Shape Shifters Team Chat - MAY 2023
jugar
Posts: 10,262 Member
Fat2Fit has five great teams. The group and team leaders are as follows:
Our Moderators:
Liselyn - @jugar
Megan - @Megan_smartiepants1970
Ashley - @minstrelofsarcasm
Jessica - @jessicakrall8
Our Team Captains:
Downsizers - @lindamtuck2018 and @Megan_smartiepants1970
Mission Slimpossible - @broncobuddee and @trooworld
Weight No More - @minstrelofsarcasm and @melaniedscott
WaistAways - @jugar and @ashleycarole86
Shape Shifters - @jessicakrall8 and @Pupowl
Our Team Motivators:
Downsizers - @Slimmersixties & @JaysFan82
Mission Slimpossibles - @katmary71
Weight No More - @rachelrjh
WaistAways - @conleywoods
Shape Shifters - @PatriceFitnessPal
HOW IT ALL WORKS: The May challenge runs for 5 weeks, from April 30 - June 3. F2F months always start on a Sunday and end on a Saturday, so adjust your calendars!
Everyone weighs in weekly on their chosen day right here in the team chat thread. 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 celebrate those small, steady losses. If you lose, however small an amount, you are in the green! At the end of the month, we celebrate everyone who lost at least a bit every week. You are heading steadily towards your goal even if you aren't at the top of the weight loss leaderboard. Let's have a Green March!
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:
Weigh In Day:
PW (Previous Weight):
CW (Current Weight):
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 inform your team captain if you are traveling, sick, or just need some time off. If you take a break, you can be excused for a week or two, or are moved to the Support Team for as long as you need to. You still participate in the discussions, you can weigh in if you want to, but it will not count in the weekly tally. Don't worry! You can come back if you get dropped and then return.
Once you reach your goal weight, you join the Goal Zone. You continue to weigh in every week. 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 begin!!
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Replies
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Hi everyone!
I’m starting out in May with this group! I’m super excited to be part of a group as I miss the accountability it brings. A little bit about myself, I’ve just hit my mid 40s, work full time and I’m a mom of busy active children. In the past few years I switched from a moderate active job to a desk job and my body is really feeling the effects of the sedentary lifestyle. I tend to put exercise last and meal planning last.
I saw there’s group challenges here and I’m excited to join them! I need to get back to recording all my daily food and adding exercise to the mix. I love the outdoors and I’m really looking forward to spring—when it decides to really show up in Chicago!
I’m still figuring out how this community works. Trying to catch up on all the messages and get on the right month.
Weigh In Day: Monday
PW (Previous Weight): 188 #
CW (Current Weight): 188 #
Goal: lose 5# in May6 -
Hello Shape Shifters and welcome to our new members. There are a lot of you this month, which is awesome. I hope you will enjoy being part of the team!
I have recently become a co-captain of the team in order to try to help out Jessica a bit. I joined this team in August 2021 and I have found it a very valuable tool on my weight loss journey.
There are a lot of things being offered here; there is the step challenge, the habit tracker, the weekly challenges, your personal weigh in and of course the Shape Shifter group chat itself. The more you engage with the group, the more you will get out of it!
Don't hesistate to reach out when you are having a hard time, chances are you aren't the only one and everyone here is kind and supportive. I often see people feel bad about posting a gain, please don't! We are all aware that weight loss isn't linear. Sometimes the scale just does what it wants, even when you do everything right. So post it, shrug it off and keep going. As long as you put in the work, the results will come, promise.
I wish everyone an awesome May with lots of victories, big and small!
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Hello Shape Shifters, I’m new to the group as well. Thank you for having me. I look forward to May8
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Hello Shape Shifters! It’s hard to believe it’s almost May, and time to introduce ourselves again.
