No problem with getting chatty, Kim. I'm the same way.

That is great that you are taking the weight loss slowly and adding or eliminating things over time. Doing too much always leads to failure for me, so I'm doing the same as you. Every month or so I change up my exercise or diet.

I would love to get that crinkle cookie recipe from you. My daughter eats healthy GF foods 85% of the time, but sometimes needs a goodie. Like you said, the GF prepackaged items are so expensive...it's ridiculous! I am seeing more and more GF items being sold in stores, so I'm hoping that eventually the prices will start coming down. Did you know that appoximately 40% of the population has some form of gluten intolerance and doesn't even know it? I found that information very interesting.

Sure

GF Chocolate box cake mix - I used an angel food since it was a freebie

1 egg
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons of melted butter

Preheat Oven to 350
Line cookie sheet with tin foil
Melt butter and egg and water - beat well
add gf cake mix - make sure to fold with a wooden spoon
after ingredients are all mixed
With hands roll dough into 1 inch balls
roll is GF powdered sugar
place on cookie sheet 1 inch apart
push down a little to make a flat bottom
bake 8-12 minutes depending on how well you stove cooks

I also have a from scratch recipe also if you ever need it

My DD who doesn't need to be GF LOVES them so she gets 3 for lunch everyday as her sweet treat for Gymnastics Practice. I make sure she always has a sweet treat so she does NOT HIT the candy machine for even more JUNK! If she eats the cookies GREAT if not it's OK her friends always like to share

Kim, thank you for that recipe. I can't wait to try it. One thing confused me though. You said you used a GF chocolate cake mix and you used angel food because it's a freebie. Is there a chocolate GF angel food mix on the market? I don't know of any.

Well, I'm one happy camper this morning. I'm down 2 more pounds since my monthly weigh in last Thursday and 2.5 pounds down since last Monday. Boy, I really didn't think I'd lose anything, being that time of the month and all. So that really motivates me to get exercising this morning.

I am so looking forward to getting below 200 pounds. Onederland here I come!

Have a great week everyone!!!

I'd love to join you all for my first ever challenge! Halloween is my favorite holiday too, and my goal is to scare off two measly pounds by Oct 31st.

I'm a very slow loser in general and have now officially plateaued, bouncing between 144.8 and 144.2 since the beginning of July.

We can do this! Have a great day everyone, and scare those pounds away for good!

Hey! This sounds like a great way to stay motivated and OP!
Right now I'm at 172. I keep bouncing between 171 and 172. I would love to be about 145ish by Halloween! How much fun would it be to finally be able to wear the cute little outfits?!

I can't wait to see where we all are in 2 months!
Have a good day chicks!

Welcome to you both! It's so nice see more people joining. I wish you much success in achieving your goals for Oct. 31st.

So, which diets are you two following? Any exercise?

Well I'v been vegetarian for the past 8 years so I consider that a huge part of my diet. But I'm mostly just restricting calories. And I exercise pretty regularly, when I can drag my lazy butt outa bed and head to the gym.

I think I want to start training for a 5k. But I don't know how to begin that whole process. I can officially say that I can run a mile without stopping at 5mph at 1% incline!!! NSV! Weeeee

Thanks for the warm welcome sandcar!

I'm also a long-time veggie, but it wasn't until mid-February when I started counting calories (aiming for 1400 to 1500/day) and exercising 5-6 days/week that I've started to drop weight instead of gaining/maintaining. I'm doing cardio intervals on gym machines (mostly ellyptical) and weight training using a Self video.

I'm trying to focus on little changes too:

1) taking the stairs at work always
2) biking to the grocery store or drug store instead of taking the bus or an iGo car rental
3) I leave my five pound hand weights in the living room, to tempt me into doing some curls or whatever when I'm watching tv. This works sometimes.
4) I commute by train and bus, and whenever I'm at a stop with a bench, I force myself to stand.
5) Force myself to take a 15 minute walk during my lunch break, even if I'm busy. I usually eat at my desk, which means my work day can be super sedentary.

