Mission Slimpossible - March 2021 Team Chat
jugar
Posts: 10,262 Member
Here is your Team chat room for March 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 - open
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!!
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Hi Team! I am Teresa one of the Fat2Fit moderators and your Mission Slimpossibles captain along with Mark (@broncobuddee) The Mission Slimpossibles also have three incredible motivators, @AustinRuadhain, @raleighgirl09, and @Katmary71.
Stuff you need to know!
1)Weekly Weigh-In
Please read the opening post so that you know how to correctly record your weigh-ins so that @broncobuddee can easily find you every week. If you need to move your weigh-in day or have other weight logging questions, please tag @broncobuddee in your post so he can find you easily.
2) Check-ins
Along with our weekly weigh-ins, we REALLY encourage our team members to participate in regular check-ins. It’s a great way to stay accountable to yourself and it allows the team to cheer you on and offer support as you need it. We are a community and we are stronger together!
3) Habit Tracker & Challenges
For added help in your health journey make sure to take advantage of our monthly Habit Tracker and weekly Challenges that you will find on our Home Page. Tracking our habits and doing the challenges will keep you mindful of your choices and help keep you motivated. If you have an idea for a fun challenge then please head over to the Idea Lounge and let them know. “You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” ―John C. MaxwellFinally, let's get to know each other! Please share your name, where you live, and what brought you here to The Fat 2 Fit Challenge Group. If you have specific goals for this year, please share those as well. We are here to support and cheer you on! 
I’ll go ahead with my introduction
As I said above, my name is Teresa! I’m turning 55 in three days, so I better get used to saying it!
I live in Georgia with my incredible husband, my mom, and our fur baby Maggie Mae. I am the ministry assistant for my small church and just recently took on the job as their cleaning lady, or as a friend called me, the Jazzy Janitress. 
I also teach children’s church and love all ages of kids. My favorite things to do are jigsaw puzzles, listening to podcasts, watching YouTube videos, searching Pinterest for yummy recipes, hanging out with my husband, playing with my dog, shopping, and going to church. I also love to workout and use Beachbody on Demand programs along with walking on my treadmill.
I’ve struggled with my weight most of my life with lots of ups and downs along the way. I’ve been doing intermittent fasting for two years and believe that it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done for my body. I know that I am a long-time sugar addict so staying away from the sweet stuff and highly processed carbs is a must. I've found that doing Keto along with IF is a real good fit for me. I have lost over 75 lbs. and am determined to get the last 30 lbs off in 2021.
If you are interested in IF, I highly recommend Gin Stephen’s new book, “Fast, Feast, Repeat” and her podcast Intermittent Fasting Stories. I also think everyone should read Dr. Jason Fung’s, “Obesity Code.”
As your captain, I promise to remain available and supportive! This group means so much to me as does the success of each one of you. Please feel free to add me as a friend and message me any time.
OK…your turn to share!
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Hi all, new to this I Was assigned here! Not sure if I post this stuff yet. I'll try and learn quick.
Username: BMotisko
Weigh In Day: Saturdays
SW: 315.5
PW: 280.4
CW: 280.4
GW:199.9
My name is Brian and I'm 44, I live in Colorado, and I'm here to lose a bunch of weight. This actually lines up well. I'm also doing a 6 week challenge with some people in my work industry. My diet goal every day is low calorie, Low Sodium and try and get at least 2.5 hours of exercise per week. I've been doing well on all of that so far. Lot's to go though!5 -
@bmotisko Welcome to the team! I actually went to school in Colorado Springs a million years ago. Loved the place while I was there.
@TeresaW1020 Wow! That’s a heck of an introduction! My weigh-in day is today so I’ll add in a proper intro when I post it up. Home (where momma lives) is Columbus, GA - so we might’ve been neighbors! And that picture was of a local desert fox. Very inquisitive but generally harmless. About the size of an average cat. That one was obviously VERY used to being around people - she was less than 2m away from me and stopped to say hi and check me out for a second.
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@dignow96 Awesome! Yeah this is actually the 3rd time I've lived in Colorado Springs. I've been here since 2016 this time but I'm pretty much settled here. I like it. I can't wait until I get in better shape so I can do some of the outdoor activities. Also, I'm a huge NASCAR fan and my favorite driver is from Dawnsonville, GA. It looks like it's on the opposite side of Atlanta than Columbus is. Nice to meet you!1
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@TeresaW1020 My brother has a fur baby named Maggie Mae as well. I always take my two over to play with his two at least once a week.
Nice to meet you as well! 1 -
@Bmotisko Welcome to Slimpossibles! Sounds like a fun challenge, how far into it are you?\
@TeresaW1020 Happy early birthday my friend! Do you ever do those 3D puzzles? My parents just gave my one of my nephews a Hogwarts one, it looks pretty cool! The cats kept knocking my puzzle on the floor so I gave up, it may have been because it was a picture of a dog.
@trooworld I heard about alcohol coming up before but that wouldn't be as bad as marijuana as far as being on my record, I don't even want medication I just want to hear what they offer, honestly I'm not sure what I'm going to do at this point.
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I'm Kathy, I'm 49 and live in the Sacramento area in CA. I'm pretty much doing arm cardio, arm and body exercises, and stretching right now as I have physical/pain limitations. I love reading and gardening and listening to music. I mostly focus on eating whole foods, I have my diabetes under control through diet and find as long as I don't eat a lot of junk my body responds well. My health isn't the best and I've gained weight since hitting maintenance so I'm back to trying to lose, just being more gentle on myself and taking it one day at a time. I'm a motivator along with @AustinRuadhain and @raleighgirl09 who are amazing! I haven't been too motivating lately but am still here for you if you ever need anything. I'm basically just trying to get my pain situation under control so I can live some semblance of a normal life.2
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Congrats to the Slimpossibles for a fine February! To keep you going, this month's first challenge is based on consistency - inspired by Team WaistAway's co-captain @micki48 It is a familiar kind of challenge - tracking the exact numbers of 2-3 things of your choice every single day. Just being consistent. And having alternatives if your plan gets derailed. Protect those numbers all week! Consistency is like a muscle - the more you do it, the better it gets. Good luck! Here is the link:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10826044/march-2021-week-1-challenge-consistency-101/p1?new=10 -
@apple852hk - Tiredness also makes me lose motivation for exercise. It's the pits. You've been great at keeping your weight fluctuations small by reacting to them quickly- excellent. I will miss seeing your cubes this week, but I'm glad you only ate 4 chocolates.
