I have a ? about the activities... what if we do an activity for an hour.. do you count it twice?
Also can I just use the chart in excel? I can't find Paint which is the program I think Arthwen said we should use?

These don't always work for me but hot tea often fills me up when I want something I shouldn't have. And exercise, it gets me moving and my mind off the food. Hopefully we can help each other avoid binges here!

Good morning everyone!!

Ballroom dancing sounds like so much fun! You'll have to let us know how it goes.

I was thinking it would be good for us to have a little topic to talk about each day, to get us each involved and thinking about good habits. So for today, what is something you are proud of doing, related to getting healthier? Either today or in general?

I'm proud of the fact that I've finally gotten good about drinking water. I used to drink tons and tons of diet soda, and in the last few weeks I've finally realized I'm drinking water instead, without even noticing it! What about you all?

Good idea bakabeth I can't really think of anything I feel particularly proud of at the moment regarding to getting healthier as I've been really lazy and unhealthy over Christmas I suppose I'm quite happy that I walked to work this morning (well, walked to the train station and then from the other station to the office) even though it was freezing cold and foggy outside. I'll have to walk back again so that'll be about 2 miles walking today and thanks to the weather it'll be brisk

I've also been watching Paul McKenna's 'I Can Make You Thin' show on TV this week and I've decided to give it a go since I've always managed to gain back any weight I've lost and then some on all the diets I've been on in the past (Weight Watchers, Slimming World, SlimFast...the list goes on Guess those ones just aren't my cup of tea). I've managed to stick with it all week so far though and it's going well (about 2lbs down now I think). Woohoo!

That's great Anti22! I just figured out the bus system where I live, so every day it is a battle for me to walk to school, instead of hopping on the nice warm bus...

What do you think of the Paul McKenna thing? I remember seeing ads for it last summer or so, but I never caught it. What does it involve?

The Paul McKenna thing's easy but it's also really easy to be skeptical of it. Basically, what he's saying is that when people diet they lose weight and then when they come off the diet they put it all back on again and some more. I'm sure that's not true of everyone (and I'm DEFINITELY not disagreeing with anyone elses weight loss methods, different things work for different people) but I know it's happened to me. (What I say here is what he's said on TV, I'm not saying it's right or wrong!).

He gives 4 rules to follow in order to lose weight.
1) Eat when you are hungry.
2) Eat what you want, not what you think you should eat.
3) Eat consciously and enjoy every mouthful.
4) When you think you are full, stop eating.

These probably raise a lot of questions and skepticism but his explanations on the show and in his book (I have that too) I find are very convincing so I thought I'd try it out. He also gives other techniques for how to control cravings, get more motivated to take exercise and stop emotional eating. I've always had problems with those things so I'm giving it a try. It's too early at the moment to see if it's working but I'll keep you posted

Please do! I've always had issues with emotional eating, so I'd love to hear if it works for you, or any thoughts you have along the way.

So far so good today. I had tried calorie counting but I've gone back to tracking points on WW. Calorie counting overwhelmed me a bit so I'm going to see if this helps keep me better organized. I'm just finishing my 2 liter of water, and my 80th trip to the bathroom!! some friends want to do take out Chinese and a movie for dinner tonight and were totally disinterested in my proposals to do something else.. ah well. I'm going to try to stick with some soup and an egg roll. I've got the points for it, but I always feel guilty anyway..

(also, I think we are the only ones awake still!)

Hello, I'm your new member.. We had to move one from my previous team here, so here I am.. Looking forward to know you all. Let's win this

Ella13~ I drink a large mug of either raspberry green tea, mixed berry green tea or pomegranate green tea every morning! It always gives me a great energy boost!

JessieCat~ Go to the START menu, then to ALL PROGRAMS, then to ACCESSORIES, and you will see the paint program there. I PMd Arthwen and asked her if excel could be used by those who can’t find paint, but I’m pretty sure you’ll find it if you follow those steps.

Anti222~ Great job with walking! It was 10 degrees outside this morning here and as much as I love walking, I wasn’t feeling it. I need to invest in some good gloves and a hat anyways.

Great idea bakabeth! I’m proud of sticking with my food plan so far this week even with the high stress I’m under.
My chest X-Rays have come back, and one blood test result. So far all they have found is that I am anemic, but nothing to explain my 2.5 month fever yet. I have a DRs. Appt. later today, so we’ll see.

I PMd Arthwen all the questions I've seen in the past few posts and will let you all know the answers when she lets me know.

So I don’t know how to put the banner in my signature, could someone walk me through that? Happy Friday everyone!!!

Still missing weights from:
Hiimnatalie
wfonseca3017
onestar
hotmamacitax2
JRockSoldier
Please get those in. If you are no longer doing the challenge, please let me know. Thank you!

Welcome TheRose!! We are happy to have you here Tell us about you!

great job sticking on your food plan Kim! whenever I'm under high stress, the food plan is the first thing to go... also, good luck at the doctor!

welcome therose!!! our team is better anyway lol im proud of the fact that i will be staying on plan today and im planning on working out twice today, i read that it is beneficial to split your workout, one in the morning and one at night, so im going to give it a try, i just cant seem to move anywhere on the scale. but im going to keep pushing with the exercise. anyway jessicat have fun at the ballroom!!!! i dont remember mentioning, but im a ballroom dance instructor! isnt that crazy! dont be nervous! all my students tell me they were so nervous but found out later that they didnt have a need to be! anyway just relax and have fun and be prepared to be sore! happy friday!

hotpod~ I wish I could learn ballroom dancing, I think it's amazing to watch people glide gracefully around the floor.

Welcome TheRose!!! Thank you for joining us!!!

bakabeth~ Thank you, I'm getting closer to appointment time and getting more and more nervous. Hopefully good news today!

Question Answers~

If you do one activity for 1 hour, it does count twice

If you can't find paint, excel is okay

2 or 3 activities numerous times is okay, but we are aiming to do at least 5 as variety in activities often helps boost weight loss.

Let me know there are anymore questions!

Hi Everyone

im also a new member in the group
im soo excited for the challenge cause i want to do more sports
looking forward to getting to know all of you !!!!

Welcome daniellag!

I'm home sick with a stomach bug today. I can't move without everything spinning. back to bed with lots of water

daniellag~ Welcome!

bakabeth~ sorry to hear you're feeling icky, I hope you feel better soon!

How is everyone's weekend? Nothing big here so far. I plan on just laying low until tomorrow when I have to work.