"*" "*" 4th of July "*" "*" Challenge! Come Join Us!

[TaDa!]

A group of us are getting together once again for a nice short challenge that will end on the 4th of July, We have about 5 weeks until summer hits and we just know we can get something accomplished in that time!

As always, the rules of the challenge are: No Rules! and anyone can join at any stage of the challenge! Pick your own goal and come on in and report on it when you feel like it!

Let's Get Busy!!!

[nellabella]

Oh goody another challenge. I have to go into the hospital for major surgery in two weeks so I dont know how well I will do on this challenge but I will do my best. My clothes are all getting big which is a great feeling. It will be nice when I have enough money to go clothes shopping after my recovery. I have 3 abdominal hernias that need immedinate attention. The excess weight wasnt the cause but it didnt help the problem either. My doctor would like to see me lose more weight but he doesnt want to want any longer to operate. I look like Im nine month pregnant. July 4th will be a very interesting challenge day for me. I have to see a cardio before the surgery because Im still considered morbidly obese and I will be under for six hours. No Im not looking forward to having this done because I had it done once before and it didnt take. Its nice to be back and its nice to see everyone doing so well and everyone so happy and plugging along. We may not be perfect but we are at least trying and thats better than not doing anything at all.

[LCinSC]

Hi! I'd like to join in too!

My goal is to lose 17 pounds by the 4th of July. I'm just starting back on Atkins Induction, so with that WHOOSH of water weight I think this will be doable.

[Nikixie]

I'm in too! I need a goal...I'm going to say 10 pounds.

We can do this!!

[Peagle]

I'd like to join in, too! My goal is to be within striking distance of my half-way mark of 232.5 lbs. I had originally set a goal back when I started to be at my half-way point by mid-July, so I'm striving to be close by the 4th. I have been following your Memorial Day challenge but didn't join as I discovered it too late. You all seem like a nice group of ladies, and very supportive of each other. I look forward to being part of the challenge.

Sue

[Phranquie]

Hello Sue, Nikixie, Stephanie,,,welcome to the challenge.

Patty - Hopefully in the next two weeks you can lose a little more and get your body well prepared for the surgery.

For the last challenge from April 1 through Memorial Day I didn't meet my goal of 30 lbs but did lose 22lbs. For this challenge I am going to keep it reasonable and plan to lose 12 lbs since this seems like a realistic goal for 5 weeks.

I hope everyone has a great day!!

[Phranquie]

Pauline - My fingers are crossed for your weigh in today.

Cammie - I am glad you had a good time on your vacation and that you didn't gain,,,that is a triumph! Sizes are weird for sure. I can wear three different sizes of jeans right now and they don't seem all that different on the fit. Maybe that is why there is a size 0. I wonder if they will start making sizes in the negative numbers now.

[kimmarie]

Hi all, I would like to join in on this short challenge. My goal is to lose 10 pounds by July 4th. I am going on a week long vacay to florida in a week, so I need a challenge to stay on track! I also have a 30 year HS reunion coming up on July 15th, so more motivation to lose

[TaDa!]

I'm glad to see we have a great group already!!

nellabella I am glad you are with us!! You can only affect those things within your control, and you are here doing it, so you have to give yourself huge credit for that!

Nikixie and kimmarie Sounds like 10 lbs is a really attainable goal!! Kim, I think it is an awesome idea having some support through a vacation and leading up to your reunion .. exciting month!!!

Glad you joined us here Sue!! Very cool to be within spitting distance of that halfway mark!!!

Niiiiice Phranquie!! 22 lbs is really amazing!!!! here's to 12 more!!!!

As for me, I had a weekly weigh-in today (at a group I belong to called TOPS) -- I am where I should be, but higher than I like to be and I am really a little unnerved as I have had some water weight (sore chest) for about 3 weeks now perimenopause I think. In my experience that is usually at least a pound, but I feel a little freaked that "just eating and exercising normally" is not getting my weight down like usual ... blaaaaaahhhhh.

My goal for this challenge is to end the challenge somewhere between 128-129, and to try and achieve all my usual daily goals/habits:

food,
******
exercise (3-4x/wk)
journaling ( or checking on the boards)
weighing-in

I am on track for today and i'll put up a little personal chart tomorrow.



