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Announcing Medhelp Weight Loss Challenge - Come Join Us!
The Weight is Over!!!
Do you want to lose weight? Would you like to do something fun and rewarding? Did you ever want to feel the thrill of success and throw your hands in the air and shout, "Yes, I did it!!!"
Then join us, as together we participate in MedHelp's first 3-week weight loss challenge hosted in the Weight Loss & Dieting Community! This "Believe in Yourself Challenge" is designed to incorporate motivation, healthy eating and moderate exercise with a lively exchange of information, tips, support, friendship and fun and will periodically be featured in this community.
Join hands with new friends, invite your MedHelp friends and/or reach out to family, friends and coworkers not yet familiar with all that MedHelp has to offer. Many people are struggling with weight concerns and there is strength in numbers! Let's challenge ourselves to a mind-blowing weight loss challenge!
Rest assured, these challenges are not a "quick fix" to weight loss. They are brief periods of time where we join together in a concerted effort to increase our motivation and provide additional support in making realistic short-term goals to realize the long-term transition to a healthy lifestyle that incorporates nutritional food choices, moderate exercise and explores our emotional relationship with food.
It's going to be intoxicating stuff! So ... don't miss out; come be a part of this amazing journey!!!
***** CHALLENGE DATES: OCTOBER 6th - OCTOBER 27th, 2008 *****
HOW DO I PARTICIPATE IN THE BELIEVE IN YOURSELF CHALLENGE?
1. You need to be a member of MedHelp.
2. You need to be a member of the Weight Loss & Dieting Community.
3. Add Ranaesheart to your friends list. This step is important, as this is the best way to receive the challenge information on a daily basis.
4. This is a 3-week challenge. We recommend that you set a realistic goal of 3-5 pounds for this challenge. At the moment, we do not have a short-term goal tracker so we recommend you continue to update your progress in your long-term Weight Tracker and use your journal to update your short-terms goals as the challenge progresses.
5. We will be making a daily post on exercise, motivation, success stories and occasionally provide you with special personal messages. You can add your daily activity under a post we’ll be making in the community each day that will correspond to the challenge day.
6. If you don’t have a Weight Tracker, please set up your Weight Tracker http://www.medhelp.org/land/track-weight-loss. It is fairly self-explanatory, but there are also instructions posted in the Health Pages (http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Weight-Loss/How-to-Set-Up-Your-Weight-Tracker/show/459?cid=129). The Weight Tracker is the most useful tool in our long-term and short-term success. It allows you to post your weight, measurements and specific events. There is also a place to post your exercise and make journal entries regarding your daily activity.
7. We also recommend the use of the Mood Tracker and the Water Consumption Tracker. Since our emotions can trigger an overeating event, this tracker helps us identify what emotions are responsible and learning that correlation helps us identify a plan of action to make other choices. Drinking enough water also helps us with a weight loss program and the Water Consumption Tracker helps make us better aware of what we are really doing.
8. Finally, keeping a food journal is a very useful tool in holding ourselves accountable for what we eat and provides a wealth of information. If anyone has difficulty, it is easier to provide assistance if there is a history of food consumption. For the time being, if you elect to journal your food, please enter this information in your daily journal.
Do you want to lose weight? Would you like to do something fun and rewarding? Did you ever want to feel the thrill of success and throw your hands in the air and shout, "Yes, I did it!!!"
Then join us, as together we participate in MedHelp's first 3-week weight loss challenge hosted in the Weight Loss & Dieting Community! This "Believe in Yourself Challenge" is designed to incorporate motivation, healthy eating and moderate exercise with a lively exchange of information, tips, support, friendship and fun and will periodically be featured in this community.
Join hands with new friends, invite your MedHelp friends and/or reach out to family, friends and coworkers not yet familiar with all that MedHelp has to offer. Many people are struggling with weight concerns and there is strength in numbers! Let's challenge ourselves to a mind-blowing weight loss challenge!
