Hi Gutbusters! My name is Bonnie and am the captain here at Gutbusters. I'm married to Doug, live in Nashville TN, and we are empty nesters. I homeschooled my two sons from kindergarten through their high school graduations. My oldest is married and lives in Chattanooga with his wife, Katie, and their beautiful Brittany, Toby. Jonathan is a Systems Analyst and my youngest son, David, lives in Greenville SC and is an Electrical Engineer. I'm also a foster-fail mom to Ollie, our Miniature Schnauzer.

I have been here at MFP since November 30, 2018, when I decided that I didn't want to live the way I was living and feeling the way I was feeling any longer. From that evening until now, I have logged everything I have eaten, tried to exercise every day, and stayed under my calorie range daily. I have lost 35 pounds. It's been a slow process but no matter how long it takes, I will stay the course until I reach my healthy goal weight.

We have several members who have been on the Gutbusters team for several months and they will be introducing themselves so we can all get to know each other. I love to think of this group as my Fit Family. I hope you feel very welcome here from your very first day.

Your weigh-in day is the day of the week you signed up to be in the challenge. Your weekly weigh-in post should look like this:

User Name
July Week #
PW:
CW:

Please post as frequently as you'd like. A daily check-in with the team will help keep you focused on your goals and we'd love to get to know you better!

August is going to be a wonderful month to see some great changes in our health! Please take a moment to introduce yourself to our team! Feel free to share as much as you are comfortable.

July 22
Exercised? No
Calories? Yes
Tracked? Yes
Wedding weekend. Buffet breakfast. Not looking forward to getting on the scale. This week 😯

Welcome to our newest members for August ... @betsychange and @denny2011. Hope you both enjoy the challenge.

@betsychange, we're empty nesters too. Interesting time of life.

Glad you're here, @betsychange! My husband was diagnosed with Type 2 many years ago and he has successfully kept off all meds with diet and exercise. Proud of you for taking control of your health!!

Hi team, I am Bobby T. Thank you for having me as a member this is the 3rd month for me. It so nice to be in this group with Yinz (I am From Pittsburgh ) And feeling very fortunate in many ways, I only work during tax season ( weight gain) So I spend the other months trying to eat right and exercising. I have always been a athlete and continue to try and balance rest with exercise. Empty nester with plenty of yardwork. My goal with my yo yo weight is to try and make the peaks lower and the valleys deeper and more consistent. So far this year the peak (tax season) was a little lower. I am only behind my last years valley by 2 lbs. August is usually a nice steady loss type month with me caping it off with my yearly physical. I enjoy team sports playing softball on 4 teams as well as running a few 5 k. Peace to all! Let me know if I can help !

Happy Sunday! Welcome to Week 1 for August, Gutbusters!

For those of you who are new to the group, here are some weigh-in FAQs:

• When do I post my weigh-in?
Post on your "scheduled weigh-in day". So, if you posted a weight in the New Member Registration thread on a Tuesday, then your scheduled weigh-in day will be each Tuesday of the month. Let me know if you have a question.
• Why is Week 1 beginning on Sunday? Haven't we been already posted our starting weights?
Think of it as a first birthday. You're born, then you must live a whole year before you can celebrate being 1. In this challenge, you post a starting weight, then you have a whole week to work on weight loss before you post your Week 1 weigh-in.
• How do I post my weigh-in?
Your posts should look like this:
Username:
Week: August Week 1
PW: Previous Weight in pounds
CW: Current Weight in pounds
• What's my previous weight?
If you're new, your Week 1 previous weight is whatever weight you posted in the New Member Registration thread or check out the current spreadsheet to see what your posted info says. If you're returning, your Week 1 previous weight is whatever your weight was in the last week of the previous month.
• Team Dynamics!
A successful month will also include checking in each day with our team. Strive to become acquainted with everyone on the team and encourage each other in the successes and failures we will all experience. Our members are invited to post daily following the guidelines of another challenge called UAC (Ultimate Accountability Challenge). Very simple, but effective, in keeping us focused on our health goals. Please feel free to join that monthly challenge as well. @RangerRickL does a fantastic job there of keeping us motivated daily. I don’t think I’d be as far along on my journey if it wasn’t for TBL and UAC. If you’d like to participate in those guidelines, post this daily with the results.
Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes?
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day?
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank?
Along with our daily check-ins, we will also have mini-challenges weekly. I do not want to be the person coming up with these ideas so if you think of something that may be a good challenge during the week you can post the ideas on the monthly thread or send them to me privately.
• I'm still confused. Who can help me?
Just ask a question here and tag me (@BonnieHosk85), or PM me and I'll do my best to get back as soon as possible. I want you to succeed as much as I want success for me. If you miss your weigh-in I will message you to remind you. Because I care. If you need to drop out for the month, just let me know. Feel free to private message me if you need to.