@TeresaW1020 - Jazzy Janitress! Love it!
@bmotisko - welcome to the group and best of luck on your 6 week challenge.
@dignow96 - welcome. Thank you for your service! So cool to see the base you live on. No better motivation than an important occasion like your daughters graduation!
@Katmary71 - your cats knocking over a dog puzzle. lol.
Hi Team, and happy Sunday. I am Lisa and I live in Jacksonville, FL with my husband and technically my two kids who are away at college. I've struggled with my weight most of my life and it's gotten more challenging to get it off the older I get. It's taken me this long to get on a roll with Covid cleaning. The garage is looking much better and I'm tackling some things in the house as well.
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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!!
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Good morning afternoon, Slimpossibles! (I keep getting interrupted today!)
So I am super excited about this month's first challenge. (Thanks @jugar and @micki48 !) I picked my 3 things and will be checking in each day on the challenge thread. Maybe I'll see some of you there, too!
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10826044/march-2021-week-1-challenge-consistency-101/p1?new=1
I personally am digging back after having had a rocky February. I got off track in doing what works for me to stay healthy, gained weight, and I am determined not to let things continue in that direction. Things in Texas have settled down enough to start getting back to normal, and a focus on getting eating back to consistently health choices is just what I need to be doing. I snacked my head off (good foods, but too many nuts) while dealing with the snowpocalypse and my pants are tight. No way am I buying new pants. All there is to do is get back into a groove that moves me in a good direction, and make peace with pants won't be un-tight immediately! I am headed to the grocery store after I check in, and am crossing my fingers that I will see some fruits and vegetables this time. (The last 2 grocery store trips there were pretty much none. Wow!)
So a bit about me -- I live in central Texas. I am a mom, a volunteer in BSA (Scouts), and a teacher/tutor (algebra right now). I have been on MFP for 3 years now, and in Slimpossibles for about 2. This is a super great, supportive conversation -- lots of compassion and accountability. I have lost over 100 pounds and am working to keep my fitness overall headed in a good direction (consistency not perfection is such a great reminder for me), as it turns out that "maintenance" is not so much a "steady state" thing as staying alert and course correcting as necessary. This group is a great place, as @TeresaW1020 's Bill Gates quote points out, to surround myself with people that push me to be better.
Like @TeresaW1020 , I find paying attention to my fasting window is super useful! I, too, recommend Jason Fung's book "The Obesity Code!" What works for me is an extended fasting window. I am aim for 13-14 hours after dinner and before breakfast, combined with a no-sugar, lots-of-produce diet (see Joel Fuhrman's "Eat to Live" or Michael Greger's "How Not to Diet" if you are curious; I know it's not for everyone).
Also on my reading list this week is a review of "Tiny Habits" by BJ Fogg. He's a Stanford behavioral researcher whose class has inspired a lot of people in Silicon Valley. The founders of Instagram came up with the basic idea in a coffee shop after taking his class, and that's a piece of software that has done really well at being habit forming. Fogg uses the idea of habits all over his life. His website and book aim to help people hack their own heads and habits, to have more of what they want in life. I am definitely at work on Tiny Habits this month!
@TeresaW1020
Woohoo! Happy early birthday! You are a super gorgeous 54!
You helped nudge me to try jigsaws. I am now a wee bit addicted to the mystery puzzles on JigsawExplorer.com.
@bmotisko
Welcome to the group! I hope this conversation is useful as you work to lose all that weight!
Oh, and I loved in Colorado as a kid (Boulder) and have family still in the area (Longmont) and a favorite author in that state (Paolo Bacigalupi, in Aurora, I think). Anyway, Colorado is gorgeous and full of great people!
@Katmary71
You help motivate me, just so ya know! We all have different battles.2 -
Weekly Weigh-in:
Dignow96
Weigh In Day: Sunday
PW: 293.9lbs
CW: 288.8lbs
GrandDaddySW:467lbs
2021SW: 303lbs
GW: 265lbs
Evenin' SPers! I was pushing my weigh-in right to the limit as I really wanted to make some good progress this first week. I just got back from putting in my last four miles and hit the scale a good 20 minutes before midnight. I'm going to give it my all but am not expecting quite as dramatic a drop moving forward as I've also been on a 48hr fast (breakfast is already prepped!). Anyways, I think this was a good week all around, and dropping almost 2% of my body weight is good enough for me! I've been floating in the 270-280 range for a couple of years now so the 260s is a big target for me but more than the weight I'd really like to get my BF% down to the 18-22% range. Love all the motivation here and the communication. It's awesome to be part of such a great team again!
@Cornanda - thank you very much but my service ended many many moons ago. I was a USAF Logistics officer a million years ago but I've been kicking around the hot all this time of my own accord. If I wasn't raised with such strong southern gentlemanly proclivities one might say I'm the Yankee carpetbagger of these parts. I do, however, do quite a bit of business with the US Military in the region so I will certainly pass along your thanks to the next soldier, sailor, airman, or marine I run across.3 -
@bmotisko Welcome aboard!!
@apple852hk Congrats on not having fold any cubes this week! That is amazing progress and you should feel proud!!