Rest assured, these challenges are not a "quick fix" to weight loss. They are brief periods of time where we join together in a concerted effort to increase our motivation and provide additional support in making realistic short-term goals to realize the long-term transition to a healthy lifestyle that incorporates nutritional food choices, moderate exercise and explores our emotional relationship with food.
It's going to be intoxicating stuff! So ... don't miss out; come be a part of this amazing journey!!!
***** CHALLENGE DATES: OCTOBER 6th - OCTOBER 27th, 2008 *****
HOW DO I PARTICIPATE IN THE BELIEVE IN YOURSELF CHALLENGE?
1. You need to be a member of MedHelp.
2. You need to be a member of the Weight Loss & Dieting Community.
3. Add Ranaesheart to your friends list. This step is important, as this is the best way to receive the challenge information on a daily basis.
4. This is a 3-week challenge. We recommend that you set a realistic goal of 3-5 pounds for this challenge. At the moment, we do not have a short-term goal tracker so we recommend you continue to update your progress in your long-term Weight Tracker and use your journal to update your short-terms goals as the challenge progresses.
5. We will be making a daily post on exercise, motivation, success stories and occasionally provide you with special personal messages. You can add your daily activity under a post we’ll be making in the community each day that will correspond to the challenge day.
6. If you don’t have a Weight Tracker, please set up your Weight Tracker http://www.medhelp.org/land/track-weight-loss. It is fairly self-explanatory, but there are also instructions posted in the Health Pages (http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Weight-Loss/How-to-Set-Up-Your-Weight-Tracker/show/459?cid=129). The Weight Tracker is the most useful tool in our long-term and short-term success. It allows you to post your weight, measurements and specific events. There is also a place to post your exercise and make journal entries regarding your daily activity.
7. We also recommend the use of the Mood Tracker and the Water Consumption Tracker. Since our emotions can trigger an overeating event, this tracker helps us identify what emotions are responsible and learning that correlation helps us identify a plan of action to make other choices. Drinking enough water also helps us with a weight loss program and the Water Consumption Tracker helps make us better aware of what we are really doing.
8. Finally, keeping a food journal is a very useful tool in holding ourselves accountable for what we eat and provides a wealth of information. If anyone has difficulty, it is easier to provide assistance if there is a history of food consumption. For the time being, if you elect to journal your food, please enter this information in your daily journal.
Hi count me in. l need to keep going on the right track since l have just started this week doing the weight watchers points system. l go to tops another weight loss support group, but maybe this will help me too. l did make my goal weight a few times but gained it back. l have been going up and down the the scale for a very long time.
sandy828 ~ Thanks so much for sharing your feelings; it is most difficult at times when we are battling the ups and downs of weight loss. Hope you will consider joining us here on a regular basis because together we can do this ... you CAN accomplish weight loss in a healthy manner and not starve. It takes some hard work and determination .. but together with friends and support here .. and the trackers to help us along our journey .. we CAN achieve our goals. Won't you join us? ((Hugs)) Ranae
im 17 but have been overweight since i can remember. i dont know who said it but i agree, when i try to loose weight n diet it just turns the other way and i turn to comfort food. when i get really down i just wont eat for a few days to try and make myself feel better ... i know its wrong but i just cant help it. but i am determined to do something because it gets me down every day.
First - Please allow me to say how truly amazing and heartwarming it is to see all of you share your innermost feelings and to also reach out and help each other. It truly is what makes this a wonderful caring, supportive place to meet and share our journeys.
Next - May I please ask that you continue these posts on the daily challenge discussions? You will see them as Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, etc. This allows everyone to keep in touch and share with each other. As it is now, there are several groups of members posting in various places when the discussions would be more lively if we all participated together.
Scutch ~ What a ray of Sunshine you are with yoru morning greetings!! Thank you! Yes, bored can be a great cause of overeating. Try making a list of activities you like to do and pull it out during the times you are bored and pick one. Also, have you tried the Stop and Think sign on your cupboard or refrigerator? Here's an article that explains if you're interested .. http://www.ranaesheart.com/2008/05/eating-healthy-or-unhealthy-choice-and.html
Yeahhh YOU!!! Aerobics are wonderful and healthy. Thank for staying in tune and for your personal and team motivation and support!
