Hello Team Slimsons and Welcome to June!!

My name is Ashley @AB0215 I will be your captain for this month.

Here's a little about me:
I am 32, and I have been overweight basically my entire life and in the last 18 months or so, I decided to change that, I decide that my 30s really will be the best years yet!! I am currently down over 50 lbs and still going, however I don't actually have a goal weight as I weight train and I realize that my weight will likely be more than one of those ridiculous BMI charts, but I do have a fat % goal, so I will know my goal weight when I get there, but it's not really possible for me to know what it is along the way, I just know that I'd like to continue my downward trend!!

Please feel free to introduce yourselves and share your goals for the month, I'd actually like to encourage this as I know that for me it helps me to have some accountability and helps me reach my goals when I share them..and with that in mind, my goal this month is to lose 5 pounds, and increase my weight training by 20 lbs each lift (squats, deadlifts, bench press) at the end of my training cycle, which is starting April 1st, and runs for 10 weeks, so I won't know this month if I actually hit my strength goals until next month, but I did for my last training cycle so I am hopefully optimistic.

We are also going to be running (Optional) Mini-challenges again this month: Question of the Week and Daily Posts

First and foremost is that participation in these challenges is optional. It's up to you as to whether you want to try this. If you don't want to participate in these challenges, you don't have to, the choice is yours, but I would like to encourage you to participate as it seems to help keep us on track and thinking about our goals on a daily basis and it's encouraging to see other's successes and struggles so that we realize that we are not alone!!

The Daily Posts Challenge is based on another challenge on MFP called UAC (ultimate accountability challenge). The way UAC works is that the aim is to follow 5 basic rules.

#1. Track EVERYTHING you eat that has calories.
#2. Stay inside your allocated daily budget.
#3. Try to do at least 20 minutes of activity a day (anything: walk, run, cycle, swim, gardening, housework, yoga, gym, etc.. As long as it gets you active and off the couch)
#4. 1 pass day permitted per week (went over calories, could not track, not enough exercise, intentional pass)
#5. Check in daily (tracking yes/no, calories yes/no, exercise yes/no).

****End of the week. those who have managed to keep to plan for 6 out of 7 days are recognized in the thread as being part of the weekly "winners circle".

A side note as there has been a bit of confusion for new members in the past, this is not the same as the official results, which are weight based, this is just another tool to help you reach your weight loss goals.

**REMEMBER**
You set your own daily budget.
You choose you own exercise and intensity (no step limit, no exercises you cannot or should not do, 20 mins of gardening counts as much as a 10mile run, activity is activity, anything that gets you up and moving!).
Is not weight based (as weight fluctuates day by day).
Can continue beyond weight loss.

Daily check in keeps you in touch with those doing similar. Longer term weight management is hard to do on your own.

It also has frequent resets (as in a circle each week).

It works on an honor system. Being honest with yourself and others is a key to making things work. Remember, this is a judgement free zone, everyone has good days and bad days, but the way to get to the finish line is by being honest and when we have a bad day, picking ourselves up and carrying on the next day!

Consistency and new habits have been shown the only long term successful way to change weight. We all want the progress made here to last a lifetime.

Your posts should look like this:
Daily Post
(Tell us a brief description about your day or goals)
Track: Yes/no
Calories: Yes/no (were you under)
Exercise: Yes/no (what type and how long)
Water Intake: how many ounces? (optional--but good to help keep track)

The Question of the Week Challenge is a fun participation booster and we will be using it sometimes just as fun and sometimes it can help to foster new ideas for others as we all are different and have different experiences so sharing ideas can help someone else with motivation of freshening up their routine even!! Keep on the lookout for these questions.

This is something that is fun, but challenging to me since I am running out of questions, and I would like to invite any of you guys to feel free to come up with a question you think is fun and send it to me. I am running out of creative questions and would like to use my "Ask the Audience Lifeline."

Please post your weight on your scheduled weigh in day, as if you miss weigh-ins, you may be eliminated from the challenge and we don't want to see that happen!!

Your posts should look like this:
Username:
Week: February Week 1
PW =(previous weight)
CW=(current weight)
Just type PW & CW if you'd like (or if it's easier, you could keep a note on your PC desktop to make it easier to copy and paste from week to week.)

Please, please setup your posts in that format as it really makes it much easier for me to track your progress for the challenges and the weight loss!!

I'd like to help us be as successful as possible and if I can help in any way, please let me know. Also, if you have any suggestions for the team or fun ideas to spice things up a bit, please feel free to share them, I look for new ways to help engagement and keep people motivated!!

I am committed to this group and to help where I can, and please let me know if I can help in any way!!
Side note--I follow a Ketogenic diet for any that may be interested, I have tons of recipes and resources for anyone interested.

Welcome to February and let's make things happen this month together!!

Your Captain,
Ashley (@AB0215)

lorib642 wrote: »

Hi

I am Lori. I started gaining weight after I had children. Then, I had a psychotic break in 2003 and have been on some psych meds that can lead to weight gain (and they did). I still take some medication. I started mfp years ago, lost about 15lbs and stopped. I don't remember if there was a reason. I am back now and ready to go. My weight fluctuates a lot, one day I am a weight, the next I am 2lbs higher, and it goes in between before it drops back down.

My goal for this month is to lose 5 lbs, My ultimate goal is to get to a normal bmi. I walk for exercise.

@lorib642 Great to have you, feel free to share as much or as little as you like, and please let us know if there's anything we can help you with!! Let's have a great JUNE!!

Fyreside wrote: »

I used to estimate a lot, but when I got scales I found out I was pretty bad at it lol. I still do a little bit here and there, but I've actually come to really like weighing and knowing. Strangely enough doing things by the numbers seems to be easier than having to make good decisions all the time.

Whatever you do, don't worry about letting anyone down. The competition is a bit of fun, but the real victory here is just working towards our goals.

@lorib642 @Fyreside is right: Don't worry about letting anyone down, you won't, we ALL have ups and downs and that's just how it is. Aslo @Fyreside is right again. I used to estimate, but now that I use the scale, I can't believe how bad at that I was, but I was too, so that's something to consider. The scale is always going to be your best bet, but also realize that it's not always possible to use the scale and in those situations, it's best to estimate and move on.

BMovieQueen wrote: »

I have been overweight my entire life, but it's only really been bothering me a lot since I hit 30. So I decided that I need to repair my relationship with food, change the way I think, form new, positive habits and try teach myself some discipline. I started my journey 2 weeks ago and so far so good!
My goals are to lose the excess weight (2lb a week), be fit and healthy, and to pass the knowledge I acquire on my journey to my son so he can make better choices too.
This is my first challenge and I'm really excited to take part!

@BMovieQueen Hi Nikki! Welcome to the team. I think your goals are awesome and realistic! It's definitely important to repair your relationship with food, this is probably one of the most important take-a-ways from any diet and exercise program. I can really relate to your story, I've been overweight literally my whole life, but I never really did anything to change it until I hit 30. Welcome aboard and let us know if we can help you in any way!

lorib642 wrote: »

First day, yeah! I don't do much different for memorial day weekend. I work tomorrow. I have a little cold, which is slowing me down, but i will walk with the dog.
I deal with anxiety, too and it can lead to emotional eating. I am working on developing healthier coping skills than food and drink.

@lorib642 I'm sorry to hear that! All of it! I don't usually do much for the holiday either, but the cold, now that's no way to spend a holiday. I hope you get to feeling better quickly!
As for the anxiety, I can completely understand. I stress eat if I'm not careful, but I believe you can overcome it, it just takes some work, and a lot of patience. Forgive yourself if you slip up, and lean on us if you find yourself needing strength, we all have those moments, but we're here for each other!