Pauline

[Jennifer]

I'd like to join! I was with y'all for a while for the Memorial Day challenge but kind of petered out. I've been pretty good eating wise, but this weekend was I already knew it was going to be an eat whatever weekend (wedding anniversary spent by the pool of a chi-chi hotel), but I ate and drank more than I expected to :blush: Anyway, it's back to work, proper eating and exercise tomorrow. In other words, real life

GOALS:
Eating

• Atkins '72 or Induction

Exercise

• Shake Weights & Body Flex (shoot for every day)

[Mad4Chillas]

I'm in! My goal would be minus another 15-18lbs (Under 140lbs), by the 4th! I am probably up a little from this weekend but going back to strict induction until I am losing steadily again!

[cammie]

I want to be down another 20 by the end of July, so proportionally it works out to 12 pounds by the 4th!

It's tough getting back to exercise again (I think laziness suits me!) but at least we have water today so I have the laundry going and I can get on the elliptical once I get the last load into the dryer.

[kimmarie]

Good morning, thinking about adding some light exercise to my goals for this challenge. I keep putting it off because I am so busy, but need to get started.

[Peagle]

Today is a fantastic day! It's always a great start when I get my butt out of bed and put my time in on the exercise bike. 40 minutes plus 15 minutes of strength training! I feel so much better when I get it done first thing - it's just so challenging getting up an hour earlier to do it! Going to golf later this afternoon - practiced yesterday for an hour and a half, then played nine holes. Hope everyone has a great day!

Sue

[Jennifer]

Did my shake weight this morning. It's less than 10 minutes but surprisingly challenging. Probably because I haven't done a lick of exercise in a very long time :blush: Planning for an Atkins '72 day today, but possibly Induction, depending on if I need my evening coffee or not.

Originally Posted by cammie

(I think laziness suits me!)

me too!

Originally Posted by kimmarie

Good morning, thinking about adding some light exercise to my goals for this challenge. I keep putting it off because I am so busy, but need to get started.

I started with the shake weight this morning. Baby steps.

Originally Posted by Peagle

Today is a fantastic day! It's always a great start when I get my butt out of bed and put my time in on the exercise bike. 40 minutes plus 15 minutes of strength training! I feel so much better when I get it done first thing - it's just so challenging getting up an hour earlier to do it!

That's my biggest obstacle too - getting up early to exercise. I'd much rather sleep!

[Rubyred025]

I'd like to join the challenge too but i am unclear as to what the challenge is...can someone explain?

My goal for June was to lose 10lbs so I would like to lose 12lbs by July 4th.

[Mad4Chillas]

Hey ladies! I am hovering 2lbs above my previous weight due to an extended holiday weekend. Gunna start a V8 fast for 1-2 days today and then transition into meat and egg fasting. Hopefully, being off work for a little bit after today will allow me to work in some exercise as well. Golfing, yoga, rollerblading, and walking the dogs are my main sources right now, but I'd love to work in some arm workouts to get rid of my bingo wings

[Phranquie]

Hello all. Nothing new with me just staying the course and eating on plan.

Justine - For this challenge it can be anything you want from weight goal to exercise goals each day/week, it can be journaling every day, it can pretty much be anything you want. You can come in as often or as little as you like for support and to let everyone know how you are doing and if you are struggling with anything.

Dawn - I want to know how you use that glucomannan powder in foods. I am loving the shiratke noodles.

Cammie - I am glad you got your water back. Like you laziness suits me and I suck at exercise.

Pauline - That pesky peri-menopause is doing a number on me too. I "think" I have my period now but it is barely there. I never know when/if it will show up for real. I hope that tightness goes away soon for you.

Kimmarie and Jennifer - Welcome! I look forward to getting to know you.

Mariah- Wow,,,V8 and Egg fasts? You have really been doing well the last month so it is working for you.

Sue - Looks like you are getting in some great exercise. BTW I am just down the road from you in Dallas.

[TaDa!]

Good goals Jennifer! and wtg on the exercise today!!

Mad4Chillas Sounds like you have a lot planned for the next month! 15-18 pounds at your weight is a really tall order, but it sounds like you will be doing everything possible to get there!! Rooting you on!!!!

