WaistAways - February 2021 Team Chat
jugar
Posts: 10,030 Member
Here is your Team chat room for February 2021. This is where you weigh in every week, post your goals and progress, discuss any issues or topics of interest, share ideas, support your teammates, receive help when you need it, and dream big. Try to post every day, and help each other succeed!
We have six great teams. The group and team leaders are as follows:
Our Moderators:
Liselyn - @jugar
Beka - @Beka3695
Teresa - @TeresaW1020
Megan - @Megan_smartiepants1970
Our Team Captains:
Mission Slimpossibles - @broncobuddee and @TeresaW1020
Trimstones - @mulecanter and @jessicakrall8
Weight No More - @minstrelofsarcasm and @melaniedscott
Waist Aways - @jugar and @micki48
Shrinking Assets - @Boehle and @beka3695
Downsizers - @lindamtuck2018 and @Megan_smartiepants1970
Our Team Motivators:
Mission Slimpossibles - @AustinRuadhain @katmary71 and @raleighgirl09
Trimstones - @Emmajhare and @angmarie28
Weight No More - @KUMEcyclingteam
Waist Aways - @Terytha and @conleywoods
Shrinking Assets - @hipari
Downsizers - @Z10Rtza and @littleflutterby
HOW IT ALL WORKS:
Every challenger weighs in on their chosen day, every week without fail! At the end of each week, the tallies are done to determine the team and individuals with the most weight lost. The best losers are announced with full fanfare every Sunday. The team competition is all in good spirits - may the most losing win!
We also track those small, steady losses with the Green Week count. If you lose, however small an amount, it counts for 1 week in the green. At the end of the month we celebrate everyone who lost every week. You are heading steadily towards your goal even if you aren't at the top of the weight loss leaderboard!
To make your weigh-in easy to find for your team Captains, please put it right at the top of a message, and use this format:
Username
Weigh In Day:
PW (Previous Weight):
CW (Current Weight):
If you need a week off, a break, a change of weigh-in day - just ask your Captains here on your team chat page. If you take a break, you are moved to the Support Team. You can remain on the Support Team for as long as you need to. You still participate in the discussions and weigh in if you want to, but your weigh-ins will not be counted on the weekly tally. If you miss two weigh-ins in a row without asking for a break, you will be dropped from the team, so be sure to ask if you are travelling, sick, or just needing some time off.
Once you reach your goal weight, you join the Goal Zone! You need support to maintain, and you can help your teammates join you. You continue to weigh in every week, and if you have 2 weeks above your self-defined goal zone, you go back to the regular team to lose that amount before it builds up. You will have a chance to hone those maintenance skills and stick with your team!
In addition to your own team, there are weekly F2F Full Group CHALLENGES. You can do all or none - it's up to you. Participating adds a lot to your success, so we hope to see you there often! These can involve anything fitness, health, or nutrition - and they’ll get you moving, thinking, and learning about this journey. Check the Announcements section for full group challenges.
Let’s show our fellow challengers some F2F love! Introduce yourselves right away, and let the new month and year begin!!
0
Replies
-
Welcome to February!
This is our home for the month, where all of our triumphs and challenges take place. Please introduce yourselves and set some goals and daily actions for the month. Focus on the small every day choices, and you will get where you want to go!
I am Liselyn, co-captain along with @micki48. I live in rural Québec, about 85 miles east of Montreal, and I'm a retired university professor of music. I haven't retired from being a musician, but these days the performance opportunities are zero! My weight loss story? After being somewhat overweight for most of my life, I really packed it on while in an admin job that involved a lot of sitting, meetings, travel, and meals. I tried many times to lose, but it was not until I was 58 that I got really serious with both food and exercise, and lost 40 pounds. I have been in a good zone for almost 9 years now, always refining and figuring out the things that work best, and making sure I don't have to do it all over again. Yes, it is possible to lose weight and get in shape during and after menopause!
I know there are people on this team who have a lot to lose, others who have lost a lot and are closing in on their goals, and others who are working on losses that are stubbornly resisting. There is much wisdom here, and the most important lesson we learn from each other time and time again is that it is not a straight shot, there will be trials and errors, and sticking with it when it feels like you have fallen off yet again is the best thing you can do for yourself. Plateaus can be good, but going back the way you came is not!
Some helpful information/tools:
Posting your daily updates
We know from experience that posting daily (or as often as you can!) makes a huge difference to your success. Use any format you like to let everyone know how you are doing on your daily goals and habits. You can report on food, exercise, water, sleep, or whatever you are tracking and trying to stick with. While you're there, talk about how you are, ask questions, and if you can answer someone else, please do! Congratulate others, commiserate, enjoy someone's rant, or go ahead and rant yourself. It all helps make the kind of community where we are in each others' heads when the hand is reaching for that off-plan snack, or the couch is feeling way too inviting...
