Chiristmas present to ourselves: lets lose 15lbs!

happy November everyone! with all that halloween candy consuming yesterday, im sure plently of us are dreading the battle through thanksgiving and Christmas. i've read in a magazine article that said it is smart to simply "maintain" weight during this time. in my opinion, thats not good enough. between thanksgiving and christmas, i run into the most people, both family and old friends, most of whom i havent seen since the christmas before. i truely believe that losing 15lbs will do wonders for our health. also, i cant imagine recieving any christmas present that will be as fulfililng as hearing those fabulous 4 words: "did you lose weight?"

i want to start a thread that is a mixture of weight loss tips/our weight trends and posts about our personal dilemmas and successes during this holiday season.

ill start:
i am 5'9" ~166lbs, id like to be 150 by christmas. my goal is to lose lots of junk in my trunk!! the most challenging dilemma for me is coming home after class at around 10pm several days a week. even though i eat dinner at school, i have the most difficult time not eating after i get home. which equals about an additional 500 cals. one shortcut you MUST try this holiday season is taking swiss miss diet hot cocco and adding a hint of peppermint flavor... a delish treat for (35cals!)

I like your way of thinking.  I'll definitely try the Diet Swiss Miss.

I just started on this, and it has really helped me notice how many calories I consume every day without even thinking about it.  It also gave me a calorie target to aim for.

Sign me up. I like the program so far.  Everyone needs a kick in the @#$#!#% to get and stay on track for the holidays. So (what is it the boy scouts say) I promise to do my duty, to God and my country ...... and to CC and our Lose 15 pounds by Xmas. Everyone should take this oath and shoot for that magic question. Did you lose weight? Great idea. Cheers
M

Ok, me next:
5'5" ~153lbs, I'd like to be 140 by Christmas, but realistically I only expect that to be 147 (10.5 stone)
It's taken me many months to get to 153, I keep yo-yoing, but I've been pretty determined in the last month and have lost 4lbs.  But it feels like slow going, and I need some CC help with motivation...

Oh yes, I'm in.  This is the worst time for me b/c it's cold and I just want to stay in bed and eat hot toasty bread.  My problem is that since it's the holidays, my office usually has treats and stuff laying around on a daily basis.  I haven't been able to withstand it so far since--1. it's free and i'm a poor grad student, 2.  it's so gooood.  As for eating when I get home...try brushing your teeth and use that listerine stuff--your teeth feel so clean you won't want to eat and ruin that clean taste in your mouth.

well I just passed a mini goal and im ontrack for the next one which is for yule (12/22) Im 5'11'' and  currently at 184 (down from 235 14 weeks ago) and would love to be 170 by then. I know how my body works and can see a pattern in my excel sheet and graphs   (i know, a bit much, but i love the little details of this journey) so in order for me to do that I need to be exercising 4-5 days a week and keep it healthy on the weekends. If I can do that I should be a size 10?? That will be awesome, I have so many great seasonal clothes in that size, Besides, If i get any gift certificates for yule I can do a little shopping as Ill be within 20lbs of my goal weight!

I'm in My name is eva and my wt. is 178 again and ht. is 5'7".  The holidays are brutal and we gals have to stick together! I have a problem with bread and butter and sweets. I can't have any sweets in the house because i will eat it. So i throw it away when i notice i have NO will power.   

    Good Luck! To all...........

jades, thats a great idea! i might have to brush my teeth in the car since i have to pass my kitchen to get to the bathroom haha. and i work in an office during the day to and there is a TON of treats in there left over from yesterday. i think of the treats as the weapons and me the solider. when combining the two, the area becomes a war zone. my advice would be try and keep the treat confined to one area and avoid that area completely. it helps when you dont know what in your lounge.

coastagirl, i commend you for be able to throw out treats! for me, its much more easier to prepack treats or eat off of a small plate than throwing away 1/3 of a meal. my brain thinks im still hungry if there is food on the plate.

im gonna stay within 1200-1500 cals until thanksgiving. since thanksgiving comes in the middle of the goal, im gonna save all my cheat days for that ONE day. i knew i was looking foward to thanksgiving for a reason :)

I know i need this calorie counter for support so i am going to put it as my Homepage. I will check it like it was my email.  So then i am sure i will track my daily calories first...  Thanks krenren77 for the ideas.....

