I would love to join you guys and try to hit goal by 7/4. I am about 17 lbs. from mine, so may be too ambitious, but I want to try. I'm debating going to my 20th college reunion which is the first weekend in June, so I'm trying to lose as much as I can by then.

Plan: Keep following fat smash(5-6 small meals a day, about 1000-1300 calories, all healthy foods)
Gym 5-6 days/week
Walk at lunch 30-40 minutes whenever weather cooperates

xgemziex, that's a BIG loss when you're so close to goal - congrats!

maenad, have a wonderful trip! Enjoy the food - that's something special. I actually lost weight when I went because of all the walking.

stella1609, did you break 170? Please send an update. Decades are HUGE!

I usually weigh first thing in the morning so I don't know what possessed me to hop on the scale tonight, but I stripped down right after I washed my face and guess what--169.8!!!! It's soooo just barely there, but I'm in the 160s!! That's 17 lbs. lost and just another 14 lbs. to go to make my goal. I am well over halfway :) I actually hope to make my goal by the end of May, which I should do easily if I keep up my current weight loss (17 lbs. in 11 weeks).

Hmmm... May just have to jump in here!
 

I am not sure (very new at weight loss/dieting) if I can get to my goal of 20 to 25lbs by July 4th or not but I would sure like to try! I bought a Bellicor bungee rebounder and it should be here tomorrow or Monday. Along with that daily, I am using my Vitamix throughout the day for various mega-healthy no & low fat smoothies and several salads with lots of dark leafy green lettuce, cabbage, carrots, etc. So my raw fruits and veggies should be more than adequate along with plenty of water and tea.
I quit smoking a year and 1+months ago and put on 35 pounds. I now have 20 of those (ish) left to lose and a support group always works wonders for my motivation! :hug:

Pam

I have 20lbs to go and I don't think I can do that by July but I'd like to join in for 10lbs! I'm just so sick of carrying around 20 extra pounds and it just needs to go this year or I'll never get there. I started swimming in addition to my boot camp class and cardio sculpt class so I want to focus on getting more cardio.

I'll be reading this thread and keeping up with everyone's progress! Gotta take pics today in my swimsuit for posterity.

I just joined this site a few weeks ago and would like to join in on this challenge. My goal is to be down 15 lbs by 7/4.
I need to get off my lazy but and hit the gym more than 1 day a week and start eating healthier foods.

fitmom - don't give up! It took me 2 months of starting and giving in to bad habits and getting up the next morning and starting again. I read that it takes 6 months to form new habits. I have been serious about being healthy for 2 1/2 months and it does get easier - but I still have to work at it and talk the little :devil: out of tempting me. Some days I lose that battle - but I'm always ready to get back on plan. I feel so much better when I eat right and exercise.

:goodluck: on getting with your program and staying with it!

Natamars - I guess so! Thank you :D. Good luck on your plan it sounds good to me but try not to have too little calories!
Stella1609 - Congratulations, 169.8 is in the 160's no matter which way you look at it, keep up the hard work! :D.
fitmom - It takes a while to make the exercise and diet a habit but after 21 days or so they say it should just come easily.
kamesennin - Good luck on your goal! I'm thinking of going swimming more too, I hear it's a great type of exercise and burns A LOT of calories. Something to do with the resistance against the water?
fosterfam - Ah quitting smoking is hard so congratulations on that! I'm sure that's one one the many reasons I managed to gain the weight back myself. Your plan sounds great, have a great week.

I would like to join in, I have 33 lbs to loose, just started yesterday, I would like to make a goal to loose 15 lbs by July 4th..It sure would give me something to look for too..:)

Welcome Evelyn, Fitmom, and Kamesennin! You CAN do this, ladies--and it DOES get easier. I found after that first month, it was all smooth sailing. Your body really does thank you for taking better care of it.

Thanks so much for the encouragement natamars and Gemma! I dropped almost another 2 lbs. right after I hit 169--I've been holding in the 168s for three or four days now! I'm so excited--I didn't spend any time at all at 169. Since I upped my water intake and started seriously jogging, I've gone from 1 lb. a week back up to 2 lbs. a week. I was working out pretty hard before, so I guess my body just likes the way I've been exercising and fueling it lately.

I can jog about 2 mi. without stopping now at just under 5 mph. I talked to my dad yesterday, who's always been a sports enthusiast, and there's a 5K when I go home to visit next month! I'm sooooo excited and nervous at the same time--I've never done anything like that, especially not with my dad. It really means a lot to me that I'm going to be able to do it. Now I just have to work my butt off over the next few weeks!

Oh I forgot, Stella, beautiful strides you are making and thanks for the welcome..I am so proud of all of you. You all are an inspiration, it gives me insentive to be in your company..

xgemziex, I hope this will help me break through this huge mental wall that I have going on! I was soooo tired after only 30 min of kicking w/the paddle board. Amazing. I wish I could swim like the people on tv--I sink like a rock but my boobs float up to the top! It's weird.

stella, how much water do you drink per day? I'm trying for 10 cups but it's a lot of water. :dizzy: I've always wanted to do a 5K!

I just finished cooking some meals for this week. I like to make weight watchers recipes just because it's usually low calorie and pretty balanced--made this mushroom risotto http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/r...ecipeid=192891
and divided them all into containers. I don't do weight watchers, though--maybe I should since I'm always cooking the recipes they put on their website! Just gotta cook my oatmeal for this week and I'm set. I had fun at Target buying a bunch of little containers. :cool:

Hey!
I just joined and my goal is 12 lbs by 7/4.
Here's to hitting the gym.... hard!

Welcome, nicholediet :)

Kamesennin, I aim for 64 oz of water, then whatever juice/other liquids I have are just bonus (usually 8 oz. grapefruit juice, 8 oz. V8 Fusion, cup of hot tea). I have been taking a lot of bathroom breaks though!

How's everyone doing? :)

Stella1609 - Always welcome! You're doing so well! You'll be at your goal in no time and before you know it you'll be celebrating the 150's! :D.
kamesennin - All I can say is I wish my boobs were big enough to float anywhere haha! I was blessed with the amazing gift of being pretty flatchested. I'm gonna take a look at some of those weight watcher recipes I've never actually made of of theirs before! At the moment though I've started to really crave salads and I usually HATE salads, I mean with a passion. My tastebuds are changing I'm sure because now the taste of tea makes me gag! haha. A couple of weeks ago I was drinking 4 or 5 cups a day.
Nicholediet - Welcome :). Good luck and have fun at the gym ;).

Just checking in. For whatever reason my scale reported THREE lbs heavier today. I have consistently weighed 144.4 for the past week and then today 147. My guess is that I didn't drink enough water yesterday and TOM is here so maybe it was a combo of those things. My food intake good (did not over-eat) and I spent a lot of time on the rebounder and just moving around more in general throughout the day.

Also, would someone mind giving me a heads up on what I should be doing regarding updates/checking in for our 4th of July challenge? I am hoping to get to know our challenge group and move past being sooooo new to the board... and do this right! :dizzy:

THANKS!!
Pam