Hi, I'm becky. Originally from the uk but spent 7 years living in Malaysia (lots of yummy food) and now living in South Africa. I'm a mum of 3 young boys the eldest of whom has autism so I need to be as fit and healthy as I can be for them, and for myself too obviously. I've spent the last 15 years slowly putting on weight, to the point where I now have a good 40lbs or so to lose to get to a healthy weight range. I've always enjoyed exercising, it's eating too much that's my downfall....hoping this will provide some impetus. I've about 12 weeks til my 43rd birthday so this is a nice extra goal to strive for so things don't fall apart after that 12 week point

Hi, I'm Mary and am in the UK. I have two girls 14 and 22. I used to exercise a lot but the last three years have been difficult due to my 14 year old being very ill, she was also diagnosed with Autism last year. She had an operation in November and now for the first time in three years she is back to full health. We are both going back to karate very soon, probably in about 3 weeks, and can't wait. I just have to be sure she doesn't overdo things too soon. I want to lose about 21lbs and get fit again. I'm hoping this challenge will give me the push I need.

Oh and I'm in Texas

I am Dianne and I will turn 50 on June 16th. I want to lose at least 65 pounds in this next year to be a more fit 50. Can't blame my current weight on anything but laziness and lack of caring for myself. I have 4 kids and 3 grandkids. Been married for 29 years and have had a lot of life stresses in the last 9 years but need to take back control of my life and do something for me. Thanks for starting it up with the exact perfect timing for me!

Hi! My name is Angela. I'm 21 year old college student (soon to graduate) and I'm from Massachusetts. I've been working on getting healthy for a few years now and I'm making progress but I've picked up some negative habits along the way as well. In recent months, my stress and emotional eating has gotten a lot worse and I've put on some weight. It's really taking it's toll on me emotionally and I'm afraid of not being able to break the weight gain cycle I've gotten myself into.

I love exercising (lifting right now, running when the weather isn't freezing) but eating is definitely what's holding me back. Over the next 16 weeks I want to improve my eating habits, continue to progress in my fitness goals, and lose a few pounds. So happy to be in a supportive group like this one. Thank you for starting this challenge Eric!

Hi! I'm Dana from Indiana. I'm 36, a mom of 6 wonderful kids. My poor eating habits over the years are starting to catch up to me in terms of poor health, and I need to set a better example for my children. I am back again to clean up my diet, get some exercise in, hoping to turn my bloodwork numbers around. I have 60 pounds to lose. I'm aiming to lose about 30 during the challenge. Best of luck to everyone. Let's do this!

Hi, I'm Lisa. I just turned 32 and I'm from California. I'm finally feeling committed to getting the extra weight off and have made some good progress over the last month and look forward to making more. I've been overweight for almost all of my adult life and tried and failed many times at various diets. I now have a 13 month old son who is becoming more and more active and I want to be a fit and healthy mom for him, not only to keep up with him, but to teach him healthy habits from the beginning.

Over the course of this challenge I'd like to get out of the 200s for the first time since my early 20s, and drop from an "obese" BMI to an "overweight" BMI. My goal is 16-20 pounds as well as continuing my workouts at the gym 3-5 times a week. I also plan to hire a personal trainer to get me on my path towards weightlifting. Current stats are 5'9", 210 lbs eating about 1450 calories/day plus exercise calories. I've been losing at a steady clip of 1-3 pounds per week, so hopefully I can keep that up. I look forward to participating in your challenge.

Figured I'd go ahead and get this over and done with.