Does anyone want to start a little group/thread on here for support?

I'm open to supporting anyone, regardless of weight loss goal or age. I'm 29 and 217 pounds. I ended a long-term relationship at the beginning of this year, so I'm single. No kids, but I have a chihuahua mix dog that is my baby. I'm an ovo-lacto vegetarian, but I don't care that others around me eat meat.

My goal is 160, but I'm working toward a mini-goal of 199 before the end of the year. Several years ago, I started losing when I was 265. I'm managed to keep off the weight I lost, but I really want to lose more.

Anyone game for a support group? Anyone know of a good name for the group?

I'm in, though I can't think of a good name!

I'm 23 and about 145 lbs. I'm looking to lose another 35 (I'm fairly short, so it's not an unhealthy goal). I'm single with no children and, very sadly, no pets. I was an ovo-lacto vegetarian until about three weeks ago, when I moved to another country and decided to reincorporate fish into my diet. Still don't eat it unless I'm at someone else's house, though. I was actually sick the first week that I added it back into my diet.

Although I do have a specific weight loss goal, my primary goal is to just feel comfortable with my body again. It's been a long time since I felt good about my weight, and my doctor informed me at my last check-up that my bp was beginning to look abnormal. I'm too young for such health problems, especially when they're preventable!

Anyhow, I'd love to be your accountability buddy! I like the idea of talking to someone here, as most of my friends are at pretty normal weights, and I don't want to bore people with weight loss talk in real life. What's your game plan for getting back in shape?

Hey Nienna! Which country did you move to? It's difficult being a vegetarian in the States, so I can't imagine having to move out of the country and still keep a restrictive diet.

I hear you on feeling comfortable with your body. That's my main goal. I'm just not happy with the way clothes fit me. I want to be able to go out and not be constantly thinking of how I look at every moment of the evening.

As for my game plan, I'm cutting out my nightly snacks. Goodbye ice cream, cake, and cookies. Goodbye buttery popcorn with a glass of Dr Pepper with ice. I'm also eliminating work snacking. I used to keep a box of crackers in my drawer at work, but I removed it. Snacking while working just leads me to consume insane amounts of food. I'm also reducing my portion sizes. Instead of making three bowls of pasta for myself from the box, I'm making four bowls.

And as for exercise, I'm a huge fan of walking. It's how I went from 265 to 220. I walked four miles this morning before it got too hot outside. Tomorrow, I hope to get out and do at least two after work.

What's your game plan? When do you weigh in? Weekly?

I'm in Finland! It's actually not bad at all being a vegetarian here (I lived in Texas before, so I'm no stranger to trying to explain that the salad's not vegetarian if it has bacon bits on it), but people seem to worry a lot about what to feed me when they invite me over. I thought that adding fish into the mix would make them more comfortable. It has, but I'm not sure that I'll be able to keep it up.

I totally understand just wanting clothes to fit correctly! I used to dress pretty casually, but now I find myself coming up with the oddest of outfits in the hopes of covering up just a little more fat. A time-consuming and fruitless endeavor. I look forward to just pulling on a pair of jeans and a shirt, knowing that I look good, and going on my way.

I like the sound of your game plan. I tend to just binge on snack foods if they're around, but now that I'm in my own place, I'm pretty stringently controlling the groceries. I don't keep any junk food in the house (or bread because then I just eat slice after slice of toast), but I will have it at work if someone brings it in. My coworkers are really fond of bringing in homemade pastries and other delectable baked goods. Difficult to resist, but I try to keep the portions small, at least.

Kudos on the walking this morning! That's quite a few miles. Most of my exercise is walking, as well. I live about two and a half km from work (a little less), so I just walk to and from work every weekday. I've also been jogging in the evenings, but I keep it short and sweet. I'm pretty out of shape, and I don't want to overwhelm myself right at the start.

I have the unfortunate tendency to weigh myself every day, but I've been moving my ticker on Sundays, so I guess that's the "official" weigh-in. When do you typically weigh in?

Sorry for prattling on! Let me know how your exercising goes!

I guess I'll probably weigh myself on Sunday or Monday. I haven't decided yet and my life has been in turmoil since I'm moving to a new apartment this week. I signed the lease today and picked up the keys. I took two car loads of my boxes over this evening and will have help taking the furniture on Thursday. I'll be happy when it's all over and done with. Unfortunately, this means I haven't had time to walk after work for the past two days. The plus side is that I've been getting exercise by moving boxes around and going up and down stairs.

How has the start of your week been? Have you kept to your plan? I've managed to keep my calories down thus far this week, so I'm happy about that.

It's exciting that you're moving to a new apartment, even if it has disrupted your exercise routine a bit. I agree with you, though - I think carrying heavy boxes up and down stairs definitely counts for something. Good for staying on plan with the calories! Are you counting? I go back and forth on whether I should or not. So far, I've just been eating small amounts of healthy food when I'm hungry, but I haven't done any calorie counting. I can't decide whether this is a legitimate plan or not. Maybe I'm just lazy.

I've been really good with my exercise this week. I went jogging on Tuesday even though it was raining, though I did cut my jog shorter than usual. I need to kick my daily weigh-in habit, though. The scale showed a gain yesterday morning for the first time since I've begun weighing myself. It was really discouraging. I don't think there's anything that I should be doing differently in terms of exercise or diet, so I'm trying to ignore the scale for at least a few days (if not a week).

Has moving madness calmed down a bit since your last post? Are you and your dog enjoying the new place?