LOSE IT for Independence Day ! **Challenge Ended**

This challenge officially begins on Sunday 1st May and ends on Friday 1st July.

RULES: This challenge is now FULL.  No new Challengers.

POST YOUR WEIGH IN: in this thread every Sunday or Monday. Create a new post each week stating your current weight (include previous weeks weigh-ins if you wish) and commenting upon your progress and what you have / have not been doing to achieve those results.

Weigh-in Note: Everyone has two days to post their weigh-in. If you have not posted your weight by midnight on Monday night, you have missed the weigh-in. Miss three weigh-in days and you are excluded from the challenge (one exception to this; if you notify me beforehand that you will be unable to post your weight due to vacation or unusual circumstances)

FINAL WEIGH IN: On (or before) 6pm (PST) Friday 1st July, no exceptions!!!  This is the only week I will be accepting weigh-ins on a day other than Sunday or Monday.

MOTIVATION: I ask that you keep your posts positive. This challenge is about motivating each of us to succeed in reaching our individual goals. I encourage you all to check in throughout the week for extra support and advice and please feel free to share any knowledge, tips or experience that might help us.

So challengers, are you ready to “lose it” with me?

How much have we lost together?

LOST IN THIS CHALLENGE:

Of the 40 people still left in this challenge by the end, our accumulated weight loss in just eight weeks, is now 185.5 pounds!

1. Amielee21 ~ CS: 172.0 [CG: 158.0]
2. Anddan ~ CS: 176.6 [CG: 168.0]
3. Atheresel  ~ CS: 170.6 [CG: 160.0]
4. Audreyana  ~ CS: 222.0 [CG:210.0]
5. Brtaylor  ~ CS: 147.0 [CG: 147.0]
6. Buggyhair  ~ CS: 174.0 [CG: 160.0]
7. Cairocajun07  ~ CS: 175.4 [CG: 158.0]
8. Cdenali ~ CS: 151.8 [CG: 145.0]
9. Claire314  ~ CS: 163.0 [CG: 152.0]
10. Cole346 ~ CS: 202.0 [CG: 190.0]
11. Darcy53 ~ CS: 198.0 [CG: 182.0]
12. Desired24 ~ CS: 210.0 [CG: 195.0]
13. Dviles ~ CS: 210.0 [CG: 199.0]
14. Foxriver ~ CS: 183.0 [CG: 174.0]
15. Funtion ~ CS: 142.1 [CG: 132.0]
16. Geministars ~ CS: 161.5 [CG: 150.0]
17. Graceselene ~ CS: 218.0 [CG: 205.0]
18. Havencounts ~ CS: 132.2 [CG: 126.0]
19. Heyleese ~ CS: 176.4 [CG: 160.0]
20. 1Honeybee ~ CS: 206.0 [CG: 196.0]
21. Jackiezem ~ CS: 142.0 [CG: 130.0]
22. Katu27 ~ CS: 171.0 [CG: 156.0]
23. Kari87bear~ CS: 180.0 [CG: 168.0]
24. Lilbunniefufu85~ CS: 208.0 [CG: 190.0]
25. Marcush722 ~ CS: 309.0 [CG: 290.0]
26. Michlou1 ~ CS: 215.0 [CG: 200.0]
27. Mousey77 ~ CS: 137.0 [CG: 134.0]
28. Nancanwin ~ CS: 189.0 [CG: 175.0]
29. Rachelallk ~ CS: 182.0 [CG: 189.0]
30. Ranchobernardo ~ CS: 180.9 [CG: 171.9]
31. Rolltide709 ~ CS: 208.0 [CG: 193.0]
32. Samthegam138 ~ CS: 164.0 [CG: 152.0]
33. Satyrswoman ~ CS: 170.0 [CG: 166.2]
34. Sharkythesmurf ~ CS: 209.4 [CG: 205.0]
35. Starmole ~ CS: 168.0 [CG: 159.0]
36. Steph2288 ~ CS: 146.0 [CG: 134.0]
37. Tigerdoe88 ~ CS: 130.0 [CG: 124.0]
38. Tina0367 ~ CS: 148.0 [CG: 144.0]
39. Wants2bhot ~ CS: 164.0 [CG: 148.0]
40. Whichwayup ~ CS: 153.0 [CG: 145.0]

I agree with Mousy about what should go up, I maintained for half our last challenge do to injury and will be lucky if I lose half a pound a week this one.  That's why I like the idea of a group total, being part of something great. 

