Although the challenge is long, I think its better that way. After a one month challenge, I would be pleased with myself for losing 15 pounds and would eat the second it was over. This is more of a "lifestyle" type challenge. You can't "white knuckle" 3 months.

Also next challenge, I'm not going to have goal weights, most of us made them way too ambitious and it just brings us down. I'd rather be happy that I lost 5 pounds than upset I didn't reach my goal of 30.

I did my food shopping and chopped up individual Tupperware salads tonight . Today I did ok. I was OP with the exception of 2 Klondike Bars, but it's a start. I now have my menu planned and food ready. Tomorrow it's GO time for real.

Petitefleur - Active vacations are my dream too. A few years ago I went on a ritzy family vacation cruise to Alaska, my FAVORITE part of the trip was a bike tour through the mountains with my brother in Skagway. We saw old cemeteries, trading posts and the beautiful mountains up close. Things you could only get to by bike/foot I enjoyed it more than the fine dining, spa treatments and eating. I love being outdoors.

Sometimes I go on http://www.gapadventures.com and look at trips I want to take. My avatar is of Mt Roraima in Venezuela. It's a super cool mountain with the world's smallest frogs, crystals and has a funky ecosystem because it's on the edge of a rainforest. I want to hike this mountain, see Angel Falls and see the rainforest. Can't wait till I'm fit and have money. Also that dress is killer.

Khat - I hope that all works itself out. It doesn't sound good. You've been doing great; it's just a minor hiccup.

Scarlett - I'm turning 25 on the 24th of this month, we're amost the exact same age. I'm planning on going to grad school, too. I think i just needed to get some travel out of my system first. I think you may be right about the longer challenges, but I like the idea of leaving a numeric goal out. I'm glad you're thinking of doing it again sometime! I would love to keep up with these challenges.

Personal update:
-My Sunday turned out to be mediocore at best despite all my big talking. I ate well all day and then snacked some in the evening. Stayed within calorie range, but still.
-Today was a lot better, kept my calories on the low end of my spectrum and cleaned my apartment for a good workout. I'm currently relaxing with some diet coke.
-Tomorrow I'm planning on keeping calories to a minimum throughout the day because we are having friends over for movies and chinese food in the evening. I don't even really like the chinese we get here (it's neither authentic or American style, Korean style chinese, haha) , which is part of why I chose it over pizza. I'll have a small portion and enjoy my guests Not sure yet how I'm going to work in some exercise aside from work.

I hope you guys don't mind me going into detail here. Just trying to hold myself accountable in a more public and honest way. The notes section of my private food log gets neglected a lot.

Thanks for the link Scarlett. The bike tour and Venezuela both sound awesome. I'd love to try biking too. There's another company that specializes in adventurous vacations that I saw in Self Magazine. Apparently, there are quite a number of them. I had no idea.

Some friends of mine hiked most of the Appalachian Trail and loved it. That would be a nice start, since it's here in the States and I'm sure it's cheaper than an international adventure.

Just doing some research and I have a quick question for everyone. How many of you plan and prep your meals a day in advance? Has anyone tried it? I feel like it might work for me, given my "tomorrow" attitude. Sometimes I find myself itching to do well the following day, why not take the steps to enable myself?

Love the pictures, ladies. And in the spirit of things, I'll post some of my own.



I've always had confidence issues stemming from my weight and I want to fix that. I know I'm smart and have a great personality, but when it comes to the physical aspect of me...I'm not as sure. I want to love all of me and I'm hoping that this weight loss is the first step in doing that.



I am a huge shoe fanatic, but I haven't really been able to wear the shoes that I really like because they're uncomfortable. After this I'll be able to wear any shoe that I love.



I've confessed on here before that I've never been on a real date. I'll be 25 this year and I would like to get out there and start dating. This really has a lot to do with my confidence, so I'm hoping that once I get my confidence back, I'll be able to get out there and do it.

I'm better today yeeey

I did see a little gain on the scale this morning (1 pound) but I think thats just TOM and water weight.. Not stressing about it. Just have to keep working out, eating right..

I bought these super sweet bikini for my vaction next week

If only I had her body, face and tan hehehe

I also love active vacations. I would love to go hiking somewhere like Sardinia or something. I hear its amazing! Or sailing the Croatian coast. That was the best vacation ever for me!

There seem to be a lot of people in the 24-25 range here. I turn 25 on the 23rd.

It sucks that so many people are feeling unmotivated. The pictures idea seems like a great way to combat it.

I went on a float trip this weekend. Weighed in at 141.6 lbs on Friday morning. The scale read 149.0 this morning. I know weight can fluctuate a lot but that just seems crazy. My weight doesn't usually fluctuate very much so such a big gain has me afraid to see what the scale says in a couple of days.