My name is Patrice and I’ll be 57 years old in a couple of months. I live in Alexandria, Virginia with my husband and we have two college-age sons who visit during their university breaks. So, we’ll be seeing them soon! 😍 We are still grieving the loss of our 12-year old Boston Terrier dog, Petey, who left us peacefully in early March. 🐶 It’s sad but we’re able to smile more at the many joyful memories we shared with him. 🌈🐾
I grew up in Boston, Massachusetts and visit there often because most of my extended family is there, and our older son studies biochemistry at Boston College. If I travel to Boston alone, I stay with my mother and help her with household tasks. My sister is a nurse and she is increasingly more involved with our mother’s care so it gives my sister a break. My father-in-law has dementia and we (my husband, his siblings, etc.) had been taking turns caring for him at home but he moved to an assisted living facility recently due to his declining health. At first he didn’t like the idea but he’s very social so he has adjusted well. We bring him to our old neighborhood near the ocean and he loves to drive along the beach, go to church, and get his haircut whenever we see him. I miss the ocean, too!! 🌊
Now that we are ‘empty nesters’ I’ve been trying to purge many of the things we accumulated while our sons were growing up. It’s been a slow process, full of memories, so I’m just accepting that life transitions take time. This phase seems to ebb and flow as our sons come and go, older family members need help due to health issues and other challenges arise, etc. So, opportunities to focus completely on my own health and well-being are still sporadic but I’m gradually building some positive new routines and habits. I’m trying to reflect on what’s working and make those habits ‘stick’ but it’s a work-in-progress. I’m fluctuating more than I’d like but just working on staying curious and engaged in the continuous improvement process — studying, practicing, refining, and building sustainable habits.
My work is related to solving problems with the people most affected by them. I help decision makers partner with practitioners, families, and community members to improve access to education, health, and wellness services so that more people can benefit and contribute to making improvements.
We all want to be a part of solving our own problems but it’s hard work to make the changes— even when we know what works. So, I hope we can create a supportive ShapeShifters community to help each of us reach our goals. Thanks for being here! Your contribution makes a positive difference to our team!4 -
FAQ for New Shape Shifters Members
How do I post my weigh in?
Userid
(Day of Week) Weigh-in
PW: 204 lbs (previous weight)
CW: 202 lbs (current weight)
LTD: 12 lbs (optional loss to date)
Where is the Weigh in stats spreadsheet?
Start at the Fat2Fit Main Page and under the header information, you’ll see a section at the bottom that says “TO ACCESS THE SPREADSHEETS FOR JANUARY CLICK HERE” followed by the link in blue. Once you click on that link, it will take you to the Summary page. Find Shape Shifters on the tabs at the bottom and click on that and that brings you to the stats page. Also on this page (scrolling down), you’ll find the Step Challenge chart as well. This is where we record your daily steps if you sign up to be part of the monthly step challenge. More info on how to sign up is below! Join us!
How often should I post in the chatroom?
Whenever you have a question, suggestion, story, news announcement or just want to brighten someone's day!! There's never too much...and please share recipes, tips, laughs, challenges, cartoons, pictures of your pets, pictures from walks you've taken, etc...we love it all!!
What if I have to be out of town during my weigh in?
Send a message to one of the Captains (JessicaKrall8 or Pupowl) in the chatroom or in a private message on MFP's mail and let her know your circumstance...if it's just for a week or two, you can be excused from the weigh-in. If you must leave for longer than a month, you may be moved to our support team until you return. When you're ready to come back, send another message and the MODS will move you back to active status.
What happens if I miss a weigh in?
If you're late, you'll be marked as LWI (late weigh in). If you fail to report in at all, you'll be labeled as NWI (no weigh in). After two NWIs, you're put on the drop list if you explanation has been provided. It's always best to let your Captain know what's going on and she'll make sure you're covered.
How do I sign up for the Step Challenge?
Send the Captains a message that you'd like to join, provide your daily step goal and tell her your favorite place to walk. It's that simple! Please be aware though, you're making a commitment to post your steps every 2-3 days, which helps the Captains keep the stats caught up. If you're not willing to do this, please do not sign up. (THANKS!!)
Do I have to re-register each month to remain part of Team Shape Shifters?
No, your membership will carry over month to month. The only place where this is NOT true is for the Step Challenge. You have to sign up each month to participate in it and this gives you the opportunity to adjust your daily step goal.
If I've missed anything or questions arise, just post them! We'll find the information you need as much as possible! Hope this helps!
Welcome!
