Moderator Edit - Jan 2021:
This challenge was originally run during December 2020 - However it was decided that the challenge should not be limited to 30 days, and will also be on-going. 
In other words: Anyone interested in losing some weight and sharing their progress with MT.o buddies, can join the challenge whenever they like, and participate for as long as they like!
The badge is awarded if you make the 30 days -  Good luck everyone.

December Weightloss Challenge

Having lost quite a lot of weight recently, and getting ready to join the December EDC Challenge, I thought it might be fun to get more people to join in. Weight loss is not easy, especially when you are going through it alone. Every year I say I'll start eating healthier, and every year I abandon it for lack of motivation.

So if you have ever dropped your New Year's resolution of eating healthier food, or if you were thinking of starting a diet for 2021, or if you want to get a little fitter, then join us in our quest.

It will be a little easier to commit to this as part of a group, and as a forum challenge. The benefits of being fit are too many to list, and we awl know them awlready. And it looks like we'll get a shiny, new badge as well!

1. ReamerPunch
2. GearedForwards
3. Sos24
4. Barry Rowland

Any other SwissChamps that want to be Explorers?

Rules
 
For each of the 30 days, or for as many as you are able to, post a picture of:

∙ Progress
-Starting weight on Day 1, if you are comfortable to share.
-Weight every few days.
-Final weight on Day 30.
-A new notch in your belt, buying clothes in smaller sizes, anything other than weight that illustrates weightloss progress.

∙ Meals
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, fruit, veggies, low fat desserts, diet sodas, whatever. Maybe even how many calories they are, if you know or are counting daily calorie intake.

∙ Activities
Anything you did as part of the challenge; a walk, a jog, exercising, swimming, anything that helped you regarding your goal.

∙ Gear
New running shoes, bicycle, yoga mat, tennis rackets, weights, fitbit, anything you use or got to help with this.



Note
-This will be as strict as you are willing to go. Do not overdo it, though. Going overboard is not healthy.
-Be respectful.

That should be enough for now, I think. Certainly not everyone can post their weight every single day. But if we include our meals, healthy snacks, and any calorie-burning activities, we should be alright. Even unpacking a new baseball bat counts.

If you have any suggestions on rules, or indeed, weight loss itself, chime in. We need all the support we can get.

November 21
101.9kg/224.65lbs


November 24
100.6kg/221.78lbs

Looking forward to doing this as a  community, I've been too heavy for too long 

I think I'll probably post my weight every five days, as for daily posts I was thinking one meal pic and one exercise pic does that sound good?

That sounds perfect!
I'll keep weighing myself every 3-5 days, posting my salads and pistachios, maybe sneak in a chocolate, and also any exercise I do as well.

Also to add:
Even if we take a walk, that counts. A simple outdoor picture will do. Photos of parks, riversides, streets, gyms, playing with the puppy in the backyard. Remember, this is not like a tool challenge. Losing weight is a process.

That sounds great, I'll be cutting down to around what I should be eating and throwing in a lot of exercise, since the diet won't be super restrictive I don't think my weightloss will be that drastic, but I hope to hit at least 12lbs taking Christmas food into consideration 

Exercise wise I walk around my estate at night (no one to gawk and no cars etc.), do a beginners HIIT (Joe Wicks has a good beginner one), stationary bike, weight training with dumbbells and maybe see if there's a fitness game demo I can get for free on my Switch 

I am getting even more excited about this, which is the point, really.
I will finalize my edc accordingly, and get ready for a ton of fruit and veggies.
Pistachios have lots of calories, I might have to cut down on them.

Maybe the General Tool section is not the best place for this...
How about the Break Room?

Great excuse to put the awl to work.  Maybe the Leatherworking thread?

Great idea guys I went on a healthier journey myself back in 2019 and lost 70 pounds  I exercise quite often now and have a much healthier lifestyle  I have kept the weight off for close to 2 years now and after the holidays I hope to lose some more

I will watch this thread and support it when I can

Maybe the General Tool section is not the best place for this...
How about the Break Room?

We can move it if you want

Very well done! That's about what I aimed to lose, and I have lost half of it already.

I think the Break Room will be better for this. Feel free to move it. Thanks Poncho!