Kinda cool Cammie, you, Justine and Phranquie have the same goal number, lol!! and apparently are all three good at math

How about a little walking Kim! I walked for my first 60 pounds of weightloss .. then I did Curves for a year ... then a regular gym and running, etc etc .. no need to commit to any one thing! How about salsa dancing?!

Sue It sounds like you arer having an extremely active day! WTG!!

Welcome Justine!!! As Phranquie pointed out .. you can pick whatever you want for a challenge! Mine isn't really weight-based - it's more behavior based .. i.e. food on track every day, exercise 3-4 times a week, etc. You can pick any kind of thing that challenges you! picking a 12 lb weightloss goal totally fits the bill

Phranquie Sorry you are going through this too!!!! Funny how distressing it can be!!! I am not even going to bother going to the doctor, lol! He'll just tell me to cut down on the caffeine .. which is something I already know about, lol!!

My day is good so far! I went to the gym and had a serious workout, and got a lot of chores accomplished which always makes me happy!! Keep up the great work everyone!!



Pauline

[LIVE_FREE_NH]

Hi all, glad to meet all you new folks on this challenge, and a big HEY to Pauline, Frankie (congrats on your 22 Wow!!), Cammie, et al! Pauline is our most esteemed, honored and respected spiritual LC leader, one of my fave ladies on this site...and she's a human being too!

Sign me up for a goal of 12 lbs!

May was a slow month, about 4.5 lbs lost so....need to get this party started big time!!

I had a few cheats over the holiday weekend ...to counter the indiscretions, I did Sat-Sun-Mon-Tues at Planet Fitness for 30 min ellip and 30 min treadmill each time, and so far today was morning & lunch walks.

Now ladies, two of my gal co-workers pulled me over to say, "How much have you lost, like 90lbs??? You must weigh 160 by now!" And I said "NOOOO, no way, not yet...I still have about 30 to go AT LEAST" .....and they couldn't believe it, they were trying to talk me out of losing any more!

OK, let's get 'er done ladies, this will be FUN!
Nancy

[Alyce27]

I'm in!

July 4th Goal: 17 lbs.

That's roughly .5 lb daily. Doable ... if I eat clean and strictly on plan the entire 34 days.

Let's do it!

[LCinSC]

Nancy - That is awesome that your co-workers have noticed your weight loss! You look great in your avi picture! (Oh, and it's nice to meet you)



Today is Day One for me, and I've been 100% on plan! I'm almost looking forward to the scale in the morning. (almost!)

[TaDa!]

I did well today! On track .. this is the chart I'll use to track my daily goals .. kinda like a potty training chart, lol!

goal weight: 126-131 lbs, challenge weight: 128-129 ... 5/31 weekly weigh-in at 130
goal behaviors: food, ******, exercise (3-4x/wk), journaling, weighing-in

6/1 Tues 6/2 Wed 6/3 Thurs 6/4 Fri 6/5 Sat 6/7 Sun 6/8 Mon
(jumping jacks means I exercised, smiley I met all other goals that day, frownie ..
well you can only imagine ... ugly ...)

Thanks for your kind words Nancy . Sounds like you are killing it at planet fitness .. congrats!!! 4.5 lbs for May isn't too shabby either! hahahahaaa looks like someone is noticing .... !!

Welcome Alyce!!!! Glad you joined us!

[Mad4Chillas]

Originally Posted by Phranquie

Mariah- Wow,,,V8 and Egg fasts? You have really been doing well the last month so it is working for you.

Originally Posted by TaDa!

Mad4Chillas Sounds like you have a lot planned for the next month! 15-18 pounds at your weight is a really tall order, but it sounds like you will be doing everything possible to get there!! Rooting you on!!!!

Thanks guys, I know 15-18lbs is a lot to ask for in a little over a month, but I'm gunna try my hardest to get as close as I can to where I would like to be by the 4th! I am going to try to sticking to strict induction as well as fasting when needed (usually correcting for minor cheats). Hopefully, I will have a better loss than May (I would have liked a little more than I had). No messing around this June for this lady!

[wyterayven]

Hi All!

