Let's celebrate December holidays in healthy ways!

Join the December Weight Loss Challenge to set your goal, track it, and meet it -- with the help of a supportive and encouraging group. All the goals will be compiled into a list. As each goal is met during the month, it gets turned RED in celebration.

For your exercise goals, don't miss the December Exercise Challenge.

Thanks for the new thread, gardenerjoy. You know I'm in.

I didn't quite reach my overall halfway point in December, so that is the first spot I am shooting for, but that isn't enough for a monthly goal. But my next goal, Onederland, is not realistically achievable for me in 31 days.
Upcoming Significant Minigoals
207.4 is halfway for what I'd like to lose overall *Met 12/13/18
203.6 would be 10 BMI points lost

Therefore, let's say:

SW: 209.6
December GW: 203.6 for the minigoal

I don't normally overeat in December, unless someone shows up with homemade marshmallow creme fudge (without nuts). Then I'm in trouble. I only have it once every 5+ years, usually around Christmastime, and it is my all time favorite any kind of food, so if it turns up anywhere, I make no apologies, and my goal becomes just to maintain overall for the month. I won't even consider it falling off the wagon, it will just be enjoying the good stuff and then getting back to work and I will consider the setback absolutely worth it. No other holiday foods are really much of a temptation for me, so overall, I should be fine. Hopefully if someone brings some, it'll have nuts. Then I'll just have a small taste and be fine. It has to be just perfect for me to be willing to go all in and that rarely happens. But that is part of my new eating style. I'm not going to cut anything out, and if I truly do want to eat something, and feel like the time spent losing that weight back off again is worth it, I'm not going to deny myself. I'm in it for the long haul, and the long haul allows for a few indulgences, as long as they are still mindful choices.

Week One
01: 210.0
02: 210.0
03: 210.0
04: 210.2
05: 210.4
06: 210.2
07: 210.6
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Total Loss for Week One: +1.0

Week Two
08: 211.0
09: 210.2
10: 210.0
11: 208.4
12: 208.4
13: 207.4
14: 206.4
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Total Loss for Week Two: 4.2

Week Three
15: 208.8
16: 208.0
17: 207.6
18: 207.4
19: 207.4
20: 207.4
21: 207.4
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Total Loss for Week Three: +1.0

Week Four

22: 207.4
23: 208.0
24: 206.6
25: 205.6
26: 206.2
27: 205.4
28: 206.4
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Total Loss for Week Four: -1.0

Bonus Days
29: 207.0
30: 207.0
31: 205.2
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Total Loss for Bonus Days: -1.2
Total Loss for Entire Month: -4.4
Total Loss for Entire Year (since March 18th): -62.2

im in!
Week One
01:
02:
03:
04:
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06:
07:
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Total Loss for Week One:

Week Two
08:
09:
10:
11:
12:
13:
14:
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Total Loss for Week Two:

Week Three
15:
16:
17:
18:
19:
20:
21:
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Total Loss for Week Three:

Week Four

22:
23:
24:
25:
26:
27:
28:
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Total Loss for Week Four:

Bonus Days
29:
30:
31:
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Total Loss for Bonus Days:
Total Loss for Entire Month:

I'm going to be working hard at maintenance in December and would like to set a maintenance target:
CW: 112
TW: 112

problem is that i'm hardly at home - i'm away working 3-11th Dec, then away on holiday 20th Dec -13th Jan.
I'm predicting 23-31st December will be tough because i'm with family in UK celebrating xmas, then on holiday with friends in Bali from boxing day, but then I have an 8 or 9 day trekking holiday early Jan (carrying everything, tent, cooking stuff, all food, all in the wilderness and no shops/food drops/roads etc), so that should help tackle some of the excesses of Christmas week!) . Just need to stick to good habits most of the time and it shouldn't be too disastrous!

So thanks gardenerjoy for putting me on the list, but I can't promise to update much!

Wow, ange. As much as that must be difficult to keep up the maintenance with that sort of schedule, aren't you glad you aren't carrying all that extra weight along with all that gear? You should have an AMAZING time!

I ended November with a 4.4 loss and I'm really happy with that.

Gardenerjoy - thanks for this thread and I'm in for December. I'll record my weight tomorrow.

Lacerta and Ange - I enjoyed reading your posts about your weightloss journeys and can relate to both of you. I'm in my 60s and I feel it gets a bit harder to lose the weight the older I get. For most of my adult life I've weighed between 110 - 120 but have gained weight since menopause and went as high as 166. I don't think I would like to be below 118 - 120 as that is getting a bit thin for me. My 12 week weight training program has been helpful. Over the past 12 weeks, I did gain some muscle and lost body fat so my body composition (lean body mass v. fat mass) has improved. I want to keep the muscle gains I've made so I'm going to have to work hard to continue on my own doing weights 3x/week plus my cardio. I hurt my back so haven't done much in the way of exercise for the past 5 or 6 days and my weight has gone up slightly. I would like to be at my goal wt of 120 by Xmas.

Lacerta - congrats on a great November and finishing the month out in the single digits!

Ange - great job on maintenance.

