Bea Amaya

That's absolutely AWESOME, Mary! Congrats on your progress. Can't wait to see how you do in the Valentine's Challenge!

NewNana...that's about it. You come back here each week (Friday) and let us know your weight. I'll add it to the spreadsheet and you'll know it's been added if you see a "Like" from me. Pretty simple, actually. Welcome to the group!

No worries. Look like you've already met your goal as well...and we still have nearly a week to go! Congrats!!!

Yippee! That's AWESOME! Big Congrats!!!

So cool to see so many new folks joining us this time. Here are a couple of notes, mostly about stuff we've learned over time. Yes...even if you are pre-surgery or recently sleeved, by all means, join in on the fun. There are not any fancy rules here, so there's not a lot you can do wrong in this group. While the main activity here is reporting in weekly, we also tend to do a bit of bragging, complaining, teasing, etc. so feel free to join in on this part of the fun as well. If you're not sure about the goal setting part, don't worry. It's no big deal. We've been known to modify goals mid-stream although it's usually because we become better at estimating over time. Take a shot at a goal and then don't worry about it...just watch the weight fall off as the challenge progresses...that's definitely the most fun! Post questions here for the group to answer and I'm guessing someone will jump in with good advice. If they don't, simply ask again...we won't mind. This is a GROUP activity and we are all equal members. I keep the stats, but often don't interact a lot (busy lifestyle and all that). There are some VERY experienced and knowledgeable people here, so again, feel free to ask questions to the group in general. Lots of knowledge here...it's definitely helped me along! Finally, and most important...HAVE FUN with this. Meeting some new goals by Valentine's Day is really going to be nice, and I can't wait for next week so we can really get going! (Now if I could just get rid of those LAST THREE POUNDS before New Year's day!!!) Bea

I weighed in at 217.2 today which means I still have a slim (pun intended) chance of making goal next week. But more important than the weight was the fact that I weighed in less than my hubby for the 2nd day in a row. This is a HUGE (another pun) accomplishment for me and although he's been talking about exercising more and eating less all morning, he is as pleased with my progress as I am! Having a lovely Christmas Day here and hoping the same for you and your loved ones!

2.5 weeks out would be an awesome time to track your losses, so you are definitely welcome to join us. Even if your goal is not very accurate, getting in the habit of reporting in (and checking other's progresses) each week seems to have some value in itself. So, do what you want about joining us this time or waiting for a future challenge. This will be our fourth one to do this way--tracking everyone's progress on a single spreadsheet--and I'm thinking we'll continue from holiday to holiday for a while as it really does seem helpful, and fun, for a large number of us. Good luck!

You've made such awesome progress! I am still at a stage where I average slightly less than 3 lbs per week. I've seen a definite slowing down, however, and think I may have to hope for between 2 and 2.5 lbs per week on this next challenge. Even though it's a bit of a disappointment to see the losses slow, I can see how it will work in my favor when I get near my goal. For now, however, I'm still working for every bit of the scale I can. Good luck on your estimates, but know that we are here to encourage you no matter what happens.

That's the way they work for me too. I was in a stall this last week and was afraid I would be posting a gain (for the first time), so focused on ignoring the sweets, enjoying some great foods (my homemade Mexican Shrimp Cocktail yesterday was AWESOME), and remembering that I would be checking in with my online friends here. It seems to be working...I registered a 1 lbs loss instead of the 2 lbs gain I was fearing! Yup...these challenges WORK for me!

Another one bordering on ONEDERLAND! Wow! SEVERAL of you look like you're going to start off the new year in a GREAT place! Congrats on your progress!

Awesome! So very close! You can do this!!!

Got it...you're in on the Valentine's Day Challenge. Today, I broke my big stall/gain by ending up with a 1 lbs loss for the week. I know the whole next week is going to be a struggle (TONS of sweets on hand everywhere), but I'm going to do the best I can and not stress when I slip a bit. My biggest confidence, however, is that a "slip" these days is not nearly the awful thing it was in years past. This year I feel confident that I can "cheat" with a cookie or a piece of chocolate without it being the start of a long, slow descent into the land of "comfort foods". What makes me so confident this year? Why, it's because I have this group to come to for help if I should falter and for accountability week by week!

Ruh Roh! Not intentional, I assure you. I've added you to the list now! (Wouldn't be the same without you here!!!)

Yeah, one of the things I really like about the challenges is how they help me understand myself, my body, my changes, etc. better. For the first challenge I participated in, my goal was kind of a shot in the dark. The next couple of challenges were better, with me thinking of what I could easily lose, then stretching that goal out just a bit. And while I may not make my goal on the current (Christmas-New Years) challenge, I believe I will get to the end of it understanding pretty much why I didn't and what kind of adjustments to make for the next one. We're definitely happy to have you joining us and I'm thinking you'll learn soon enough about setting good, solid goals.