Great excuse to put the awl to work.  Maybe the Leatherworking thread?

My belt has velcro.

I'm in. We've sort of changed our habits a couple of months ago, it's not really a diet but we're eating a lot more healthy, taking lunch walks albeit short ones. It has worked very well for my wife who has lost 20kg or thereabouts (44 lbs?). My belt needs an extra hole although I have not lost that much weight.

I think I won't be able to post pictures daily but I'll try.

Very well done! That's about what I aimed to lose, and I have lost half of it already.

I think the Break Room will be better for this. Feel free to move it. Thanks Poncho!

Thanks buddy It took a lot of self control to get to this point 

And thread moved

I'm in. We've sort of changed our habits a couple of months ago, it's not really a diet but we're eating a lot more healthy, taking lunch walks albeit short ones. It has worked very well for my wife who has lost 20kg or thereabouts (44 lbs?). My belt needs an extra hole although I have not lost that much weight.

I think I won't be able to post pictures daily but I'll try.

Happy to have you, Reinier!
Any sort of weight-loss goal is fine for this challenge. Do whatever works for you. And for pictures, do not worry. Post as much as your schedule allows, and whatever you are able to; meals, walks outside, even your extra belt hole eventually.

1. ReamerPunch
2. GearedForwards
3. Sos24
4. Barry Rowland
5. Reinier

Thanks buddy It took a lot of self control to get to this point 

And thread moved

It certainly is not easy.
Thanks for moving the thread.

Thank you RP

Great excuse to put the awl to work.  Maybe the Leatherworking thread?

 

A fantastic idea for a thread RP 
You guys have fun 

I'm in!

I think whoever wins should get a multitool as an award, this will ensure more people actually keeping up with the challenge

Also, graphs.
Let's say there are 69 contestants, posting their weight on the last day of month and in between, someone (I volunteer) can make an spreadsheet to keep track of progress, this will be helpful for all (and might make the challenge interesting)

1. ReamerPunch
2. GearedForwards
3. Sos24
4. Barry Rowland
5. Reinier
6. electro

Glad to have you!
But it is not a competition. We are in this together, to support each other as a team.

Glad to have you!
But it is not a competition. We are in this together, to support each other as a team.

I see

Given that, a competition can create some interesting records, it won't be healthy for some people

So, completely agree with you

Anyways, as I'm new here, how can I know if someone replied?

...

Anyways, as I'm new here, how can I know if someone replied?

Click here...

Click here...

Cool!

1. ReamerPunch
2. GearedForwards
3. Sos24
4. Barry Rowland
5. Reinier
6. electro
7. Echotech

This is a great idea, I’ve definitely put on a few kilos since working from home since March and think it’d be great to lose a few of them for summer.

Five years ago I was 95kg (210 pounds) and it took until this time last year to get down to about 80kg (175 pounds) so I know it takes time and effort and best to do it so it remains manageable and your lifestyle stays adjusted. For reference I’m 1.8m (5’11”) tall and I’d guess more like 87kg now.

Although I walk the dog twice a day, part of the cause is no longer walking to and from the train which is up a steep hill on the way there and adds about 4km (2.5 miles) to my day. Plus any walking around work.

While I’m at home I’ve been snacking more and that one beer in the evening has become two, that two on a Saturday and Sunday three. I eat lots of vegetables with my meals and like RP I really like pistachios (macadamias too) I just eat too many of them, along with chocolate biscuits, chips (crisps), and all sorts.

Knowing being at home would be a problem I’ve been doing minimum 20 but usually 40 or 50 push ups 5 or 6 days a week plus a little bit of weights and other exercise. If I’d not done this reckon I’d have added 10kg.

I don’t have any scales but can tell by how well my clothes fit - a lot are starting to feel too tight and I’ve had to break out some from when I was heavier. Think I’ll be able to report if I’m feeling slimmer or not just from the clothes.

Yesterday I was in town, and because of all the push ups was thinking I was looking alright. Anyway was trying on a new shirt in a changing room and got a bit of a shock, so this challenge seems to be very well timed. I’m not aiming for too much, particularly over the break but be good to start moving in the right direction again.

