Bea Amaya

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!!!

Although it's still a little early, I wanted to go ahead and get things set up for a new challenge...the Valentine's Day Challenge! 1. Be sure and log in here on Friday, January 3, 2014 to post your start weight and your goal weight for the challenge. 2. When setting your goal, keep in mind that challenge is 6 weeks long. 3. Weigh in every Friday and post your updates here. 4. Watch the data at http://sdrv.ms/JJFPls to see our progress as individuals and as a team. GOOD LUCK! Old challenges - Halloween: http://sdrv.ms/19Qmc3j - Thanksgiving: http://sdrv.ms/1c1AT8J - Christmas/New Year's: http://sdrv.ms/1956TlT

Another move into ONEDERLAND! Congrats on this awesome progress!

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

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!!!

Hang in there, sweetie. You know, 2 lbs per week IS my goal these days. Any time I do better (like the past two weeks) I just consider myself lucky and mark it down. I'm thinking that the next two weeks are going to be a little tough on me as I will be out of my element and in a place where my food choices are more difficult, but thank goodness I have this group to come to for support and encouragement!

I'll make a note of your names and try to invite you to the next challenge. However, I'll be overseas for a week at the end of January and may have to put someone else in charge for the next one (we'll see). Sometime near Christmas, I'll post the details of the next challenge here, so you might want to check back as well. Also...we still have 2 more check-ins after today, so you are welcome to post your current weight and goal weight for New Year's and just hang with us for the next 2 weeks. Bea

Hi Livvsmum...You are certainly welcome to make this a Christmas Challenge and end it then, but we have it set up as a New Years Challenge. As for me, both of those last two check-ins are important (Christmas Day and New Years Day) markers in my life and I will be watching them both closely. It just seemed that with only 7 days separating the two holidays, we should include New Years Day in this one. I also like the idea of finishing this challenge in the first day of the NEW YEAR. Happy Holidays!

Wow! Awesome! Congrats!

Oh, this is SO CLOSE! We're all rooting for you!!!

Okay. I really didn't think I would post here as I am only slightly over halfway to my goal. But this is the first year in MANY years that I actually bought, and intend to wear, a little black dress. Even though I am still "obese", I've come a long way and am THRILLED with my progress. So...here goes...

SW 292.0 CSW 227.0 CCW 221.4 Week 3.0 Woo Hoo! A high loss week for me is typically 2.6-2.8 lbs. A 3 lbs week is almost unheard of, but I'll take it! Woo Hoo!

That's so cool! Here's hoping that by next week you'll be solidly into ONDERLAND! What a great milestone to pass in this end-of-the-year challenge!!!

Awesome ticker showing 50 lbs down and 50 lbs to go! What a GREAT place to be after 2-1/2 months! Way to go!

Congrats for moving solidly into the 200s! Awesome to know you'll never be in the 300s again!

July 30th sleever checking in. HW 292 CW 221 Down 71 lbs NSVs: - I'm [FINALLY] buying clothes in "normal" sizes! - I have collar bones! - I decided to get a shorter hair cut since I'm losing my extra chins! - I didn't worry about collapsing the table when I got a facial today! - I walked through a restaurant last night without knocking purses off of chairs and bumping into tables! Yes, I'm still obese. And yes, I still have a long way to go. But by golly...I've come a long way as well!

No worries! Also, I set your goal at 180 since this challenge is going to run an extra week, all the way to New Year's Day. You don't have to stay in that long, of course, but the charts are set up for that period. Hope that's okay. Good luck!