smisen, I had the same feeling as you when I weighed in this morning. I know I've had a bit of a battle with the binge-monster the past few weeks, but I was six (SIX) pounds higher than about 3 weeks ago. And, considering the amount of calories I can put away in a full-on binge, I bet they're real pounds of fat. Sigh.

I'm so ready for this challenge. I made a plan and I'm sticking to it! I think I've identified alcohol as a major, major trigger for binges, so, while I can easily fit a couple of glasses of wine into my caloric budget, I'm going to choose not to so that I'm not tempted by food.

Good luck everyone!

Age: 28

Location: St. Louis, MO

Most Recent NSV: Fitting into clothes I haven't worn in about 8 years.

Weight Loss Goal for the Challenge: I'd really like to hit 175. That's about 15 pounds.

Battle Plan for Reaching BL Challenge Goal: Calorie counting and better consistency with working out.

Particular Challenges/Upcoming Temptations that You are Working to/or Planning to Overcome: Holidays. I LOVE to bake around Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'll just have to bake for other people.

Anything Else You Would Like to Share About Yourself: I foster weimaraners for a local rescue... hence the name. My biggest motivation for the weight loss has been that my husband and I are talking about trying for a baby in the next year. My sister-in-law is getting married out of the country at the end of January, and I'm the photographer, so anything after that is game.

Good Job Weighing-In everyone! We are only waiting on 12 more!

welcome! i live on the IL side. I'm hoping to move to Spanish Lake area.
Let's kick butt!

Had a bit of a bad weekend food-wise as my friends are leaving town for a bit and we've been on leaving dinners and such. But back on the wagon tomorrow! I have tons of soup and fish prepared and I'm planning lots of lovely solitary walks along the coastline (my flatmates have gone home for the week) so roll on next weeks weigh-in! :)
Hope everyone's had a good weekend!

Hey ladies! I only just weighed in - for some reason I thought the 24th was Monday so I thought me weighing in on Monday would make me ahead of everyone else haha, since I'm in the Southern Hemisphere. But I've posted my start weight now, yay.

Since the challenge actually started Sunday...well...I didn't start that well! I overate last night for the first time in 3 months, it was not fun. I didn't even really mean to do it and I didn't feel great afterwards at all. Cheesecake was involved. Safe to say, I've learnt my lesson. I can't believe I used to do that more often!

It's a public holiday today (Monday) here in New Zealand, I get paid but I don't have to work! YAY! I think I'm going to go hang out with my parents for the day. I'm not sure if exercise will happen, but I'm definitely keeping my calories in check today after last night!

Do we have a Team Storm Banner of some sort?

Hey everyone! I created a Banner for our Team. Let me know what you think, if you hate it, want a different incarnation of Storm, etc. If someone can make something better, you are welcome to it. I can't get the code to post in the forum even with spaces, etc. so I am PMing everyone the codes.

Leopard, thanks for doing that. I think the banner looks fantastic!

Awesome banner!

OK...I PMed everyone that could accept PMs. The code can be found here...

http://www.bannersketch.com/index.ph...dfa64c73ba892a

Let me know if there are any questions! Lets kill this week!

Yay! Awesome banner. I feel so excited to have it in my signature!!

leopardspots - I LOVE the banner! Of course I had to add it immediately. Thanks so much for leading us (to victory!!)
rainbowstripe - Ugh, cheesecake is my weakness!! Tomorrow (Monday) is a public holiday for me, too. It's Thanksgiving Day here in Grenada and like every holiday, it's celebrated with family, friends, and food. I'm not going to get sidetracked. I have a game plan for tomorrow and I intend to stick to it.

Good luck this week! I am so excited to be starting our challenge. We are going to kick some tail!! :D
Team STORM!!

Hey everyone, I'm glad everyone likes the banner. Sorry I haven't been posting. I traveled for work this week. Glad to be home. Lets get this chat thread cooking!!!

GreenTea: I just have to tell you I love green tea as well as many other sorts. I seriously drink about 10-18 cups of tea every day. My co-workers think I’m crazy. I also love dogs. I can’t wait to get one when I am finished grad school and have time for one.