Lonelymom - 5 Small meals + Tae Bo is a winning combination!!! Love that you are keeping in touch here in the grup and with the support you can receive here at MedHelp. Firming up and having your hubby notice is a Powerful motivator ... very well done!!!
As for your niece, you have an awesome opportunity to help her change her life ... even if you have to show her first and gently keep encouraging her.
bet643 - 5 Small meals + no sodas .. what a Star!!! Tae Bo AND line dancing ~ You ROCK!!!
Lonelymom and bet643 - Next thing you two will be doing exercise videos!!! Can hardly wait to see!! ;)
Sandy828 - It can be frustrating when a doctor says we are obese. Mine told lme that when I was in my early teens plus prescribed diet pills. I wasn't any bigger than my classmates but it became a self-fulfilling prophesy. The standard definition of being obese is 30 lbs overweight. It seems funny to me that I have lost 152 pounds and am still in the obese category. I will get into the normal category before I quit.
No, you are not too young ... please join us here! I sent you a note with some details.
Keni0128 - Do understand what you are saying about the desire for comfort food and it basically boils down to emotional eating and making choices. Will share with you the same article as I did with scutch ... http://www.ranaesheart.com/2008/05/eating-healthy-or-unhealthy-choice-and.html and another on how to overcome emotional eating ... http://www.ranaesheart.com/2008/06/how-to-over-come-emotional-eating_29.html Hope these help you. We can always start a new discussion thread in the community and post a question and have others help as well.
Wonderfully done, everyone!!! Look for the next post Day 5, in the morning ... sure hope to see you there!!!
By the way .. is everyone participating in the challenge? Have you found the links and do you like what you're seeing? Anything else we can do to help???
Very best wishes ... and many, many ((((HUGSSS))))
Ranae
Next - May I please ask that you continue these posts on the daily challenge discussions? You will see them as Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, etc. This allows everyone to keep in touch and share with each other. As it is now, there are several groups of members posting in various places when the discussions would be more lively if we all participated together.
Scutch ~ What a ray of Sunshine you are with yoru morning greetings!! Thank you! Yes, bored can be a great cause of overeating. Try making a list of activities you like to do and pull it out during the times you are bored and pick one. Also, have you tried the Stop and Think sign on your cupboard or refrigerator? Here's an article that explains if you're interested .. http://www.ranaesheart.com/2008/05/eating-healthy-or-unhealthy-choice-and.html
Yeahhh YOU!!! Aerobics are wonderful and healthy. Thank for staying in tune and for your personal and team motivation and support!
Lonelymom - 5 Small meals + Tae Bo is a winning combination!!! Love that you are keeping in touch here in the grup and with the support you can receive here at MedHelp. Firming up and having your hubby notice is a Powerful motivator ... very well done!!!
As for your niece, you have an awesome opportunity to help her change her life ... even if you have to show her first and gently keep encouraging her.
bet643 - 5 Small meals + no sodas .. what a Star!!! Tae Bo AND line dancing ~ You ROCK!!!
Lonelymom and bet643 - Next thing you two will be doing exercise videos!!! Can hardly wait to see!! ;)
Sandy828 - It can be frustrating when a doctor says we are obese. Mine told lme that when I was in my early teens plus prescribed diet pills. I wasn't any bigger than my classmates but it became a self-fulfilling prophesy. The standard definition of being obese is 30 lbs overweight. It seems funny to me that I have lost 152 pounds and am still in the obese category. I will get into the normal category before I quit.
No, you are not too young ... please join us here! I sent you a note with some details.
Keni0128 - Do understand what you are saying about the desire for comfort food and it basically boils down to emotional eating and making choices. Will share with you the same article as I did with scutch ... http://www.ranaesheart.com/2008/05/eating-healthy-or-unhealthy-choice-and.html and another on how to overcome emotional eating ... http://www.ranaesheart.com/2008/06/how-to-over-come-emotional-eating_29.html Hope these help you. We can always start a new discussion thread in the community and post a question and have others help as well.
