Shape Shifters Team Chat - FEBRUARY 2024
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jugar
Posts: 10,080 Member
Fat2Fit has five great teams. The group and team leaders are as follows - contact them any time!
Our Moderators:
Liselyn - @jugar
Megan - @Megan_smartiepants1970
Ashley - @minstrelofsarcasm
Jessica - @jessicakrall8
Our Team Captains:
Downsizers - @lindamtuck2018 and @Megan_smartiepants1970
Mission Slimpossible - @Katmary71 and @trooworld
Weight No More - @minstrelofsarcasm and @melaniedscott
WaistAways - @jugar and @ashleycarole86
Shape Shifters - @jessicakrall8 and @Pupowl
Our Team Motivators:
Downsizers - @Slimmersixties & @NachDeezy
Mission Slimpossibles - 19shmoo69
Weight No More - @rachelrjh and @BodyTalking
WaistAways - @MaddawgMadsen
Shape Shifters - @LaurieWrobo and @Cyncia85
HOW IT ALL WORKS: The February challenge runs for weeks, from February 4 - March 2. 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. 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, and may everyone else get to work on next week!
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 single 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:
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 want a break, you can be excused for a week or two, or can be moved to the Support Team for as long as you need. 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 always come back even if you get dropped.
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 Leap Month begin!!
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Hello Shape Shifters and welcome to the new members! I hope you are all doing well.
I became 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. Remember that one day of overeating does not erase any progress!
I wish everyone a great February with lots of victories, big and small!
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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 no 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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I realize these reminders come often, but they're necessary to keep us on the same page and we have newbies, so bear with me. If you're considering joining our step challenge, please be aware of a few simple requirements:
[*] Here's what we need: First name for the chart, daily step goal AND your favorite place to walk during the current month.
[*] Record keeping is 90% of our time for your Captains, so any small things you can do to assist us, are GREATLY APPRECIATED. Be clear and concise when reporting your information. Include dates...report stats in a separate posting, so it's not buried in other information...and finally...if you cannot commit to reporting your steps every 2-3 days, DO NOT REGISTER.
[*] If you fail to report in regularly, per these guidelines, you will be removed from the challenge.
Thanks and have an active and fun month in the challenge!
Jessica1 -
The February Week 1 Group Challenge is live and ready to begin tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 4th and will run through Saturday, Feb. 10th. Please join us for the 7-Day Self-Love Challenge! Here's your link:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10908940/february-week-1-group-challenge-7-day-self-love-challenge/p1?new=1
Hope to see you there!
Jessica
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Sat weigh in
PW 238.5
Cw 237.43 -
Hi Shape Shifters! I’m Patrice, a 57 year old woman living with my husband and two adult sons in the Washington, DC area of the USA. My husband and I both grew up in Boston, and our family travels regularly between Boston and Alexandria, VA to visit family and friends, care for aging relatives, and spend time with our son who attends Boston College. Our younger son attends Clemson University in South Carolina so we visit there sometimes, too. From our house, it’s about an 8-hour drive in either direction so they live near their college campuses most of the year. It’s fun to see them and catch up with their friends whenever they are ‘home’ so I’ll enjoy it while I can!
I joined MFP in December 2019 at 168 pounds, but I didn’t really build the habit of tracking my food and exercise until March 2020, when we were encouraged to stay at home to prevent the spread of COVID. There was a lot of uncertainty at the time and the only thing I felt I could ‘control’ was my health. So, I focused on eating healthier food and walked outside with my family whenever possible. I lost about 30 pounds by spring 2021 and stalled at 135 pounds. In June 2021, I joined the F2F group for extra support to reach my goal of 125 pounds, which I achieved (briefly!) around the end of September 2021.
I maintained my target range of 125-130 for about a year, but then my weight started creeping up as I concentrated on other areas of my life that I want to improve, such as decluttering our (still-too-full-of-stuff) house, now that we’re supposedly ‘empty nesters.’ I also started a business but I haven’t had much time to develop it beyond the basic essentials. (Note: I’ll cover this a bit more in a separate post in response to your question @Cyncia85 - sorry for the delay!)
