I got out of my chemistry class today and felt HORRIBLE! I thought I had the flu, major body aches and nausea. I came home a took a little nap and I think I'm better. Not sure what that was all about but i cant afford to be sick! I've got too much work to do!!

Its been a beautiful day and wouldnt you know it starting to cloud up...I'm still holding out for that walk this afternoon! My oldest has track practice this afternoon what I should do is go workout with them! LOL...can you just see it!?

I hope that everyone is having the BEST day today!! I'm so excited to be a part of this team!! We can do this red team!! Lets start week 1 off with a big BANG!

~melissa

Before I forget again, maybe we should all introduce ourselves so we can get to know each other.....

1. What would you like us to call you?
2. What are your Spring into summer goals?
3. How did you get here? (gaining the weight and deciding to get healthy)
4. What plan are you using?
5. What is your favorite exercise routine?
6. Favorite weightloss tip?
7. And just for fun...... Something that made you smile today!

~melissa

I'll go first!

1. What would you like us to call you? Melissa
2. What are your Spring into summer goals? 25 lbs gone for good!
3. How did you get here? (gaining the weight and deciding to get healthy) I used to be 130 lbs and thought if I could just lose 5 lbs I'd be perfect. Well I managed to diet my way to 250 lbs, had 2 babies where I gained at least 60 lbs with each. I've yoyo'd up and down and here I am! I want this for me this time!
4. What plan are you using?Eating less
5. What is your favorite exercise routine?biking
6. Favorite weightloss tip?use the smaller plate to keep portions smaller
7. And just for fun...... Something that made you smile today!the way my daughter fixed her hair this morning, it was all slicked over to the side, she thought she was so beautiful, i didnt have the heart to change it! And it was class pictures day! LOL!

1. What would you like us to call you? Lindsey
2. What are your Spring into summer goals? I would hopefully like to lose 25 lbs, but would LOVE it if I lost more.
3. How did you get here? Well, I've pretty much steadily gained weight my entire life, all the way up to 381.4 lbs and then one day I decided "enough". So, a loss 38.2 lbs later, here I am.
4. What plan are you using? Just eating less... but mostly whole foods and less processed stuff. Mostly.
5. What is your favorite exercise routine? Well, I don't know that it's my favorite, but currently I do 40 mins of treadmill and then 20-40 mins of weight training, alternating upper and lower body. I think my FAVORITE is playing around in the swimming pool.
6. Favorite weightloss tip? I don't really have one. Maybe just to eat tons of veggies. You get a lot of bang for your calorie buck there.
7. And just for fun...... Something that made you smile today! Man, I don't think I *have* smiled today (considering my mom is still having problems with her kidneys and some jerk hit my car in the parking lot while I was in class and didn't leave a note), except for at my own joke during Intro to World Religions. We were asked for some possible essay questions for our test next time, and the class was quiet for a while, so I said jokingly "Well, you could ask us 'What is zen'?" which resulted in the whole class laughing, because we had just talked about how you can't describe an experience in words, etc. I'm not usually the class clown, so it was nice.

Way to go on your losses so far Lindsey!!! You are doing GREAT!!! almost 40 lbs, that is incredible!! How exciting for you!! Keep up the excellent work!

~melissa

This is my first challenge as well and I am excited, but I'm a little nervous too.

Great ideas for the challenges...our team rocks!

1. What would you like us to call you? Sara

2. What are your Spring into summer goals? I would love like to lose 23 lbs or more by the time the challenge is done, and keep feeling better and stronger each day.

3. How did you get here? I have been pretty heavy now for the last 14 years (after kids)I have been on so many diets most of them with little success. This time I am doing it for me and I love this journey I'm in!

4. What plan are you using? I joined LA Weight Loss in January and I am part of the LA forum, which I must add is awesome bunch of people. They have inspired me so much. I would recomend it to everybody.

5. What is your favorite exercise routine? Elyptical, dvds , stationary bike and walking.

6. Favorite weightloss tip? Be honest with yourself. If you cheat your only hurting yourself.

7. And just for fun...... Something that made you smile today! My daughter trying to immitate the way Calbres ladies speak.

Can't wait to chat with you all.

GO RED TEAM GO...we are going to win this thing and better still we will be healthier and much happier!

Hi Red team!!! I am your other fearless team cheerleader!
I've only been 65-70% OP lately, I need to bump that up to 85-90% in order to make my vacation goal.