@TeresaW1020 "Jazzy Janitress" - that's hilarious! Also happy birthday for this week
@dignow96 Congrats on your loss this week! What an epic effort! Thanks for sharing a little of your story and those gorgeous pics.
@Cornanda I love your attitude: "This is not going to send me off the rails" - fits very well with this week's theme of consistency and not perfection, don't you think?
@trooworld An entire tyre gone?! That's amazing, well done!
@mlhopp93 Wow, great loss this week - keep doing what you're doing because it's clearly working!
@Katmary71 I hope you can come to a decision soon about the pain clinic. If they can help you more long term, then maybe giving up the cannabis for a while might be worth it. Are you sure it's a month to clear from your system? I only ask because I work on a mine site where we are subject to random drug & alcohol tests and I know there are certain people who work here who will smoke weed during their 7 days off and they can still pass a urine test when they come back to work - I know smoking it may be different to drinking it and I don't know whether they do a urine or blood or saliva test at the clinic, but it might be worth checking into that if it helps with your decision!
@raleighgirl09 Sending you all the positive vibes for a better month in March!!
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My intro:
Hiya, I'm Christie and I'm a 30-something Aussie mum of one awesome little dude (hereafter called: the toddler). I've been overweight forever (later explained by a PCOS diagnosis) and in the past I have done every fad diet and yo-yo-ed my way up to a weight that I never want to see on the scale again. I joined MFP first in 2012, and have come back to it a few times over the years but never really stuck with it. Now I have found groups like this which are super supportive and I am on track to improve my health more than I ever have before.
I am a huge Harry Potter fan, so sometimes you might hear me talk about a Hogwarts challenge that I'm in here in the MFP groups. It's really great!
I work full time as an accountant at a gold mine in a small country town. Hubby is the stay at home parent with the toddler, which works really well except I don't get a lot of time with the toddler - a couple of hours after I get home from work and then it's dinner & bed time for him and I'm gone before he gets up of a morning. So we make the most of our weekends and I try to include him on my fitness journey so he can grow up with a good role model - we go for walks or go swimming when the weather allows.
Here's a cute pic I took at the park on the weekend - because I love to share him with everyone!!
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My February Recap:
February was a successful month for me. I smashed all the goals I set for myself, and in doing so, lost 3.5kg (7.7 lbs). I feel like I've hit a bit of a rhythm and I hope I can continue this into March!
So far, I am down 8.9kg (just shy of 20 lbs) from my highest weight, which has reduced my BMI by over 3 points! I hope to continue this trend in March and throughout the rest of the year!
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March Goals:
My goals for March are:
1. Sleep for a total of 213 hours (average 7.0 hours per night).
2. Record an overall calorie deficit of 17,000 calories.
3. Complete 870 minutes of intentional exercise (average 28 mins per day).
4. Meditate a minimum of 13 times (average 3 times per week).
5. Limit Facebook scrolling to 45 mins per day (23 hours maximum for the month).
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@bmotisko Welcome to the Slimpossibles!! That is cool that we know awesome dogs with the same name! My girl is a small Cavapoo that rules our house. What kind of dogs do you and your brother have? My Maggie Mae isn’t very social with other dogs and she absolutely despises any dog that is smaller than she is. Super weird and annoying! :grin
@dignow96 HaHa, yeah my first of the month intro is always long. I have it saved and edit as I see fit.
Yup, your momma is about 2 hours south of me. I’m up in Athens. Go Dawgs!! Do you regularly faster? The longest I’ve done is 36 hours and haven’t gotten up the guts to do it again. You have done great so far with your weight, so keep it up and you are going to see your goal in no time!
@Katmary71 Thank you for the birthday wishes. I’m still not too sure about how I feel being 55. Seems like just yesterday I was in my 20’s. I did a 3D puzzle once but it was super hard. Right now, I’m doing a puzzle that is super hard. My friends tried to do it twice and couldn’t, so they brought it to me. I have to call them when I get to the last piece so they can come over and put it in.
@Cornanda Do you have spring fever? I started cleaning out things yesterday and had hubby take a big box up to ReStore. This week I plan to tackle my kitchen and pantry and as soon there is no chance of cold weather, I’m gutting my closet. I like to go through my house with the eyes of someone cleaning it out after I die and how do I want them to find my drawers and closets. Is that morbid?
@AustinRuadhain OK, first off thanks for the birthday wishes. And thanks…I think, for telling me about Jigsaw Explorer. I did a mystery puzzle and found it so much fun, I bookmarked the site to my toolbar. It will be nice when I want to listen to something on TV or a podcast and it’s too dark to do the puzzle that is always living on my dining table. So about nuts. I heard Dr. Ted Naiman talking about how nuts are the food that makes squirrels and other animals fat for the winter months. Hmm? 
I had to stop buying pecans because I couldn’t stay out of them.
@TwistedSassette Your little man is the cutest!! You had such a great February and I am so happy for you? You have good goals for March too. Did you sign up for the Habit Tracker? I don’t know if we talked about low-carb eating and PCOS before or not. I have heard several testimonies from women who have found great success for their PCOS by going low carb to Keto. Maybe look up Dr. Nadia Pateguana if you are interested. She is great! If we already had this discussion, I'm sorry. You can blame my old age!
Hi Team! Today was a great day at church! We baptized three kids and had an awesome family come forward to become members. Plus, the music and the message were on point! I always love church, but some Sunday’s really go above and beyond. I am ready for a new month! February wasn’t my best month and I’m NOT going to have a repeat. True, my birthday is on Tuesday and there is a plan to go out for a lovely brunch at one of my favorite restaurants and there might be some wine and dark chocolate in the evening, but it’s just one day in 31 days. My goal is to lose 5 lbs and hit the 80 lbs mark on the scale. I can do it!!
