Hi, ho. I weighed in this morning and l've lost a pound this week. That's just great. Finally a little movement on the scale. But I'm still so far from goal that I just might not make it by Halloween. I usually only lose a pound a week. But I can guarantee I'll be a mere grease spot by next Halloween!

I weighed in today and the scale was showing a one pound loss....so I am now down to 218. Only 8 more pounds until I hit my goal!!! This week was also when I had to deal with my TOM, so I was happy to see some loss on the scale.

Hi sh3l5, welcome to the challenge.

Woo hoo on the weight loss and welcome to the people just joining us! I wanted to share yesterday because I'm sooo proud of myself.

It's been a really, really bad week. There's talk of the place I'm working at closing down, a 'friend' borrowed my car and I can't get them to answer the phone now so I'm gearing up for a show down (They have until Wed. to return it), and I'm looking at starting a 7 month unpaid internship in Jan and I'm scared to death.

Sat. is my 'freebie' day, which is pretty much getting to eat out and go off plan for one meal, although I try and stay moderate. Yesterday I was going to bike to town (about ten miles) but it started raining so I hopped into my car and decided to try and get all my shopping done before meeting some friends at noon. By the time I hit the grocery store I was starving! I grabbed a small loaf of bread from the bakery and ate it all on the way to meet my friends. It had the calories on the back, so I added it to my days totals, counted it as lunch and as my freebie for the day.

I got home late afternoon, all headachy and exhausted and stressed and instead of eating or climbing into bed, I climbed onto my bike for a nice long bike ride to destress myself.

Than! I went out to a coffeeshop to study with a friend. I still hadn't had a real freebie and I was still way under calories for the day so I decided I could have a treat. Instead of getting the cheesecake or the ummy looking muffin, I bought two chocolate chip cookies (homemade-vegan) and only ate one of them. My friend had a piece of the second and I threw the rest out when we left. I felt good about having my treat, but didn't want to overindulge. I have never done anything like that before and it wasn't really a struggle. It felt so good!

I'm so relieved that even though I am crazy busy and crazy stressed out, the healthy habits I learned this summer are carrying over.

Good for you!!! What a great victorious day you had. You are now rewarding yourself with satisfaction instead of food.

Cdiem - Congrats on those victories!! Don't cha just love those days. I wish i had more of those than the bad ones. But they are slowly getting more and more frequent.

I am not sure if i will hit my goal by halloween, but i do want to come as close as possible. i am crossing my fingers!!! I just need to work out more. That seems to be my weak spot even though i really like doing it when i am done.

Well, off to the grocery store. Need to stock up for the week. TTYL!

Five and a half pounds. Well done!

Welcome to the Hallowe'en Challenge. Good luck on reaching your goal. It looks like a good, reachable one, to me.

A pound is fantastic. It is a pound less than you used to weigh. If you were deep in your old, bad habits, you could very easily be two pounds heavier, instead. (That is how I like to look at it. ) I don't know if I will meet my goal by Hallowe'en, either. But I am shooting for it. Either way, I will be lighter and a little healthier by that date... So, it's all good!



Okay... Wow! You are an inspiration and a shining example of how new, healthy habits really start to change one's life. Yay, you!


Hey, challengers! I hope everyone is having a great day. I am on track. Stayed there yesterday, too. Have a great day, everyone.

Hi Challenge Chicks! I made it thru the wedding and stayed in my calories range. (to my best guestimate) wow - I am so grateful.

The wedding was GREAT fun. The ceremony was very nice, the reception was a blast, and it was great to see family I don't get to see often enough. The dinner was a dressed salad, a plate of a small steak, stuffed chicken breast, rice and veggies on the side. I ate the steak, pulled the skin off the chicken and had few bites, ate just a few bites of the salad and veggies and skipped the rice. During the cocktail hour I had two small plates of cold steamed asparagus. After dinner, I had a bite of the cake and a couple bites of the lemonchello (Italian ice cream). I was so proud of myself. And...lots of folks commented on my WL and asked how I did it.

Welcome to SH3l5 - so glad you have joined the challenge!

So many folks are losing this week. Good for you all. Anyone who is struggling - hang in there and keep trying.

Have a great day, folks.

Hey everyone!! Sounds like everyone is doing great! I still haven't gotten on the scale but I feel like I am losing. I think tomorrow I am going to get on. Its killing me not to know!!

I have stayed on track all week, even with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese!!!

Have a great week everyone!

My aunt came up this afternoon to watch the football game.....she comes up every weekend when the Patriots are playing. Anyway, she wasn't up here last weekend and she gave me the best compliment today! She came up behind me, grabbed the sides of my waist, and exclaimed "Look at you.....you're disappearing on me!" It was so nice to hear. I love my Auntie

Hi Fellow Challengers! It sounds like everyone is doing a great job.

Ummm, I hit my Halloween goal this morning --10 lbs. I'm a bit earlier than I expected...that is the understatement of the year! I am not sure what happened -- plan is the same, I even upped my daily calories a bit a week or so ago (1450 to 1600), and my exercise is the same, but I have lost 10 lbs since we started this challenge. That is almost as much as I lost in the month and a half before that...and I am eating more not less. All I can figure is that the strength training has increased my lean muscle mass ALOT and my metabolism is in high gear. Anyway, I have upped my calories again as of this morning. I am now eating 1700 a day. I do not want to lose the rest to my final goal this fast! I guess we will see what happens.

Sooo, can I still hang out, read how you are all doing and post? This is probably going to sound crazy, but I am feeling a little cheated that I didn't get to struggle right up into late October...and a little worried about it dropping off so quickly. Oh well, I now fit into my Size 8 jeans...THAT is fun. Single digit sizes...seems impossible.

I was so excited when I could fit into shirts that were Larges and didn't have any X's on the tag. I can only imagine how ecstatic I am going to be when I fit into single digit pants!!! LOL

Schumeany - Congratulations on hitting your goal so quickly!!! That is great.

good Morning every1!!

I am just checking in.

Congrats to Schumeany - These are for you-
I wish i was even close to my goal.

I think my TOM symptoms have really made me retain alot of water. I feel really bloated. Its ok. I will get there. I have decided to make out a plan for the whole week. this way i am not trying to to do it everyday. Maybe this will help me stay OP. I need to drink more water and stick to my workouts. that wouls help alot i am sure.

chele615 - congrats on the compliments! I love hearing them too!

Beverlyjoy - great job at the wedding. Those victories of staying on track even at events are wonderful. Imagine what it would have been like before now, and think about how far you have come.

Hope every1 is doing well today.

Great job everyone!

I haven't weighed in yet today, but don't expect much of a change. It seems I lose 2 weeks out of the month and this isn't the week for me.

Regardless, I had a wonderful 20 mile bike ride this morning, fabulous. I usually ride in the evening, but there's something to be said for foggy sunrises.