I have 2 scales and they have a 2lb difference.not sure what to do.om gonna update this after I run for accountability.Its winter here in nj and it's cold so running outdoors wasn't my brightest idea.

I ran

HaveDog - totally agree with you re eating calories burned off with exercise. I see my exercise days as giving me a bonus loss rather than bonus food.

Skittles - I guess as long as you choose one scale and stick with the same one throughout the challenge it doesn't matter too much what the actual number is, just the fact that it's going down is key!

YOU ALL DID A GOOD JOB ON THE LISTS!

Photosphere: Good job on the list about what you like about yourself and the affirmations. A smart friend who can make you laugh is a valuable person!

DayOneAgain: I like your lists as well. Wow! An optimist with integrity and the ability to cook a good meal - attributes for success!

Sinderhella: A confident woman who is comfortable in being herself - that's wonderful!

Dealing with "overwhelming" is something I'm working on. Finding ways to tame "overwhelmed" will be something we all need in order to get to and stay at our goals. We are all works in progress in that regard.

Hey kids, I'm back!

You know that moment of dread when you wake up in the morning and you've been on vacation and you KNOW you have to step on the scales and it's going to be bad? Yup, that was me this morning. 166 lbs. Oof...a 3 lb gain from last weeks lowest weight. BUT these things are to be expected and I'm going to be super good with counting calories and exercise this week to lose the gain.

New York was awesome!! We did Top of the Rock, a Broadway show, fancy drinks at the Marriott rotating bar, The High Line, Chelsea Market, 9/11 Memorial + Museum, Brooklyn Bridge, met up with one of my online friends for the first time, Grand Central Station, Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Phew! It was a whirlwind trip being there for essentially 2 full days, but we did it!
After drinks in the Marriott bar we were expecting to pay at least $100 for the experience, but we had the "treat yo' self" mentality in mind. When we ask for the bill the waiter told us that a couple who left had paid our bill for us!! He told us that they said that we seemed nice and they wanted to pay it forward. How incredible is that?! We couldn't stop smiling!!

The trip was full of incredible food too, I knew that I wasn't going to be on plan so I didn't count calories, so I'm not going to moan about the gain and be all dramatic about it. I had an awesome time and ate some of the best food of my life, including the best pizza and cheesecake. Mmmm.

However I did have an interesting moment while I was there. I saw a girl who was striking and very much a healthy weight. I saw her and couldn't help but think "my face could look like that when I lose this weight." Right now I've got little pudgy cheeks and a double chin, but when I lose weight I know those will be gone. I've never EVER seen my face thin before because I've never been thin in my life. It was really inspiring to think "what will my face look like?" and it really motivated me. Weight loss is incredible, but seeing before and after pictures I always focus on how the face has transformed rather than the body most of the time. It's always so inspiring to think my face could look so different at goal weight. Just thought I'd share!

After being in a big city again we're definitely motivated to get moving on our plans to move to a different state. It's going to be crazy...hard since we want to be freelancers too...I'm imagining the stress factor will be huge but we need to do it to grow. I'm starting to find myself getting annoyed at the BF's parents and their quirks, I appreciate them so much don't get me wrong, but I just want us to live on our own again!

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Izzie - My exercise plan is to get in a certain type of workout per week. I like to do Yoga, Cardio, Cross training (something that mixes cardio and strength), Strength (usually pilates or weights), Cardio and Cross. Ideally I'd be working out 6 times a week but I have off days. I think if you entered a 5K race you'd definitely finish the C25K program, entering a race is the best motivation! It's so weird to think I've been going over so many times, I've been stalled for years now and no wonder - I've been over eating all this time and not realising it. Oh well, time to make a change! My BF works for a very rich family and his Christmas gift from them was a trip for 2 to New York. He deserved it, his boss is horrible!

Sinderhella - Will power is a huge problem of mine too, I find it hard to say no to certain foods. A huge accomplishment was going to my favourite burger place and ordering vegetarian chili instead. It was hard saying no to my favourite burger, but I felt so much better afterwards!

HDWD - Excellent point about the calories burned, it's so hard to know exactly how much unless you have an accurate heart rate monitor I'm assuming. I saw an article about the FitBit issues, pretty crazy really!

NNS - Hope you feel better!

Riestrella, I need to be moved back on to the spreadsheet, please! I even have data: I weighed 170.4 on 1/5. I don't know what I weigh today because I didn't make it to the gym (I always use their scale for consistency) so I'll have to enter that tomorrow after I lift. One of my kids broke my laptop screen so posting has been kind of a hassle, but I totally read the thread and find all the support really motivating. In regards to what your face will look like after you lose weight, you're already really beautiful and I think that your features will be even more striking when you are thin. I know that for me, how different my face looked after I lost weight the first time (~60 lbs) was an unexpected perk; I had always admired women with strong, square jaw lines like Jennifer Garner or Hilary Swank, and after I lost fat around my cheeks and chin, it turned out that I actually have a defined, approaching squarish jaw line. Who knew!

