[Bette k]

HI everyone,
I'm Bette, and I'm 51 yo mom of 2, a son in the Army and a 9 yo dd. I'm currently unemployed and waiting for my sub teaching license to get her to start subbing, I let it drop when I was doing a different job, and now have to wait.
This has been a very stressful year so I haven't been doing much for weight loss, but I'm going to settle down and get into it again.

I live on a farm in Iowa and recently moved into a much bigger house so I'm still trying to figure out the decorating and getting settled in.

I hope everyone has a great week.
Bette K

[mylifestory852]

hi every one can i join with u in this challenge??

[alwe74]

Hi Everyone! My name is Angie. I'm (almost) 36 years old and a mother of one VERY active 3 yr. old! This is my 3rd challenge but I haven't done one in about a year or so. I have been a yo-yo dieter for the last 10 years and currently have about 100 lbs. to lose. I'm hoping to lose at least 60 lbs. by April for my little brother's wedding. I'm not really following a diet plan right now, just reducing sugar and processed foods and trying to exercise every day. Good luck red team!!!

[shan84]

Mylife- I'm sorry but sign up for this challenge has passed. Please send me a private pm and I can discuss further your options if you want to be a participating unofficial member.

[shan84]

Time for personals! WOOHOO!! GO RED TEAM!!

lindalee- Congrats on your huge loss already. 17.5 inches is amazing! Go you! How exhausting you must be though having a little one at home right now, but oh how much fun! How do you incorporate your exercise time in with being a full time mom?

Terapet- Welcome back! So glad your back on the red team for another challenge. Truly enjoyed last challenge with you! Sorry to job front has been going so well. At least you've been taking care of yourself though. I would be afraid something like that might hinder my weight loss instead of improve it. That is a total testiment of how committed and determined you are to your journey. Your an inspiration!! By the way, you use your sign up weight. Don't worry if you put the wrong thing, I will go in and edit it because I have everyone's sign up weight and can edit posts to correspond to the original information I received.

sha25- Welcome to the challenge! 3 girls... Love it! My mother has three girls, and though we are and always have been a handful, we also have tons of fun! What is your job? Are you following any specific plan for the challenge?

PDXgirl- Welcome to the boards and to the challenge! Congrats on your upcoming marriage. I hear you about having poor eating habits for so long though. It has taken me a long time to change my thought proccess and find other vises. What are your goals now?

dudesmom- Welcome to the challenge! What are you studying right now? What made you decide to become a vegetarian now, and what plan are you following? I think that's fascinating. I, myself could never see that happening for me, especially living here in Korea now...but its an interesting concept.

pinkpolkadot- Welcome to the challenge! Where in Florida do you live? My sister has been living in Daytona Beach for a little over a year and loves it! As this is your first challenge, do you have any questions maybe for some of the veterans on the challenge? The challenge is a great motivator and we have some great tools to help us all along our journey. All of the weight I have lost has been on the last three challenges.

LeslieLou- Hello So, a noisy question, but being that you work from home does it help you stay more focused on your weight loss or does it hinder you? I'm just curious because I know there are benefits from both sides- working at home or working away from the home. Just curious as to your own situation. Care to share?

CanadaMel-Mel-Mel- Haha! Woohoo! Another challenge again! So glad your back. I've really enjoyed every challenge with you. I feel like so much has changed over the past few challenges. Thanks for the comment on my new profile pic. You mentioned your hoping to be more dedicated this challenge then last, are you changing anything about your plan or anything, or do you just mean in general?

grneyegrl- Congrats on a different job! Welcome back for another challenge. Good luck getting into routine with your eating and exercise! It really helps me keeping my exercise very routine (the days, hours, etc.) What are your goals for this challenge?

Jen- Glad your here for another challenge and I'm sure you can make it through this one! You have drive! I can relate to the always on the go, but not to the full extent that you are, as I don't have any kids, nor am I married (but I hope to be someday soon). What plan do you follow?

KimL1214- Welcome! That's great that you lead up the 20 somethings BL challenges. I love our challenges that run the 13 weeks though. You can really see some amazing results over that kind of time period. What plan do you follow on your weight loss journey? You work some crazy hours! Bless your heart. Don't forget to sleep.

Narnia- Welcome back for another challenge! Why do you feel like you start off good and then struggle? Is there a change in your life that happens or is it just personal stuff? Sometimes I feel like giving up but then I realizes how far I've come and I really do want to finish what I started this time. Good luck to you!! I bet you can do it!!