Jessica
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Hi y'all and welcome to May! I'm Jessica, 57, and I live in coastal Virginia, about 20 minutes from the oceanfront. I've been here for about five years and really love this team. I've made so many friends here and received incredible support from the members.
I've been overweight for most of my life, but as part of the journey and trying to trace it back, I guess my weight gain began when my father died in 1979 and I was only 12 years old. Food became my friend...comforter...always there...always dependable...and I quickly became its best friend too. Living in the south too, nearly everything is fried and everyone you visit, meets you at the door with a plate...I tried all of the plans...Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Low carb...you name it...would have success for a bit, but never kept it off...and my struggle continues, but I finally stopped trying to diet and just realized this is my life and I need to learn to cope with it. A few years ago, I had a health scare that landed me in emergency surgery with an infection that went into sepsis and I nearly died. I got serious at that point and I'm down 75 pounds since then. I still have a long way to go, but getting into intentional walking and loving it has helped me tremendously.
Hope you find the same level of support and inspiration from this team as I have. I think it's impossible to succeed with a good source of support. This team will ALWAYS back you up. Good luck in May and welcome to the family!
Jessica5 -
@jessicakrall8 @Pupowl Hi! Can I get in on the step challenge for May please?
For this month, my goal is to hit 10,000 steps a day.
Most of my walks right now are at the park or around the neighborhood, with my boys in the stroller. I'm planning to start adding in runs as well, either along the bike path near my house or at the gym.
Thanks!7 -
The May Week 1 Group Challenge is open and ready for participation starting Sunday, April 30th. Look forward to seeing you as we begin the Self-Love Bingo Challenge. Here's your link:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10889636/may-week-1-group-challenge-self-love-bingo/p1?new=1
Jessica2 -
Hi all. I'm looking forward to starting the May challenge as a first timer. The last time I lost substantial weight was 13 years ago after IF issues.
A little about me: I'm a 53 yo happily married DC gal of 19+ years living with her hubby (no kids, 2 covid adopted rescue cats) in the greatest and fittest city in the world. I love to run, but somehow stopped once the pandemic started and was stuck at home working remotely. With that, I recently retired in January and have thoroughly enjoyed the last few months doing nothing, but it has shown on my waistline. The past year brought on also brought on new changes to my body so am looking to reboot my activity and healthy eating. I love food, international and domestic travel, bicycle rides, and live music venues. Oh and I guess exercise too if I wasn't so lazy, hence joining this group.
Height: 5'1" CW: 161, GW: 140.
My goals are:
1. to consistently lift 3x a week and add some cardio. I'm supposedly a runner and have done multiple races up to half marathons, but I can say I have not ran consistently in the past 3 years.
2. increase my protein intake and stay within my macros.
Good luck to all.7 -
Hi all. I'm looking forward to starting the May challenge as a first timer. The last time I lost substantial weight was 13 years ago after IF issues.
A little about me: I'm a 53 yo happily married DC gal of 19+ years living with her hubby (no kids, 2 covid adopted rescue cats) in the greatest and fittest city in the world.
Your Captains adore adopted rescue cat pictures! Don't we @pupowl !! HINT, HINT!
Jessica3 -
Hi! I’d like to be included on the step challenge too. Tonight, after complaining that I was so tired, I went out for a 42 minute walk and it truly felt great. My goal is to walk every day, and I continue to build my endurance and stamina. I will start logging my food tomorrow as well as my exercise.3
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jessicakrall8 wrote: »Hi all. I'm looking forward to starting the May challenge as a first timer. The last time I lost substantial weight was 13 years ago after IF issues.
A little about me: I'm a 53 yo happily married DC gal of 19+ years living with her hubby (no kids, 2 covid adopted rescue cats) in the greatest and fittest city in the world.
Your Captains adore adopted rescue cat pictures! Don't we @pupowl !! HINT, HINT!
Jessica
Totally! I love all pictures, so share away. 3 -
Good morning Shape Shifters! Here is a little bit about me. My name is Laura, I am 35 years old and I live in a small village with my awesome cat Tinus. I adopted him 8 years ago and we are having a lot of fun together. I live near a national park where I like to go for walks with my camera, I read a lot of fantasy books, I love singing and hang out at my computer a lot.