Beck Diet Solution Question of the Day—I’m behind on the book and will try to get back at it tomorrow and write about day 26. Hang in there with me!!
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@AustinRuadhain - I know you will get back on track in March. The snowstorm was a big and valid distraction, but it is behind you now and you are moving forward.
@dignow96 - Holy crap- 5.9 pounds, you are amazing! I had a job that involved military contractors and I tend to forget about how many there are... is that what you do? You can keep the thank you for your past service.
@TwistedSassette - yes, I think it does fit. Perfectly! Your little man is sooo cute. And you killed it in Feb. On to March!
@TeresaW1020 - Happy Birthday and I hope to say it again on your actual birthday. I don't have spring fever. I'm just finally getting "roundtuit". I'm glad I've finally got this moving forward, there is much procrastination I've been sorting through. And I've been bored enough to clean out the hub's sock drawer. I do not think that's morbid at all. I've been sorting lots of school papers and other things I've saved for the kids. I'm trying to save the best and cutest stuff and not leave them a gigantic pile that burdens them when I'm gone. Definitely thinking along the same lines as you.
Wishing all the Slims a good week!
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@AustinRuadhain Glad to hear things are settling down for you, I have no doubt you'll get back on track!
@dignow96 Great way to end the week, keep up the great work! I also thank you for your service, even if it was awhile ago!
@TwistedSassette Such an adorable son, I bet you're always smiling with him around! Amazing Feb!
@TeresaW1020 Sounds like a great day at church!
@Cornanda Have a great week my friend!
OK, I don't know how I do this to myself, I keep getting notifications on my phone and stress out because I'm so busy and don't have a job! This last week I had 2 7-day seminars, two meetings, 2 doctor's appointments, attended a pharmacist lecture on the medication I'm taking, and attended a meeting with the homeless advocates for my town and signed up again with the church though this will be the first year we're unable to host them. I let the leader know I was available for anything I could physically do. I'm writing cards to send with packages to the military through the church and drop those off during a food drive next week. My garden is hopping, I wish my phone could post pictures, I have 12 tomato seedlings from my vine that somehow survived over winter and have started a ton of seeds, cleaned up all my pots and trimmed all my plants on the deck, then my dad brought me a bunch of succulents so I've been busy outside. I joined a few gardening groups so I plan to do some swapping with people, there's stands around this area where you can take and leave stuff and I'm so excited to check them out!
Workout-wise I've upped cardio, kept up strength training though I can't find an actual set of 20lb weights, and still am stretching. I'm not planning any changes to that routine yet. I've been back on track lately as far as eating with the weather, yesterday was a little shaky because it was my brother's birthday and I ate everything but aside of that I'm doing well. Can I say how fun it is to have a nephew in 6 grade who gets embarrassed easily? I keep asking him when he's going to ask a girl out on a date so I can chaperone, he hides his face and blushes. I gave him great pick-up lines too but he'd never heard of what an astrology sign is, haha. My brother always tells him how I taught him to dance so when I tell him how I'm obviously a good enough teacher than my brother snagged his mom he buries his face again.3 -
Good afternoon folks! I've been threatening to do a proper introduction for a while now, so here goes. I'm Stewart. Born in Lousiana, raised in the south, high school in GA, undergrad in CO. I grew up in the Army and was in Air Force, so I've lived in 38 states and 14 countries. My undergrad was in engineering, but the rest of my education and professional life has focused on business and, more specifically, capture management and proposal development - within the government/defense contracting realm. And yes, that is every bit as exciting as it sounds. My mom still lives in Columbus, GA (Dad's last duty station was Ft Benning). My sister and her husband live in Wilmington, NC, where she's a teacher. Dr. Pelletier (her husband) is a professor at UNCW. My daughter lived in the hot with me until she hit 16. Around 15, she came home from school one day and said she'd like to go home and be American for the last few years of high school. She lives with her mom back in my hometown of Columbus, GA - so my mom is pleased as punch! Unfortunately, COVID derailed her Junior year, and her Senior year has all been online. She's done well despite all of that. We found out around Thanksgiving last year that she had been granted early acceptance at Mercer University. She's starting this fall, and I'll either be heading home for high school graduation or - if that doesn't happen - the first day of Freshman year!
Outside of meal prepping and lifting, I do have a few other hobbies. My daughter and I are HUGE LEGO fans. Well, ok, she was when she was younger but MAY have grown out of it a bit lately, and it's just now my obsession - maybe. We built a little city - Godwins Hollow of Outer Godwinia. I used to have a fantastic 1% of an acre garden on my roof in Kuwait. It was more a proof of concept for my apocalypse skills - if I can grow corn, watermelons, blackberries, and 47 other species of fruit and veggies on the roof of a building in Kuwait - I can grow stuff ANYWHERE! I just moved into a place in Dubai with a bit of a backyard and am already planning out my planting for this fall. I'm a photography enthusiast and drone flier. I could speak only in movie quotes (another end of the world skill - you always keep around the guy who can do the one-man play edition of Star Wars as well as Steel Magnolias). Outside of my day job helping local companies capture business with the US Government/UN/NATO and US firms do business safely in the Middle East, I also do a bit of social media marketing, coaching platform development, and other quasi-creative things for the occasional client. I also like to cook - thankfully, my body responds well to a low carb, high protein, reasonably high-fat diet, so I get to cook yummy things quite often (ribs are soaking up some rub right now and will hit the smoker tomorrow morning!) So that's me. I'm sure I've missed something, and there are tons of folks to thank along the way, but if you'd like the LONG version of the story, feel free to ask.