Plus Fox, how much time do you really want to spend keeping track, calculating...etc.  Its going to be hard enough keeping track of individual loses. Just a thought.

Seems like we have a few former dancers here.. I also did ballet from age 4 until I was 15, I was a skinny child and clumsy too, so it was my mother's attempt to make me more "graceful" and I really did love it. Unfortunately turn-out exacerbated my existing knee problem (luxating patella's) and it was around this time that my dislocations became much more frequent. So I gave up dancing. The knee problem is still with me though.

I had a good weight workout yesterday, and today my calf muscles are very sore, hoping that the walk to work will help stretch it all out.

Mousey, I know this is a difficult transition for you. So it might be less distressing if you weighed only once a week (or even stayed off the scale entirely for a couple more weeks- I'll give you a pass for these circumstances). I know you want the numbers for reassurance but I think it's having the opposite effect. Until you stop gaining on what should easily be a maintenance intake, your metabolism is not recovered from your previous under-eating. Dealing with this now will pay off in the long run. Your body will be healthier and stronger and maintenance will be a breeze. Don't forget, you can and should still exercise, that will also help your metabolism too, just make sure you eat back all the calories you burn off through those workouts.

Whichway, LOL on hating gum! I does help me to stop snacking when I really don't need a snack but it drives my hubby crazy!