Rules of the Game For those of you who are new to our challenge, here's how it goes. I maintain a spreadsheet of everyone's data in order to track our progress over the period of the challenge. You'll know that I've added your latest updates to the sheet when I "Like" your post. I generally update the sheet on the morning and evening of the reporting day (FRIDAY for this challenge) and a few other times during the week. The spreadsheet is in a place where you can VIEW it (and even make changes to it) in a lot of ways in your browser window. This keeps us all from having to download multiple versions of the sheet every time new data is added. The drawback, however, is that it doesn't function perfectly in the browser environment and may be a bit frustrating for you. Still, it's the best solution I could come up with. Here's hoping you'll post a note here saying you want to be included in the challenge and will join us. The past few challenges have been a whole lot of fun, at least for me. It's a great place to focus on short-term goals, to be a part of a smaller community, and to get LOTS of encouragement no matter what stage you are in. Hope you'll think about it over the next 2 weeks then jump in and join us in our Quest toward better health and making a smaller [physical] footprint in the world.

Thinking this might be a busy couple of weeks, I went ahead and set up the "Valentine's Challenge" at http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/291848-valentines-challenge/. I've added a couple of names already of people who indicated they want to be included. Feel free to let me know if you want to be in on this one as well. I'll try to send out a reminder using the forum's "messenger" feature, but I'm not sure how well that will work since I haven't tried it before. If I figure it out, I'll send the reminder to everyone in this topic in case you want to join us again. On a personal note, I've moved back home until after New Year's. You see, I work in the city and live in a corporate apartment there while my retired hubby holds down the fort at home, a nice spot in the country about a 2.5 hour drive away. I come home about every other weekend and hubby comes my way on the weekends in between. Now that I'm home for 2 weeks, my problem is not so much sticking to my plan foods--tested yesterday when I baked 6 dozen cookies without tasting a single one--but I seem to be back into some old habits here of ALWAYS wanting something to eat (head hunger) and have been overdoing (grazing) every day! It's more annoying than distressing, but I really think I should get a handle on it soon as I don't really want the situation to control me...I want to be in control of the situation. (Otherwise, I'll be at the mercy of where I live and who I'm around for my success!) Anyway, this may be the first week that I've GAINED since my surgery on July 30, 2013. I'm not the kind to get depressed or go into failure mode over it, but it does make me a bit angry at myself to feel so out of control. So...wish me luck over the next two weeks! And THANKS SO MUCH for letting me "vent" here to you all!!!

Another move into ONEDERLAND! Congrats on this awesome progress!

Yay for making it to ONEDERLAND! Big congrats!!!

I see a lot of discussion on this site about what, when, and how often to measure progress. I think I'm in the smaller camp in that I weigh every morning. But for me it's not really an ordeal or major event, but rather something I just do (and have for years) at the same time I brush my teeth. For people who get obsessed with what the scale says, I agree that daily measures are counter-productive. My two primary reasons for the daily measures are: 1) the mere fact of weighing myself reminds me to plan well for the day ahead (eating, exercise, Water, etc.), and 2) because I feel that seeing the daily fluctuations that I see are just little ripples in a great big scheme. Of course, my children say I weigh each day because I am an Excel geek and derive some pleasure from seeing the measures plot themselves out day-by-day. Hmmm...perhaps they are right.

I've got you on my list. However, if you want to jump in now and join us for the next two weeks of this challenge, I'll be happy to add you to the charts. All you need to do is post today's weight, your January 1 goal weight, then check in with us on Christmas and New Year's to let us know how it's going.

CONGRATS for making it to ONEDERLAND this week! Gee...I'm thinking you're solidly in range with a buffer all the way up to 199.9, LOL. You're doing so great...no need to look back now!

Seeing some GREAT reports coming in already! I'm at 218.6 today (whoo hoo!) with a goal of 215 in two weeks. If I can keep my 2 lbs per week run going, I should just make my goal. Finger's crossed. Although it's WAY too early to set it up, I've also been thinking about the upcoming Valentine's Day Challenge. This is a BIG one for me because my goal for February 14 is ONEDERLAND. It's a nice length (6 weeks) with weigh-ins on a Friday. I'm thinking we'll start it on Friday, January 3. I'll be posting further details within the week. Although I have a tendency to resist "over-commenting" here, I do read each and every post and celebrate, and occasionally commiserate, with you all. This has been a really nice challenge so far and I'm excited that everyone seems to be doing well so far and we still have two more exciting weeks to go!

Oh...so very close and still 2 weeks left. You can DO this!

AWESOME NSVs! I'm just a bit behind you on your progression and know EXACTLY how you feel. My THREE pairs of size 16 pants are getting just a bit loose, but they're all I've got now since I worry about the 18s slipping off. Another few pounds and I'll be brave enough to try my first pair of 14s in some 25 years. Great changes for you...you definitely have something to be EXCITED about. Congrats!!!