HaveDog I completely agree in re: calories burned in exercise. On days that I go to the gym, my fitbit thinks I can eat like 2700 calories... In reality I eat about half that. My husband is a bulk/cut powerlifter bro and believes deeply in eating more calories and protein right after strength training, but I just don't think that the evidence supports that for anyone besides arguably the most serious athletes.

skittles, that sucks about your car. I am irrationally annoyed when life things keep me from going to the gym, because lifting is something that I genuinely like, unlike calorie counting/dieting/etc which is just a necessity of my weight loss goals. I skipped yesterday because my parents were in town visiting for a few days and I wanted to spend extra time with them, and today because the time I'd normally spend at my college's gym between classes I instead spent taking a CLEP test to get out of a boring intro class. Both good things, but I'm antsy to get back on schedule. Having a car accident and then having to miss the gym on top of that sounds like adding insult to injury.

Izzie, I just started a c25k sort of things with run/walk intervals, and I find it more tolerable than steady-state cardio. We can be beginner running buddies. I have been doing StrongLifts 5x5 for a while, which I really like, but was thinking of moving to a more intermediate lifting program.

So I'm new and very likely a lot of you veterans already know this about each other, but I'd love to get a general sense of you guys separate from your diet and workout plans. What do you do? What's your romantic life like? Kids? What are your hobbies and passions?
I'm a 28 year old mother of a 4 year old boy and almost 2 year old girl. I live with my husband, our two housemates, and our six total children in an old Victorian big enough for the 10 of us. I went back to school to complete my undergrad degree in molecular biology when I was pregnant with my daughter, but am still not sure what I'm going to do when I graduate this May. I'm a science nerd, a tea snob, a connoisseur of premium TV and a lover of games of all varieties.

Ugh, I'm in such a slump. I don't know what happened but now I'm clear up to almost 156. I could just be bloated but my husband is dropping weight like it's nothing. I'm happy for him but very unhappy for me... Trying a beginner Tae Bo video today plus some walking/jogging. I have a hard time getting through the Tae Bo video in one shot so I break it up. I do about 10 minutes, then sit. As long as I get through the whole thing, I'm good.

i ordered ********** sample pack and if i like that im gonna try the 21 day fix.

ultra - That note mentions the spreadsheet, not the charts. You're still in the spreadsheet, the charts are top 15 losers! Aw, thanks for your lovely compliment! That's so interesting that you discovered you had a face structure like the women you admired. Thanks for your introduction! What a great idea. What are your favourite TV shows and games?
As for me, I'm 26, I'm from England and I lived in Japan for 2 years from 2012-2014. While I was there my American BF and I decided to move to America and start a life so here I am. I'm currently living with his parents while we save money, but we'll be moving to a different state soon. I'm a freelance film editor so we'll be moving to where the film work is, right now the industry is booming in the south so we'll go there for now. I'm a huge film fan, I have a degree in Film and want to one day be a filmmaker. I also love video games and board games, I'm a huge lover of music (predominantly rock, but my tastes have "mellowed" in later life) and I play the piano here and there. I'm quite a creative person so my life is all about expressing myself creatively. That's about all I can think of!

Whoo! Week One done I didn’t lose as much as I wanted but I think there was some unaccounted holiday weight gain in there since my starting weight was from before Christmas. Thanks for making the weekly charts Riestrella!

To get to know me - I’m a 27 year old teacher working at a rural school. I have been married for a year and a half and I am getting healthy because my husband and I would like to start a family next year. Living in an isolated area makes weight loss difficult in some ways since there are no gyms, classes and not always access to healthy groceries. However, in others ways it is easier since even if I wanted fast food I wouldn’t be able to get it!

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Riestrella: Even if you are trying to lose weight you can’t stop living your life! New York sounded amazing and I am sure the food was worth every calorie. Besides some of the gain would probably be from water weight so you will drop that fast. I would love to visit New York some day but being from Canada (weak dollar) I will have to wait a bit.
I know what you mean about weight in your face. I was thin growing up and didn’t gain weight until around 20. I don’t notice it day to day but in pictures I can see that my face looks puffy. You look fantastic in your profile picture but it is just more motivation to keep working out!

Ultrapeaches: That sucks about your laptop. Do you think it can be fixed or will you have to buy a new one? So far I have finished two days of C25k but so far it is going well. I want to start lifting once I have cardio and eating under control (slowly add things rather than try to do it all at once).

TheLibrarian: My husband can also lose weight a lot faster than me. I think it is just harder for women to lose weight. I figure as long as every day I am doing something to help me reach my goals then everything else will look after itself. I also think that is great idea to split up the workout pretty soon you will be going non stop!

Skittles: the forum edited your post but if you are talking about a shake you can buy from the same company that sells P90X then I have also tried it. I have been drinking it for about a month and it could be placebo affect but I love it! I don’t think it is something I will use for the rest of my life but so far it is helping with cravings and keeps me full between breakfast and dinner (when I have tried other protein shakes I am hungry again 2 hours later). I personally love the chocolate

Good morning everyone!