I am not doing well with my food for the past 3 weeks. I try every day to sort it out again, but with very little success so far. I hope I can work it out this month. Steps 1 is to stop going to the store and eat what I have at home, step 2 is tracking and step 3 is getting down to a normal amount of calories again. I am not going to set any special goals for May; I just want to get control over my food again.
I did a little test walk with my barefoot shoes yesterday and I already love them. They are so comfortable and I really like that you can feel everything under your feet without it hurting. My walk was 50 minutes or so and my calves were pretty sore by the end, so I think I will stick to 3/4 km for now until I am used to the different way of walking. It was really hot and it is vacation time so there were lots of people out. I didn't bring my camera, there wasn't much to see anyway, so I only took 2 pictures with my phone. I will put them under the spoiler. Happy Sunday everyone
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Here is the daily card!
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@jessicakrall8 I honestly didn’t know if we were going to take I75 or I77 until we were on the road.
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Hi! I’d like to be included on the step challenge too. Tonight, after complaining that I was so tired, I went out for a 42 minute walk and it truly felt great. My goal is to walk every day, and I continue to build my endurance and stamina. I will start logging my food tomorrow as well as my exercise.
This is fantastic3 -
Gm yall. It's going to be in the upper 50s today in my corner of the world so I think I'll stay inside instead of getting my outdoors on. The EXCEPTION to this rule is Dinah and I walking 3 times today. Yoga today for 20 minutes.5
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Baby steps…I got out again this morning and walked for 35 min before leaving for my kids activities. 2 days in a row! I’m excited! Today starts my food tracking as well. As my sister suggested, I’m going to give myself grace and understand there’s ups and downs on this journey. I will do my best to stay within my calories and macros but understand perfection is not the goal here, consistency is. Here we go!!6
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Daily step goal: 10,000
Fri 4/28: 18,776
Sat 4/29: 10,863
I'd like to keep going with the step challenge, with 10,000 steps as my goal.
@pupowl, I love my barefoot shoes as well. I remember in researching them, I was warned to start off gradually. You'll be able to go for days, once your feet become accustomed to them.
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@Pupowl - The shoes look really comfortable and stylish!
I also live near a park and like to go out adventuring, look forward to your photos! I love the kitty - so fuzzy! I just adopted a fuzzy kitty, but not quite that long haired. She's a tortoise shell and instead of meowing she trills. She has a very sassy tail.
Looking forward to the challenge everyone.
My starting weight is 188lbs
I typically lose / gain / lose / REALLY gain and yoyo constantly
I'm around 50 so my hormones are playing the 'let's pack on weight in ugly locations' game. Ugh.
Prediabetic, heart valve issue, pancreas issue (I can't digest food very well), lung problems, arthritis - MEH -- basically every issue would improve with sustained weight loss.
The only positive I have is that I enjoy exercise.
I have four cats total, lol, and I'm a landscape artist, illustrator and designer which really translates to a lot of tedium and listening to audio books and podcasts. It's only glamorous if a person REALLY loves being alone, lol. I get distracted and go ride my bike honestly. Or post walls of text on MFP apparently, lol, I gotta get to work y'all but...
Day #1 -- Let's GO!!!
They're in the spare chair I had to dig out of storage when I had my daughter over to work on a craft project, I swear my furniture isn't this bad! lol, these are my adopted girls, they've been with us about two months now. I 'work' from home (read, I attempt to work but get distracted non-stop and end up eating) anyway -- the cats get a lot of attention. I also have an outdoor stray I feed and a geriatric old male cat that looks like he's swallowed a ham.
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frankwbrown wrote: »Daily step goal: 10,000
Fri 4/28: 18,776
Sat 4/29: 10,863
I'd like to keep going with the step challenge, with 10,000 steps as my goal.
@pupowl, I love my barefoot shoes as well. I remember in researching them, I was warned to start off gradually. You'll be able to go for days, once your feet become accustomed to them.
I just love the sound of barefoot shoes...can only imagine how great they feel! I'm so jealous!!! With plantar fasciitis, I have to have built-in arch supports and extra padding in the heel, so I know they wouldn't work for me. I love my Vionic flip flops though...although I wish they weren't so expensive. I try to watch for sales because I wear them around the house at night. Who makes barefoot shoes? Are there multiple brands or is it just one company?? I'd love to at least see them...
