Hello all!
I am at my highest weight EVER! I've been up here before and swore I'd never get back but two kids later here I am. I'd like to lose at least 20 lbs. by Christmas

Hi, Everyone!

I joined this group because I need social support to stay motivated! I have used MFP inconsistently for well over a year and I know from experience that I make better food choices when I keep track of what I am putting in my body. I need to lose well over 75 lbs to be at a healthy weight for my height, so breaking this number into smaller goals should be more attainable. I would like to lose 20 lbs by Christmas. This would put me below 200 lbs for the first time since I started college, four years ago.

Looking forward to the support of fellow goal-oriented peeps on the journey of improving our health!

Hello, I would like to lose 15 lbs by Christmas. I am a constant yo-yo'er getting on and off track, this should help keep me motivated. I was doing weights before, but am going to concentrate on cardio the first month and then start weights back up. Looking forward to losing with ya'll!

Hello! I noticed another MFP user in this group has the same profile pic as I do, (or I have the same one as they :blushing: ), and just wanted y'all to know we are two different people.

I'm very happy to be a part of this group and to join the Christmas challenge. I started eating clean (fruits, veggies, whole grains, very little dairy, and nuts/seeds) and working out July 1st of this year and have only seen a 3 pound drop. (However, my body seems to be reshaping itself. It feels like I am building muscle.) I pay too much attention to the scale, and so I was disappointed to see it move so little. I'm having difficulty knowing the number of calories I should be eating daily. I'm eating between 1,000 and 1,400 calories a day. (Sometimes I become ravenous!) I have been working out 2 hours a day and burning about 5,000 a week since the beginning of August when I upped my workout schedule. Mainly, I have been doing a lot of cardio and some circuit training (Hip Hop Abs, walking, swimming, mowing the lawn, 30 DS, step workouts, and Tae-Bo), and modifying moves as necessary. The tops of my feet have been hurting and I wonder if I'm overdoing it.

I weigh 171 now and have set a goal to lose 21 pounds during this challenge. At the rate I've been losing weight I'm not sure that is doable, but I want to try. Any ideas on how to figure calorie intake/calorie burn to equal a consistent and safe loss of weight would be much appreciated.

Hey all! I would love to reach my goal weight by Christmas which would be about 30 lbs. but I would be happy if I could lose 20 lbs. by Christmas. That would at least have me in the healthy BMI range! So I guess my goal would be 20-30 lbs. I just turned 30 a couple of weeks ago and I want to begin my 30's fit and healthy!

I'm so glad this group exisits! My weight loss goal for Christmas is 20-25 lbs. That will put me aroudn 10 pounds away from my ulitmate goal weight for...ya know...the rest of my life! That would be pretty much the best Christmas gift I could ever get myslef. PLUS I usually get clothes for Christmas, so I wouldn't have to worry about that "I need a whole new wardrobe now" thing. Amazing.
My motivation is that I've been having health problems lately, and I think that losing weight could only help them. Not to mention, I just want to be comfortable in my skin and the last time I was, I weighed my goal weight. So, I'd like to be there again.
I need to focus on this goal more, and actually take the steps that need to be taken to get there, like cutting out the foods I shouldn't eat anyhow, and working out.

Hello everyone! My name is Norah and I'm soooo glad this group was created. I tried to get into the other group, but I was too late!

Anyway, I'm 47 years old, will be 48 in November. I'm 5'5" , my current weight is 143 lbs, and my goal is 130 (maybe a bit less once I hit that goal). I'm hoping to make it to 130 sooner than Christmas, but my weight loss has been so slow going, that I might be struggling with this into the new year. :sad:

Anyway, thanks again for creating this group, and I look forward to working with you all!

hello! My name is Whitney, I am 26 years old and I would like to lose 18 pounds by Christmas.

I started losing weight February 2012, and lost an initial 45 pounds in just a few months through total diet overhaul and hiking 4 to 5 days a week. I had lost my job a few months before, and I had come to realize that my profession was one of the main contributing factors to my greatly unhealthy lifestyle. After last summer I stopped counting calories and hiking as often and I put back on 11 of the pounds I had initially lost.

I started on MFP 2 1/2 months ago and have lost all of the weight i re-gained plus more. I started lifting weights and even though I weigh roughly the same as i did last summer I am actually much smaller overall.

This additional 18 pounds will have my total weight loss at 65 pounds. I will be healthier than I have been in years and that would be the best christmas present I could ask for.

I love this group/challenge!!

I'm almost 22 years, 5'2, currently around 136-138 and my goal is to lose about 20 pounds by Christmas.

I've been trying to lose weight my entire life. It sucks. I was a chubby child with parents who didn't know how to be healthy. In middle school, I made some healthy changes as well as some destructive choices, but ultimately cut out pop and started eating healthier foods. High school was up and down, but going to college let me be in control of my eating habits. At college, I lost 15-20 pounds, and fluctuated up and down for a while.

I got into MFP through a friend and we've had an amazing support group, though summer has cut a lot of activity for all of us. Joined MFP in April and have lost 21 pounds! This is the lowest I've been since early high school!

I love friends! I'm getting back into exercising after figuring out the moving situation. Annnd yeah!

My name is Destiny, I am 27 yrs old, 5'7, and extermely obese. My goal is to lose 20 lbs by Christmas. My motivation is my daughter, and see all the sucess stories on MFP. I know with support, proper diet, and exercise this goal is obtainable.

Hi I'm Kellie, I am 24 and a Grad Student in Social Work and Holistic Health, with an internship, as well as a Grad Assistant, so I am super busy. I have tried to lose weight before and though I did lose some, I gained a lot of it back. This time I am very motivated and want to succeed before my best friend's wedding next fall, so I thought that having a smaller goal like Christmas is a good idea. I also need the encouragement from others. My goal for christmas is 35lbs. My overall goal is 110 total.

Feel free to friend me and we can keep each other in check With school starting I will be on my computer a lot more than my phone, so I am going to make it another goal to log into this group daily :-)

I'm ready to get back on track as well - I need to lose between 20-25 lbs so that's pretty doable by Christmas - just need to buckle down! I need some visuals to keep in front of me!

I just signed up here earlier today. Last summer I did low carb and got below goal weight. I quit smoking in November, and had extensive dental work as well. Sometime in January the weight started creeping up, and I gained back what I lost +3 pounds. Sigh. Anyways, I'm basically tracking calories and exercise now-the old fashioned way. My motivation is to be more fit, and to be around a size 8/10. I say "around" because sizing varies so in women's clothing. I don't like being all flabby like I am now. I want to have the new way of life by Christmas, and maybe even slip into one of those smaller sizes!

I look forward to getting to that new body with all of you!

Hi, my name is Sherryl and I would like to lose 34 pounds by Christmas. I am 5'5 and currently weigh 164 which has creeped up within the last couple of years. I keep yo yo dieting and thought i would try Chris Powell's carb cycling since nothing else seems to be working. I am working out 3 to 4 times a week; however, still not working. I am joining and ready for fitness pals and motivation. :drinker:

Hey guys!!! :happy: My name is Diamond, I'm 5'8 and I currently weigh 165 lbs. Idealistically, by Christmas I'd like to be at my goal weight of 135 pounds. I know it will be hard to balance my weight loss journey once school starts back up but I've come too far to let all the progress I've made go to waste. Hopefully the challenge group will work out well for me and good luck to you all.