Weighing in
Please try to weigh in on time! When you post, put your weigh in at the TOP of a message, so it is clear and easy to find. If you cannot post your weight for whatever reason, please request a week off, or if you need a longer break, you can request to move to the "Support Team" where you can still participate but your weigh-ins will not be part of the weekly tally. This is where members who are ill, on vacation, or just needing a break can hang out for as long as needed.
The F2F Habit Tracker
If you want a simple place to track your most important habits, give this a try. You can see how your teammates are doing too
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nq1GfNDcttluUW7e3IcEHw0XgDKkp_FFFhJAyX9ir04/edit?usp=sharing
So everyone, tell us a bit about you. It's fun to know your name and where you live, if you're willing to share that, but mostly it is good to hear what brought you here, how your weight loss journey has been, and where you are headed now. Let the introductions roll!0 -
I'm Katie, I live in Derbyshire in England, a bit north of Nottingham. I work in IT, currently full time from home due to the pandemic. I gained weight in my early 20s, probably due to hormones as well as lifestyle changes, and I've been trying on and off for over 10 years to lose it. I finally abandoned the WW plan (the more changes they made the more I struggled with it) and have taken what I've learned from that and a good PT to put together my own plan. I started in January and so far I've managed to stick to the plan every day and I'm seeing some good results so far; I still have a long way to go but it feels sustainable.
For February, I'm planning to reduce my daily calorie goal a little. I've been snacking on less-healthy things to get closer to my calorie goal, so this afternoon I'm going to look at my log for the month and see how much to knock off. It won't be more than 100 calories a day; I currently get 1923 before exercise. I'm also going to make sure I get my 5 a day, and continue drinking 2l+ of water a day - I've found that's a bare minimum I get through; it's usually more.
In January I did 30 minutes of activity (walk, run, other workout) a day. On the one hand I feel mentally drained (cheers work and lockdown), physically achey and I kind of want to take some time off, but on the other, I just need to change the routines to work better for me. If a 30 minute walk in an evening sounds like too much, I could do 10 mins before work, 10 mins at lunch, and 10 mins in the evening, for example. So, I'm going to keep it going, structure it a bit more so it requires less mental effort day to day, and look at stretches/foam roller stuff for the tired and achey bit! I think as this is feeling a bit like a chore some days, I'm not going to increase the duration or add anything to it.6 -
Sylvia,52, here in Massachusetts. Most of my life spent overweight with dips into healthy weight that never lasted long. I work in an office (every other week remotely from home) and live with and care for elderly parents.
I've spent a year in Waistaways and did very well the first 8 months, then plateaued and, after getting through the holidays okay, the weight has jumped up in January and I'm quietly freaking out. I am determined this is going to be the last time I have to do the big battle in my life. Other than walking with attempts to run, I am not inclined to intentional exercise. I've realized that I much prefer exercise like raking leaves, mowing the grass, even shoveling snow, something that accomplishes something while at the same time burning cals, so possibly I've got to come up with more projects and DO them. I need to add in some freeweight training though...I like the idea of burning more calories when at rest which apparently muscle helps with.
Taking a look back at January I realize how much I sabotaged myself with baking and having too many temptations available. I've also taken a look back at some of my meals last spring when I was doing really well and will reintroduce canteloupe & applesauce to my diet to satisfy the sweet and although I hate to buy them midwinter, I'll add tomatoes back in. Of course it's not just the food - it's my brain, these last weeks even as I reached for the bread to pop in the toaster for one more piece with peanut butter on it, I knew I should stop, or just finishing all the cookies just to have them gone...so whatever had clicked into place in my brain last spring has become jammed. Here I was thinking to try losing 10 more and I ended up gaining instead. So I've sat at the table this morning writing, back of an envelope, what foods did me in and what I need to change.
@jugar I checked out the Yukon Banghra guy -omg I love it!! @PlaneMonkey you wrote about adding some weight training - is there anything online you're using for inspiration/guidance?
So I am resetting myself - 2021 starts FEB 1 for me. Going to order a new scale today too - one that does more than just half pounds.6 -
Hi WaistAways, I'm Courtney and I'm an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer at the Ottawa Airport in Canada but I live across the inter-provincial bridge in a rural town in cottage-country Quebec. I turned 40 last summer and had great plans to hit the gym and get in shape beforehand, and then Covid happened and I lost all motivation when the gym closed and stress-ate my face off while on lockdown.