Now that COVID is more manageable from a public health standpoint, and we’re socializing more, I have to work harder to return to my goal weight. I have about 15-20 pounds to lose — or re-lose? So, I’m trying to incorporate more ‘raw’ foods - like fruits, vegetables, legumes, etc. - into my diet; and, I want to increase my movement beyond my weekly rowing and soccer workouts. My younger son and I are exchanging texts three times a week to encourage one another to exercise in the morning, so we’ll see how that goes this month. Let’s make it a good one, and use the extra bonus day of leap year wisely! 😉 Go Shape Shifters!
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Please sign me up for Step Challenge
LaurieWrobo
Steps: 5,000
Favorite place to walk - around my neighborhood through a forest path with trees on either side3 -
Hello Shape Shifters. Time for another intro! I would love to see more introductions, so please share if you want to tell us something about yourself.
My name is Laura, I am 35 and I live with my cat Tinus in a small village in the Netherlands. I got really lucky with the house I rent and I live very close to a national park with a second one 30 minutes biking away. I enjoy walking, taking photographs of nature (birds are my favorite), reading fantasy books, drinking obscene amounts of tea, singing, postcrossing, video games and jigsaw puzzles. I am a pretty visual person and I like sharing pictures in the group.
I struggle with some health problems; chronic fatigue, chronic headaches and persistent depressive disorder. It makes weight loss and life in general a little challenging, but I try my best! January was an okay month for me and I ended up losing 5.7 pounds. It feels a bit slow, but I am not really bothered by that. I sometimes need to treat myself in order to keep going and going slow is always better than not going at all!
Highest weight: 247
Current weight: 204.3
I can't wait to be out of the 200's! I only managed that once before and it didn't last long. I think I will do better this time because my diet is less extreme and more doable/enjoyable. My rainbow tracker this week wasn't too bad either. Happy Sunday everyone
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Happy February! Apologies to wonderful motivator @LaurieWrobo - I got too quick in my cut and pastes of the opening for this month's team chat threads and forgot to list the new motivators correctly! It is fixed now, and I thank you again for stepping up and helping out 4
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Steps
2/2: 7,626
2/3: 12,8953 -
Happy Sunday💕💕💕
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Hello! I just thought I would do a quick re-introduction. My name is Julie, I'm 35 years old and a stay at home mom to my two year old twins. I live in Arizona.
I'm within 10 pounds of my goal weight (125lbs) and am struggling to get the last few pounds off. My main forms of exercise are daily walks with my boys and running on the treadmill at the gym. I think for this month, I'm going to try to up my running, both in frequency and length of run. My main roadblock to this is my energy level. My only opportunity to go to the gym is at night after the kids are in bed, and by then, I'm usually pretty exhausted. I need to just push through and do it anyway. I also want to add some form of strength training, but im struggling squeezing it in.
I think this is going to be an extra stressful month. My boys (speech and walking delayed) have more doctor appointments and possibly tests to see if we can figure out what is going on with them. I'm going to have to push through and stay focused on my health, despite what this monthay bring.
Good luck everyone!5 -
Please sign me up for the step challenge this month.
Goal: 10,000 steps/day
Favorite place to walk: to the park in our neighborhood.
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Daily step goal: 10,000
Fri 2/2: 10,550
Sat 2/3: 12,181
Sign me up please for the step challenge this month.
Same step goal: 10,000
Winter time favorite place to walk: indoor mall, or if not raining then in one of two nearby parks3 -
Wk 1 - Sun, Feb 4
PW: 170.8
CW: 169.8
Gain/Loss: -1.0
Sorry so late in posting my steps. I'll skip February.
Steps:
1/28 1,517
1/29 5,528
1/30 4,670
1/31 4,9153 -
Steps
2/3 6,1663 -
Team Results
By Percentage
By Pounds
Individual Results
By Percentage
By Pounds
Team Winners
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Team Results
By Percentage
By Pounds
Individual Results
By Percentage
By Pounds
Team Winners
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CONGRATS to the winners for January!