Started today.  For breakfast instead of cheesybite (vegemite with soft cheese - it’s delicious ) usually with slices of tomato on toast, I just had a banana. At lunch instead of a chicken sandwich (2 piece of bread) with mayo and lots of salad and a few chips (crisps for non Aussies) I had one slice with hummus and lots of salad. Tonight for dinner no rice (I eat a lot of uncle bens), one very lightly buttered slice of sourdough bread, lots of snap peas and chicken. Have cracked a beer now mind!

So here’s to all of us making a difference for ourselves

Great to see more of us joining up, I'm sure as a community we can help push each other to our goals 

My personal problem with weight is long seated, I grew up in a house where a portion was a plate full and you ate it or got shouted at (regardless of how hungry you might actually be) so my meal sizes have always been an issue. In school I did great once puberty hit, PE twice a week, football on break, football training and matches in the evening and weekends for the village and so on. There was so much activity and exercise that I was pretty skinny and fit despite it never feeling like I ever tried, it was just part of my life. After school I hit the gym and my body put on muscle like it'd been missing it my whole life and this turned out to be part of my problem.

With weights I grew increasingly bored of cardio and let it slide to barely existent and my body retained the muscle mass largely even with years of neglect or at best inclbs onsistent exercise. So as I entered the work force and became more sendentary, started snacking more (because now I had my own money to buy them!), I didn't notice the weight creeping up on me. My body throws weight onto my thighs primarily, so as my trouser inseams started splitting I thought nothing of it, I bend down a lot at work and have two phones, sticky pad etc. in my pockets, not much room for it to flex right? And my face shoulders and arms still look good so no problem! So wrong. As my weight grew  over the years the weight started to spread and become more apparent, the little belly I've always had (even when skinny and fit) was now a full gut with muffin top and my thighs ballooned to problematic proportions.

During lockdown I was furloughed from March until September and have been regrettably unable to find safe work since, the effect on my body has been obvious. In a shift at work I would do 6-8 thousand steps in about 8 hours, I dropped to less than a thousand in the entire day. At my highest I was 394lbs and utterly ashamed of myself. From that low I've clawed it back to a more stable weight right now of 365lbs and I feel good that I dropped 29lbs when I realised how bad things had gotten but it's far from enough.

I'd like my clothes to fit better again, I'd like to wear clothes I like but can't get in anymore, but that's a drop in the bucket. I don't want to be scared to sit down in unfamiliar places anymore because I might not fit in the chair. I don't want the limit to my flexibility to be the distance between two areas of fat instead of my actual joint flexibility. I don't want to have to keep an eye on my legs because of the problems the weight has given me and I want to be able to wear shorts without feeling like a freak (people commenting amongst themselve about my legs on vacation was an eye opener too). I don't want to have to deal with wounds on my waist line anymore.

I want my life and my body back.

I will be reporting my progress, because we can all do this and do this together.

Now I'm going to go do manly things like spit and grunt instead of blab emotionally 

We got this MTO'ers 

Thanks for sharing your personal story GearedForwards. It takes courage to do so!

Good luck

(The smileys should have glasses of water though )

Glad to have you, Echotech!

GearedForwards, that was the idea. Group motivation. I have been seeing progress, but it is hard to keep it going, it's hard to resist temptation. It is so easy to abandon such a rough road. As a community, we are stronger.

I was also skinny as a kid. To the point of being teased. In high-school I could run the fastest, I could jump the highest. Those days are long gone. I had been putting on pounds, kilos, and stones, steadily over the years.
I moved a year ago, and I am walking distance away from a shopping centre. All kinds of junk food available, and I had it all. I got even heavier.
My brother, sister-in-law, and 2-year-old niece came to visit me the other day and we went to the park. I could barely keep up with that tiny runner. She ran everywhere, and I ran after her. Sweat made it uncomfortable. I started breathing heavily at one point.
At work, a colleague advised me to lose some weight. He was extremely nice about it. He was so positive, so encouraging, so certain I could lose the weight, that I started my diet the day after that I think.
Then, a couple of weeks ago, it was my sister-in-law's birthday. I went there, having lost about 15kg. The tiny runner kept running around, but this time I could catch up with less effort.
It's been two months of no junk food and  I have finally dropped under 100kg, and my clothes feel a bit looser, more comfortable. By January, I hope to break out my old clothes, which I have not worn in years.