ETA: Rachel, I only intend to put up starting and goal stats, not weekly ones (weekly losses/gains that is). I obviously don't want to spend a massive amount of time doing all this. Time on the PC, is time I am not active (not a good scenario for weight loss). Since I have it all on a spreadsheet and note what is lost for each challenger, I can set it to sum the total pounds lost by all the challengers and that's what I will post up.. that one big number.

~~~~~~~

Okay, we heard from about half of our challengers yesterday. So we still have some challengers that seem to be just names and stats at the moment. We wanna know you ALL. When I have a chance I will make the names at the top linked (for easy clicking). In the meantime your homework for the day is 1. tell us your story (and if you have already done that..) then 2. tell us something inspiring about the challengers either side of your name on the list (remember, everyone posted on Sunday, so you can find their posts and click on their profiles or previous posts to find something interesting to share).

Funtion is below me on the list and she lost nearly 17 pounds in the last challenge, even losing weight on vacation, because she did a lot of walking and went for a short run every morning. Now that is inspiring to me!

Finallyjust4me is above my name on the list, she's a super busy mother of two and she hasn't posted much since joining CC in 2009 but she does like to focus her efforts on exercise, something I am trying to do more of at the moment.

Gotta get ready for work now and I won't be back until this afternoon, see you later!

Original Post by foxriver:

Votes for Stats are at 21 (I think) so far, so unless we get a whole bunch of No votes, I will get our start and goal weights up in the top post when I can. Maybe tomorrow night.

Where people have given me a weight range I will use the higher number (if you end up going lower, great, makes us all look good)

MEASURE-RS pipe up please, do you want your inches or your weight up there?? I'm not doing both.

So hopefully our growing number of "pounds lost" will provide motivation for us all as we go... Not sure what to do about those who are posting only inches.. ideas anyone? Their weight differences can/will be added in on the last day (as that is when they will weigh again) So they will contribute, just in a big lump at the end.

Oh, and I thought I could do Fun stats at our Half Way Party on 5th / 6th June (as well as at the end) Phew.

For inch losers do inches, for pounds losers, do pounds. Then, at the end of the story, make the average: inches/person and pounds/person... does that feel OK?

I like posting stats at the top too...

I would like weight on top for me since that is the most important to me right now.

My story is simple, I have been fat since I was 5. I'm not sure why but that is how it's been. I got to 370 back in 2000 and decided it had to stop. I got down to 240 and was in a size 14 and I liked how I looked so I stopped there and maintained for over 5 years. I got married and moved away from everyone and everything and gained 100 lbs pretty quickly. I started trying to lose again in November 2009 and so far have lost down to 189 (where I have been stuck for a while now.) I am trying so hard to get past this but so far, I just can't. I hope having others to work for will help.

So, I need to make a shameful confession and hope it will put me back on track: I have not done the 30 Day Shred in 5 days. Only two days did I have a really good excuse. After I finished being sick I just didn't do it. Since I have missed nearly 1/4 of the program, I am going to start over with the determination to finish. I'm pretty disappointed in myself so I hope that I will make it all the way through this time. Ugh.

So, the new scale I got tells a more horrifying truth than your weight! It also tells you approx. how many of those lbs are fat. It's pretty cool because it also gives you an approx. water retention so you can see if you are bloated or not. It might not be completely accurate, but it matches my other body fat% monitor very close, so it must be somewhat.

Goals for this week: Go to bed earlier so I have the energy to exercise and begin the 30 Day Shred again on Sunday. I am waiting for Sunday because I will be going out dancing on Friday, which is a rare girls night for me, and might feel a little too crappy on Saturday to get it in and thus would miss a day just out of the gate. Saturday is my official last excuse day until the end of the challenge. I will just do some Zumba until I start on Sunday.

Ah, I say just post inches for inch losers, not lbs.

I didn't know I was gonna have to do homework along with losing weight...LOL

Megmorrison630--has a lofty goal of losing 18lbs for this challenge..AWESOME!!

Mousey77--not omly has young children but she has lost 22.5kgs(what is that in LBS?) since 11/10...great job!!

Hey everyone, I just wanted to share my story. This is the gist of everything without going into extreme detail.

I've always been overweight, ever since I was a kid. Most people I know have either started off skinny and gained weight (including my own sister) or have always been slim, but I have never known what it was to be slim. As a kid, my mom frowned upon my siblings and I eating junk food, so she'd make sure she would fix us good meals. At the time, it was mostly old fashioned soul food. It's my comfort food, it's what I grew up on, and I couldn't get enough of it.

But for the longest time, I was also addicted to junk food. Whenever I would get my allowance, I would spend it on fast food, candy, soda, and all sorts of things. It wasn't until recently that I learned that I was an excessive eater and just didn't know when to stop eating. All throughout my childhood, my teens, and my early twenties, my doctors would say, you have to lose weight or you risk (insert disease/ailment here). But no one provided me any tools on how. It wasn't until I was about 20y/o that I said enough was enough.