My weight dropped from 166 lbs to 165.2 lbs overnight without trying, so I'm glad to see the holiday bloat is taking care of itself. Yesterday wasn't a great day, I'm someone who after having a busy period needs to hibernate and not do anything for a while. So I didn't take care of myself as much as I should have, don't get me wrong I didn't eat everything in sight but I didn't make healthy choices. Today I'm going to sit down and plan fitness classes to go to for the rest of the week, so my last lazy day is today before I kick it up a notch with fitness and calorie counting.

I just did a bunch of chores yesterday; unpacked, tidied up, replied to messages and emails I missed while in New York, sorted out some annoying financial stuff (UK account had been charged a bill and went into the overdraft) but other than that it was a pretty chill day. Today I'm going to get back to work on the film edit I'm working on, because I can't put it off any longer! I need to catch up.

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Izzie - Do you like it where you live? I think running would be a great way to exercise if you live in a nice rural place! Thanks for the compliment, I really should change my picture on here I've had that since I joined in 2011! I was 19 in that picture. I think I'll do that now

Hey everyone! Happy not-Monday!
I am having such a hard time getting myself motivated to kick it up a notch. I have been holding steady 166-169, and I would like to be about 159-161 (My goal with my doctor has been 160, even though I put 150 on my ticker back when I was overambitious...hmm maybe time to change that!) It seems so dumb that I can't motivate myself to lose those last 7 pounds! I think it is because I am still so enjoying not being miserable about my weight anymore that it is easy to feel complacent! I also know myself and my appetite and I will always have to think I "dieting" or I will gain, as that is how it happened before. I am just enjoying not being so restrictive and taking my time.

Izzie, welcome! Starting a family sounds like great motivation, I have a IRL friend who has found that is when she has been most successful at weight loss because it is such a motivator to lose weight for a healthier and happier pregnancy.

Ultrapeaches haha yes my partner would always do these epic bike rides and be like "I just burned 3,000 calories I need two plates of pasta to recover!" and I gave up trying to reason with him about how all that actually works haha.

Hello!

I just wanted to check in quickly - it's nice to see new faces around here this challenge - welcome!

I'm super busy at work having started back on Monday after arriving home extra late (10PM) on Sunday night, and it doesn't seem to be slowing down at all. I'm in the mode where I get home, eat, and I'm ready for bed. I'm giving myself this week just to try to get back into the swing of things, and next week I'm going to focus a bit more on what I'm actually consuming, and try to get some exercise in there.

My BF is away in Mexico until nearly the end of February, so I'm hoping it's a good time for me to focus on myself - health-wise, weight-wise, life-wise. I really miss him already since I haven't seen him since before leaving for the States, but I'll try to make the most of my alone time.

Spending the holidays with my family was really good - I already miss them a lot as well as I don't know when I'll next see my parents.

My weight has gone up for sure, but like Rie, I try to really enjoy myself when I'm on a vacation, and food is a big part of that for me. I definitely enjoyed a fair few Disney-themed treats at Disneyland - but there was also a TON of walking, as anyone who has done Disney will know.

My main goal for this week is to be kind to myself. I'm feeling a little sensitive and down about being alone after having spent the holidays with family and now with Leon being away - so I just want to make sure I don't get TOO down, as I know I have the tendency to wallow a little.

Sorry I haven't done personals - I'll try to be better next week!

I made this "before and after" for when I was feeling complacent- it is also easy to look in the mirror now and not feel like I have lost weight since I have slowed down so much it is not as evident daily! And let's be real I have been maintaining for the past two months not losing. It is not a totally "fair" comparison also because I am wearing different outfits and different angles, etc...but whatever!

Happy Thursday all! Anyone else have a three day weekend for MLK Day coming up??

Not too much of an update here. My eating has been pretty good this week and I'm down to 172 from 174 last week. I should be able to get back to my low weight by Friday, I think! It's nice to see the holiday bloat leaving. I haven't been very active this week. I rode my bike about 8 miles on Tuesday and that was it. Hopefully I can ride and/or run this weekend, and work will cool down next week allowing me to do more. I've been working long long long days, and taking work home. So over it! I had 7 funding applications due tomorrow, but next week should be better...I hope.

Ries - Your trip sounds amazing and you did so many awesome things! We loved Top of the Rock when we went. Glad you were able to enjoy food without letting it stress you out.

HaveDogWillDiet - I strongly believe that you'll know when the time is right to really work hard at losing again. It's nothing to get down on yourself about, especially with a nearly 50 pound loss already! Sometimes you just need to take a break. I had a big long stall last year, but one day it just clicked. You'll get there! Love the picture! I have Monday off, but have a feeling I may end up doing some work anyway.

The talk about change in faces and photos encouraged me to update my own before and after. Holy cow how my face has changed. I attached it to my post.