I've been gaining and losing the same 40lbs for almost 20 years, so this time, with all of the motivation around me like I've found in this group, I will finally stick to it, and learn to be satisfied with the calorie limit I should actually be consuming instead of my goldfish tendencies to eat until I want to explode. I had great habits and motivation when I first joined MFP in August but have gotten comfortable in the size I've reached so I've relaxed my discipline with my calorie goal. I need to focus this month on not letting that relaxation turn into a rebound back up the scale. I've finally found a way to add intentional exercise to my life with a free-weights routine in my home that I don't hate.
My goals for February are:
1. Log honestly every day, even if when I hit "Complete my Diary" I don't get the caption "Was under her calorie goal" at the end.
2. Avoid wine on weekdays
3. Remember to drink water!
4. Do free weight exercise at least 3 times per week
Hubby is still mostly on board for the 'no wine on weekdays' plan so let's hope that lasts. I'm usually on mobile so I can't easily access the Habit Tracker so I plan to set myself up with a Calendar and some stickers to track at home. Reward system for good behaviour is still being debated!
Sylvia @eggfreak I didn't have any online inspiration for my workouts, just years of HIIT programs and strength training plans from my old personal trainer and a good friend who's also a world champion Power Lifter. I took the exercises I liked and that I could do with just bodyweight or light dumbbells because that's all I have at home. I despise all exercises that require jumping or burpees. This is the program I created for myself, it involves compound movements and a lot of single leg positions to simultaneously work my core and balance. So far I've only done one round of the actual workout so the whole thing takes less than 20 minutes. I'll eventually (I hope) commit to the second round and increase the weight.
Warmup – 6 Minutes
2 Rounds 1 Round
10 Standing Crunches 10 Spidermans
10 Squats 10 Pushups
10 Alt Lunges 10 Supermans
20 Jumping Jacks 10 Situps
Workout – 10 Minutes per round
2 Rounds if time permits
10 each Single Leg Romanian Deadlift
10 Sumo Squat with Calf Raise
10 each Reverse Lunge Hammer Curl
10 each Squat to Single-Leg Shoulder Press
10 Lateral Lunge with one Dumbell Horizontal Press
10 each Single Leg Bent-Over Tricep Kickbacks
10 Renegade Rows
1 -
@eggfreak this is the scale I got from Amazon, it goes in increments of 0.2 Lbs. I really like it.
Etekcity Bathroom Body Weight Scale, Round Corner Platform Digital Scale, Large Backlit Display and High Precision Measurements(Digital Scale New), Body Tape, 400 lb/180 kg
More information: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07D2YHJWP/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_3Q3560MN5FNAV293CB81?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
1 -
Sunday weigh in:
PW - 185.5
CW - 185.2
5 -
@PlaneMonkey Thanks a lot Courtney - just the good example I need! the scale too.3
-
You have a newcomer heading your way ... Please welcome @kiay131982
3 -
Happy February a day early!
I just finished the tallies for last week and all of January - we weren't brilliant, but did OK! All the results will be posted later today.
I am going to have a "different" month. I will not be wearing my fitbit, I will not be in the step/exercise team, and for at least a couple of weeks, I suspect I will not be doing much! From now through the 9th, I'll be a usual, but then I'll have surgery on the 10th and hopefully recover quickly. I can't wait - never thought I'd say that, but I'm really excited and hope the surgeon is as awesome as everyone says he is.
So let's try again to let this month's starting weight be the highest one! You know what you need to do - and then come in here and encourage others, complain about what makes you stuck so that someone else can give you some ideas, and just keep posting no matter what. Get the team's voices firmly in your head if they are not there already!
Have a good one!
Some weigh-ins due today:
@mbakhtiaruz
@Terytha
@ChiaGnome4 -
Welcome! We're all looking forward to meeting you.Megan_smartiepants1970 wrote: »You have a newcomer heading your way ... Please welcome @kiay1319820 -
Ooh hi!! How exciting!!!
I'm Mel and I am a 38 year old Mum of 4 from the UK. My children are 19, 16, 13 and 5. I am here because when pregnant with my 5 year old I was wheelchair bound due to a hip issue (that is only now being worked out... Deformed hip joint apparently, MRI on Wednesday!) and due to 9 months of literally no mobility, plus growing a human... I put on more weight than I ever had before. After little one was born I was able to start moving and slowly started losing weight. Then when he was 2.5 I got quite ill with gastro issues... I lost alot of weight and spent a year and a half undergoing tests for suspected IBD. Turns out I am lucky and it was all a horrid infection, but as it began to clear the weight piled on again. (I had gotten used to eating whatever I liked as I couldnt keep weight on if I tried!).
