Hi Friends!

We just finished a fantabulous September Challenge, to lose 4-8#. The goal may seem very small to some, but for people like me, who are in this as a long-term WOE, I needed something that wouldn't disappoint me if I didn't lose 10#. LC'ing since April, my weight is going down very, very slow...just like it was gained in the first place!

So...drumroll please, Here is the OCTOBER FRIENDLY CHALLENGE

**To weigh ourselves ONCE a week, & check in at least weekly.There is no judgement upon those who can only pop in weekly. We all understand busy work schedules! Life happens! But for some of us, we will be popping in almost daily to encourage those who have joined...so everyone wins!

**To measure our chest, waist and hips weekly. Report change or no change. For personal reasons, for those of us who are shy, we can keep the measurements to ourselves and just report the change by inches each week. Sound fair? Works for me!

**To write a letter or postcard to a different person each week: This takes 15 minutes max! Someone whom we haven't spoken to in a long time, just to brighten up our little corner of the world, to make a difference in somebody's day.

Perhaps it's someone we only talk to during Christmas, or maybe it's a high school teacher or Sunday School teacher, or an old neighbor, someone who was so kind and influential to us (We may wish to leave an old flame outta this one, eh)?

Nothing at all can be negative about this! I can't WAIT to hear the remarks about this one, as you hear replies back!

Who's game? I am, count me in!


Annie-Pie...Start 181 pounds.....

Hi Annie Pie, I'm right here with you! You know most of us lost 4#'s so that is an obtainable goal for most. Some might need to lower it but we are here to support each other. We had a great time getting to know each other a little better and the weight thing was just a little (ok big) added bonus.

Well, today I did the basic winsor pilate (guess its like yoga, I'm new to exercising) plus the 1 miles WAP and then the 2 mile WAP. The WAP tapes are really great. I almost feel like Denise. NOT! lol. Hope I can get out of bed tomorrow.

Looking forward to this great challenge. Blessings, Maureen

Hi Annie count me in too... I just finished the September challenge on a different thread in which I was the one who initiated it. We all lost some weight and I was proud of all the girls. I still need a couple of pounds to go to get my goal. I found that being on a forum it motivated me and kept me accountable to others about my progress. I am excited about joining and want to do good and lose my pounds as well as maintaining it and I know that will be a struggle too... I dont want to gain any of that back.... I have worked so hard to keep it off and continue to work hard at that. Anyways here I am if you want me and I will check in and see how your doing.... talk to you later... bye P.S. I love the postcard idea,,,there are so many people I can touch and make them feel good by doing this... thanks for reminding me of how many people I love and care for and how just a postcard can brighten there day! This is going to be so much fun the work is figuring out who will get one first.. Later Annie.

Hi AnniePie, I think that is an AWESOME challenge!!! Count me in! Do you realize you have lost 30 pounds? That's awesome! The postcard/letter is a great idea! Spreading encouragement and love is always a great thing to do!

Maureen - I'm so glad you're here. You are doing great. I'm inspired by your exercise regime - keep it up!

Hi TheNewMe! Welcome to our little group! WOW, you have really done well. You Didn't you lose all 60 pounds since you joined did you?? What are your secrets? You are almost there. That's awesome!

Well it's 6:15 AM and I'm STARVING. I found a recipe for cream cheese pancakes on the recipe forum so I'm going to try them today. The weather here in Massachusetts has cooled off nicely and the leaves are starting to change. I would love to go for a nice walk right now, but my two little ones sound asleep. Have a great lc day!!!

My official start weight is 150.

Hi Everyone!!!

I am looking forward to another challenge!! I have a long way to go and every pound adds up.

Annie - do e-mails count?

My Start Weight is 241. I would love to see 230 by October 31 (my Birthday)!!! I will except each pound as they come.

Good Luck All!!!!

Hi Girls,

I am here with you. Although I didn't make the 4 pounds on the September challenge I promise to do better in October.

Hi Annie, nice to see you have gotten us started again.

Maureen, good to see your here with us.

Fishburg, welcome!

Susan, hope you enjoyed the pancakes...

Hope you all have a great day!

Hugs
Karen

Start Weight 239

Okay, I'll give the October challenge a shot, although I admit I sort of took the last week off. There was a 50th birthday party at the office last Tuesday, the United Way luncheon of Thursday (and I thoroughly enjoyed lots of pizza!) and I went out to eat with the in-laws on Saturday. But I only ordered the caesar salad with no crutons and drank water, so I was good. I also won a giant jar of jellie bellies at work, but I'm not much for candy, so I'll let everyone else eat those. My weight stayed the same all week, but after losing a total of 17 lbs since March, so I don't feel bad about my little break.

We are being hit with a cold snap (Chicago area), which put my biking on hold. But I do have the treadmill and an old Nordic Sport exercise machine, so I guess it's time to move indoors. Hopefully the October challenge will motivate me to work out.

Good luck to the rest of you, and let's see what we can accomplish!