Angie- Congrats on losing 16lbs so far! Welcome to the challenge. What plan are you following? We have some great tools and such on here each week to help keep us all accountable for our eating and exercise choices. Hope they help!

Bette K- First, welcome back! Sorry to hear its been a stressful year for you. The farmhouse sounds amazing and how exciting to be able to decorate it and get everything situated. It sounds like a huge project..but hey, huge projects often equal higher calorie burns for exercise. Hope your having a great week too!

alwe74- Welcome back to the BL challenges! Sounds like you have the beginnings of a good plan going. Exercise everyday is really important even if its just a little. Everything counts in the long run because we can always start off with a little and work our ways up from there. It just a matter of taking the "jump to start" as I like to call it. Haha. Good luck to you!! And congrats to your little brother on his upcoming marriage.

[3FCer344892]

Hello!

I am 23 years old, married to a WONDERFUL man, and am an aspiring author (meaning I'm unemployed lol). I've never really been all that committed when it comes to losing weight, because I either get frustrated, impatient, or just bored and jump back into my old habits. I am hoping to change that, hoping that this will be the kind of support I need and that it will allow me to stick with it (I am highly competitive, after all).

As for nutrition plans, I'm not really following any, but for this challenge I'm going to try to cut down my processed food/sugar intake, and replace it with healthier options like fruit and salads. I have a lot of exercise DVDS, a Wii, and a stationary bike (as well as resistance bands, a jump rope, hula hoop, and 10 lb hand weights). I really like going for walks in the early morning, and evening, though, but I don't like going alone, so if my husband isn't feeling up to it I normally sit it out.

I have also decided that I will work on getting more sleep, because I usually am very nocturnal, and will skip sleeping just because I'd rather be doing something else (usually writing, or if I'm experiencing writer's block: surfing the net, watching television, or playing a video game). I am almost constantly in a daze whenever I'm awake, and when I finally do sleep I sleep for a LONG time (and usually end up missing things like going to church). I figure if I work on getting more sleep, I will have less time to binge, and more energy to exercise.

[Violet73]

Originally Posted by shan84

Time for personals! WOOHOO!! GO RED TEAM!!


LeslieLou- Hello So, a noisy question, but being that you work from home does it help you stay more focused on your weight loss or does it hinder you? I'm just curious because I know there are benefits from both sides- working at home or working away from the home. Just curious as to your own situation. Care to share?

Wow Shan, thanks for taking the time to reply to us individually! I find it easier to stay on track working from home. The job I had before was in a clinic where drug reps brought us breakfast and lunch almost every day which was always the very good-tasting, bad-for-you stuff along with desserts! Great way for drug companies to waste money huh? but, that's another subject :P

I had temptation around me every day so it was hard. I feel I have more control working at home..but the only problem is that I sit all day. I am going to try walking but I have problems with my feet and can't walk as far as I want. It can be frustrating but every little bit helps

I'm excited about this challenge! I think it's the boost I need

[lavenderblueskies]

Hello everyone,

This is my first challenge. I'm 60, married and have two handsome young adult sons and a lovely daughter-in-law. I am the program manager/educator for a small city Family Planning/Prenatal/ STD and HIV Clinic. I started a lifestyle chage about a month ago and hope that this challenge will provide incentive and support.

[shan84]

More personals- GO RED TEAM!

Serval87- Welcome to the challenge! You have a whole gym at your home...that's so exciting that you have immediate access to all that equipment. I'm in awe of your occupation...an author! Only in my dreams though I do write some stuff down, I've never taken it seriously. Thats amazing. As far as the sleep stuff goes, if you can really work on getting a routine and getting in your sleep hours it will really help. Not only will it help you feel better physically but I find for me it is an important key to my overall weight loss plan because remember, you burn calories even when your sleeping! Good luck during the challenge.

LeslieLou- Thanks for the response. I hear you about all the treats coming in all the time. I'm a teacher, so there is always a birthday in one of the classes or staff dinners, etc...so I find that really challenging. Luckily right now I am teaching a small class of only 6 students and they are all only 3 1/2 years old so they aren't bringing me food to school. Haha! I think thats great you have more control at home. I am on vacation for the first week of our challenge so I will be at home the whole time and have total control over my food choices and exercise options. I hope to have a good first week because of this. I'm a little envious that you have this power everyday. Good for you though!

lavenderblueskies- Welcome to your first challenge! I love how you said you are doing a "lifestyle change" and didnt call it a diet. It took me a long time is to get to that point. And it truly is a lifestyle change. Kudos to you!! What kind of changes have you been making food and exercise wise to go on this journey?


