Just another quick note I forgot to mention! We lived in Washington State for 10 years before moving to Las Vegas! We got tired of the rain BUT I REALLY miss beautiful county with all the trees and lakes! My son lives in central Washington so we get up there at least once a year!

Honorary wa state member!! Can the three of us make it to the end!??? Anyone else from Wa State?

Hello all; this is my 2nd go at the challenge. I was doing well in December up until the 17th. Had a slip-up but still been fairly disciplined after. I shall do my best to complete January's challenge.

My name is Ciprian, I'm a 34 y.o. male and have about 15kg to lose to get to my target weight. MFP is great for keeping calories in check and I have been using regularly for about 5 months.

Awesome jackie!

Question - i must have overlooked the weighing in part. Is that a separate thread each week? And also separate from the daily 3 question thread?

Hello everyone!
In the first half of 2013 I lost weight with the slow but steady approach losing 2 pounds each month. Things went great until some day in June I woke up to find that all of a sudden I had (still have) a chronic disease. It's a rather rare immune deficiency that doctors don't know what to do about. Two weeks in the hospital, lots of medication and lots of frustration eating later, I had gained around 20 pounds. :grumble:
I've somewhat come to terms with my disease but not with the weight. So the pounds have to go and they have to go fast.

I usually do great with eating and exercising for some days but then I tend to have a severe binge eating attack. I haven't figured out how to avoid those, yet. I hope this challenge will keep me on the wagon as long as possible each month :flowerforyou:

Wow - by any chance is this a blood disorder? Myeloproliferative ?

Awesome jackie!

Question - i must have overlooked the weighing in part. Is that a separate thread each week? And also separate from the daily 3 question thread?

No, there is no weighing in requirement for this challenge. Your weigh ins are your weigh ins. :flowerforyou:

Hello Caradae, Jagreene, and everyone. This is my 3rd attempt, I lasted 3 weeks in November but not hardly a week in December due to vacation. I have no reason at all to not win this January challenge. Plus, I just got 2 of my daughters into this with me so now I will have even better support. Between the 3 of us we have a goal to lose about 100 lbs by August when one of my girls is getting married. Nothing like fitting into a dress and having pictures taken to motivate you, right? I love this challenge and really appreciate you moderators for doing this for us. Good luck everyone!

I just joined - first time for me with this group but it looks like exactly what i need!

I workout daily but am really bad with the counting calories and food journaling so hoping this will help!

I got close to goal weight Fall 2012 and spent the last 15 months gaining it back : ( I can't bear to step on a scale but I do know that all my pants are too small so I live in leggings, and now all my leggings are tight too : ( so my goal is to fit back into my pants!~

I just joined - first time for me with this group but it looks like exactly what i need!

I workout daily but am really bad with the counting calories and food journaling so hoping this will help!

I got close to goal weight Fall 2012 and spent the last 15 months gaining it back : ( I can't bear to step on a scale but I do know that all my pants are too small so I live in leggings, and now all my leggings are tight too : ( so my goal is to fit back into my pants!~

Don't be too hard on yourself.....I KNOW we have all been there, done that!! We are all learning how to do it the right way THIS time....the LAST time!! :drinker: Stay focused each meal and each day...calories in vs. calories out. YOU CAN DO THIS!!! :bigsmile:

awe thanks!

I already have a question...hoping this is an appropriate place to post it...

How do you count calories when eating out in restaurants? I have a dinner date in a couple weeks - pretty sure the place we are going does not post calorie counts for their menu items...is it okay to guesstimate something like that for this challenge?

A lot of restaurants are listed on MFP and updated with new items periodically. I know I have found things that were only recently added to the menu and was pleasantly surprised. If you don't see them, sometimes the restaurants website will list nutritional information. You can then enter as a new food item. As for "guesstimating" that has got to be a personal decision. I would not do that for myself because I KNOW I would be wrong!! :bigsmile: I sure some may do that....it's just not something I would do.

My name is Beverley. I'm ready for this challenge, tried a few times and falter along the way. It is not as easy at it seems, one has to be disciplined. I'm ready to be accountable with all your help.

Hi everyone! This challenge sounds perfect for me. I moved to be with my long distance boyfriend a couple of weeks ago and I can already see that it's going to be a challenge eating well and exercising because my life before was very different and he doesn't seem to share my priorities in this area. Also, my graduate thesis is due at the end of January, so I'm under a lot of pressure to get it finished and I tend to stress eat. I've put on 5lbs in just a couple of weeks and don't want it to get out of control.

Here's wishing everyone a very happy and healthy 2014! We can do this - Bring on January!

HELLO again to Caradae, my old challenge pals and all you newbies it is 2014!
Well darn near! And if you joined this group you are ready for it to begin. Because you are looking forward to the new year with hope and a lot of hard work (most of us at least). And a NEW SLIMMER YOU!!!!
I am Be~ I have been doing this challenge for a few months now. And I can honestly say it keeps tabs on ME! I feel guilty if I fail to log in my daily accountability or if I catch myself starting to stumble. If I find myself eating a bit more. I know I gotta go for a walk, or work out. Because I ate that little yummy and NOW I have to work it off! I try to check in every night but I have been tired with excess worry over these last few weeks and just seem to drift off to sleep too early! But I always check in the next day!
This can be done.
You can do this.
It takes great effort and planning
but it is worth it.
Because this is for

YOU and YOUR life!

Good luck and you can always message me if you need me!
HERE WE GOOOOOOOO.............................

Hey everyone! My name is Christine, and I'm a 22 year old recent college grad (May 2013), doing graphic design.

My MFP calorie goal is 1200 because I'm at my last 20-25 lb to lose, but I plan on eating more than that most days, when I run and do weight training. My first goal of 2014 is to complete the couch to 10k app, and for one meal a day for the month of January to be a protein smoothie (all natural fruits/yogurt/etc though, not a store-bought "shake").

I want to feel confident in a bikini this summer, and I also want to develop permanent healthy habits. I'm inspired by my boyfriend's grandmother from Switzerland who is 75 and a yoga instructor and goes cycling and hiking daily.

I'm new to this website, so I hope I can remember to log in every day! I'm glad this exists, thank you to the creator

I am ready for a new year:)

Hello, I'm Jill, this will be my third month doing this challenge and it has helped me stay on track everyday, I used to slightly go over now I am within a few hundred calories left each day! I will be in Mexico for three weeks this month so it will defiantly keep me active while I'm away and not overdrink as well!