Hi Team Donald!
I am joining you for this challenge as a "Maintainer." Which is a lot more challenging than it sounds!

This challenge marks 2 years of Biggest Loser Challenges for me - my first one was in January of 2009 and I have spent the last year maintaining the loss I achieved that first year.
Sometimes I get bogged down in "stuff" and don't post a lot, but I know that these challenges are one of the things that have contributed to my success this time around, so I am going to continue, even if I don't always contribute as much as I would like. I'll try to catch up on the QUTD a little later.
I spotted this post last night and just had to chime in:
Ladies,
It's not that I don't want to take the time to answer the QOTD, but I've got something more important that I need to share with you....
It's almost Girl Scout Cookie time

(sales start Saturday)
These insidious little bits of deliciousness might be my weight loss undoing!

Seriously, I have no. control. with a box of thin mints or samoas in front of me.
Thankfully, I'm not the Cookie Mom for my girls' brownie troop this year (so all of the cookies won't be at my house), but we bought a ton from my girls last year and as the Troop Leader, I ended up buying the extra boxes (so I didn't have to deal with paperwork)...and EATING them all.
Please, help me stay strong.
I've been SO inspired by all of your stories of success so far! I'm glad I'm here! I have GOT to be able to get through cookie time with some self control....
This is my third time through GS Cookie Time and the Biggest Loser, so I can tell you - it CAN be done!!! Everyone is different, so different strategies help different people. Here is what has worked for me, regarding GS Cookies.
1. I only get my kids' favorites. No sense having a box of cookies in the house that I'm the only one willing to eat!
2. Keep them out of sight - downstairs freezer is good. In the pantry is better than on the counter. Etc. etc. Out of sight, out of mind is not foolproof, but every bit helps, I say.
3. Try to open only one box/kind at a time. For me, a closed box (or sleeve) is a safe box (or sleeve). Once it's open, it's too easy to finish off a whole row.
4. I remind myself that these are foods with addictive qualities and it is ultimately easier for me if I just don't take that first bite. It's not self-denial so much as it is remembering that I'll have an easier time if I don't have that first taste in my mouth.
5. I dont' know if this would work for anyone else, but for me, I have kind of come to the conclusion that while I support the girl scouts and while their cookies are addictive, they are NOT a 10 out of 10 as cookies go. They are OK for packaged cookies, but there are a lot of other foods that calorie for calorie are actually way MORE delicious. I summarize this in my head by thinking "Yeah, but the chocolate is waxy" or "Yeah, but there is that aftertaste."
I know a lot of people have a fondness for them, but it has to be said - they are expensive packaged cookies and their appeal is mainly in nostalgia, the fact they are available for a limited time each year and the addictive nature of foods that combine fats, sugars and salt and can be eaten by the handful instead of the plateful.
And that reminds me:
6. If you are going to have some GS cookies, put them on a plate! This makes them a legitimate snack rather than a mindless nosh.
OK, y'all - I've got an appointment I'm going to be late for if I don't shake a leg. I hope everyone has a great loser-ly day!!!