Hi All!! My name is Kate. I am 40 something from rural Minnesota with 2 teenagers, a husband and six dogs....all of which I love very much, just not gonna say in what order!!!

I started a new diet yesterday...The Flat Belly Diet, so far so good. Also tonight I do my official weigh in for a radio station promoted fitness contest. The one who loses the greatest percentage of body fat after 6 weeks wins a $500 gift card. Talk about motivation!!!! Of course there is the risk of public humiliation hanging over my head. I am going to do the best I can and take it one day at a time.

I would love to have buddy to share the ups and hopefully downs!!! (On the scale that is.) My hobbies include, scrapbooking, driving my daughter to dance lessons, some card making, reminding my son to pick dirty clothes up off the bathroom floor, camping, watching my daughter's dance performances, playing with the pooches, and just hanging out with friends and family. Looking forward to meeting others!!!

Hi Kateb. I am new here too. I am on a lo card program, but would love to be your weigh in buddy!

Good luck with the contest, but more with the weight loss. LOL it lasts longer than money! (or at least that is what we hope, right!)

Good luck with the diet and with the contest. I hope you win the gift card. But if you don't win the gift card, your weight loss will have given you the gift of a healthier lifestyle and that is priceless.

Good Luck with your weight loss goals!!!! Yes I hope the weight loss lasts longer than the money!!!! Thanks for the Welcome!!!

Photoguy-

What an inspiration!!!! You have lost over 100 pounds!!!! What an accomplishment!!! I hope to be able to say that too one day!!!! Thanks for the Welcome!!

Kate B! I too hail from southern Minnesota. Four years ago my DH(hubby) moved here to northern Georgia. We lived in Mankato although I grew up in Austin then lived in St. Paul for 16 years! We had a record snow storm this past Saturday. We were as tickled to death as the neighbor kids. I was out taking pictures of the snow on the trees and ground. Who knows when that will happen again??

You can check out my diet blogs "downsizing" and "pixtosee". The second is my photo journey of me losing weight. Yes, no makeup and in my ugly white underwear. It was to prove a point, which I hope others get. I wanted to show the real me that I see every day and what diet and exercise can do to/for a person.

Glad you joined us. Hope to hear from you often and on all the different sub-forums. Click on Community then Forum and let your fingers do the walking.

Are you "for real" about nagging your son to pick up his underwear" as a hobby? I nag my DH(hubby) too but it's not one of my hobbies!

Girl, you need to get out more and good luck on that contest. We're rooting (by the way a carrot is a root vegetable) for you!!

Thanks for the kind words. Just weighed in today and had dropped another 3 pounds from the weekend. That makes 105lbs lost now.
I can't believe how well this diet is going and that I haven't done anything to spoil it like eat a whole pizza or a bucket of chicken.
If you need any free advice or a friendly nudge, please feel free to PM me. I would love to help!

Welcome, Kate! I'm new here too and would love to be your buddy! You'll love it here...everyone is so nice!

Pamatga-Iused to live in St. Peter, but that was MANY years ago when I was in elementary school. I am not a little further north in central MN. Actually we haven't had BIG snow storms like I remember then as a kid. I will be sure to check out your blogs!!!

Photoguy-Congrats on the addidtional loss!!! I hope to be able to say I have lost that much some day!!! The contest kick off went good last night. Tonight I hit the gym....and HOPEFULLY not the gym floor before I finish!!!

Cardfan- thanks for the welcome. I look forward to talking with you and everyone else!!!

Hey, I hope that you can achieve all the weight loss you want and more. I still have a long way to go. Scary to say that 105lbs was just a starting point.
As for the gym, don't overdo it. Try doing a bunch of reps with light weights. If you try and do too much, you will become discouraged and not want to go back. I'm sure this is nothing you didn't know already.
When I go, I do 3 sets of 15 with about 25 or 30 pounds of weights. I figured that my body has done these movements or exercises in years and they need to get used to it first. Down the road, when I have lost most if not all the weight I want to lose, then maybe I will try and bulk up more. But for now, it's all about the repetitions.
Good luck with the diet and with the gym. If you need a helping hand, feel free to ask.

welcome.. ! I'm glad you are here with us!!!

I really love all the kind words that people have left me. I just hope that I can be as good to everyone else as you all have been to me.

Hello and welcome!! Good luck on your weight loss journey!! That would be so awesome to win the $500 PLUS looking good and feeling better is the best thing too!!!

Thanks everyone for all the warm welcomes. I love this site!!! Everyone is so nice...and UNDERSTANDS what it is like to be over weight, and the stuggles of losing weight. The support is wonderful. I have started a diet blog...I think it is going to be helpful. Once again thanks for the welcome...hope to chat more with you all on the other boards.

Hi Kate,
My name is Susan and I just joined tonight also. I'm 52, live in New York, married for 32 years, have one married daughter 31, a boy and girl twin 27, two little dogs. Don't have a lot of weight to lose, maybe 15 lbs. but hate the belly fat. Everything is always tight in the belly, and I hate the way my clothes fit. I try to exercise regularly but haven't in about three months due to a problem with my neck and my knees. I work full time as an executive assistant in an acute cancer care hospital. Have been there for 18 years and I love my job. Would love to be a buddy.