So I started out pretty well fitness-wise. My mother was a rabid dieter, and we grew up with some WIERD eating habits. Despite that, I kept things in check as I was in little league everything, was a high school and collegiate athlete, and then was active duty military. Then I got out of the Air Force, and as far as the evidence shows, it seems like I simply sat down and ate nothing but donuts and french fries. Fast forward to 2014 and I had to go to the doc for a sorta serious infection in my leg. When they were triaging me, I got weighed in. I was in a bit of pain and self-medicating, but I was really proud of myself for keeping my weight in check as I tipped the scales at just over 212! Once I got my leg under control, I started to think about that number more and finally got up the courage to ask my doc about it. I told him that the more I thought about it, the more I thought it could NOT be accurate as that was less than I had to weigh at graduation. I certainly wasn't doing enough to maintain that weight. Unless I somehow evolved the ability to convert gummy bears into CO2 instead of fat. Turns out, I was not a mutant. I just failed to check the units. I had weighed-in at 212 KILOGRAMS which was a bag of potatoes away from 500 lbs!
I was FREAKED out that I was close to weighing a quarter of a ton. I'm 6'7" (and incidentally the shortest male on my dad's side of the family in seven generations!) and, back in 2014, had just turned 40. I was NOT going to end on the news one day having to be lifted by a crane out of my bed into the backyard pool to take a bath. So I stopped eating 6 hamburgers for dinner and scaled that back to maybe 3. I only ate giant bags of gummy bears around Christmas and birthdays. Believe it or not, by just making LESS horrible decisions about what I ate, I dropped about 80lbs in three years without really knowing it.
In 2017 we were celebrating New Year's, and I wasn't really impressed with the pictures, so I made a little resolution that year - something completely wimpy like 'I'm going to get in better shape this year.' That's when I turned my research skills onto how to eat better - not how to diet. Turns out I was still eating a lot of crap, and if I didn't do that, I could lose some weight. They also suggested a little app that I could put on my phone to track what I was eating more accurately. I joined MFP and cut out the crap and holy schnikes Batman - the weight dropped like stock values around 1929.
So that worked; what else do these folks say could help? That's when I got turned onto a low-carb diet and went pretty hard-core keto. Move forward to Feb, I get a smart scale, an Apple Watch, and really start paying attention. My first weigh-in with MFP was at 383lbs. Whew, back under the 400 mark - that's a start. I started walking daily back then too. I had run marathons as a kid, so the first day out, I hit almost 3 miles before I thought I would die and was not so pleased with myself. I kept up the walking daily for two solid years. I was getting in 8 to 10 miles a day and actually moving with a bit of speed (13min/miles). The exercise, combined with actually eating, you know, real food, helped me drop another 80lbs.
In 2019, my daughter moved back to the US, and I moved to Dubai. I had hit a plateau that just was never-ending. I could knock out my ten miles without a sweat (not literally - it was the middle east), was eating right (30g of carbs or less per day, right on my macros, MAYBE one treat meal a month). However, I was still having trouble breaking 300lbs. So that's when I went back to the research. Apparently, doing the exact same thing every day and eating the exact same thing every day was very reassuring to your body and makes everything go very steady-state. So, I start varying my calorie count daily, tried carb cycling for a bit, came across IF, and started narrowing my window to about 6 hours a day. Still, things didn't really change until I got back to the gym and started lifting heavy things. COVID really hosed things up for me as EVERYTHING was locked down here in Dubai. I was having a bit of a mental block with bodyweight workouts, but I got thru it and eventually got back to the gym.
Today, I'm still RELATIVELY low carb (I keep it under 80-100g a day - that's about 3 apples' worth). I'm a big fan of intermittent fasting and am really an OMAD guy now as my window is a 2/22 split most days. I do throw in some variability, so there are occasional days that I don't fast or will have a pizza with friends. I do try NOT to eat after dark anymore - as much as is possible with my late-night movie habit. I also try to do a 2 to 5 day fast every 90 days or so. It's something that comes fairly naturally for me, and once I get past that first day's urge to eat at my usual time, it's pretty smooth sailing. I still walk daily but am down to around 5mi a day usually (sometimes more). The gym is 3.2mi away from the house, so I walk there and back on lift days. I've recently (the last three months or so) been gradually working sprints into my walks and have been sprinting the last tenth of every mile. It gets the heart rate going, and as long as my knees hold out, I'm going to keep that up.
My gym time is handled by an app called Dr. Muscle. I am in no way affiliated with them, but the app is amazing. There is a ton of science behind it. It creates variances in your routines based on your performance, makes sure to progressively overload your workouts, is customizable, and is backed by one of the best customer service teams I have ever dealt with outside Disney World. All of that aside - my strength is going up noticeably, my weight is coming down, my clothes fit like I have an actual shape. For the first time since I was, I don't know, a teenager - I have some muscle definition.
So there ya have it. That's probably a lot more about how I eat, and workout than y'all were bargaining for, but there ya have it. You may or may not have been able to tell, but I've got a tiny, itsy, bitsy competitive streak in me, so I'm a big fan of teams, scores, and challenges. I'm really pleased to be back in the F2F group and looking forward to seeing how we rank week to week.8 -
Welcome to the new people! I wish you luck on your journey!
@Cornanda I hate when that happens! It sounds like you had some great NSVs, I would try to focus on those this week, you did make progress, the scale just forgot to tell you! LOL
@TeresaW1020 I will check him out! Happy birthday tomorrow!
@apple852hk If you want the crunch feeling, could you eat some pickles or apples?
@Katmary71 Yeah I would think marijuana would be worse in their eyes. You are still a great motivator!
@dignow96 Wow, 2% is an awesome drop, woot woot!!! That LEGO city is amazing!
@TwistedSassette Thank you! Congrats on your successful February, you had a great month! Look at that cutie, he looks like such a sweetie.
Hi all. I live in Southern California with my husband and a spoiled rotten pug. I've only been overweight since about my mid-20s but man, has that taken a toll on my mental health. I have lost ~25 lbs and need to lose another 57.8 lbs to get healthy. My hobbies include making crafts, cooking, reading, and going for walks.