Newlyn: congrats on your losses for November - great job

I'm in and hoping for good things in December. We already have a ton of chocolate in the house but it's been long enough now that, even though it's my favourite thing, I'll only eat it if it fits into my plan. Never thought I'd say that! Nevertheless, with the holidays in mind:

SW: 266
GW: 260

yeah

I have really been struggling to get myself back on track for the past couple of months so here I am again hoping to end the year right! I am editing my goal to push myself to do the best I can and get back to my lowest weight my the 31st.

Noember 30th Weigh-In: 248.5
Month Goal Weight: 238.5
December 31st Weigh-In:
Total Month Weight Loss:

Week One
01: 251.6
02: 253.5
03: 249.1
04: 248.7
05: 248.5
06: 247.1
07:
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Total Loss for Week One:

Week Two
08:
09:
10:
11:
12:
13:
14:
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Total Loss for Week Two:

Week Three
15:
16:
17:
18:
19:
20:
21:
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Total Loss for Week Three:

Week Four

22:
23:
24:
25:
26:
27:
28:
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Total Loss for Week Four:

Bonus Days
29:
30:
31:
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Total Loss for Bonus Days:
Total Loss for Entire Month:

ehstrager and zlinky and good luck to you

momtopands: Glad to see you back. Definitely better to end the year strong than to wait until after the new year and then have even farther to go

flower1: Since you started your exercise routine and broke your plateau, you have done AMAZEBALLS! So happy for you. But I'm sorry to hear about your injured back. Take care of yourself and don't overdo it and make it worse, but I bet the recent exercise and healthy eating helps you heal faster than you would have.

Newlyn: Keep it up. You did great in November sticking with it, even through your roller coaster ride. A pound a week is still a healthy pace of loss.

Week One
01: 210.0
02:
03:
04:
05:
06:
07:
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Total Loss for Week One:

I usually retain water on Saturdays, so I was glad to see I was only up a small amount today. I'll be back in single digits tomorrow. Then I'm in to my busy time, and one of my coworkers is on vacation until Thursday, and I'll likely be working through next weekend. So if I can just maintain in the single digits until the 10th, I'll be happy.

Thanks for starting the thread gardenerjoy!

SW: 266
GW: 260

1: 265.5 New low!

This is an important number for me for two reasons. 1) I'm from the UK where we use stones (14 pounds) and pounds to describe weight. This weight takes me into a new stone (18 stone 13.5 pounds), which is a significant milestone in and of itself but also because 2) I got my Fitbit in November 2016 and built up to 12000 steps/day. This is the weight I reached before I developed an Achilles problem and had to stop walking. I put on the 18 pounds I'd lost plus another 7, and they're the 25.5 pounds I've lost this time. So from now on I'll feel as if I'm actually making progress rather than just losing weight I'd lost previously. I'm sure that after saying all of that I'll gain 2 pounds tomorrow!

Newlyn: That is amazing. New progress is always the best progress. I have to get down to 190.2 before I can start making new progress, which was back in 2007. When I get below that, I'll be back to an unknown date, definitely before 2005, but probably back to around 2002 or 2003. Also, I hate stones, as multiples of 14 are much too hard to calculate in my head. Even converting kilos to pounds (approximately, just double the kilos, then drop the last digit and add that to the other number, so 90 kilos is 180+18 pounds, or about 198, which is pretty close) is easier, but stones are much more difficult. But every 14 pounds is a huge milestone, so congrats on reaching a new stone. That's even bigger than a new decade for us Americans. Apparently, I am exactly 15 stone today, so I'm flirting with a new stone as well, as I've seen lower once so far.

Week One
01: 210.0
02: 210.0
03:
04:
05:
06:
07:
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Total Loss for Week One:

Not down, but not up either. I'll take it. First snow of the season here today, so I just shoveled my driveway and a neighbor's who is older and shouldn't be shoveling. Hubby helped out with a couple other neighbors.

SW: 266
GW: 260

1: 265.5 New low!
2: 266 Of course it went up today! This was pre-bathroom though so I'll take it.

I've just optimistically changed my ticker to 266 and realised that I'm double my goal weight. Not sure how to feel about that! It's good that it's not more, but gosh, it's such a long way to go! Just have to keep plodding on - the time will pass anyway!

Lacerta, I spend half my time converting backwards and forwards to find new goals/milestones! Yay for you almost being in a new stone too! I'm trying not to look back too far on my spreadsheet. I let so many weightloss achievements go. I remember when I needed to lose ~55 pounds and it seemed insurmountable so I gave up. I wish I only had 55 pounds to lose now!

Lacerta Glad to be back and happy to see you still working away at it! I have a very optimistic goal for this month but I plan to get myself back on track and end this year right!

Ophelia I was so happy to see you check in yesterday. I have been on the same upward spiral as you and have managed to gain back 10 lbs! I have made it my goal to get it off by the end of the month so hopefully we will make it!

Nice to see some new faces, look forward to getting to know everyone!

I worked this past weekend and had not had time to prepare meals so I just threw up my hands and ate out both days but i'm almost back to my starting weight so today is a new day for me. I got up and worked out, have been recording my foods so far and have everything necessary for making some meals. Hopefully these things will give me the jump start I need!

Week One
01: 251.6
02: 253.5
03: 249.1
04:
05:
06:
07:
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Total Loss for Week One: