WeightNoMore Team Chat - FEBRUARY 2024

jugar

Here is your Team chat room for February 2024. Happy New Year! This is where you weigh in, 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 often, and help each other succeed! Bookmark this thread to make it easy to land here any time.

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!!

Megan_smartiepants1970

Hi WNM.. you have another new member joining your team for February ..Please welcome @MPJDVM

andja87

Hey team! Welcome to all the new members, happy you’re here!

I’m Angie. 36 years old. I’ve been a member of this team starting in October 2023. I’m a wife and mother of a 2 yr old. I work in a factory setting that can be moderately physical with a lot of steps.

A LOT about my history with MFP and how I got here:

I joined MFP back in 2012?ish when I was my highest weight (205lbs or so) for that time. Didn’t use it much and it fell to the wayside.

Fast forward to June 2020, I was again at my new highest weight (261lbs). I didn’t feel great, and knew I needed a change, and turned to MFP again and steadily got down to 213lbs by the end of 2020. Took some time off for the holidays and fell off the wagon. By March 2021, I was pregnant and had my son on Halloween that year.

Within 1 year of being PP both of my parents were diagnosed with cancer at different times. It was stressful, scary and hectic. Navigating first time motherhood, working a 3rd shift schedule and taking each of my parents to their respective appointments was a lot and I didn’t give 2 sh*ts about the food I was shoving in my face lol

By August of 2023, my parents were healthy and doing well for which I am so thankful but my weight had suffered and I reached 275lbs. I needed to do something about it. MFP had worked for me before and so I thought I would take a chance. I signed up for this challenge in late September 2023 because I knew I needed something to hold me accountable and give me the push to achieve the things I know are possible.

Since the beginning of 2024, I’ve joined a boot camp style gym and work out there 3-4 times a week, sometimes more if I can manage an at home on demand workout through the gyms app. I’ve also within the last couple weeks started training for a 5k (using a couch to 5k style program) that I’ll hopefully run more than walk in April this year. I’ve never run on purpose, so this is huge for me 😂

Something my trainer asked at my gym, was “What is my Why?”
It’s first and foremost my son. But it’s also me, I’m worth it to feel my best for myself and for him. After losing close to 60lbs now, the little things of being able to run around and dance around with him for longer and not feel as tired or as winded has meant more to me than the smaller clothes I get to wear.

If you’ve stuck around and read all of this, hi and thanks lol I’m happy to be apart of this team!

jessicakrall8

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

Emilienewme

@andja87 thank you for sharing your story and well done on starting running! You will do it and reach 5k without walking! I have only started at Easter myself. It might not be my favourite form of exercise but I like that it can fit around my busy family life (so no excuses) It is not always easy and some days are better than others, I still hate hills but I am starting to enjoy it (except the hills... Hills are everywhere by where I live)

minstrelofsarcasm

Hey WeightNoMores! Welcome to ... February? How did we get to February???

Anyway, I'm Ashley, I'll be one of your two co-captains here to guide you through the month (and even longer, if you'll stick around with us).

While most of this information has been copied and pasted, I have updated some of my information to be more current and accurate. And if there are any questions, any at all, please do not hesitate to ask. I'm more than willing to talk about my struggles, my digestive tract, my sleep schedule, how starting a new relationship stresses me about because there are very few healthy date foods and I don't want to look like that person, how lifting heavy saves me from potentially beating up my coworkers, stress baking, stress eating... you get the idea.

There's a lot of content here, and it's spoilered, so it doesn't make a long post even longer. You get to pick and choose what you read.

~ THE BASICS ~

Name: Ashley
Age: 28
Pronouns: she/her
Location: Ohio, USA
Occupation: Chemical Engineer and Certified Personal Trainer (since November 2023!)
Height: 5'7"
Highest Weight: 234lbs
Current Weight: 183lbs
Lowest Weight: 6lb 10oz (August 28th, 1995)
Lowest Non-Infant Weight: 155lbs (although there were some heavy ED vibes, so I wouldn't romanticize that time of my life too much)
Medical Diagnosis: Multiple Sclerosis

~ MY HEALTH STORY ~

I grew up in a Clean Plates Club™ household, with the idea that food could stuff down any emotion and mask any discomfort. This led to being bullied as a child, expecting people to be mean to me in middle and high school (and then being mean to people first so they didn't have the chance), having an identity crisis in college, and being scared (ahem) poopless after a doctor told me I was on the edge of being pre-diabetic.

I used this fear to catapult me into fitness, starting with indoor cycling classes. I expanded into trying out OrangeTheory, Barry's Bootcamp, F45, and numerous smaller boutique fitness studios. Eventually, I landed on a nice gym that offers group fitness but also allows you to use their equipment for your own personal use. That, combined with having a personal training session once a week, and dropping into group fitness studios from time to time, has led me to have a balanced fitness routine.

In the middle of me getting my (ahem) stuff together, November 2019, I had my first major Multiple Sclerosis relapse and could not feel half of my body. At the time, I had no diagnosis and did not know what was going on outside of the sensation of pins and needles on my left side. After playing a rousing game of Musical Neurologists™, I found a doctor who did not believe my condition to be severe anxiety. He ordered an MRI and a spinal tap, and I was on my way. 14 vials of blood, 2 MRIs, and one spinal tap later, I had a diagnosis. My symptoms are mostly manageable, and my active lifestyle along with reasonably healthy eating has allowed me to continue on with my life without much interruption. My next MRI is in a week, and I hope it shows no further deterioration, as there is currently no cure for MS.

And now? Now I'm focused on building muscle, maintaining my cardiovascular health, and holding back the icky side effects of the autoimmune disorder. Losing weight would be fantastic, but it's not my focus anymore. I've also become a certified personal trainer, with the intent to make fitness more accessible for those with chronic illness. Oh boy, do I have some new fun facts bouncing around in my brain.

I sprained my wrist on January 4th. My recovery has been frustrating, to say the least. I am doing my very best to pace myself whenever possible, but I'm also impatient and anything less than full independence in all things does mean things to my brain. At the same time, I am about to attempt to coach classes at a local Burn Boot Camp, which has been put on hold while I heal.

~ FUN NUMBERS ~

Number of Spin Classes Attended: 1173
Deadlift Personal Best: 180 lbs
Squat Personal Best: 155 lbs
Fastest Mile Run: 6m 11s
Percent Body Fat: 27%
Times "Started Over": Too High to Count

~ THINGS TO KNOW ~

• I am a moderator for F2F, so if something doesn't look right, you can let me know and I'll take care of it.
• As a chemical engineer and certified personal trainer, I am VERY familiar with a lot of the chemicals we put into our bodies, and numbers are my friends. I also do research for a living. You want facts? I'm your girl. I am always (ALWAYS) happy to explain the science behind something.
• I used to have a blog on MFP before they removed the blog feature. I didn't save everything I ever wrote, but you can find some of it here: LINK
• I am an open book. You want to know about life with MS? Just ask. You want to know when my last bowel movement was? Just ask. You want my maple donut cookie recipe? Just ask. There is not a single topic I am unwilling to chat about - all it takes is asking the right questions.

~ CURRENT STRUGGLES ~

My weight has been slowly increasing over the past year. And even though I know there's been quite a bit of muscle growth, and plenty of sources of water retention, it's getting to me.

In an attempt to quell my anxieties, I ordered a new scale.

I know what you're thinking. Obsessing over my weight even more will not help.

But that's not why I ordered a new scale. This new scale has a couple built in features I'm excited to try out, tracking a dozen more metrics than a standard scale, including BMI, body fat percentages, muscle mass, etc. I am hoping (HOPING) that these new numbers will help me re-center myself and trust that this slow process is working for me, that my plan to build muscle to increase my basal metabolic rate (BMR) while losing fat from a slight caloric deficit has been benefitting me.

Because sure, my BMI claims I'm overweight. It's been decades since I haven't been overweight. But I know I'm more muscular than I've ever been at 180lbs, and I've been here several times before. And I know I can do far more than I ever could previously.

So, it's going to be okay. But my brain needs a few more numbers, just a little more data, before it believes that.

UPDATE - OCTOBER: The new scale was incredibly helpful. Here's what I posted soon after testing it out:

minstrelofsarcasm wrote: »

~ New NSV!!! ~

I mentioned in my long rambling post about myself that I ordered a new scale to better track the numbers in a way that matters, and oh boy was that a smart idea. I have the results of the InBody scan I did way back in May last year, when I was actively participating in a challenge at my gym at the time, F45. And while there are some things to be wary of when comparing two different methods of obtaining these numbers, I am still ridiculously proud of how far I've come.

Let's take a look...

May 9th, 2022

Weight - 177.1 lbs
BMI - 27.7 kg/m2
Skeletal Muscle Mass - 74.3 lbs

September 8th, 2023

Weight - 179.4 lbs
BMI - 28.2 kg/m2
Skeletal Muscle Mass - 88.2 lbs

But what does this mean?

So here's the thing. My weight went up. For a lot of people, this is a huge no-no. And because my weight went up, so did my BMI, because BMI is based solely on weight and height, not levels of health. I wrote a blog post back in the days when MFP still had the blog feature (I was smart and made a copy of this blog, so if you want to read it, you can click here).

But let me draw your attention to what I'm actually proud of: Skeletal Muscle Mass. According to what my special scale told me this morning, I've gained almost 14 whole pounds of muscle over the past 16 months. And if I gained 14 pounds of muscle, but only 2 pounds of weight, that also means I've lost approximately 12 pounds of fat, give or take a pound or two to account for hydration levels and how much heavier my hair may have gotten.

All of this is to say that the number on the scale isn't the whole picture. I can already see a couple issues I have with the measurements my new scale has taken, because there's way too many variables that could affect the values they're giving me, but it's a lovely way to compare my values one day to my values on another, and that's a better picture than a standard weight-only scale could ever provide.

UPDATE - November: I still have a couple issues with the numbers I've been seeing, but the slight shifts from day to day have aligned reasonably well with my eating/exercise habits, so I can't complain too much.

UPDATE - December: I've been out of control with my eating recently, but I think I've discovered several of my triggers to overeat, and I have a plan to regain control. It's just a matter of doing the damn thing.

Emilienewme

@melaniedscott here are my weekly steps
Saturday 3rd Feb 11565
Friday 2nd Feb 9953
Thursday 1st Feb 13219
Wednesday 31st Jan 10037
Tuesday 30th Jan 13454
Monday 29th Jan 8450
Sunday 28th Jan 14911
Total: 81589

So I thought a lot about this journal prompt and I guess so far today I felt very organised, determined and also stressed 🙈 I have to learn to say no to people sometimes

Food plan for the day:
Breakfast: breakfast biscuits and tea (please don't judge, that was at 6am at the ice rink when my daughter was training, Sundays are always an early start for us)
Lunch: salad, crumpet and a protein shake
Tea: butternut squash curry with rice and banana nice cream

Training plan: go for a run with some of the other skating mums (that was also today's task as it was some kind of socialising outside if talking when you can breathe and being windswept in the rain counts. We managed 4km. Photo of my trainer's after the run 🏃‍♀️


Now I am off to a ballet competition with my daughter, with presumably a lot of sitting around for me but hopefully a few mums I know to catch up with... On the plus side if I am not home I am not tempted by the rest of my Christmas chocolates

Have a good day all 😃

Losingweekly

Losingweekly
Weigh in Day is Sunday

Starting Wt: 171.4
PW: 169.2
CW: 170.4
Wt. Loss this week: -1.2
Total Wt. Loss: 0

Steps This Week: 41741 💝

BodyTalking

Hello February and welcome new members 👋😀

BodyTalking

I downloaded 'Do It Now' app last year but didn't take the time to edit until today. I've got my own emoji list set up in notes but will try this to see if it's better or worthwhile. Maybe this will be useful for some of you.

Marcy2890

Username: marcy2890
Weigh-In Day: Sunday
PW: 132.9
CW: 130.9

CassieGetsFit2013

Weigh In Day: Sunday
PW (Previous Weight): 232.6
CW (Current Weight): 232.8

Well, not off to a good start for February, but at least it's a tiny gain, but pretty much a maintain. I'm pretty sure I know where I went wrong, so I will keep it up, and hope for some losses in February! Maybe I can get down to 229 or 228 by the end of it, that sure would be nice, but even if I only make it to 230, I'll accept that too! Any loss!

daria0919

minstrelofsarcasm

Team Results
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By Pounds



Individual Results
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Team Winners

minstrelofsarcasm

Team Results
By Percentage


By Pounds


Individual Results
By Percentage


By Pounds



Team Winners

BodyTalking

Daily Cheers to a BETTER ME!
🟥🟧🟨🟩🟦🟪🟫 (Sun-Sat)
🩷⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪ 6,000+ Steps
🩷⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪ Exercise
🩷⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪ Caloric deficit
🩷⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪ 1.5+ ltr water
⚫⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪ 6+ hrs Sleep

I'm going to get back to logging food and drink properly again. A good start to the month!

melaniedscott

Welcome to all the new ladies & gents!

I'm Melanie, 47 (oof, hard to say it) and I'm from Kansas. I’m the other team Co-captain. Truly, Ashley does most of the heavy lifting. I generally do the steps post.
My (really short version) story

Once upon a time, I was very skinny and could eat anything I wanted and not gain weight. I was pretty active and took meds that probably ramped up my metabolism (and put me at risk of severe medical problems). But that was a long time ago and things are different. Now I an the opposite of skinny and I look at anything yummy and gain five pounds. I need to lose 80 lbs.

My special snowflake challenges

I'm fairly significantly asthmatic (on meds all the time).
I have terrible allergies, mostly mold. Which is literally everywhere. And cats. Anything that doesn't have square pupils (but not things with square pupils!?!), including people sometimes.
I have migraines.
And I have connective tissue issues (not enough collagen, too stretchy, lots of joint slippage).
August 2020, I acquired some vertigo problems and persistent deafness on one side. Yay.

What I do about it

I take glucosamine and collagen supplements for the connective tissue problem. When I have bad days, I also drink collagen peptides (but I really dislike them). I've been supplementing with Vitamin C for decades, not really knowing why. In the past few years, I learned Vit C helps the body produce and process collagen. Suddenly, my lifelong obsession with the C makes sense.
My neurologist recommended I take 500 mg of ginger and 400 mg of Vitamin B2 every day to reduce migraines, it has helped a lot. The migraines are so much better (almost non-existent) and manageable when they happen. The ginger also helps some with the vertigo. I have no excuses for not doing exercise when the vertigo is managed, except for being lazy.
After adding some nasal sprays and sinus irrigation, adjusting my diet a bit, and stopping coffee (EXTREMELY, TERRIBLY sad), I’ve got the vertigo mostly under control.

What is the point behind all this?

The special snowflake stuff is not woe-is-me drama llama. It is that everyone has to do what works for them now. The stuff a lot of people go on about are not good, for me, and are sometimes dangerous, for me. Sometimes people get down on themselves because they don't do the stuff everyone talks about HIIT, Insanity, stair steppers, etc. I not only don't do those things, I shouldn't. But I should exercise.

My Goals

My daily goal to get about 30 minutes of walking a day at least during the week isn't doing much for me. I try to get a walk in otherwise but frequently fail. When I travel for work, which has been fairly frequent the past four ish months. I may be on my feet training all day but it isn't really all that much exercise and I generally drive three or four hours. Ugh. I joined a gym, ostensibly to go with my husband (where I can take a guest) but he hates going. It isn't working out well. He doesn't want to do anything but walk on the treadmill and not even that.

Anyway, I've been with WNM for a long while now. Early days, I lost a lot but blah blah blah, it came back and brought friends. I have a membership at Planet Fitness but I haven't been since the day before I came down with Covid in December. I'm back to working overtime but I have to get back to working out and get ahead of my diet. Not sure PF is really doing it for me.

BodyTalking

BodyTalking

How are you all going to achieve your goals this week?

Are you doing the F2F group challenge? I am and think it will be helpful to get focussed and feel I've done something each day.

I've woken up too early today. It's still dark outside and I haven't managed to get back to sleep. I'm listening to meditative nature sounds and will get up and do some exercises when that stops. That'll be one goal achieved!

BodyTalking

Daily Cheers to a BETTER ME!
🟥🟧🟨🟩🟦🟪🟫 (Sun-Sat)
🩷🧡⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪ 6,000+ Steps
🩷🧡⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪ Exercise
🩷🧡⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪ Caloric deficit
🩷🧡⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪ 1.5+ ltr water
⚫⚫⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪ 6+ hrs Sleep

9Harvey

Weigh In Day: Sunday - Jan 28
Previous - 217.0
Current - 217.2

Steps
M - 4715
T - 2034
W - 2107
T - 2343
F - 708
S - 2504
S - 6849

Total - 21260 steps

Sorry, I know I am late. I have been moving which involved a 3 day road trip, and 4 provinces. Please excuse me for weight in day Feb 4th as my scale was not unpacked.