My phrase for the year: CHANGE HAPPENS3 -
vegan4lyfe2012
Sunday
PW: 199.0
CW: 198.6
Tiny loss, but I'll take it.4 -
Welcome to the new members and Haaayyyy to my old buddies! My name is Jennifer and I am a single mom of 3 adult children - son is 25 and in the Navy (currently on a Double Pump Deployment), oldest daughter is 23 and lives with her husband about an hour south of me, and my youngest daughter is 21 and is still at home with me. I work in Community Development for my county in Southwest Michigan (been there over 16 years now), I love to rubber stamp (I’m a Stampin’ Up demo) and make cards. I'm an active member of my church (Board member), but also love horror movies and books. I've been vegan for just over 9 years, but fell into the usual junk food/fast food/convenience food trap and need to lose about 50 pounds. I had lost 60 pounds several years ago, but, like most people, most of it reattached itself to me like a sea lamprey.
I am recovering from shoulder surgery almost 3 months ago – rotator cuff completely torn and retracted and torn bicep. The PT just upped me to 2lb weights. It’s slow going, but I really did a number to myself, so it is what it is. Which means exercise is basically walking.
I’m looking forward to getting to know our newbies and continue hanging with my OGs.
I know my two cents has been intermittent. I’m going to hop back in with both feet. Vicious TOM has been visiting and has been wreaking havoc in my life. I can’t wait until he is gone forever. I’m 47 years old. How long do I have to put up with him?!? Thank you to everyone for being my cheerleader. I really was *this close* to throwing in the towel.
@TwistedSassette I really do need to make myself portion out single servings. I can sit in front of the TV with an entire bag of whatever and eat it until it’s gone…whether I’m hungry or not. Love the pic of the toddler…what a cute little man! He makes it all worth it, no?
@TeresaW1020 Happy Birthday Eve! Thank you for posting the Beck daily info. Everything you’ve been writing about recently is so me. Especially self-sabotage. I just hopped onto eBay and bought the book and workbook. I know I’ll be working it on my own, but I really think it’s going to help. Good for you for rolling on past Starbucks!
@Katmary71 No, I don’t think there’s anyone I can talk to that late at night. Most normal people are asleep when I get my cravings. I am so sorry about the pain. It’s ridiculous how many hoops you have been jumping through and can’t get anything that helps. I wish I had a magic wand. And LOL to your cats knocking down the dog puzzle! You are an Awesome Aunt, too! Hilarious!
@dignow96 Awesome photos of Dubai! Thank you for your previous service. My son is on his second deployment (Navy) and he’s in the Mediterranean/Middle East zone. Great intro and OMGoodness to your Lego village! It’s beyond awesome…just absolutely amazing! And P.S. My middle child is a Sydney, too!
@mlhopp93 You are kickin’ butt! Nice job on your incredible weight loss streak!
@trooworld A car tire! That’s awesome! I love it when we can compare pounds lost to objects like that. And I should get back into doing my nails again to distract me. I have so much product…polishes, stamping, wraps…gels…I could sit and relax and do my nails and it would take an hour. Then I wouldn’t want to get crumbs or grease or whatever on them when I’m done. I had (obviously) stopped doing my nails when I had the surgery 3 months ago, so it’s definitely time to get back into that groove. Thank you!
@Cornanda We can do this! Hang onto the rails!
@bmotisko and @dignow96 Small world! My niece’s husband is stationed in Colorado Springs (Army). They have a beautiful view of the mountains out their front door. I’m hoping to visit them sometime this year as I’ve never been to Colorado before.
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@TeresaW1020 Considering that your friends couldn't do it, are you finding the puzzle difficult? I love jigsaws. I have a 3D Hogwarts puzzle I got for Christmas, I really should get that out and do it!
I haven't signed up for the habit tracker, mostly because I already track my habits in a spreadsheet and I think it would just be a chore to mark them off in a second sheet, lol.
Thanks for the suggestion - I have looked into low carb/keto for PCOS, some people find success with it but others don't. I am kind of on the fence about it. PCOS comes with insulin resistance so I can see how limiting carbs could have a positive impact there, but it's also hard to manage because we tend to have a higher insulin level so we're subject to hypoglycemia if we don't eat enough carbs (i.e. the higher insulin removes too much sugar from our blood and we crash!). Plus, mentally, I don't think it works for me to restrict myself so severely. I do choose lower carb options most of the time, but generally I stick to low-GI rather than low carb, which is something that the CSIRO has studied and recommended.
@Katmary71 Wow, sounds like you are shaking off the winter blues and getting into Spring already!
@dignow96 Thanks for sharing your story! An incredible journey, for sure.
@vegan4lyfe2012 Definitely take that tiny loss! Especially with TOM around, he always interferes with the scale. Thanks for loving on the toddler, you're right he definitely makes it all worth it. Over 200 needles on our IVF journey to have him, and I'd do it all again tomorrow if I had to! He is a real sweetheart!
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Yesterday was good. I didn't do any exercise but I'm feeling the DOMS from yoga class on Sunday evening so I'm ok with that. Ate within calorie range - though thought I was going to go over because of a disaster at lunch time. I had packed 2 slices of bread to make a sandwich, but when I opened the container at work, the bread was moldy! Ewww! So that meant I only had the sandwich filling to eat for lunch, so I also ate part of my afternoon snack at lunch time. Which meant I was sooo hungry by the time I got home from work. But in the end I ate a smaller dinner and it all worked out. I like to have a meal plan but it pays to be flexible sometimes I guess!
Falling behind on the sleep goal already so I'll try to get to bed earlier tonight!
