clearest water I have ever seen. Lobster and shrimp for dinner (asked the waiter to leave off the butter and bring me cocktail sauce). We went dancing late into the evening at three different night spots. Still on track with one more day to go!

Day 5: Up at 6:30am but no on ship workout planned for today. After a light breakfast- a small veggie egg beater omelet and some fruit, I was off the ship by 8:15am to take the boys on a snorkeling excursion. Lisa relaxed on the beach and took a spin class when she returned back to the ship. I relaxed at the pool for an hour. (I ate one hotdog, but I only ate two small bites of the bun; the first “wrong food since I stepped on the ship”). I made up for it with 45 minutes in the gym on the treadmill.

Day 4: Up at 6:30am. This morning I did a 45 minute run around the ship on deck 7. Lisa did her 45 minutes on an elliptical in the gym and we met for an additional 20 minutes of weights and stretching. We met a few fellow passengers in the gym today that gave us a great idea to pass on. Next time we travel, we will bring a couple of jump ropes and a few bands; simple things that are light and easily packable. We are starting to find our staple snacks throughout the day and check in periodically to grab a piece of fruit and our favorite snack—seafood salad (no real dressing –just baby scallops, shrimp, squid, tomatoes, cilantro, onion). In the evening we caught a show and danced for an hour before going to bed. (I shouldn’t leave out that we did share a very small piece of a one of the exotic desserts and a cup of coffee before going to the room)

Day 3: Up at 6:30am and off to the gym at 7:00am. 30 minutes on the treadmill (with a little bonus core workout thrown in due to the movement of the boat), followed by a 30 minutes super core workout; healthy light breakfast at 8:00am. At 9:00, my son and I were on deck 15 for the ping-pong tournament. With each of us in different brackets, we met in the final. He won gold and I won silver! By mid-day, we were swimming and participating in pool activities. I finished the day relaxing under the stars in a chase lounge watching Duke beat Butler on the topside deck pool’s giant outdoor screen eating pop-corn (not a great snack choice, but you got splurge a little).

Day 2: Up at 6:30am. We started with a stretching class at 7:00am followed by a total body conditioning class at 7:30am. By 8:00am, we were jogging on the deck. We had breakfast at 8:30am -egg beaters with Salmon and veggies and fresh fruit. We went ashore at our first destination where we kayaked and played volley ball for most of the morning. Following a healthy lunch back on ship, a game of bingo, a few games of chess and couple of dips in the pool, we took some time to just relax in our state room.

Day 1:
After checking out our room, the first priority was to find lunch. We walked past the crowded lines for Pizza and burgers and worked our way to the back of the ship where we found the salad bar which was surrounded by a buffet. Sticking with the game plan, we started with a pile of salad as a base and strategically began building on fresh veggies, a couple of small pieces of baked chicken, shrimp and finally Balsamic Vinegar & Oil. After lunch, we waited for the elevator to take us up to our room. When the doors opened, several individuals jumped on in front of us to fill the elevator. We turned to take the stairs but everyone insisted that there was room for two more. Embarrassingly the elevator began to beep and we immediately stepped right off. Obviously we had taken it over the weight capacity. As the doors closed, I pointed to Lisa but from the faces peering at me as the doors closed, It was clear that they had figured out that I was culprit. It certainly will motivate me to take the stairs more. Most of day one, we walked around the ship, plenty of stairs and enough exercise to walk off lunch. Unfortunately, we never did find the gym on day 1.
Looking at the food options on day 1, there are plenty of nutritious, low fat, healthy options for every meal. My mother, who is cruising with us, apparently called the cruise line in advance and informed them that she needed low fat, low salt options for all meals. Lisa and I didn’t go that far, but we do ask the waiter at each meal not to bring rolls, leave off the sauce on most entrees and add extra vegetables in place of starches. Waiters on cruises are eager to please and they still brought each of us a dessert even though we asked for just one for three of us to share. We will be a little clearer tomorrow night. This evening we relaxed on an outdoor deck and watched West Virginia lose to Duke on a big screen under the stars.
 

Our ship, the Star Princess, leaves Florida on Saturday and will take us on a seven day voyage to St. Thomas, St. Martin and other exciting places in the Caribbean.  Like any cruise, there will be gourmet meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner, not to mention all of the in-between snacks and even mid-night buffets.  Between all of the dining, there will be plenty of time for catching up on our reading, getting massages and sitting in theatres.  But, what we are really looking forward too is running on the deck in the early morning, catching a yoga or aerobics class and riding bikes around every island that we visit.  Sure, we intend to sample the gourmet meals and have a drink or too, and even a taste of dessert on most evenings.  So our plan is to pick the healthy options, reduce our portion of the main course, ask our waiter to leave off the sauce and make sure that our plates our full of lots of fresh vegetables.  This is going to be an active vacation but we don't intend to miss out on anything.  Our Pre-Trip weigh-in is tomorrow.