I'm a little scared to give myself set goals and wind up not meeting them, but I'll give it a go anyway...

1. Drink only water at least 2 days a week, except for morning coffee. (I hate water!)
2. Lose 10 lbs.
3. 3 miles/day on the treadmill & 5 miles/day biking
4. Log all food and exercise
5. Play outside with my dog more often. (weather permitting).

Good luck all!

What went well yesterday: Did 20 minutes stairs @ work, took vitamins

Challenges: I had a high-calorie lunch, which I planned, but ate past the point of satisfaction, including 3 pieces of focaccia. I couldn't sleep and ate the rest of my gnocchi and some cold sesame noodles at 1AM this morning.

Today: Back on plan, run, hopefully ice skating with my family

I was down .4 for the week. After the extra carbs yesterday I'm staying off the scale for a few days.

zumba, so good to see you! You sound like you're doing well with Atkins, and I know you always keep up with your workouts. Hope it continues to go well for you.

meetzer, welcome! People have found different ways to get their water more palatable - lemon, lime, cucumber, etc. Since it's winter and my office is freezing, I drink herbal tea all day to keep me warm.

mairin, good luck with your goals. Not sure how much coke you drink now but that alone is a great start.

TLT, very ambitious exercise goals - are you already very active? Impressive!!

andrew, I'm sure you're at the beach now..I'm very jealous as it is suddenly FREEZING here on Long Island after a mild winter. Hope you enjoy your off-plan meal..I think it's good to once in a while.

ilsita, YAY on the 2 lbs!!

Great idea!

Goals:
1. Drink 80 oz of water a day.
2. Take vitamins daily.
3. Log all my food on MFP
4. Walk 20 miles per week.
5. WEIGHTS!
6. Each week, have one day when I dress up pretty. Feel good about myself!
7. Support others

I'd like to join this challenge, too.
I'm going to keep my goals brief, because I'm trying to make other changes in other parts of my life as well. I don't want to overwhelm or disappoint myself.
1. Drinking at least 64 oz. of water/day.
2. Eating between 1400-1600 calories/day.
3. Begin some basic exercises daily (crunches, weights, etc.)
I'd love to be 10 lbs. lighter by Valentine's Day!

Valentines day is now a month away. I'de love to join your challenge, albeit a little late, here are my goals:
*drink 64 oz water daily
*do floor exercises 5x a week in the morning
*lose 5 pounds before Valentines day!

Yesterday's achievement: Stayed on track and exercised. I didn't manage to meditate, because my son stayed home from school. No peace.

Challenge: I have a dear friend who lives across the street who also struggles with her weight and is going through a particularly stressful time. For her stress results in cake, cookies, pizza, eating out. Our families are pretty close, and she has asked me to go out with her this coming week. I was hesitant, and she thought it was because I didn't want to go out with her. So, I had to explain that I was trying to lose weight, etc. I didn't want to add to her stress, but I think I did a little. I realize that someone's personal choices shouldn't impact anyone else. But she's a good friend, and at a time when she's feeling a little out of control, I'm here tracking every morsel I put in my mouth.

Goal for the day: try to get a little work done. Clean house. Exercise. Read. The basics.

Totally screwed up Atkins last night....went with a friend out to eat and did okay until she ordered a giant Napolean and asked me to share it with her. Sigh.....had bread today...burned a ridiculous amount of calories because I worked out for three hours today. Still, I know it means nothing unless I get my eating under control. I miss my clothes and my clothes that DO fit are so uncomfortable.....enough whining.....someone told me today she is going to start doing ********** shakes for one meal a day, does anyone here know anything about them?

Emotionally horrible day yesterday. My home life is a complete disaster. My son deserves so much better than what I can give him right now, so I need to focus on him.

Amazingly my calories were OK at about 1355, after not eating for much of the day. Too shaky to run though.

Not sure how I'll handle today..will just try to put one foot in front of the other and take care of my son and me.

Goals:
1. Drink 80 oz of water a day. ~ Check
2. Take vitamins daily. ~ Check
3. Log all my food on MFP ~ Check
4. Walk 20 miles per week. ~ Walked 5.2 miles
5. WEIGHTS! ~ NO :blush:
6. Each week, have one day when I dress up pretty. Feel good about myself! ~ House cleaning Day
7. Support others ~ Check

Nat noone knows better at how an unhappy home life can create havoc on health and weight gain. I have never looked worse in my life (or felt worse) than I do right now, not even after taking my Dad off life support. But I refuse to give in to life and just give up. Better days are ahead (I refuse to think otherwise) and when they do I want to look decent...plus right now I can't afford to buy new clothes if I start going into a bigger size.....so chin up Nat....if you want to private message me for support you can. In the meantime focus on your son, NOTHING is more important than our children. And in order for you to be there 100 percent for HIM you need to take care of YOU!

Okay well I caved last night and had two bowls of cereal.....I've decided to do the ********** thing and keep low on the carbs. I was talking to a bodybuilder yesterday and she told me about things I should do to take this weight off in a hurry, not to the extreme of what bodybuilders do before competition but things like replacing a meal a day with a protein shake. The low carb thing doesn't work that well for me because of my level of activity. I can't stop working out because of some extreme diet. SUM I like how you have a list of things and you check them off...i may do the same.

I miss my trainer. I really hated him at first, who did he think he was pushing me to keep going when I was OBVIOUSLY tired and out of breath. Now, I'd give almost anything to have that again. Some how I felt like I couldn't let him down. I wish I felt that way about myself.

Nat, I'm so sorry to hear you hit a rough patch, and hope you and your kiddo are taking care of yourselves.

I'm finally starting to see the scale move

-dropped 6 pounds
-worked out 5 days at 45 min elliptical and 2 days weight training
-only at ~8,000 steps and trying to increase each day

I've hit my 4th week of exercise and 1 week of calorie counting using a great ap called my fitness pal. It tracks calories and calories out and I wished I'd started using this a month ago but maybe the small, slow changes are best for me. My eating is mostly clean with the occasional treat, lol.
Theresa

Weekend: I didn't do as well as I would have liked. I did ok, and still lost 1.8 pounds since last weigh in.
Challenges: Being away from home was tougher than I expected.
Today: I'm back on plan and going to get it done.