IslandVet: I am so jealous of you for studying in the Indies. I think that would be so cool. Technically, I am an international student, studying in the US, but born in Canada. I love being able to get an education from a new place and then go home with experiences others don’t have. I’m sure yours are incredible. What kind of specialty are you going into? Domestic animals or exotic animals? Are you going to open a practice or do you want to work in a zoo or something?

Kismet: I find it hard enough to diet and exercise while taking care of a husband, but when two children, I don’t know if I could do it. I hear what you say about scaling back on Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, I have to do it twice a year, once in Oct with my family, and then again in Nov. with my husbands.

Audri: What subjects do you teach? I would think middle school would be one of the most difficult age groups to teach. I know I as a miserable child then and feel bad about how I behaved. I turned out all right, but I’m sure my teachers were so glad to get rid of me come June.

Steph: Where in Northern MI are you from? I lived in Waterford for a while and did my undergrad at Oakland University. My in-laws live in Oscoda. I love visiting up there. How did your date go?

Carly: I had a horrible experience with an IUD. Hopefully, you feel better after getting it removed. Congrats on your wedding anniversary. I can’t wait for that to be me in a few years!

Jelbelle: Again, I lived in MI for 6ish years and loved it there. Wish I could have stayed if I wasn’t trying to escape the economy.

Katy trail: I want a puppy for X-mas! Good luck with the move. I’ve moved so many times, I am so over it. How much of a distance is your move?

Denice: I love eggnog! Especially with a shot of rum. The homemade stuff of course. My husband and family think it is so gross. Love it!

Rainbow: I love your hair cut and color! I love wearing my hair in more alternative styles but can’t anymore because I work for a conservative company. My husband are planning to go backpacking in New Zealand some day.

Tiny: I agree about feeling the cold more in the winter after losing some weight. My husband keeps telling me to eat and I won’t be cold. Sigh. Good luck with your goals. It is very difficult to lose weight while in school. I know. A PhD is very impressive. When do we get to call you Dr. Tinycities?

Katylil: I can’t wait to buy things in a M. I’ve been L and XL for so long. I got such a high off of my size 10 jeans. How much longer will you be in school? Are you going to stay in West Sussex or do you plan on relocating somewhere afterwards? I have no idea what the industry is like for that in West Sussex.

Nessa: I’m not sure what I am going to do about the holidays. I like baking. Cookies and bread are my downfall. I know if I make it, I will eat it, but my husband is begging for me to cook and I have to take stuff to various holiday parties. We just have to stay strong! I got your back!

Fit4Life: Congrats on getting close to finishing your bachelors. Law school is definitely going to be hard and time consuming too. Are you planning on working full-time then too? You defiantly have a lot on your plan, but if you stay on plan for a year, I’m sure you’ll lose weight and meet your goals. Is there a particular law school that you want to go to?

Rtsmme4life: What you’re your boys going to be for Halloween this year? Are you going to dress up too? Halloween candy is evil. I’ve already bought it for the tricker-treaters twice. Yeah, none left. I’m not buying anymore until the day of Halloween!

Fatmac: Isn’t it so amazing the assumption that people make about size and health, yet you run into many people that are skinny but have such poor fitness! You rock!

Zanhelt: I am also a big nerd. I LOVE star trek, buffy, firefly, battlestar, etc. and fanfiction. I’m not a gamer. I think I would have a problem if I let myself buy games.

Jessie: I think all of us are going to have a hiccups during this challenge. Way too many events all at the same time! Congrats on your final year of residency. Residency is brutal. What are your plans for afterwards?

Smisen: That sounds like the most fun job ever! Gaining weight isn’t fun, but I’m sure you get all sorts of treats and food to take home at Christmas time for your family. What makes you describe your cats at b***y? I love cats.

Laura: I think that is amazing that you foster Weimaraners. I love them. I used to foster parrots. It is so unbelievable how people treat their pets and abandon the commitments that they made. So many people should not be allowed to have pets or children. I assume you try to find homes for them after you have re-socialized them? At least you get exercise playing with and walking them!

leopard spots- it's a pretty short move. if we move to spanish lake, it's only 30 min. from where we are now. not sure if that will work out, but if it does, dh's commute will be much shorter. he spends almost an hour driving one way now. that's without traffic lol. plus we'll be closer to family, i like his side of the family, so that's a good thing. a bit of a transition for our kids(3) though. it's changing from IL to MO schools. still alot of unknowns. so fun to do tours of the houses!