CONGRATS to the winners for Week 5 - January!
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Hello Shape Shifters!
Well, it's a lazy Sunday afternoon for me, so I thought I'd provide an introduction by reflecting on my fitness journey of the past 3-4 years (and before).
I'm 74 years old now, retired, and living alone in California's Central Valley (except that a grand nephew is staying with me for a while as he searches for a job, having just gotten his pilot certification). I'm a native Californian (apart from the minor technicality of being conceived here but born on Guam during my father's tour there). I have no children, but I have three siblings, two of whom live within 25 miles of me, and I have nine nieces and nephews four of whom live in the area.
I am what some people like to charitably call "big boned" 🤔, that is, akin to a football player. While I am fairly muscular, I've always had a bit more fat than I'd care to have. I'm 6'1" tall and even at my fittest, I've weighed ~190 or more.
Major points in my weight loss journey under the spoiler:Three and a half years ago, I couldn't walk a quarter mile without my hips burning. My resting heart rate was around high 80's, and I was easily out of breath. Now, my resting heart rate is ~50, and I am very active. I run daily and usually do a 5k+ run once a month, and I've been on four official "runs" (I'm really slow) in the past year and a half, and I've signed up for two Sierra Club outings this month:- April 1973: ~212-218 lbs.; I was in the USAF stationed in Sardinia, Italy, and about to get an overseas discharge. I had been trying for weeks to lose some weight prior to doing some traveling in Europe.
- October 1973: ~190 lbs.; This was after traipsing around Europe for a while.
- June 1982: ~245 lbs; living and working in San Antonio TX, and went on my first diet.
- June 1984: ~218 lbs.; I was 35 years old and finally graduating from college. I was living in Santa Cruz CA and had a great place to jog 2 miles every morning.
- 1985-2012: gained a lot of weight while I was 🎶"working for a living" 🎶 (Huey Lewis and the News).
- January 2015: 320 lbs; signed up on MyFitnessPal and started swimming every day. Lost about 50 pounds in nine months.
- September 2015: 270 lbs.; this was my lowest weight in decades, but I was stopped dead in my tracks with a bout of anemia the cause of which was never found.
- July 10, 2020: 330 lbs; I gained back that 50 pounds and then some, before I finally found the motivation to do something about it. I was in bad shape physically but my anemia was gone, so I was able to begin swimming again. I began a serious diet and regular exercise, with a goal to lose 100 pounds in one year.
- July 10, 2021: 243 lbs.; I lost 87 pounds my first year.
- July 10, 2022: 226 lbs.; I lost another 18 pounds in year two.
- July 10, 2023: 242 lbs.; I regained 16 pounds in year three.
- January 2024: ~242 lbs.: no progress yet in year four. My weight just goes up and down.
- My goal is to get down to at least 230 but preferably 220. My current goal is 230, and if I can keep that for a year, I'll try getting down to 220.
- 7/9/2022 - Point Pinole Endurance Run - 8.4 miles, 3 hours, 534 feet elevation gain/loss
- 8/13/2022 - Bear Creek 10k Run - 6.3 miles, 2:23 hours, 1,201 feet elevation gain/loss
- 6/10/2023 - Hunting Hollow 10k Fun Run 2023 - 6.3 miles, 2:09 hours, 368 feet elevation gain/loss
- 7/23/2023 - Santa Cruz Wharf to Wharf 10k Run - 6.2 miles, 1:50 hours, 231 feet elevation gain/loss
- 2/10/2024 (planned) - 8.2 mile hike (1,000' elevation gain) at Tassajara Creek (near Dublin, California)
- 2/17/2024 (planned) - : ~10 mile hike (500' elevation gain) at Tomales Point, Point Reyes National Seashore, California
I think it's partly the fact that I feel so fit that's making it difficult to lose these last 20 pounds or so. Back when I started, I felt my quality of life was in the pits, and that was a strong motivation. Now, it's much harder to make the required sacrifices (foodwise).
So my current status is: lack of exercise is not the problem, addiction to sweets and other snacks
is.
Best wishes to everyone for a good February and rest of 2024!5
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