inthemidst - :bravo: for making it to your second mini-goal! Wooohooo!

Suki - not sure why slowing down would have felt harder but maybe it was because you were at the end and were already worn out. And if everything is going in a way you're happy with, I'm certainly not trying to mess with success - it's just that many beginning runners start too fast at the beginning, wipe themselves out, get frustrated and give up. I've always heard that you should be able to talk comfortably at your basic pace. Since you run on your own, that's probably harder to check but if you're huffing and puffing way too hard to be able to talk, try slowing it down until you could imagine talking and see if you can go further. You can always pick up your speed once you've built up your endurance. When I started running again this spring, I was running 15min/miles and now on a really good day, I occasionally clock in with 10min/miles. Curious to hear how it goes!

hydra - sorry about the frustrating plateau - have you tried calorie cycling at all? It's helped me with some mini-plateaus, I think. You basically vary your daily intake by a few hundred calories above and below your usual limit to kind of mix things up a bit.

icu - woooohoooo on being so close to goal! You are an inspiration!

dancer - aw, thanks! I don't think 150 is my final goal, but it will make a good top threshold!

sukie - you're getting out there, and you're getting stronger! Way to go! (I'm jealous - can you send some of that motivation to exercise my way???)

hydra - you're doing really well! My gosh, you only joined us a little while ago, and you're down that much already? It would be really difficult to maintain that rate of loss, since you are getting smaller fast ... so please don't get down about anything. Keep the long-term view - in 2009, you made a decision, and you are making it happen. :)

wlw - slow is still progress! I doubt that even the people who are pouring the weight off are happy with how fast it's happening - we all want it INSTANTLY! Let's just say we're building lots of character. ;)

midst - woohoo! Milestones are wonderful! I don't think that's really a mini-goal - in my world, that qualifies you for a big :high:

Half a pound off this morning. Tomorrow's the official benchmark date - I measure on the first of the month. Had an encouraging NSV this morning - I put on a jacket this morning that was so tight around my hips that it would just ride up to my waist last winter - and now it's got PLENTY of room. Good thing - cuz I didn't really want to have to buy a new one!

icu - congrats on the very nice NSV!

October 1! Progress report - how much of what you've wanted to lose for Halloween is off?

I think I started the challenge at 154 and wanted to get to 150. I've accomplished 62% of it so far. There's some bumps coming - a trip to Raleigh this weekend, a visit from a friend (with party), and our neighborhood Halloween hayride. And of course, the holiday itself. Oh ... and a wine tasting w/Italian buffet (oh, gawd help me!), and two planned "going-out" lunches. My 20th anniversary is on the 28th ... phew! All I can do is use the tools I've learned this year, and lean on you guys!!!

ICU - wow, that's a lot of temptations coming up! Such the engineer you are, calculating your percentages ;)

Ok - for me, I started at 170 and am now at 166 and am hoping to get to 160 by Halloween or 11/1 so I'm 40% of the way there and 6lbs in the next four weeks will be a challenge as I have a few trips coming up but I'm still hoping I can make it!

Thanks sukierd, inthemidst, dancer and ICU - I truly appreciate your words of wisdom and encouragement.

The scale did go down a half pound today! I will take it! I might try the calorie cycling thing as it seems to work well for so many people. I have 6.5 pounds left to meet my Halloween goal. I will reach a mini goal first at 226....that will be 26 pounds lost and 1/3 of my goal!

I hope everyone has a good day today! Take care ladies and gents!

:cb:hydra - you are doing so well! Continue on with the level of commitment you have, and you will KEEP being successful! If you want to tuck in another meaningful minigoal that you're even CLOSER to hitting (and it's considered a HUGE one in the weightloss biz), you're almost at the 10% gone! Celebrate that one - many health professionals say that losing 10% of your body weight makes a significant difference in your overall health and well-being. :cb::carrot:

O-kay, I'm in. 10 pounds off by Halloween! Woo-hoo!

Hydra - way to go!
Annegirl - welcome!

ICU...Okay, I love crunching numbers. If you count my Labor Day Gain fiasco I have dropped 50% of my goal numbers before Halloween.;) If we can only count my Halloween goal I have met 20% so far.

Suki - either way, you are making progress in the right direction - how cool is that when you consider the alternative?

What's everyone up to this weekend? I'm going to try to sneak in another hike before the weather gets colder.

Hi everyone,

:welcome: Annegirl

ICU: You are doing so great. And I know you will manage those bumps beautifully! :)

Hydra: You are a losing machine!

Sukierd: Either percentage is fabulous! :D

Dancer: How was the hike?

Thanks for all the congratulations. Of course I went off plan and gained 1/2 lb back. :( Didn't help that I had TOM cravings. But back on plan today. Have to stop celebrating with food. I do have to say tho that I am getting better at getting back to plan. :D

My goal by next sunday is to be at 177. 20lbs total. :carrot:

Have a great day!

Hi everyone! I didn't gain any over the weekend (didn't lose any, either), and have managed to catch the "change of season" cold. Working from home today to spare my coworkers having to listen to me sneeze and hack. I've eaten a few things that probably aren't the best choices, but absolutely nothing that's good for me sounds remotely edible right now. :)

I'm down to 228. Which actually puts me on track for the first time during this challenge to reach my goal of 225 by Halloween. Maybe my weight loss will speed up a bit now that I'm well below 240 -- a weight that my body is very used to.

gardenerjoy - congrats for breaking through the plateau!
ICU - hope you feel better soon! Lots of chicken soup...
inthemidst - hike got cancelled unfortunately due to a crisis at my bf's office. Bummer...

Bought the cutest pair of jeans this weekend - it is absolutely amazing what that does for your self esteem! I liked them so much I bought the next size down as well. I lost a total of 2lbs this week so I'm still on schedule.

Hope all are doing well...