Then in September 2019 I got myself a PT. It was slow going, and expensive... But I was getting somewhere! Lockdown one happened and I decided to push for my goal, I worked out HARD, I weighed lettuce... It consumed me... But I almost got happy with myself!! Then lockdown lifted and life routine kicked back in and all that extra time I had has now gone, weight has gone up again, and at the start of this year I was pretty much back where I started at the beginning of 2020. Its so disheartening!! Im a procrastinating planner.... I will plan so much that I dont have time to do.
I need some accountability and some hand holding. Currently I work out in group classes twice a week with my PT (over zoom) and I walk my dogs. Its not really enough given that I know how much effort I had to put in last year to see results. I plan to run three times a week, but often only make once...and sometimes running can upset my hip and put me completely out of action for 2 days... Working out in the house with 4 kids and 2 dogs is hard. We dont have rooms with doors downstairs I can shut away in.
Currently I am sitting at 151lb as of yesterday (I usually weigh on a Saturday). I'm 5ft 4 so that puts me as overweight. I would like to get down to 140lb, but with the long term goal of 133lb (never been that weight in my adult life though!)
I look forward to meeting you all!!!6 -
Happy almost-February team!
I'm Kay, 26, living in Boston and working in finance downtown (although I have been WFH since late March '20). I was a runner and a dancer all my childhood through high school, and totally dropped regular activity in college. Add in an unlimited meal plan and a general dislike for vegetables, and I gained way more than the freshman 15. I consider my start date for this weight loss to be Feb 2018, when I moved out of my parents' house and started my first post-grad job. I am very big on getting my steps in - and I did meet a very modest goal of running 21 miles in Jan '21, but I would say overall I don't love running, so most of those steps are walked each day. I love home workouts almost exclusively for strength, cardio, hiit, etc. (through youtube, instagram, and the app FitOn mostly) and I follow Yoga with Adriene on youtube for my daily yoga practice. My biggest struggle with weight loss is bingeing on weekends and emotional eating when I get stressed/frustrated, especially on a bad workday. I joined F2F in August 2020 and it has been so key for keeping my motivation up!
January started off really strong - I was briefly below 50 lbs lost, but my work schedule and stress got the best of me by the end of the month.
Goals for February are to stick to my meal plan (got some great new recipes I'm excited to try), do a full non-yoga workout at least 4x/week, don't hold myself back when I AM in the mood for a run instead of a walk, stretch more before and after walks & workouts (definitely had some unexpectedly sore days that limited me after a good workout), and keep the motivation up (always the goal, always the hardest).
I think the month will fly by. It's so short anyways, but I am taking a week vacation to go to upstate NY and hang out with my mom and brother (which will also include 2-3 days of snowboarding, which is awesome exercise), and I am moving to a new apartment on the 27/28th, so there will be lots of home projects and packing, too. Some naps might sneak in this month.
I did a little math and if I can lose 5 lbs each month, which seems reasonable, I would be at my goal weight by June/July. I try not to project out that far because things ALWAYS change and it always takes longer to lose than you think it will, but I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!4 -
Happy Sunday, everyone!
I am Yinka from Worcestershire, UK. I've been with the Waistaways for more than a year, and the weight loss journey for even longer. I blame the menopause for the stubbornness of my excess weight, although I have just bought a couple of books about the menopause in a bid to learn more about this very natural process.
I'm 57 years old, and I am an online English language teacher and course creator. I am married to Ben and we have a grown up son who lives in Virginia with his wife and an aging little dog called Edie!
I work out between 5 and 6 days each week, although I haven't been out walking for the longest time! I plan to tackle that this week - If I can get out 3 times this week, I will be very happy. I think it's a bit of pandemic fog.
I'm slowly tackling my food intake and monitoring what we have more closely. I recently joined a new food recipe service - Mindful Chef, after being with Hello Fresh for a long time. I'm so much happier with this service and I think that we will reap rewards in the coming weeks and months.
Next week I am starting on Heather Robertson's February workouts. I love this YouTube trainer so I'm looking forward to starting this new challenge.
I'm also finding my planner really useful. I refer to it every day and it's good to see my goals and objectives set out annually, monthly and weekly. Regular reviewing seems to help; over the month of January I lost 1.3lb. I was hoping for a 2lb loss, but at least it's a loss and it's nice being able to track it.
A warm welcome to our newcomers and I hope that you enjoy this wonderful community as much as I do.
Enjoy the rest of your day!