I lost 80lbs nearly 6 years ago (over 3 years) but I was doing it unhealthily and didn't know it at the time (1200 cal diet, extreme exercise). When I put all the weight back on, I decided that enough was enough, again. I found this website and started again at losing the weight. This time, I had enough information to do it the healthy way. I have taken measures to eat more healthy and making healthier decisions. This time I cannot fail because I am fighting against high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, excessive eating, etc. that all my older family members have for being overweight. Here I am, 2 years later and 53lbs down (as of today).

I know we want to keep this positive but we are also here to support each other.  I got some bad news this morning.  To make a long story short we have been trying to get my younger daughter into a certain HS next year so both my kids will be in the same school.  After exploring every avenue, all out appeals were turned down.  I still have one ace up my sleeve, but the first thing I wanted to do was go out and buy a nice lunch for myself.  I took chicken noodle soup and some grapes from home but all i could think about was Taco Bell.  If you haven't guessed I use food for comfort.  I also thought about taking my family out tonight because I knew my daughter would be upset.  I am happy to say that I fought the urge and didn't get the fast food for lunch.  I hope I can fight the dinner urge also.  I also thought about skipping my regular gym day to go home and be with my daughter.  I have to make sure I hit the gym today!!!  Food has always been for comfort, celebrations, boredom etc.  I know this isn't an earth shattering event, but it will cause changes at home.  I live 2 miles from the school I want my daughter to go to but we are zoned for a school 12 miles away....stoopid govt politics

Hey ya'll!

I've honestly been avoiding writing the all about me bit, but by this point I've been guilted into. You've all done such wonderful jobs communicating with us that I feel like I should make a least a bit of an effort.

So I'm on my second go around with the weight loss demon. First time was also here on CC and I did really well going from 200 to 155 in about a year. Then I went to maintenance, well I thought I was going to maintenance. But I stopped logging and didn't keep an eye on my weight and next thing I know I'm back up to 175. This time around I'm working on intuitive eating (so I'm still not logging) and keeping a pretty small deficit, so my loss has been pretty slow. But I'm hoping that this way maintening won't be much different than losing, so it will be easier to keep a handle on it. Yeah, yeah, that's the ticket...

Now since I'm on a roll I'll go ahead and do the second part as well:

Samthegam138 is above me. She discovered a love of cooking while learning to eat healthy and her name intrigues me.

Sharkythe smurf is below me. She has several intriguing monikers and seems really motivated to get her goals done.

And finally I do not really have an opinion on what is listed at the start of the challenge, since I hardly ever look at what's there. That being said, Foxriver I would like for you to do whatever makes running this challenge easiest for you. You do such an awsome job responding to everyone that I don't want you to ever feel like any of this is a chore.

I'm all for stats at the top.

My Story, well, I live in Baltimore and was raised here. I am 36, married and have 3 children.  I was always very thin up until the birth of my first daughter and my weight ballooned up to well over 225lbs. Then 5 months later I got pregnant again and never lost much weight between  the 2 pregnancies. I've always been a working mother so exercise and weight loss took a back seat. A few years after the birth of my 2 girls I did manage to get down to 180lbs because I had a very active job. In 2004 I went on the "divorce diet" and got down to about 165lbs. I met my current husband and changed jobs in 2006 and that's when the weight started to pile back on again. Between always eating out and having a more sedentary job I got back up to over 200lbs. I had my son in 2009 after a few devastating losses and continued to gain weight until I got up to my all time high of 256lbs. I stepped on a huge industrial scale and my work and was in complete shock, I felt like crying. I weighed almost 100lbs. more than my husband. That was my turning point. I knew that I could not go on like that any longer.

I bought a treadmill and starting walking a few times a week but I was not counting calories. I lost a few pounds and then I got serious about making a life change.I started to count calories in January of 2011 and to work out harder. My 1st  goal  is to get under 200lbs by my 37th birthday. My ultimate goal is to get down to 155lbs. To date I have lost 48lbs and I feel great. I have more energy than ever!!  So I now run between 3.5 and 4.5 miles 6 days a week. Eventually I will add in weight training but for now I am focused just on running.

A few things that have helped me lose weight are keeping a food and exercise journal. Exercising fisrt thing in the morning, which means getting up at 4:30am to do it. I feel guilty about taking time out from my family, so I find it is much easier to exercise when everyone is asleep. Plus I don't get distracted. Listening to my hunger "cue's". I often find I am still hungry after eating which in the past lead to me eating more.  I've learned that it does take a few minutes for my brain and stomach to understand that I am no longer hungry.

A few interesting things about myself...

I work with all men in a male dominated industry. It's been nice not working in a "hens" nest. I'm sure some of you know what I am talking about. Although sometimes they act like pigs (no offense to any men here). I learned to not take offense.

