Hello everyone, I am new in this forum and I am glad I found you all.

I am 23, I am from Cyprus and my photo is in the avatar. I weigh 113 kg (sorry no ideas what is in pounds etc) and started my new diet last week (not that I haven't diet before but I am totally going to get through this to the end). I lost a kilo (was 114). My first goal is to steadily reach 90 kg by December 31 2008 and hopefully finish off and stop at 75 kg.

I am doing my MA in Leeds right now in Postcolonial Studies but my dream is to become a writer one day. I write fanfics and planning a murder mystery.

So care to introduce yourself?

Hi there . . . and . . . you have come to a really great place for lots and lots of support as you travel the long and sometimes bumpy road to better health and fitness. Glad to have you joining us.

It's a big site, so have a good look around and just start posting anywhere that something catches your attention. What kind of eating and exercising plan are you following? Have you taken a look at the DIET CENTRAL area yet . . . just about all of the popular plans have their own little forums.

BTW . . . just so you know -- for future reference -- 1 kg = 2.2 pounds -- so at the moment you weight about 248 pounds. Your December goal is 198 pounds (a great goal by the way -- a lot of us are aiming for that great place we call "Onderland" i.e., under 200 pounds. ) Your longer term goal is 165 pounds. We will be here to cheer you on for every one of those pounds.

Have a great evening, Chickie . . . hope we'll see you again really soon.

Hi there . . . and . . . you have come to a really great place for lots and lots of support as you travel the long and sometimes bumpy road to better health ant fitness. Glad to have you joining us.

It's a big site, so have a good look around and just start posting anywhere that something catches your attention. What kind of eating and exercising plan are your following? have you taken a look at the DIET CENTRAL area yet . . . just about all of the popular plans have their own little forums.

BTW . . . just so you know -- for future reference -- 1 kg = 2.2 pounds -- so at the moment you weight about 248 pounds. Your December goal is 198 pounds (a great goal by the way -- a lot of us are aiming for that great place we call "Onderland" i.e., under 200 pounds. ) Your longer term goal is 165 pounds.

Have a great evening, Chickie . . . hope we'll see you again really soon.

Hi, nice to meet you (:

Thanks for the warm welcome and the explanations.

My diet is good though as a Mediterranean I do love the excessive use of olive oil (but I am handling very well with that since I discovered the wok). I went to a diet specialist, who is really cool (and I am saying that and I was never fond of specialists like her). Luckily by nature I am not fond of red meat so I never eat it. I have a lot of salads, yogurt (the only thing I was never too fond of but alas I have to eat it) chicken, fish and vegetables.

I always loved chocolate (alas) but now I can have only once a week. But I keep fighting the cravings though. Luckily by nature I do not eat jams, I am not crazy over fried food and pizza (ok I usually crave for them every few months, have my dose and won't ask for them for another few months) and I only drink water (yep no soft drinks and no juices). My alcohol dosage (lol) is a glass of cocktail (Vanilla Russian), or Bailey's, when I am going out.

My exercising habits now. I started going to the gym 2 months ago (even before I started dieting) but I am still quite lazy. I go 5-6 times a week and I do 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise (either the bike, the treadmill or the Nordic Truck) My favorite is the Nordic Truck, then the bike and last the treadmill (I always fear I am gonna fall). In the summer I love to swim in the sea for an hour or two.

Lol the "Onderland" is a good name. As I say it for myself, I want to reach the two-digits land (99kg downwards).

Thanks for the cheer and good luck to you all!

Welcome! I am sort of new as well, as I registered last October but have only begun regularly posting recently.

I hope you find everything you need here. It is a great place for support!

Welcome, it sounds like you have an excellent plan to help you meet your goals! I'm sure you'll be very successful!

Hi and welcome!! I'm Francie

Thanks for the support guys! I love you all! The only thing I am scared of is to subdue to the cravings of chocolate as the term chocoholic for me is a subtle term. Going great through the week without it though. Do talk about yourselves!

hi, and welcome! I am a super chocoholic too. I think it helps to buy tiny little quantities of really _good_ chocolate, so when you eat it you really enjoy it -- and then that's enough. It's easy to mindlessly eat a lot of junk, and I'm trying to eat in a more "mindful" way."

Postocolonial is a hot field right now! Are you planning to go on for a PhD? I looove murder mysteries -- who do you like to read, or who do you think you'd like to write like? (that was spectacularly bad sentence, of course.)

Take care!

I'm a major chocoholic too. I just cannot stay away from it, lol. I love buying low fat Cherry Garica ice cream because of the chocolate chunks in it, lol.

Lol doing my homework I discovered that a packet of Malteasers is only 190 kc. So this is the one I chose for my week ones. Got one packet one Sunday (the day I decided I am gonna eat them) and for a second I wanted a second packages but never went and bought it. How cool is that?

Oh I do hope to do a PhD when I finish my MA but to be honest I will need quite a fund from the university. I have a professor who did his PhD is Vancouver and he had quite a good reputation there. Anyways he said he might actually write a recommendation letter for me, when the time comes. Oh and he told me that the University in Vancouver actually grants you all the money you need for the PhD with the promise that you will work in a 5-10 year contract with them afterwards (at least that is how it went until a few years ago).

My first love in murder mysteries was Sherlock Holmes (lol, tall and slim guy as I like them) and then it was Agatha Cristie's Hercule Poirot. I like that style of writing. But my mystery solver will not be a detective, not in the police force, but a really clever woman that works as a chef. Ok not saying more. Lol.