3 -
Steps/workouts
Sun 8,036
30 min intervals
Mon 15,311
30 min intervals
Tues 9,223
Wed 9,178
Thurs 15,196
30 min intervals
Fri 10,120
Sat 10,1033 -
Is there a step challenge on here too? xx Do I need to post up my daily step counts? x1
-
The Green Challenge Percentage of people who lost weight this week. No matter how small the loss the weights are recorded in green. Remember that even if your team doesn’t rank the highest in weight loss for the week you can still be the Green Percentage winner by having the most losses in your team! So keep it up!! 
5 -
Hi everyone,
I live in Windsor, Vermont (USA). I've been in this community since November, 2019, I think. I went great guns for a while and went from 196 to 181 but crept back up and am currently at 187. As @eggfreak says, "I'm not inclined to intentional exercise...". ExACTly! I realize I need to make some changes and after making my hopes known, expect that someone will come along with the magic wand and make it all happen with no involvement from me. It's discouraging to know that it's only up to me. Whether or not I get support from my family. That's discouraging, too, but I don't think they're purposely sabbotaging me. I can do that all on my own, thank you very much!
I have a long history with a skewed body image. I often can't believe that I'm as out of shape as I am. Denial is such a strange place. How would anyone be in better shape doing as little as I do? OK. I'll be done with my pity party for the day and tell you a good thing.
My 35-year-old daughter, my transgender spouse and I are going to walk the 1.3 miles to the pharmacy after lunch to get battery replacements for the car key fob (keyless Corolla) so I won't get stranded somewhere without the ability to drive. It's a delightfully sunny day and very cold here, but I'm going to make the rest of the day productive, including reading some chapters in a borrowed book.
My sister (@jugar) makes fabulous suggestions and it's time I try a few of them out! In particular, this first week of February, I'm going to do 20 minutes of exercise every afternoon before supper. If I haven't gotten to the exercise before supper prep begins, well, tough. Either someone else can get supper going or, they'll just have to wait. It helps to remind myself that yes, I'll feel silly moving around in the living room, stretching, groaning, whatever. However, it won't be too long...I'll try to use the bike in the basement while the clothes are in the dryer. Even 10 minutes will be something, right?
@PlaneMonkey your workout list looks good although, TBH, I'll have to look up a lot of those exercises on the list to see how to do them!
I'll tiptoe into the new month and see how it goes. I will work on checking in every day by 3:00 in the afternoon so I don't run out of steam.
Here's to a new start. Be well, safe, and healthy!3 -
kiay131982 wrote: »Is there a step challenge on here too? xx Do I need to post up my daily step counts? x
Welcome Mel, although you've had a tough road healthwise, you made me laugh out loud as I recognized myself, obsessing and weighing lettuce...and I still do weigh it most times, ha ha! There is a step team which @micki48 is in charge of receiving step reports. There are also several of us with Fitbits and we will do challenges together sometimes...in fact, how about a Workweek Hustle this week, anyone? not you @jugar as you rest up for your surgery, hallelujah, it's been so long that you've dealt with that PIA.
2 -
Wow! It is so good to ready everyone's intro to the new month, see how we're gearing up to go, and how we can support each other in those intentions. It's what we're here for, right?
You can if you want! We have a step team where other forms of exercise can also count - @micki48 keeps track of the steps, and I "translate" the exercise minutes into step equivalents with the help of a chart I found that seems to make good sense. It is fun to have to report those every day, and it inspires one to get one's sorry carcass off of the couch or to step away from the computerkiay131982 wrote: »Is there a step challenge on here too? xx Do I need to post up my daily step counts? x In any case, just let us know if you'd like to be on the team for the month!
Everyone can have a look at our spreadsheet any time. The regular team is the part where all the weight losses (or not) count towards the weekly totals, and where you can see how you are doing. Losses are shown in green, gains in red. To the right is a chart showing how many weeks you are "in the green" - even if the loss is tiny, it counts!
The Support Team is for people who are taking a break for whatever reason - health, being super busy, moving, mourning, taking care of someone, or anything else that just makes it hard to weigh in every week. Those people still post here when possible, and hopefully come back to the regular team when circumstances improve.
The Goal Zone is for those who are at their goal weight and stay with the team to maintain their weight within the zone that feels right. The team commitment helps with that too!
The Step/Exercise stats are there. Everyone's name is there, and way off to the right after the "weeks in the green" chart is a list of where everyone is from, if I have noted it right.
There is always a link to the spreadsheet on the F2F home page, but here it is if you want to bookmark it:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qCtVJJQjl-tfMYajGg3PJ16Rw7hWFcJP6_cs-MLzBhs/edit?usp=sharing
Well. That probably answers way more than you wanted to know!1
This discussion has been closed.