I am very introverted and like to keep to myself which is the oppsite of my job. I have to interact with people all day long. So, this has been very hard for me to break out of my shell. I usually have a hard time opening up to people, especially about my weight loss.

I look forward to reading about everyone else's stories.

Have a nice day everyone!!

I have been overweight for most of my life though I was usually reasonably fit until I started having kids. With each pregnancy I gained more and more weight and couldn't seem to lose it. Also with working full-time and resposibilities at home I was completely sedentary. I reached my highest weight of 212 and was miserable about my appearance and I just didn't feel good physically. In December I had a physical and I was finally forced to face what I was doing to myself. High blood pressure, high cholesterol and a fatty liver. I needed to do something or the future was not going to be very pleasant. I joined CC in January and I am now down to 182 lbs. I feel so much better. I still have a long way to go but I am taking it slowly one goal at a time.

Lorettalandis709 is above me- I am inspired that you have been able to lose 48 pounds already. That's amazing.

Marcush722 is below me- I am inspired that you are trying to be there for your family just like me. I want to be around and healthy for as long as possible so I can enjoy being with my family.

Info on the other members above/below me:

cdenali: She's from India originally. She joined CC last Sept at 183 with the goal to get to 140 by her birthday in May. It looks like she's modified her goal here to 145. She's 6.8lbs away from her goal (based on her ticker). I'm very impressed by her steady and obviously dedicated weight loss!

cole346: She joined CC at the end of March and her first post is to this group. So not much information but she does have a beautiful smile. :)

@michlou: I'm sorry to here about the school issues but YAY YOU for passing on Taco Bell. I too find it hard to avoid the option to eat out or get a "treat" when needing comfort or for celebrations. It doesn't mean I never do it with my kids - we have a tradition of getting cupcakes to celebrate the first and last day of school each year - but I avoid offering food as a soother when they've had a tough day. How about playing a game together tonight instead? They're teenagers so they might think that's "lame" but whether is a card game, board game or video game, maybe it's something that you can do to have fun and take your mind off the school problem.

Since I have been slammed at work all day and I don't feel like working anymore but want to look busy I will finally update with my about me!

I was born in NYC and moved to rural NC when I was 6 to live next door to my grandparents.  I had a wonderful and non-traditional childhood in NC.  I learned to quilt and basket weave and I played every sport for at least a couple seasons.  I was never thin, but weight was always something I thought of, somewhere in middle school as a size 9ish everyone always called me fat and it would make me cry a lot.  I was chubby until High school when 11th grade I shed a lot of weight. I graduated HS at 155 (I'm 5'4") and a comfortable size 8.  I went to college, joined a sorority, really found myself and for lack of a better phrase "blossomed".  I gained the freshman 15 and some more... I hovered between 175-180 most of college and I was fine with it.  Right after college in May 2007,  I transplanted to Baltimore for a job.  It was a miserable time because I knew no-one.  Like lorettalandis709 I worked in a male field with only middle aged men and it was hard to meet people.  After a year I met my boyfriend and moved into the city, joined a kickball league and made tons of friends, funny how that happens.  In Jan 2010 I lost my job and was at my biggest of 214 pounds.  Having friends and a boyfriend and drinking all the time really racks up the lbs I learned.  I kind of floundered for 6 months and did nothing but watch the food network and apply for jobs.  In August I found my current job as a registrar at a local college in Baltimore and it had a gym that I have access to and I decided it was time to take charge.  I started in late august on CC at 206lbs and have slowly worked my way down to 161 (awesome weigh in this morning).  By no means do I deprive myself of anything, I still have one night I can drink a week, I have desserts.  I still stress eat.  I just got a new title at work (but of course no money *rolls eyes*) and have so much more work to do. Everyone in the office was eating Phish Food this afternoon and I had just a spoonful and I savored it, to be honest, that taste is all I need now days.

Interesting things about the people above and below me:

Runninghome: You are awesome. I know how hard it can be to be a professional student.  My boyfriend took 9 years too, and just started his phd program.  I can’t even imagine how hard it would be to be living away from your husband. Mad props to you! 

Satyrswoman: Losing weight and having 2 kids.  I can’t imagine how you have time!  I think that is great. I have been weighing in with you since the beginning of the year and I love that you are always there week after week whether or not it is a + or a – on the scale, you don’t let it stop you and that is real dedication. High five to you!

That is it for now, now it is off to job #2!

Person above me: Samthegam138: THANKS for the compliment;) I am really impressed by your weight loss since only fall - hope you continue exercising and feeling great.

I think Samthegam138 had an AWESOME childhood - she seems extremely well-rounded!

Ranchobernado, as you all may know by now, is a runner reaching 10,000 miles!! He is an inspiration, and as others have noted, a man of very few words.

Original Post by foxriver:
~~~~~~~