1. What would you like us to call you? My name is Amber

2. What are your Spring into summer goals? I want to hit my goal weight before my Mexican Vacation July 6th

3. How did you get here? (gaining the weight and deciding to get healthy) I've always been heavier. I've been around 185 most of my life (I'm the ripe ol' age of 23) with no idea how to make the scale go down. Just recently have I stopped focusing on fads and started the less input more output approach

4. What plan are you using? Currently, as simple as it sounds, eating less and try to make the foods I do eat more nutritious

5. What is your favorite exercise routine? I'm an aspiring runner. I ran my first marathon in October (slowest time ever!) I ran a 10k this weekend, and I have a half come up first weekend in May

6. Favorite weightloss tip? Melissa and I have the same favorite tip, but in order to avoid repeats I'll go with eat a good breakfast.

7. And just for fun...... Something that made you smile today! I went and got ribs with my boyfriend (Sorry team, needed to get that out of my system!) When the waitress asked Chris if he wanted a half rack or a full rack, he asked her what the difference was. I chimed in with "About half a rack..." It made the waitress laugh

I look forward to getting to know all my red teammates

Sorry about your mom and your car.

Sara....its amazing what a good team cheering you on can do isnt it!! Way to go on your successes so far!!

Amber...ooohh! Mexico! FUN!! And you will meet that goal before then I know you can do it!!! I love your quote about fat cells crying...that is great!!

I'm off to bed, I'm just exhausted today! Have a wonderful night everyone I hope Tuesday is even better than monday!!

Here we go Red Team Here we go!!!

~melissa

1. What would you like us to call you? I'll go with Shelby (which is actually the name of a cat I used to have, which makes it handy to use online frequently, so my real name would just add confusion )

2. What are your Spring into summer goals? To finally lose the weight that buries the muscles I've been building up since last year!! !

3. How did you get here? (gaining the weight and deciding to get healthy) I had a small (5 year) window of being thin and I loved it but gained about 100 lbs after I met my husband.
4. What plan are you using? Cutting back, exercising, drinking water, trying not to eat for emotional reasons (that's SO tough for me!!)

5. What is your favorite exercise routine? Anything I can do at the YMCA while the kid's get to play downstairs.

6. Favorite weightloss tip? Seems water does really help!!

7. And just for fun...... Something that made you smile today! Watching my 7-year-old play at his baseball game -- okay, so I smiled a lot but was mostly proud of how hard he was working!!

So excited to "meet" all of you -- looking forward to losing with you!!!

First off: GO RED TEAM!!!!!!
Nice to meet you all, you seem like a great bunch.

1. What would you like us to call you? Tanya
2. What are your Spring into summer goals? Lose 15
3. How did you get here? (gaining the weight and deciding to get healthy)I like food and excused my way out of exercising for too many years. I decided to get healthy when I looked back at how many years I have wasted "TRYING" but not DOING and knew that this year would be different.
4. What plan are you using? WW
5. What is your favorite exercise routine? Walk Away The Pounds
6. Favorite weightloss tip? Plan a vacation involving bathing suits.....
7. And just for fun...... Something that made you smile today! A glorious sunny spring day!

Thank you for the hard work, team leader and cheerleaders, I won't let the team down!

Good Morning Red team!!!

Erika...what an excellent tip!! I love that! and another runner...I wish I could run! Good luck to you, you are going to do GREAT!!

Shelby....that muscle is waiting to shine!!! You've got an excellent attitude I love it!!

Tanya....you are so right, its time for us ALL to stop "trying" to lose weight and get healthy, and start DOING!! Excellent advice!! Bathingsuits.....oh no! LOL!!

I can tell already it is going to be a GREAT day!!! We can do this RED TEAM!!

~melissa

1. What would you like us to call you? Charity
2. What are your Spring into summer goals? Lose 20 lbs.
3. How did you get here? (gaining the weight and deciding to get healthy)? I have been overweight since I was in 5th grade. About 6-7 years ago, I lost 90 lbs. (got down to about 154), then met my husband, and gained it all (plus more) back. Then, got pregnant and gained 42 lbs. during my pregnancy. After I had my daughter I decided I needed to be healthy to set a good example for her - and I didn't want her to have a weight problem like my husband and I have both had all of our lives. So, I joined weight watchers in January of 2006 and have lost around 82 lbs so far.
4. What plan are you using? Weight Watchers - LOVE IT!
5. What is your favorite exercise routine? Running, though I am still working on 5Ks. I also like the FIRM, but I need to get back into doing it.
6. Favorite weightloss tip? Journal/Write down everything you eat!
7. And just for fun...... Something that made you smile today! Having a "tea party" with my 21 month old daughter this morning before she left for day care

Lindsey, so sorry to hear about your mom and your car.

Melissa, hope you are feeling better today! I really like the idea of doing challenges with the Blue Team!!! I also like our Red Team challenge and think starting it this weekend is a great idea!