Im in for the challenge...though Im not sure what my goals will be. Given how I have stalled for the last couple of weeks, I dont know whats reasonable. I will continue to eat on plan, and hope my body straitens itself out. Scale was up a pound today, but I refuse to write it down. lol I'll just wait for it to go back down past were I was!

I had hoped to loose better on the may challenge...ended up losing 12 pounds. 8 of that was the first week and I know it was mostly water weight. I have been stalled since, with the scale only moving up.

Have been on plan, with no cheats, so will just have to try and wait it out.

On another note, I found a wonderful new treat. I got some of the hoodia bites. I try not to have them too often, but was out of jello for lunch. I like to have a little bit of a sweet at the end of lunch. So I tried one of the bites.

WOW! Its a very good chocolate covered caramel. It has 8 carbs, 6 fiber and 1 sugar alcohol in each bite. So I counted it as 2, which is doable for me once in a while.

Hope everyone had a great day!

Oh! Pauline! I will let you know how the pudding turns out. Didnt get it done tonight. Maybe tomorrow or this weekend.

[cammie]

Good at math?! My former math teachers would laugh at that.

Kim, I started out with short walks and a "walk at home" DVD for all those rainy days. It gives me a few calories leeway at any rate!

Sue, have to agree about getting exercise out of the way first thing. If I leave it until later in the day there's a good chance of that laziness taking over! I used to play golf until I hurt my knee, the walking is great!

Jennifer, what is shake weight?

Bingo wings... yeah, I have those now too. My mother casually asked what happened to the little weights I used to have when I saw her last month. I gave them away years ago... perhaps it's time to look into replacing them. Well done for being able to fast! I really can't manage that.

Yesterday I had these lovely packets of nuts that were leftover from my trip. They taste so good! There were three left... so that was breakfast, lunch, and dinner yesterday (followed by lamb chops when dh finally got home for actual dinner). I did get rather hungry in between them, although I'm never sure if I was actually hungry or just anticipating the next packet, but there doesn't seem to be any damage done (in fact the scale went down!). And now they're gone and can't be replaced which is definitely a good thing!

Nancy, that is so great that all your hard work is being noticed!!!!!

Alyce, good luck on the 17! I think 12 is going to be a stretch for me, but I'm just going to try for it and see what happens.

Stephanie, I always look forward to getting on the scale in the morning... until it tells me something I don't want to see. But since I do it every day I can't let myself get too obsessed with it.

Dawn, those bites sound really yummy! Sometimes I am VERY glad we can't get any of that stuff around here, LOL.

[nellabella]

Good news my surgery is postponed until the end of the month so Im in for the long haul. I'd like to lose another 20 but will be happy with 10. The more I lose the harder its getting to come off. You guys are great. The best. TaDa you should open your own weight loss business. Ive tried other forums but this is the only one Ive stayed with and the first time Ive been successful at losing weight in a very long time.

[kimmarie]

Yes, what is shake weight?
have made an agreement to walk a few nights a week with my neighbor down the street. She is older than I am, so we'll see if she can keep up Also thinking about ordering callanetics DVDs. Anyone here use them?

Had a whoosh, down to 248 today, just in time for my WW weigh in. Doing LC, but counting WW points (long story). It is working well as I was eating too much yummy LC food and the weight loss had really slowed down.

Good luck to everybody on reaching their goals for this challenge!!

[LCinSC]

Good morning everyone!

279.5 today! I'm on my way!

[Peagle]

Good morning, everyone! Looks like it's going to be another great day! I actually got up again this morning, early, and got my exercise bike done! Always such a good feeling. My husband and I ended up playing 18 holes yesterday - it was such a gorgeous afternoon and we basically had the course to ourselves. The exercise was great, but wasn't prepared like I usually am and I got very, very hungry. Not a good thing for me. The leftover grilled chicken and a yogurt just didn't do it and I was well short of the protein that I should have. I ended up making some eggs late to satisfy the hunger. That seemed to do the trick but I really don't like eating that late, especially eggs! It wasn't that long ago that we would have gone to a drive-thru and grossly overeat all the wrong things. Little victories are a good thing. Hope everyone has a great day!

Frankie - what part of Dallas are you in?