Okay, we heard from about half of our challengers yesterday. So we still have some challengers that seem to be just names and stats at the moment. We wanna know you ALL. When I have a chance I will make the names at the top linked (for easy clicking). In the meantime your homework for the day is 1. tell us your story (and if you have already done that..) then 2. tell us something inspiring about the challengers either side of your name on the list (remember, everyone posted on Sunday, so you can find their posts and click on their profiles or previous posts to find something interesting to share).

Oops - didn't realise we had homework!

Meh...me? Mmmm oh so simple and oh so complex. But aren't we all? :-)

My father, grandmother and grandfather (mom's husband, mother & father) all died within 3 months of each other (all unrelated). No other grandparents or family. Leaving my mom to bring up my little sister & I (while she worked full time and still studied further at the same time) on her own. This, sadly was the start of my 18 years of Eating Disorders. Battling between Anorexia & Bulimia (Bulimarexia). Battling with understanding how to control emotions. Being the big responsible sister. The role model. The mediator. The one who kept things together. Being perfect.

It was hard learning to admit that nothing is actually ever perfect. And we're all perfectly imperfect. And that that's actually OK. Hard learning that it's OK to have emotions and to talk about stuff. Hard learning that food isn't the tool to use to display what I'm feeling. And only at the age of 30 did I realise that I could never love someone (and more importantly *let* someone love me) if I didn't/couldn't love myself.

Which is when the healing began & happened.

I'm single. 37. No kids. Any type of commitment, responsibility to/for another person or relationship scares the living daylights out of me. That said, I have strong friendships and love people, meeting new people, adventure, challenges, obscure things, extreme things (I love diving with sharks), travel a lot. I'm never satisfied that anything is good as it gets - and always feel like I'm missing out on something somewhere. Knowing there's more out there, so I'm always looking and exploring life ... and stuff... :-)

This (since joining CC) was the first time ever I tried to reach a healthy weight in a healthy way. It may sound almost impossible, but I've never tried a diet of any kind in my life before. It was always either starving to near death or gorging & purging to dizzy heights (in an attempt to control & display my emotions - instead of "simply" verbalising them). Somewhat sad but I can safely say that I no longer (and haven't for many years) see myself as that person.

Eternally conflicted and confused but I'm happy and love myself :-)

I'm finding no. 2 of our homework somewhat tricky. My "either side buddies" are katu27 (who's not a lady of many words - posting 3 times since joining CC in 2009 ) but from her bio, appears very motivated and dedicated right now, which is great!

Then there's asparagusnpie with no bio but I can see that she's lost around 50lbs since Feb last year, which is awesome!

Graceselene- I am totally inspired by all of the health obstacles she has to overcome.

From her profile, "Ok, I have some challanges, like a bad back, nerve damage in my abdominal area that makes me FEEL pain when exerted when pain isn't really there. I also have plantars faciitis and my feet hurt alot. I'm in terrible shape."

I don't have any medical problems, just achey knees sometimes, so I obviously have no excuse what so ever to miss the gym!

Heyleese- She has lost OVER 70 pounds! WOW!

I'm all proud over here. :)

Eeeek! Homework???

Well, buggyhair is below me, and as a long-time lurker I have seen her interact with many other members on this site.  I think it's great that she's so active in the community here, because in my opinion, support from other members is just as useful as the food log and burn meter.

audreyana is below me and she doesn't have too much info on her profile, but I see that she is a fellow challenger from the last weight loss challenge, so good for her for sticking to it and continuing to better herself.

Oh, and congrats to michlou for not giving in to the bingies (that's what I call that overwhelming urge to gorge oneself on comfort food).  Not giving in today was a victory over the Taco Bell, and every little victory counts and adds up.  We get stronger each time we resist the urge to treat ourselves badly.  Good job and keep it up!

So hard!!!!

The people above and below have no detailed post for me to get a sense of.

Paulamusike has only 4 but I think its great she (?) has decided to lose weight and joined a group (yeah for joiners)

And you Rancho, well for the last 4+ months has diligently lost and posted without saying one word to anyone lol. I know we make fun of that but I just skimmed 4 pages of his/her posts and they were all just numbers going down (Woot)

No more homework please. lol

Original Post by rachelallk:

And you Rancho, well for the last 4+ months has diligently lost and posted without saying one word to anyone lol. I know we make fun of that but I just skimmed 4 pages of his/her posts and they were all just numbers going down (Woot)

wow i feel extra special now. he responded (with words even) to a post i directed at him a while back.