Jessica2 -
Team Results
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By Pounds
Individual Results
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Team Winners
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@Sbus12 Awesome job with the walk! I think it is good to mainly focus on calories to start with. Macro wise, I would say protein is the most important and I wouldn't worry so much about the rest. Getting a calorie deficit is the main thing. You've got this!
@Itadakimasu7 Thanks! I thought the color was kinda ugly, but it was the cheapest lol, so that's good enough for me. Tinus is a persian and we go to the groomer around 4 times a year. He really explodes every winter. 4 kitties is a lot! I have my hands full with just one. Tortoise cats are super pretty though, love the colors.
@jessicakrall8 I put a picture of my shoes in the spoiler on the previous page. Some people say they helped with plantar fasciitis, but I guess everyone is different. Barefoot shoes make your feet stronger. I think https://www.vivobarefoot.com/us/ is one of the bigger brands that make barefoot shoes, but I think a lot of brands have created a pair.2 -
Team Results
By Percentage
By Pounds
Individual Results
By Percentage
By Pounds
Team Winners
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Good morning everyone
I'm Julie. I'm 55, live in Keller, TX (a little bit north of Fort Worth), married with one son who is a freshman at Texas Tech. We have a lake house at White River lake about 60 miles from Lubbock. We will be making a trip next weekend to stay out there for the week and move Jason out of the dorm.
I've been taking Mounjaro since November and have lost a little over 40 pounds. Not a miracle drug, but definitely a game changer. The coupon program that I am under is coming to an end soon, so I may be switching to Wegovy. I'm currently going through the monthly challenge of finding a pharmacy that has it in stock. My numbers were much improved at my last blood test, fasting blood sugar was not in the 90s for the first time in probably a decade. 78 for a fasting blood sugar and a 5.2 A1C.
We are going to go to my Mom's house this afternoon. My step-father has an old john boat he is going to give us, so we are picking it up to take with us next weekend. It will be nice, with the draught, we haven't been able to put our pontoon boat on the lake. I've been bad about posting, but am going to make a concerted effort this month.
I'm working through 100 Days to Freedom from Overeating and one of the quotes for today struck a chord and I thought I would share.
Practice saying no to the things that are not good for you, and overtime, you will find it easier to do. - Daniel G. Amen
Hope everyone has a wonderful and restful Sunday.6 -
Hi All!
I am new to this support group and team! Thank you for having me. I am seeking accountability. I hope this group does that for me.
My name is Cindy. I am 37 and live in the Chicagoland area. I work full time in an accounting role for an engineering firm. I am in school; past semesters I've tried going to school full time. It is exhausting and stressful. I am debating how many classes I will take come the fall semester. I'd like to finish soon and I want to manage my stress. Gotta find that balance.
My weight has gone up and down. Alot of it has to do with the sedentary lifestyle. I sit at a computer way too much. My diet fluctuates. I would like to log my food daily. I am a stress eater and this is something I am seeking to find the root cause so I can remedy it. I am also a snoozer! I would love to be able to get up a few hours before I start work so I can do self-care which would include a morning walk or jog.
I am single and no kids. I have an adorable niece. I am a pet parent; I adopted my Hazel in December 2020. I'd love to have her jog with me.
I have some health challenges that impact my exercise. I was born with spina bifida; the form I have is mild. I believe this had led to a weak pelvic floor and leakage. Leakage can occur sometimes with workouts; that is de-motivating. I've been in pelvic floor therapy. I'm more aware about my breathing. I also have asthma that can be triggered by high intensity workouts. I recently started allergy shots; 1 month done. I am hoping that the allergy shots will help with the fatigue, asthma, and inflammation I experience. I am curious to see how I will feel in 6 months. The shots could last 3-5 years. I have PTSD. My anxiety or depression can create barriers.
Week 1 Goals:
-Lose 8 lbs.
-Meal plan and prep.
-3 morning walks and be part of the step challenge
Weigh In Day:
PW (Previous Weight): 228#
CW (Current Weight): 228#5
This discussion has been closed.