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Goals for March
Sleep: 5.7/213 hours (average 5.7 hours) - AT RISK
Calorie Deficit: 696/17,085 calories (average 696 per day) - ON TRACK
Exercise: 0/870 mins (average 0 per day) - AT RISK
Meditation: 1/13 sessions - ON TRACK
Facebook: 0.63/23 hours (average 38 mins per day) - ON TRACK1 -
@Cornanda I totally get where you are coming from. I was always busy, and then Covid hit, and suddenly I’m home almost every day with nothing to do. At first, I thought I would do all kinds of things in my house, but instead, I became a jigsaw puzzle enthusiast and spent most of my time sitting. I started feeling really restless a couple of months ago and I think that is why I decided to take the church cleaning job. It gives me a couple of days a week of hard work and gets me off my butt. The funny thing is that with that extra activity, I’m even more motivated now to tackle my house projects. Go figure!
@Katmary71 Sheesh I'm tired just reading all you have going on! That is great that your garden is doing so well. I was thinking of trying to grow a few food items like bell peppers and herbs in my containers on my screened-in porch. Do you think that will work? Hubby thinks they won’t get enough light. Kids are so much fun to tease! I’m with you on wanting some 20 lb. weights and not being able to find them anywhere. I would even settle for one heavy kettlebell!
@dignow96 Holy Moly, you are the winner for the most detailed intro EVER! What an interesting read. I’m sorry that your daughter came back home only to be stuck in front of a computer finishing high school. That must have really bummed her out! That is awesome that she is starting Mercer. What is her dream job when she gets done with college? That Lego city is incredible!! How much space does it take up? 
Our plan to lose weight is very much the same and I’m happy to have another IFer and low carb eater on the team! I cook the same type of foods as you do and am always on the hunt for a new low-carb recipe that my hubby and mom will like and will still fit my diet. So, please feel free to share your creations! I’m glad to have you on our team and with your dedication and hard work, it will be fun to watch you reach your goals and of course, help this team's ranking every week.
@vegan4lyfe2012 I’m super happy that you haven’t thrown in the towel! Life gets crazy, and sometimes you need to take a breather, and that is OK. But giving up on yourself is NOT OK! I’m so glad that the Beck book is resonating with you and that you got your own copies. I know that I will be working through it more than once myself. As for that vicious TOM, girl I feel your pain! Mine was awful from 47 to 50 and then it all just magically went away. Truly the best part of aging so far has been saying good-bye to grumpy old TOM.
@TwistedSassette YES, the puzzle is difficult. Mostly because the colors are all so similar and I need really good light when I’m working on it. I will post a picture below of the puzzle and how far I’ve gotten so far, which isn’t very far! Yes, from my understanding PCOS is very much an insulin-resistant illness. I think anything you can do to minimize the sugar and processed carbs is a great thing for us all to do more often.
Hi Team! I’ve had a good day. The scale didn’t budge this morning but at least it didn’t go up! I did a treadmill walk for my workout and will be back to the hard stuff tomorrow. Mom and I went to Walmart and they have almost the entire front switched to self-checkout, so I did it and it went pretty well. At least I was doing something instead of waiting in line. The rest of my day was spent reading my Bible study book for tomorrow night and catching up on the Beck book.
Beck Diet Solution Question of the Day
DAY 26 Recognize Thinking Mistakes
Day 25 was about what to do with sabotaging thoughts. Today is about identifying thinking mistakes go with our thoughts. Or as I like to call it, “stinking thinking.” 😊 The first step in correcting unhealthy behavior is identifying the thoughts behind it. The book has 9 common errors that people who are dieting make. *Beck says: Try not to get self-critical as you identify your errors in thinking.
1) All or Nothing Thinking—you see things in only two categories when there really is a middle ground.
2) Negative Fortune Telling—you predict the future negatively, without considering other possible outcomes.
3) Overly Positive Fortune Telling—you predict the future too positively, without considering other outcomes.
4) Emotional Reasoning—you think your ideas must be true even though objective evidence says not.
5) Mind Reading—you’re sure of what others are thinking, even in the absence of compelling data.
6) Self-Deluding Thinking—you rationalize by telling yourself things you don’t really believe at other times.
7) Unhelpful Rules—You mandate actions without taking circumstances into consideration.
8) Justification—you link two unrelated concepts (to justify your eating)
9) Exaggerated Thinking—you make a situation seem greater or worse than it really is.
Looking at the nine I can certainly see where I have fit into each one over the years of struggling with my weight issues. I would say, I still struggle mostly with self-deluding thinking and justification. Both have gotten me in trouble more often than I like. Something to focus on going forward.
2021 Focus Word: TRANSFORMATION
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PLACE TEAM PERCENTAGE
PLACE TEAM LBS LOSS
PLACE INDIVIDUAL PERCENTAGE
1st @curvycalorie 3.12 %
2nd @imgwendolyn2015 2.37%
3rd @klassie12 2.14 %
PLACE INDIVIDUAL LBS LOSS
1st @CurvyCalorie 4.8 Lbs
2nd @Jactop 4.1 Lbs
3rd @imgwendolyn2015 3.8 Lbs
3rd @lindamtuck2018 3.8 Lbs
HONORABLE MENTIONS
@izzyred9400
@Steph1498
@kerdil08
@kiay131982
@apple852hk
@podperson1
@TeresaW1020
@callsitlikeiseeit
@squeakmnm41
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@Katmary71 - I think you are busier than me and I have a job! Thanks for doing all those great things for your community. The world needs more people like you. Your garden sounds amaze balls! Wow! Your nephew sounds cute and lots of fun.
@dignow96 - You have learned so much about good health and how to take care of your body. Your gardening skills also sound impressive.
@trooworld - I like that---My scale forgot to tell me the good stuff. My pants are lots looser- gonna do some measurements this week. I do like that you lost a tire. That's something to hold onto on those "upwoosh" days.