Alex-starting weight 189

Thank you guys for your welcome.... it is nice to join a forum of encouragment.

want2bfit- I started my healthy life style change the second week of January 2003... it all started in a movie theatre.... you can read my very first thread and I go into detail about how I got started. It has been a uphill challenge but oh so well worth it. I make healthy choices for me everyday and I run and lift weights too. I can not even begin to tell you the feeling and emotions I have from doing this. It was the hardest thing I have ever done but it was the most rewarding ....funny how good things in life dont come easy. Being thin for me has made a dramatic change in my life... I feel better... look better. But most importantly I feel good about myself that I finally did something I had been wanting for years. I knew the weight would come off if I just applied myself so I would challenge myself everyday and everyday I tried to make a difference for myself. You see I used to be a yoyo dieter and when I would fail I would fall hard... I would hate myself so I would go thru drive thrus eat everything in site cus I would think "what the heck I've already blown it". Little did I know I was piling on more weight and wasnt helping my situation. So I changed all that ... whenever I would "blow it" and cheat a little... I would do the reverse and work that much harder in running or stricter on food choices to make up for that cheat. Anyways I am excited about my life and even though I was overweight before it taught me how quickly you can put the weight on if you are not paying attention. So everyday I do. Thanks guys for listening.

Hi,

I'm here too. I am very depressed today and I really wasn't going to post, but here I am. I found out today that my 10 yr old Golden Retriever (Bandit) is dying from skin cancer. He has the worst kind of skin cancer and it is not treatable. The vet has given him 6 months to 1 year to live. For the past two months, we have been taking him to different vets trying to figure out what is wrong with him because he had gotten sores and flaky skin and he was losing his hair. They originally thought it was an allergy. I've known Bandit for 3 years and I am devastated. My fiance had him for 10 yrs and he was like his only child. It's a very sad day for us. Anyhow, I will try and stay focused and deal with this pain through exercise and prayer.

I have Open House for my daughter so I will not be able to exercise tonight. Last night, it was pouring rain, so I had to take it inside the garage (AKA the hot box) I walked for 10 and ran for 20 and cooled down for 5 on the treadmill. Followed by 15 minutes of kickboxing and then I did upper and lower weights.
Ate seeds, cheese and Pork loin and a salad for today.

Starting weight for this challenge: 160 My goal is to lose 5 lbs this month and attain a weight of 155

Annie: Your ideas are just fine with me. Thanks for being our leader.

Maureen: Congratulations to you on your exercise program. You are doing great. Keep up the good work.

Susan: Thanks for all your nice words. You are too sweet. Those cream cheese pancakes sounded good. Let me know how they turned out. It looks like you are going to be in the 140's soon.

Thenewme: Wow, losing 70 lbs since Jan '03 puts you on the top of the list as far as success stories goes. Did you post it under the success story thread? Thanks for all your words of wisdom.

Alex: It's great that you don't gain weight when you go off plan. That worked out well for you. As long as you get right back on track you should be okay. However, it may take longer for the pounds to disappear. I heard somewhere that if you go back to eating regular carbs and then back to low carb, your body becomes more resistant to losing weight. I was doing that for months where I would eat regular carbs on the weekends and then go back to low carb during the week. I didn't gain any weight doing that, but I sure couldn't lose. Now that I came back to the boards, I have had one month where I did not cheat once and I only lost a couple of pounds. UGH! I think though this month will be different as long as I don't ever cheat. I think the longer you go without cheating, the faster the weightloss becomes. That's just my opinion on this subject. I try and think that if I eat regular carbs, how long will it take low carbing before my body will lose weight again and burn fat efficiently.

Welcome to Fishburg and TerryLynne. I look forward to getting to know you too.

Take care and talk to you all soon.

Welcome to our new group! We should call ourselves the Disappearing Act. How's that! We're slowly disappearing!

Can't wait especially to "hear" whom we sent a quick note to. I myself wrote some letters to my child's peers yesterday. They are at Outdoor Education Camp for the week. Each parent has been asked to write letters, but you know how there are always a few special students, and you wonder if they'll get any mail. So 11 letters later.... *Sigh, chuckle *...as I think, "Me and my big ideas!" LOL! They were really a hoot, and I don't count them as the challenge letters.

Someone asked if email would be ok. Who am I to say? I just personally believe that when I get a nice hand-written card or letter in my box, wow! Does it ever say "I took time to write you because you matter to me!"

Serious, I would be thrilled if the Electricity folks would hand address my bill, and put smiley stickers and "Have a great day" on the envelope. They'd have my payment tomorrow! So about hand-written notes, it's a personal call. But 37 cents,15 minutes, and not worrying about what they will think when they get our letter, I think it's worth it.

Fishburg and TerryLynne...welcome! thanks for sharing a bit about yourselves.

Susan: I needed to read your words. Yeah, I realized it was a 30# loss, but didn't realize, you know? We get so used to it, and then when we get stuck and spin our wheels, we forget what's already behind us! Thanks, friend!

Dearest Denise: I am SO sorry to hear about Bandit. Our pets are so like family. I wonder what your course of action will entail. Please know we are all with you as you go through this difficult time. I think it's especially hard when we can't tell a pet what's wrong. But don't you think they already know? They are so intuitive.

Maureen: One of these days you are going to tell me what WAP and Pilates are. Or is. Or whatever. Probably will tell me the day I schedule my mammogram. I tried today but got busy. I know, no excuse. Your excersise routine is inspirational!

The New Me: CUTE name! Ok friend, care to share before and after pics? We want to be like you when we grow up! Welcome to the support group!

Karen: We are in this together! We will NOT give up! We WILL see the numbers move, the rings a bit looser if we follow Dr. Atkin's plan. It is guaranteed to work. You hang in there Karen my friend!

Alex: Keep passing out those jelly-bellies! (Can I have the cherry ones)?