I interesting that you are both vegetarians. It's amazing how I've seen and met so many more people who are choosing this way of eating since my youngest daughter became a vegetarian 4 years ago at the age of 13. She was never much of a meat eater to begin with, but I still didn't think she'd stick it out. I'm very proud of her.

TheLindsy, that is awesome that you can run a mile without stopping. I'd be gasping for air after a quarter mile. lol

tab11, those little changes really add up in burning extra calories, don't they? I always notice a better loss in the weeks I do more around the house. So why isn't my house spotless I ask you???

Haha that's what my mom thought when I turned vegetarian too. It's not hard. It's just a change. I love it. I lost 50 lb when I first started. Love it! And I'm saving animals lives! Weeeeee!
Haha it's not as fast as I'd like. But Im working on it . I actually was talking to my coworker today. And she's in on it to. So now I have some competition at work!

I too would love to join in on the challenge. I was doing great the end of last year - in January I was down 22 pounds to 154, but gained all but 1 pound back! I don't even know what happened. I just got really lazy with exercising, eating, everything! I started back up 2 weeks ago, and I am now down a little over 5 pounds. So I am on my way!

My Halloween goals are:

Weigh 152 - I would love to get below my previous low. I won't feel like I have really started my weight loss until I do.

Stay on plan 100%. I cc with 2 higher cal days, so my plan does allow for a little breathing room on the weekends. But just 500 cals, and just on 2 days. The beginning of the end of weight loss for me was when 2 days of higher cals didn't stop my weight loss, so it creeped to 3 days, unlimited cals, etc.

Exercise at least 3 days a week. I have 2 young kids, so fitting in exercise is the hardest for me.

Welcome Losing4Life!
I need to work on my staying on plan. It's just so easier to stop by Taco Bell on the way home from working all day! I need to just stop being lazy..

On a good note, I got my sweat in today. Ran 1.5 Miles. I really wanna be able to run a 5k without stopping or feeling like I'm going to die. LOL.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Hi everyone!

Great news: after a two month plateau, I stepped on the scale today, and had a whoosh! Down from 144ish to 142.6. I'm super proud that I stayed on plan even though I wasn't being "rewarded" by the scale.

Since I only joined this challenge yesterday, I'm going to take my starting weight at 142.6, and hope to get to 140.6 by the 31st. Let's hope this isn't the start of another 2 month stall!

To sandcar and TheLindsy, I decided to become a veggie when I was 11, after being THAT kid who would gladly eat all the veggies on my plate first, and just push the meat around, complaining the whole time. Sandcar, I'm really glad you're being so supportive of your daughter and I wish her luck!

And yes, the small changes really do add up! I track my calories and exercise and weight on fitday, and also make journal notes there when I'm being more diligent about the small changes. I reviewed, and those piddly changes completely make a difference!

Welcome to Losing4life! I hope everyone has a great day! Just knowing I'll be checking in with all of you, has really helped my motivation over the last day. It's amazing and I thank you for it.

Good Job Tab!

That's so funny. I was the kid that HATED veggies. I would eat a steak twice a week. Then I was some PETA videos.. And my heart broke. Then the love for veggies started. But I've had so many healthy benefits from it, I decided to stick with it.

Have you tried going Vegan? That is tuff. I tried for a month or so. But I found it was way too restrictive for me. Going out to eat with my friends took too much planning. And I'm a fly by the seat of your pants kinda gal. hehe

Hey chicks!

I'd love to join the Halloween Challenge. I'm soooo over losing and re-gaining the same 15 lbs. It's time to truly commit to getting the job done and maintain it.

My goals are to be at my goal weight (128 lbs) by Oct. 31st. To eat OP at least 80% of the time. Exercise consistently for 60 days. (Just started INSANITY for cardio and Supreme 90 for weight lifting) And to make sure that I'm taking my vitamins daily.

Looking forward to getting to know everyone. To the vegetarians: Any yummy recipes you want to share? I'm trying figure out what can do with cauliflower besides steam it.