Wonderfully done, everyone!!! Look for the next post Day 5, in the morning ... sure hope to see you there!!!
By the way .. is everyone participating in the challenge? Have you found the links and do you like what you're seeing? Anything else we can do to help???
Very best wishes ... and many, many ((((HUGSSS))))
Ranae
I know that when I was a kid, I always struggled with my weight. I have never been morbidly obese, but I was always larger than my other gal pals. My downfall then (and now, for that matter) is that often times my desire to be thin is overtaken by my desire for comfort food, or just any foods. To be quite honest, its something I still am struggling with (hence my presence here!), but after having so many people telling me they could tell I was getting bigger and bigger (even my boyfriend's MOTHER), I finally got disgusted with myself. Even though I do not always make the right choices, the reality has hit me that I am overweight and I have gained a substantial amount of weight over the past three years, and that keeps me on track. Your niece is 12, so it is going to possibly take some time for her to realize she needs to change a lot of her old habits. But maybe if you start smaller. I have been on diets since I was about 10, and its made me rather tough to deal with when it comes to diet and excercise. But, maybe if you try to do some athletic activities together, go on bike rides, if you can hike around, do that, go on walks, play some sport. Do something that tricks her (and you) into burning calories. That's something that has really helped me stick to working out. I have to do something that I enjoy and something that doesn't feel like torture. I love yoga, I'm from Colorado, so I can hike and go mountain biking or swimming. All of those things are great for you, and they don't make you feel like a hamster on a wheel! Sorry I rambled, but maybe those things can help you get through to her! Who knows though, you are right, she has to decide for herself to make a change. It doesn't matter how many people who love her tell her she is in danger, she has to decide to make the change.
I am glad you are willing to help yourself. How old are you? Even if nobody else will I will be your buddy and help you. My neice is 12 years old and morbitably obese, I wish she would try to help herself. I am trying to get her to join me in losing weight together.
every time i go to the doctors he tells me im obese and thats why i have so many health problems (he was wrong and im angry at him). i am still overweight and would like to loose a bit, only just noticed this forum so im a bit late.. am i too young to join in?
Yea slim fast is a joke. I stayed hungry and got to where I hated drinking those shakes and eating soup all the time. I am not going to try a diet and just going to eat healthier food and eat 5 small meals a day instead of just 3.
Also no more soda's for me!! That is my major down fall!!
I have bought Tae Bo DVDs and joined a line dancing class on Thursday nights. Between the two I shall get plenty of excerise.
P.S. Don't worry about the typos I do it all the time.
Also no more soda's for me!! That is my major down fall!!
I have bought Tae Bo DVDs and joined a line dancing class on Thursday nights. Between the two I shall get plenty of excerise.
P.S. Don't worry about the typos I do it all the time.
Yes you are right I probably dont eat enough which has my metabolism slowed down to consume the fat. I have started eating 5 small meals a day and I bought Tae Bo workout DVDs off of Amazon cheap!!
I did Tae Bo before I had my daughter and even though I couldn't tell a difference right off the bat on the scales I could in my clothes and my x husband would walk up behind me and pat my butt and say dang baby you are really firming up. I felt great doing that exercise and didn't have to worry about a babysitter for my kids or the money for the gym.
I am excited to have a place to go to keep track of my weight loss and have support.
I did Tae Bo before I had my daughter and even though I couldn't tell a difference right off the bat on the scales I could in my clothes and my x husband would walk up behind me and pat my butt and say dang baby you are really firming up. I felt great doing that exercise and didn't have to worry about a babysitter for my kids or the money for the gym.
I am excited to have a place to go to keep track of my weight loss and have support.
Good morning everyone,
It's a new day..... and a new start!!!
Ranae- thanks for the insight.....It seems that whenever I over eat it is usually because I am bored. A friend of mine lost a lot of weight and attributed it to only eating when she was hungry......sounds pretty simple, huh??
