Hey guys! I'm new to the forum and to the bikini challenge! Luckily I had recorded all my weigh-in data on Wii Fit so I was able to fill in the weeks that have passed.

Looking back, I cannot believe I was 166lb at the start of the year! I managed to lose 6lb in the first 2 weeks (I'm sure a lot of that was water weight). However, I was stuck at 160 for the latter of January... I would like to thank TOM for that, and my pre-TOM cravings that I caved into.

I hope I can stick to my diet and workout regime regardless of pre-TOM cravings and weight gain with this challenge... hope everyone is doing well!

QB - It happens, we tend to slip up here and there but the important thing is that you know what's happened and you can do something about it, right? And if you do lose weight before Sunday you can always edit your weight in the spreadsheet =).
I'm pretty sure it will be snowing at some point while I'm there! I've been there in winter before, it was nice =). I'm looking forward to shopping for sure, I'm just going to make sure I'm really selective since I can have a bad habit of going overboard sometimes!

Song of - He responded to my email and said he wouldn't go overboard because he knows that he's picking me up, so I trust him. I think I was just a bit sensitive this morning!

Candeka - Preaching to the choir here! It sucks, but just keep it in mind that it won't stay that way for long. Drink more water, keep on track and exercise, you'll be fine after it goes =).

philana - Aww, thank you so much for your words of encouragement. I really hope you're right and it's something I'm trying to reassure myself with to, that they liked my upbeat personality! But I'm with you, accept something new and keep on moving forward!
Woohoo, congrats on the run! =D Focus on the positive!

baker - YAY ON GETTING OUT OF YOUR SLUMP! I bet you feel awesome!! I love it when you see a different number! Thanks for the encouragement, I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed and keep on swimming in the meantime! Rollerblading is fun I remember loving it as a kid, think I would suck at it now though!

Musical - JET is an exchange programme not specifically a company, so if I did send an email the chances are the person who reads it might have no connection to who interviewed me. So I'm not sure it would have the same effect as it would if I could direct the interviewers directly?
I'll PM you about boy stuff =)

princessgina - Just be careful with Atkins, if it works for you as a kick start then awesome but be sure to educate yourself on varied healthy nutrition rather than going through phases and steps. Healthy eating can start right away! =)
I'm glad I'm not the only one who slips up in interviews!

Daki - Like I said to MA, I'm not sure the email would reach the people it would need to since it's such a massive exchange programme rather than a company. They must be interviewing up to 800 people so I'm not sure if any email would get to the right person? I dunno, I don't want to come across as cheesy!

Em - Welcome and CONGRATS on your loss this year! Don't worry about stalls, they can be busted out of with some hard work and consistency!

Getting my butt out of my slump. TOM is on the way out, motivation pictures are hanging on my fridge, mirrors and closet (hubby is LOVING this part) and I'm ready to rock and roll. Skinny-Me, HERE I COME! (Hopefully... )

I am just amazed at myself. I ate 1000 calories worth is 'snack' today. And almost all of that happened after dinner. In the end I am only 120 calories over my limit due to exercise calories. Whew.

What happened? Well, a weird combination of things. I ran a 2.5mile for the first time. Then I cooked dinner but I messed up the fish. So I basically ate only rice. And that's when I just started craving craving craving and feeling hungry. Also just going to bed wasn't an option because I had to work from 10pm till 2am.

So. Day from ****. Haha. I was having such ease with staying within my calories for 2 weeks now, that I can only think it's the combination: running+carbs+work. Oh, and I think TOM is coming.

No biggie. But really?!

I didn't quite meet my goal (off by 3 lbs). At least I lost 11 lbs, I'm still happy. I did mess up a lot last month. Hopefully I can stay on-plan this whole month.

Bikini challenge yay! Just what I need. I've been eying some bikinis already. 2012 is going to be my year.

MrsDeenz - I recognised your username and noticed you were on the standby list, so I moved your old information and put your new weight in for the week. If you don't weigh in for more than 2 weeks, I always keep information and move it to the standby, so just be sure to mention you're already apart of the challenge and I will move you back in! Welcome back!
I have Scarlett Johansson, Beyonce and Salma Hayek on my wall! I also have 2 biggest loser before and afters on the fridge, one my age and one my Mum's age!

philana - Do you find counting calories helps you? It sounds all very stressful and confusing! Glad you're running, it's an amazing way to lose weight!!

CaliforniaDreamer - Did you have a month goal? Don't worry about not hitting it, just keep going! 11 lbs is AMAZING!

KaeBae - Welcome!!

Hey all! I am new to this challenge. I have recorded all my weight. I am trying to get back on track this week. I had the stomach virus last week and after I started feeling better I ate way more than I should have. Making up for lost time I guess. Gotta start back to exercising too! Feels like I'm starting from day 1 again

Riestrella: Yeah, I am a pretty big calorie counting fan actually. It helps me stay away from the bad stuff (because they are so high in calories) and it helps me know what I am eating because you have to pay attention to the labels. It's not really stressful to me because I just all throw it in myfitnesspal app and voila!

I do a combination of things though: I cound my calories and I focus on how many calories from a certain nutrient. So Low carb, High protein. If I didn't count the calories, how can I know if I am eating enough protein?

I barely ever go over them because my mealplan really works well for me and is balanced. But when I do go over it's rather confronting to see that you 'wasted' 1000 calories or whatever on stuff that does not go directly to feeding your body.

--
Little NSV here: turned down apricot pie at a work-meeting today. Yay. Haha.

Ugh Ive been sick the past couple of days, I hope it doesnt effect my weigh-in on monday. I hate not being able to work out from congestion, fatigue, etc. -__-

I hate that my scale is just sitting at 164. It doesn't want to move an inch!

So frustrating! Grrr

I hope you all are having better luck than I am!

We're in the same boat! ....mainly my fault though...

Riestrella - Thank you. Yes, I was hoping to lose 13 lbs last month.

Riestrella Thank you for the kind welcome and doing the spreadsheet work for us... it was so cool logging onto the spreadsheet and seeing my percentage weight loss worked out... it's a real motivator!

Ugh... today I had family round the house so there was a massive dinner. Sad to say I did eat quite a lot of oily food. (I think I might have eaten 1800 worth, which is enough for me to maintain, but way over my 1200 budget!). So I tried to work out extra hard today on the Wii Fit, did loads of squats, jogging, steps, muscle exercises the lot. Hope it pays off! ^^;

There's another family lunch out on Sunday at my favourite Chinese Buffet of ALL places... but it's for my ma's birthday celebration so I will have to go. My tactics:

• Drink a huge glass of water before hitting the food.
• Get 1-2 bitesize helpings of each food.
• Only fill half the plate at a time.
• Drink another huge glass of water inbetween refills.
• Do not eat more than 2 plates worth.

Hopefully it'll stop me from trying to eat everything in sight.... agh hope I won't over eat.. wish me luck guys!

Oh man, I just did it... I bought a bikini!

I have a long way to go before it looks decent, but I thought that spending the money and actually having one in my closet would push me a little harder to actually make it happen.

Just a cheapy from target: http://www.target.com/p/Converse-One...qi_detailimage

Sometime maybe I'll be brave enough to post a pic of me in it. Maybe.