Hi Teammates. .... I am here for the February Challenge. February kicks off with Chinese New Year and I am thinking of doing some kind of cleanse (nothing radical - just increasing fluids, something like this).

I am working hard toward entering 1derland and I am hoping to get down to 195 for February. I will need to work hard and be consistent and I hope that being in Team Flab-U-Less provides me some motivation to stay focused on my goal.

Hi everyone! February will be my second month doing this biggest loser challenge. I love being accountable to a team, but I'm totally a lurker. I read everyone's posts, often like posts, and very very occasionally comment. But I am totally motivated by everyone on the team and their posts (and pretty much read them daily). It helps so much to feel like you have a team.

Hey Im Ann-Marie , started back again to MFP this year at 250lb, looking to shift a good few pounds for my holiday coming up in July, Im on a journey back to mental and physical fitness, this year is the year I take it all back under control .

Hello everyone! I am getting back in the saddle again after falling off, I am looking to lose at least 10-15 lbs this month. Please feel free to add me as I can use the accountability and motivation! Good luck to you all ! I'm looking forward to moving more and changing something for myself.

Hey everyone. This is my second month. I love being part of this challenge! It keeps me from veering too far off track if I slip up. Looking forward to February.

Aloha team Flab-U-Less! After reading all your intros I’m feeling motivated, and excited about joining this month’s challenge. This is my first, ever. I’ve been on a rollercoaster of weight gain and loss for the last five-ish years. I’m hoping to find some balance, and I’m looking forward to feeling fit and having fun.

I’m a lover of animals, I have two dogs, Mandie a border collie/Hound mix she’s 14, and Kenya a seven month Boston Terrier. I’ve worked the last four years in agriculture and recently moved back home to care for my folks and be with family.

Good Luck everyone! We got this!

Hi again everyone! So....Sunday Feb. 3rd. officially kicks off our February Challenge! This challenge runs from Feb. 3rd to March 3rd. So the 1st weigh ins will be those people that chose Sunday as their weigh day. Sorry for the confusion, it keeps things equal.
We are also going to be running (Optional) Mini-challenges again this month: Question of the Week and Daily Posts

First and foremost is that participation in these challenges is optional. It's up to you as to whether you want to try this. If you don't want to participate in these challenges, you don't have to, the choice is yours, but I would like to encourage you to participate as it seems to help keep us on track and thinking about our goals on a daily basis and it's encouraging to see other's successes and struggles so that we realize that we are not alone!!

The Daily Posts Challenge is based on another challenge on MFP called UAC (Ultimate Accountability Challenge). The way UAC works is that the aim is to follow 5 basic rules.

#1. Track EVERYTHING you eat that has calories.
#2. Stay inside your allocated daily budget.
#3. Try to do at least 20 minutes of activity a day (anything: walk, run, cycle, swim, gardening, housework, yoga, gym, etc.. As long as it gets you active and off the couch)
#4. 1 pass day permitted per week (went over calories, could not track, not enough exercise, intentional pass)
#5. Check in daily (tracking yes/no, calories yes/no, exercise yes/no).

****End of the week. those who have managed to keep to plan for 6 out of 7 days are recognized in the thread as being part of the weekly "Winners Circle".

A side note as there has been a bit of confusion for new members in the past, this is not the same as the official results, which are weight based, this is just another tool to help you reach your weight loss goals.

**REMEMBER**
You set your own daily budget.
You choose you own exercise and intensity (no step limit, no exercises you cannot or should not do, 20 mins of gardening counts as much as a 10 mile run, activity is activity, anything that gets you up and moving!).
Is not weight based (as weight fluctuates day by day).
Can continue beyond weight loss.

Daily check in keeps you in touch with those doing similar. Longer term weight management is hard to do on your own.

It also has frequent resets (as in a circle each week).

It works on an honor system. Being honest with yourself and others is a key to making things work. Remember, this is a judgement free zone, everyone has good days and bad days, but the way to get to the finish line is by being honest and when we have a bad day, picking ourselves up and carrying on the next day!

Consistency and new habits have been shown the only long term successful way to change weight. We all want the progress made here to last a lifetime.

Your posts should look like this:
Daily Post (Sunday/Date)

Track: Yes/no
Calories: Yes/no (were you under)
Exercise: Yes/no (what type and how long)
Goals/Day/Comments: (Tell us a brief description about your how your day went or your goals for the day)

The Question of the Week Challenge is a fun participation booster and we will be using it sometimes just as fun and sometimes it can help to foster new ideas for others as we all are different and have different experiences so sharing ideas can help someone else with motivation of freshening up their routine even!! Keep on the lookout for these questions.[/color]

Please post your weight on your scheduled weigh in day, as if you miss weigh-ins, you may be eliminated from the challenge and we don't want to see that happen!!

Your posts should look like this:
Username:
Week: November Week 1
PW =(previous weight)
CW=(current weight)
Just type PW & CW if you'd like (or if it's easier, you could keep a note on your PC desktop to make it easier to copy and paste from week to week.)

Please, please setup your posts in that format as it really makes it much easier for me to track your progress for the challenges and the weight loss!!

I'd like to help us be as successful as possible and if I can help in any way, please let me know. Also, if you have any suggestions for the team or fun ideas to spice things up a bit, please feel free to share them, I look for new ways to help engagement and keep people motivated!!

I am committed to this group and to help where I can, and please let me know if I can help in any way!!

Your team Captain,
Melinda @mram3582