I joined an aerobics class and went for my first session last night...it was GREAT!! I am sure I looked silly but it got the heart rate up!!
I will stay focused and I will lose weight,
I can do this!! We can do this!!
It's a new day..... and a new start!!!
Ranae- thanks for the insight.....It seems that whenever I over eat it is usually because I am bored. A friend of mine lost a lot of weight and attributed it to only eating when she was hungry......sounds pretty simple, huh??
I joined an aerobics class and went for my first session last night...it was GREAT!! I am sure I looked silly but it got the heart rate up!!
I will stay focused and I will lose weight,
I can do this!! We can do this!!
scutch - Dearest, the question we have to ask our self when we are undermining our efforts and overeating is "why?" It usually has to do with an emotion. If you are overeating because you are hungry .. the growling in your tummy .. then I can help you make some food choices that will fill you without adding too many calories. If you are not experiencing hunger pains, then there is another issue that requires us to look deeper. For tomorrow's video ... I'll try to talk about this .. and see if I can offer you some thoughts. Keep posting and we'll all work together to help you.
twinkle36 - Way to go on the exercise and walking with the puppy!!! Wonderful effort!
Lonelymom - With all due respect, and with your best interests at heart, perhaps you might want to consider giving up the Slim Fast and diet pills. It also sounds like yoru body was in starvation mode ... I'll address that more in a video this week. Throughout my life, I have tried them and many other ways to lose weight. The only way that I have found that truly works, and it is supported by university studies, is to make better, healthier, nutritional food choices and implemented moderate exercise. Our weight is determined by what you consume ... minus the energy burned in exercise ... equals your weight. Please join us here and we'll help provide you with the knowledge and baby steps it takes to implement a healthy lifestyle change. It's not a "quick fix" but it is very doable.
Keni0218 - Join us here in the challenge .. it is not a diet or a quick fix .. but a team of caring and supportive friends here to help and accompany you in your journey. YOU CAN DO THISSSSS .. We ALL Can! Believe .. even when it is not rational and good things WILL happen. Believing we can change begins our journey and then staying involved in this group will help you make the necessary changes to realize your goals. We all have to learn how to change our old eating habits for new ones and take baby steps to do so. We'll be talking about that throughout the challenge. Please join us ...
bet643 - As we all work together and make small changes, step by step, our lives change to bring about our desired weight loss results. And .. you spell just fine!
ALL - If you have not done so already, please send me a friend request, start your weight and mood trackers and jump in to the challenge by reading the Challenge Communication post and the Daily thread ... we're on Day 3 today. So honored and priviledged you are here and sincerely THANK YOU for reaching out and sharing your journeys. Together we can help each other achieve our success ...
Many, many heartfelt (((HUGSSS)))
Ranae
twinkle36 - Way to go on the exercise and walking with the puppy!!! Wonderful effort!
Lonelymom - With all due respect, and with your best interests at heart, perhaps you might want to consider giving up the Slim Fast and diet pills. It also sounds like yoru body was in starvation mode ... I'll address that more in a video this week. Throughout my life, I have tried them and many other ways to lose weight. The only way that I have found that truly works, and it is supported by university studies, is to make better, healthier, nutritional food choices and implemented moderate exercise. Our weight is determined by what you consume ... minus the energy burned in exercise ... equals your weight. Please join us here and we'll help provide you with the knowledge and baby steps it takes to implement a healthy lifestyle change. It's not a "quick fix" but it is very doable.
Keni0218 - Join us here in the challenge .. it is not a diet or a quick fix .. but a team of caring and supportive friends here to help and accompany you in your journey. YOU CAN DO THISSSSS .. We ALL Can! Believe .. even when it is not rational and good things WILL happen. Believing we can change begins our journey and then staying involved in this group will help you make the necessary changes to realize your goals. We all have to learn how to change our old eating habits for new ones and take baby steps to do so. We'll be talking about that throughout the challenge. Please join us ...
bet643 - As we all work together and make small changes, step by step, our lives change to bring about our desired weight loss results. And .. you spell just fine!