Hope everyone has a great day. I am a 16 hour time difference from everyone in the states, so please be patient with me. A lot of times when you guys rare busy writing away on here I will be sleeping because it will be middle of the night for me. I promise to try to do personals once a week at least. Sometimes they will be long, sometimes they will be brief. Hope everyone jumps in and starts sharing.

***Please refer back to my last comment in the thread on the 1st page regarding today's question of the day! Thanks. GO RED!!

[dudesmom]

Originally Posted by shan84

dudesmom- Welcome to the challenge! What are you studying right now? What made you decide to become a vegetarian now, and what plan are you following? I think that's fascinating. I, myself could never see that happening for me, especially living here in Korea now...but its an interesting concept.

Right now I'm working on getting my teaching license, I'm going to work with special needs students. I'm hoping to work with younger students, maybe 3rd grade or younger. I worked in a special education preschool as an aide many years ago and really loved it. After a brief stint as a retail manager, I decided that I wanted a profession that was more personally rewarding, so I started back to school and here I am! As far as being a vegetarian, the way the animals are treated is what made me decide to stop eating meat. I don't eat any meat at all, no fish, and very little eggs or dairy. I've always been a meat lover, so I never really saw myself making this change, but it just seemed right to me. I'm not condemning anyone who does eat meat, it's just not the right choice for me. By the way, I think this thread is a great idea. It's nice to learn about my teammates before the challenge starts!

[dudesmom]

Originally Posted by shan84

Today's question: What are the most important three things you would tell someone to help them with their journey?

I almost forgot this! I would tell them:

1. Its not going to be easy, and probably not real quick either.
2. Choose a plan that you can stick with for life.
3. Don't worry too much if you screw up, just use it as a learning experience.

[lindalee9]

Originally Posted by shan84

How do you incorporate your exercise time in with being a full time mom?

I am doing 30 day shred so it's only 20 minutes! I do it while he plays with toys. A lot of times he crawls under me while I am doing push ups and everytime I do ab work, he is there pulling up on my legs or crawling over my stomach! He also is fascinated with my hand weights when I put them down. I think he feels he should be able to pick them up because they aren't big, but it's too heavy for him.

So far it's working out well! I think it's good for him to see me taking care of myself and eating right.

[pinkpolkadot]

Originally Posted by shan84

pinkpolkadot- Welcome to the challenge! Where in Florida do you live? My sister has been living in Daytona Beach for a little over a year and loves it! As this is your first challenge, do you have any questions maybe for some of the veterans on the challenge? The challenge is a great motivator and we have some great tools to help us all along our journey. All of the weight I have lost has been on the last three challenges.

Thanks, Shan84. I live literally between Orlando and Tampa. I have been to Daytona beach once about 8 years ago. Really pretty beaches there. I really don't have any questions as of right now. The only problem I am really having is deciding to do low carb or low glycemic. About 3 weeks ago my doctor said I was pre-diabetic and put me on Metformin. All she said was to eat healthy. So, if any one has input on that it would be greatly appreciated.

What are the most important three things you would tell someone to help them with their journey?

1. It's never to late to do something.
2. There is nothing permanent except for change.
3. Exercise is better than any diet pill.


GO RED TEAM!

[julie99s]

I'm a mom to 1st grade and 3rd grade daughters and a 15 month old son. I've been on this journey since I was a teen, and have subjected myself to the unhealthy route a time or two. The weight came back, lesson learned. I joined the Y in August, and it terrified me. Now I'm proud to admit I've become somewhat of a gym rat. I LOVE to go to the gym. I can't imagine saying "I don't wannnnt to go to the gym". Certainly not the way I felt working out at home lol

I am still nursing our son, so my calorie intake does need to be a little higher. I've also noticed I am hungry throughout the day. Especially while I nurse. I need to work on healthier snack options. Other than that, I don't really have a plan I follow. Just healthy foods. I don't do counts for personal reasons. Namely, I still fear the path of high school and mid 20s.

I will lose AND keep off the weight this time so I can meet my future great grandkids =]

[CanadaMel]

Three things i would tell someone just starting their lifestyle change:

1) "Just keep swimming-Dora". It won't happen overnight. It's easy to get frustrated & ice up. Just remember tomorrow is a new day.

2) Use a food journal and be honest with yourself. It helps you to realize how much you are eating when you are journaling every morsel that you put in your mouth- even if no one 'sees' you eating.

3) any form of exercise counts. I like wearing a pedometer and I aim for a minimum of 10,000 steps per day.