I'm on board. I'm at 141.4, 5'5'' (down from 157 in July) I had just decided yesterday to try and reach 130 by the 26th, so that would be great if I can get to 125 (my final goal). We can do it!!!

Hello everybody...  Please sign in me as well to your effort.  I have the same problem with jades; working in the office of a food industry company and we have a full size kitchen full of treats, bread, sweets, drinks, nuts, yogurts etc.  And now that the holidays are coming all the other partner companies and vendors are sending food baskets.  Long story short and since I LOVE FOOD i cannot resist and I would be a big liar to try to blame the hunger.  Sometimes I can't work thinking of all those treats until I actually go and have some.  Anyway my name is Vivi and I am 5.3 - 125 lbs.  I need to go back to my regular weight that used to have 115.  I'll try for the 110 and would make me extremely happy but if at least go back to 115 by Christmas would be great.  So I'm in and good luck to everybody.  Just please let me know which days the weight ins are.

Thanks,

Vv

why dont we make weigh in days every monday....the end of the previous weekend and right in the beginning of the work week. it will be a nice way to reestablish new goals for the week and reflect on the habits of the previous weekend. also, i think it would be helpful if we post whenever we lose 1 lb. i myself and i know others underrate how great it is to just simply shed 1 lb. think about it. all we need is to lose 1lb 15 times!!

ok so this is really embarrassing. I am 5'4 and 185 lbs. Although I did just have a baby. It makes my self esteem really low when I was like 150 before I got pregnant. Before that I was like 137 lbs. So my goal weight is 128 by October 2nd 2008. You think that I can do it. I started this program and I was 200 and I lost 15 lbs so far. But I want to keep going. I am going to try to lose 15 by Christmas also. The problem with me is that my husband goes out of town all the time and I am so used to making food for both of us that when I make dinner, I make enough for us and I end up eating a lot of it because I dont like to waste food. So now I have been trying to learn how to do it better. Also another thing that people can try just a little tip is to... stop drinking soda and eating fast food. I havent eaten fast food or drank soda in two weeks and lost ten lbs.. the other 5 was because I was counting calories.

I would love to join in.

 I would LOVE to lose 15 pounds ! By anytime!

I am 5'7" and 187.

I fought the sweets yesterday but then gave in. I still didn't do as much damage as I would have a year ago . But I am still weak ,and a slave to food.

I need hints and motivation !

i think i'm in...I'm 5"1' 126...my original overall goal weight was 115, but then I actually took measure of my height and realized I was an inch shorter than I had thought, so right about 110-112 would still be right in the middle of healthy for my height.  I started at 155 on June 1st, so 29 pounds lost in 5 months, hopefully i can pull these last fifteen off in two.  It would definetely be great to be at my overall goal weight by christmas!

I'm in! I'm 5'9" & 147, down from 154, and my eventual goal is 130. I lose weight s l o w l y though, so I'm not sure I'll make it to 15lbs. I'd be happy with losing 10 by Christmas... but I'll try for the big number! I'm committing to 5 hours of cardio and 2 of weights a week for November, so that should help too.

Monday weigh-ins sound perfect. Keep us on track over the weekends... 

I'm on board. :D I'm 246.4 as of this morning, so guess I could hope for 230 by Christmas.

Count me in.  I am 5'7" and weigh in at 165.5  Hey I celebrate every half pound!  HEE HEE  I started here Oct 15 07 at 172.5  and my goal is 140 hopefully by March of next year.  PMS and holidays with lots of yummy stuff are not good in the same week!!   But I did ok I only had 2 pieces of candy.  Of course tonight I went to a pasta feed, did ok on the pasta, it was the dessert that killed me.  Oh well tomorrow is another day. 

I love the Monday weigh ins, of course I am bad I sneak a look everyday!  lol

I'm in...I had made the decision yesterday actually to do just this.  I am currently 140 and 5'5 and I was hoping to be able to get down to 125 by x-mas.  Good luck to all and above all just try and be healthy!

I need this!!! I'm 226 and want to be 210 by Christmas. Can't wait!

I'm in! I've somehow magically gained 3.5lbs in a WEEK!! Without eating over 1400 cals on any of the days, and exercising 4/5 days! Gah, underactive thyroids suck...

So, quick rundown;
Height - 5'8
HW - 170
CW - 143
XMAS GW - 130