Ish - My original plan was to travel after graduation. I just had some frustrating hiccups with finishing things up. Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve to have a young, fun travel period because I screwed up and wasted 2 years. My parents definitely feel this way. I try my best to stay positive though, I have the rest of my life to travel and a lot of people have overcome a lot more than I have to. I know that I will make it happen eventually.

I recently went back on South Beach phase 1 and now plan my menus 4 days at a time. I made a list of the next 4 days on my computer, printed it out, and check off foods as I eat them. I lose the most weight when I do it this way, but it's really impractical for the long run (unless you allow for changes).

PetiteFleur - When I was 11-12 I attended sleep away girl scout camp and did a program where we spent 2 weeks on the Appalachian trail and canoed the Delaware water gap. It was a ton of fun. Another silly goal in the back of my head is to do the Appalachian Trail at some point. It's long though, doing the whole things takes 6 months+.

Jumelle - Glad you posted some pictures too. Shoes are so much fun. I'm 5'10 and I would love to be that super confident tall girl who waltzes into a room in 4 inch heels. I'd also like to improve my dating situation.

Khat - super glad you're better and that your weight is not crazy. Also YAY Bikini!!!

Paloma - That’s probably mostly water weight, give it a few days and the bloat will go down.

Also Paloma and Ish - Happy Birthday to US!!

I just bought a size 8 petite dress from banana republic, and although i can feel my thunder thighs rubbing too much underneath, it looks FABULOUS on! I can't wait until my thighs get better....

here's the dress! $46 on sale in store at banana:



Collectively, we lost a PERSON! 152.5 pounds!

LongTallBee and Scarlett :Congrats on your stars and consistency on this challenge. So many stars!

Brianalee: What happened? Gone? You have so many stars! Come back!

I've been good so far today. Just got back from running, not my best day outside but I broke a sweat and got my heart rate up. It was the first time I've been out in a few days. My eatng has been great and I avoided eating any of the pizza that was ordered for dinner. I feel like I'm REALLY going to get back on track this time and crack ONEderland.

Belia that dress is adorbs. Also I don't think anyone whose 5'7 and a size 8 petite has thunder thighs. I know even very thin women can have chrub rub problems. Try some anti-chaffing cream.

Oh they don't chaf (chafe? LOL), but the rubbing together reminds me of the thunderish size that they are, and kinda makes me self-concious.

Thanks though for the advice.

i would love to wear a dress like this, fitted, short with some floralover the shoulder strap....

just thought id add!

ive been battleing the same kg for 3 weeks, and today im finally out of it!!!
224.6 =) (101kgs vs 102 ive been stuck in!)

nothings as motivating as a drop in the scale!

all thanks to my being out here...norway is beautiful

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this is a picture of my families home town...weve been so active, biking, hiking etc that im sore! but the scales budging again, yey!

Love all the pics! Beila- that dress is super cute. It's the perfect summer dress

Jumelle
Those shoes are sexy. I love heels but have somehow forgotten how to walk in the darn things! lol

Khat
That bikini is awesome. No joke, I'd love to have her body, face, tan too!

Aggie2006

That dress is soooo short. I bet it will look great with your long legs. Love the look of the fabric

I thought it may be a good idea to post some workout playlists. Maybe you have a song on yours that I never thought to put on mine. Here's mine ATM for jogs:

1. Ambience- shinedown
2. Are you gonna be my girl- jet
3. The big bang- Rock Mafia
4. Poker face- Lady gaga
5. Crazy- Gnarls Barkley
6. Harder to breathe- maroon 5
7. Life is beautiful- Sixx am
8. Best of you- Foo fighters

sniperhil, I love heels, but I've been avoiding buying them. If you're interested, check out www.justfab.com. These shoes are called the 'Sofie'. They cost $39.99. JustFab is a member site that offers you shoes, hand bags and jeans each month in your own personal boutique.

You tell them what you like (i.e. heels or flats, colorful or neutral) and they send you shoe recommendations. If you can't afford to buy anything you hit 'Skip This Month' by the 5th of each month and they'll send you recommendations the next month. But you have to hit 'Skip This Month' if you aren't buying or they'll charge your card $39.99 after your first purchase. If you join, just be sure to read the fine print since it involves them charging your account. I've been a member for the last two months and have skipped purchasing since I'm A. broke and B. haven't lost enough to warrant the purchase of new jeans.

My mom found JustFab and said that it would be a great way to reward myself for losing weight and keep me focused since I'm a shoe and purse fanatic.

I would love to go on an adventure too. All I really want to do is travel. It's really such an important dream of mine, and I'd love to reward myself when I lose the weight. In fact, my boyfriend has promised that when I get to a certain amount (150) that we'd go to New Zealand, which is AMAZING.

Anyway this site you linked is awesome.