ALL - If you have not done so already, please send me a friend request, start your weight and mood trackers and jump in to the challenge by reading the Challenge Communication post and the Daily thread ... we're on Day 3 today. So honored and priviledged you are here and sincerely THANK YOU for reaching out and sharing your journeys. Together we can help each other achieve our success ...
Many, many heartfelt (((HUGSSS)))
Ranae
Sorry for all of my typos, I need to slow down and proof read before posting. Looks like I can't spell. LOL
Come join us on our weight loss challenge. Slim fast does contain vitamines and has some nutrional value, however, all it ever did for me was give me gas. I use to use it just to kind of take care of the grum bellies between meals. Other than that, I never ;lost any weight from it. Maybe Ranaes video will give you hope, it has for me. I'm still looking for something that works. The only thing that took off a 5 pounds fast was the gabbage soup (vegetable soup) diet. But boy do you get sick of eating that soup for a week. It was soup, morning noon and night.
I used to be 130 pounds, but that was thanks to a strange stint as an anorexic of sorts. Now that I am eating again, and now I am about 185 pounds and I cannot seem to lose! I just seem to go up and up and I just eat and eat. I know all I have to do is stop eating, but I feel like losing weight is such an uphill battle for me. I have tried everything, and for some reason I cannot stick to something. I want to be in this! Help!
HELP ME!!!!
I weigh 176 lbs and can't seem to lose the weight. I went on the slim fast diet and stuck completely to that diet. I was going to the gym every night and working out for an hour. drinking the slim fast shake in the morning, eating celery sticks or carrots around 10 a.m. and then eating a cup of soup and drinking the slim fast shake for lunch, eating fruit for snack at 3 p.m. and then eating a well balanced dinner. I am and would drink bottles of water all day long.
I am not allowed to have caffeine because of my heart murmur so drinking water is not a problem.
I continued this diet for about 3 months and didn't lose any weight!!! So I figured I would up it a little and take a diet pill which had me taking three pills before each meal plus this pill to clean your system and a pill to help with water weight gain. Again no weight loss. Not even inches off.
I have gone to the doctor and had blood work done and it came back normal. So why can't I lose weight? What am I doing wrong?
I weigh 176 lbs and can't seem to lose the weight. I went on the slim fast diet and stuck completely to that diet. I was going to the gym every night and working out for an hour. drinking the slim fast shake in the morning, eating celery sticks or carrots around 10 a.m. and then eating a cup of soup and drinking the slim fast shake for lunch, eating fruit for snack at 3 p.m. and then eating a well balanced dinner. I am and would drink bottles of water all day long.
I am not allowed to have caffeine because of my heart murmur so drinking water is not a problem.
I continued this diet for about 3 months and didn't lose any weight!!! So I figured I would up it a little and take a diet pill which had me taking three pills before each meal plus this pill to clean your system and a pill to help with water weight gain. Again no weight loss. Not even inches off.
I have gone to the doctor and had blood work done and it came back normal. So why can't I lose weight? What am I doing wrong?
Hiya all, I'm feeling good and looking forward to the group challenge. I went for a long walk with my husband and puppy yesterday and also did 10 minutes on my exercise machine 'total vibrations'.
Hope everyone is feeling good and having a good Tuesday :o)
Love and hugs xx
Hope everyone is feeling good and having a good Tuesday :o)
Love and hugs xx
Good morning all,
I am off to a running start today.... I got 5.25 miles in on the eliptical..WOOHOOO!!! My only problem is undermining all that exercise by over eating....any suggestions ??
Good luck everyone
I am off to a running start today.... I got 5.25 miles in on the eliptical..WOOHOOO!!! My only problem is undermining all that exercise by over eating....any suggestions ??
Good luck everyone
D Day is here! I want to lose 5lbs on this 3 week challenge, as that will be my 1 stone off. Hope everyone is feeling motivated and full of energy :O)
Good luck everyone x
Good luck everyone x
Would like to wish everyone good luck and good health on your journey to a healthier life.
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