@vegan4lyfe2012 - lol- your TOM is a man! (how long do I have to put up with HIM?) The answer- who knows? I think I am later than most- 52 and I still get visited periodically. Hang in there! I'm still working on the Beck book, so if you have thoughts, post them and I will too.
@TwistedSassette - 200 hundred needles? Wow. He's definitely worth it. The moldy bread cracked me up. That's quite an unanticipated problem and I would have been starving too.
@TeresaW1020 - I think at first I felt I had all the time in the world to get my projects done, so I was not moving too fast. Now I want to make sure I have something to show for all this time I've had nothing to do. It's a very weird situation all around.
Woo hoo to @Jactop @apple852hk @TeresaW1020 on the board this week!
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PLACE TEAM PERCENTAGE
PLACE TEAM LBS LOSS
PLACE INDIVIDUAL PERCENTAGE
1st @kerdil08 5.54 %
2nd @CurvyCalorie 4.60%
3rd @davidji82 4.58 %
PLACE INDIVIDUAL LBS LOSS
1st @davidji82 12.6 Lbs
2nd @mlhopp93 12.2 Lbs
3rd @kerdil08 11.5 Lbs
HONORABLE MENTIONS
@lindamtuck2018
@happimess01
@rachelrjh
@lelbarou
@TheresaM787
@klassie12
@Bluetail6
@Pearl4686
@TwistedSassette
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I was wondering if i can just observe this month. I've missed weigh-ins mostly bc I'm training a new hire at work and it is not going well. I'm stressed and gaining weight so I don't want to drag anyone down. New hire is currently with my supervisor so hopefully I'll be able to check in more frequently and get my weight loss back on track!!!4
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Welcome to all the new people – good luck on your weight loss journey, this group is amazing and has helped me tons!
I live in the Midwest – USA and after a harsh winter, March is here and so is the smell of fresh spring.
I have two girls - Sarah and Dana, both competitive swimmers. Lots and lots of practice time means lots of driving around as their times and places for practices are different, I really wish they were in one place as they are with the same team, but different age group. I work full time from home and homeschool the girls since the beginning of the pandemic. Very different challenges, I thought working from home means having more time and thought I will take care of myself and be able to lose weight easily. Well, turned out I really like working in the office because that was my time to separate from being a housewife and mother, being home all the time is no good for me. I just don’t have time for me. I was already overweight since my teenage years, and between March of 2020 and Nov. of 2020, I gained 20+lb, my annual physical visit with the dr. in Nov. scared me, the way she put my future in front of my eyes made me determined to lose the weight and do it right this time, and that is how my journey started. This is my third month with this group and I love the honesty, reality and encouragement.
@TeresaW1020 Happy Early Birthday! … in my family the birthday person gets the whole week off from doing house chores and gets served. Well, this was a one-day thing when I was home with my parents and siblings, but I do not know why or how it is now a week in my house with the girls.
I am behind in reading the Beck Diet Solution book but I find it very interesting and continuing with it. We still do the “last one to finish eating” challenge at dinner time.
@TwistedSassette your son is so cute! Congrats on your Feb. results WOW! And sorry I am late in sending you my condolences, that must have been a tough week for your great uncle and you. I read the posts late, and you’ve been in my mind and prayers.
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Username eahrenee
Weigh In Day: Friday
PW 205
CW 200.6
Woohoo!6 -
Username: AustinRuadhain
Weigh In Day: Mondays
SW (2018): 265.2
CW: 143.7
PW: 142.2
GW: 135
I started behaving well the second half of the week, but too little too late for a loss. I am out to help with that Green Challenge this week!
As @Cornanda says, I am not letting the scale number from this morning throw me off.
@Cornanda
I am envious of all your cleaning. And, hey, I tackled my garage a few weeks ago, and it paid off big time last week! I knew just where to find myself some bubble wrap in the garage because I had been cleaning. I put it on the insides of windows in the kitchen to help me keep the room warm enough to melt ice in a pipe, and it worked!
@dignow96
Boom! What a great weigh-in! You have been hitting it hard!
@TwistedSassette
You have the cutest child! Zowie!
Oh, and I just registered that you work in a gold mine. That is such a fairy tale thing to me. I have never lived anyplace where there was much mining. I have read about it, and it sounds like an amazing and tough industry.
@Katmary71
Thank you for that vote of confidence. (Now to go off and live up to it!)
@dignow96
Oooh, a LEGO fan! I have a friend who does crazy big LEGO projects. See his Texas Navy creations:
https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/7483-kurts-ship-mocs/
@TeresaW1020
Oops? to introducing you to JigsawExplorer.
Nuts are my source of fat, so I have to find ways to eat them and not eat them , that work! As long as I don't combine nuts and anything very sweet, I do okay. Trail mix last week was handy but NOT sustainable. There is now nothing in the house that's a danger food. Phew!
@vegan4lyfe2012
Yay to that loss! And yay to being careful with portions. That is indeed SO helpful!
@eahrenee
WOW! What a weigh-in!1 -
@vegan4lyfe2012 A loss is a loss, congratulations! I have a list of things comparing my weight loss in my goal ladder (thank you, @AustinRuadhain!). It's fun to compare the weight loss. I have a ton of nail polish-type stuff, too, I used to do my own gel nails to save money. Now, I just leave them bare because I'm lazy lol.
@TeresaW1020 HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! What a gorgeous puzzle.
@Cornanda Taking measurements sound like a great idea for you, sometimes the scale lies to us but measurements don't.
@AustinRuadhain Wow, you are close to goal! Woo hoo!
Hi all. I haven't had the best of weeks thus far. A family member is upset with me and that caused me to be very upset and I didn't handle it well. I overate by a LOT on two days. I'm not giving up on the week but it did throw me into a tailspin for a bit.
My phrase for the year: CHANGE HAPPENS3
This discussion has been closed.