Hello!

This is my first time taking part in a challenge-type-thing, up until now I've just been peddling along with my diet. Consistent loss. S'good. Never hurts to try something new though.

I've been vegan for 10 years so I am Queen of All Carbs Ever and also pay zero attention to my macros. Down 68lbs so far. More to go but I'm closer to the end than the start. It's time for a focus on recomp for me!

I want to actually consistently do weight-stuff as I neglect it hardcore. The stuff I do takes very little time and I can do it at home but... nehhh... I don't wanna... *whine*. So I guess I'd like to push myself to do that daily!

Incendiumx - it sounds as if you know enough about keto to go at it properly but water really changes the keto game, I hear. I joke that I'm the most hydrated person in Scotland - I feel absolutely desiccated if I get less than 5L fluids a day. As you said you've been studying nutrition, you probably know everything you need to know, but if you want some fluid intake tips, I'm happy to do what I can

Does this challenge have an official start date or what, do you know?

I think meal prep is a major help! I work in a hospital and find that if I don't prep meals on my day off or before work I end up in the cafeteria where the best options are a cheeseburger and fries. I'm more of a casual gamer myself. I started working on weight loss 1/16/17 and I've lost 9 lbs to date. I try to take on 80-120 G protein a day and basically eat less carbs and calories. I haven't been perfect but I have tried my best to be honest and accurate with logging my food even if I've had a "bad" day food wise. I look forward to knowing you all!

Hey there! I don't get to game as much as I used too, but I'm finally getting around to playing Legion (WOW) and I love me some Dead By Daylight on Steam when the little ones are in bed.

I tend to stick to 1200-1400 calories most of the week, and then have a day or two where I eat at maintenance. If it fits in my calorie goal for the day/week, I eat or drink it.

I exercise at home when the kids let me (try to get something in every day) - I've done circuit training, hot yoga, kickboxing, old Dance Dance Revolution! games on the PS2, weights and body weight movements, and I love to jog in place while watching my favorite streamers on Twitch/YouTube (especially if they're playing scary games, lol). I just subscribed to Jillian Michaels' workout app last weekend and it's kicking my butt.

Working on the last few stubborn pregnancy pounds that I gained last year (I've been actively using MFP since 7/2013) and I've had success before with challenge groups. Looking forward to it!

Good luck, everyone.

Hi! I'm vegetarian, a comic book junkie, a Onceler, a fanfiction writer, and player of various Facebook games (mostly Cinderella Story and Criminal Case at the moment).

I've always been heavy and have used WW in the past. Somehow, I always stop just short of goal and then gain it all back plus. Can't do that anymore. See, you know all those health problems that obesity seems to exacerbate? I finally lost the roulette spin. In September, I contracted cellulitus on my left calf. This led directly to lymphedema (and involved 7 courses of antibiotics and daily home-care nursing visits to change the dressings), plus a referral to a vascular surgeon who discovered that the veins in both calves are refluxed. So, lousy lower-body circulation, which is not helped by the fact that my legs have been called on to support a whole lot of extra weight they weren't designed to.

Oh and meanwhile, two family members have had gastric band surgery and my dad (one of those two) was urging me to get on the waiting list for same. He was Type II diabetic, though that seems to have gone away after the surgery. At least, he doesn't need medication for it anymore.

Add in that going into plus-size stores and discovering that most styles either stopped before they got to my size (3X petite) or went as high as my starting weight but no higher... well, writing on the wall; enough was enough.

I started MFP on October 30th and, as of today, I've dropped 39 lbs. 85 to go (or thereabouts. I'll be talking to my doctor when I'm within the last 20 to see if he agrees with the online charts or if I should be stopping sooner/continuing longer).

I'm eating less, but I wouldn't call it eating clean. Cleaner maybe. What's changed is my attitude toward foods I would previously have written off as "bad". I've finally admitted to myself that I'm not going to be 'virtuously' nibbling carrot sticks when everyone around me is having cake. I'm going to go to parties and expect that I'll have cake. Plan for it, log it, exercise if I need to, figure out how much I'm going to allow myself (and it's usually way less than I indulge in when I don't plan on it) and then savor it. Without the heaping side of guilt that usually came with.

So far... it's working!

I'm not that amazing. Just determined and a wee bit scared of having further health problems.

Jimda92 wrote: »

I'm not sticking to any particular diet plan because the last few times I've tried, I've failed miserably; it was taking on too much at once, and just didn't work for me. I may eventually work into one once I've been tracking consistently for a while, but for now just making sure to stay under my daily allowances is good enough for me. That said, I have been shopping smarter and trying some new things. For instance, last night was spaghetti night, but instead of pasta I used spaghetti squash for the noodles, and we had fresh sugar snap peas instead of canned.

OMG I'm in love with spaghetti squash! so buttery! I overcooked mine the first time, but it still had really great flavor

Jimda92 wrote: »

I'm not sticking to any particular diet plan because the last few times I've tried, I've failed miserably; it was taking on too much at once, and just didn't work for me. I may eventually work into one once I've been tracking consistently for a while, but for now just making sure to stay under my daily allowances is good enough for me. That said, I have been shopping smarter and trying some new things. For instance, last night was spaghetti night, but instead of pasta I used spaghetti squash for the noodles, and we had fresh sugar snap peas instead of canned.

Yes this is essentially my style! Just making little changes. Hardcore diets make me snap back to eating poorly

Jimda92 wrote: »

@buffinlovin We had a cauliflower pizza disaster a while back, so I was a bit wary of using a vegetable substitute again. Fortunately, the spaghetti squash turned out to be super awesome. It was a bit crunchier than spaghetti, but it still tasted great.

Mine was really mushy, more of a polenta consistency lol! i still really enjoyed the flavor, and it's so low calorie I could probably eat an entire squash by myself =P

I am tempted to try the cauliflower crust, but my fiance doesn't care for cauliflower except in a handful of preparations, so I'll have to wait until I have something planned where it won't be the main course in case he doesn't like it. Maybe mini pizzas? I think I have it saved in my Pinterest somewhere =P

Baphometta wrote: »

Me too.... We fed it to the dogs.

I just hope my dogs would eat it if we didn't care for it LOL!