Good morning! Welcome to our new folks and welcome back to our July champs!! Today we are starting our new month and introducing our weekly challenge. Everyone is welcome to participate but it is optional, of course. Be sure to bookmark this page and check-in every day with your teammates. There's a template in the above post if you would like to participate in the daily challenge.

This week’s mini-challenge is to post each day this week saying something positive about yourself. This can be fitness, personality, or body-related. (kudos to @looneycatblue for this week’s challenge)
Today we’re looking for weigh-ins from:

@allietuge
@BJDavidson964
@crystalbarton31
@LadySaton

Please post using this template:
Username
August Week 1
PW:
CW:

Have a great Sunday, everyone!!

Welcome to another round of new members. Please introduce yourself!

@carol_shantz - so glad to have you on the team! Wishing you great success here on MFP!
@Shewhoismany - Welcome to the team. I saw your note. You can either have your first weigh-in on Friday, which would give you a week to lose from last Friday when you signed up, or you can weigh in today, but if you do that you won't have much of a loss, I suspect. Just let me know.
@motis3678 - welcome!
@MayaVDM - glad to have you with us, Maya! We'll cheer you on as you reach your goal by December!!

Hi friends! My name is Michelle and I'm excited to be starting this challenge with you all. Life is done better together!

Hoping to contribute some good loss for our team! And looking to see how things are done around here. I'm brand new so if you see me doing something weird just lemme know 😂I'll probably mimic what other people do at first.

Also anyone willing to be a friend can add me - I only have 2 so far!! 😬

crystalbarton31
August Week 1
PW: 194.4
CW: 194.2

Go team! Hi. My name is Karen. Today is day 104 for me. I am very pleased with the way things have been going so far. I can't say that the pounds have been melting off but the number on my scale has been steadily declining. Good News.

Bad news. August 1 is the day I quit smoking. I have been planning this for the past two weeks following the guidelines of the ACS. I have stocked up on (additional) healthy snacks and gallons of water, warned my family (and mapped their escape routes) and cleared time for extra exercise.

Quitting smoking is something that I have to do myself, but weight loss is now a team event and I am a very motivated team player.

@shewhoismany, sound good! Thanks!! The good news is that your lungs are going to be healthier, which will allow you to exercise harder. I stopped cold turkey when I was in my 20s and am so thankful now that I'm not dealing with the threat of lung cancer or COPD. Keep your calories under the amount you have decided on, exercise every day for at least 20 minutes, and keep those snacks healthy. With every addiction we give up, we will fill it with another. Be sure you replace smoking with good, healthy addictions!

You've got this, Karen! We're pulling for you!

(Love that you've given your family escape routes!! LOL!)

Happy to close my day without cheating with cake and cookies served at picnic.

Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes? Not today ( painful muscles after yesterday's hike of 16km)

Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day? YES , less than 20 carb

Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank? YES. I logged in today's food.

Quick question: do I have to report my daily weight ?? For our mini challenge ?
Or will be only on Fridays?? ( Friday is my best day of the week to check scale)

Thank you all

I had a rough day today team.

Went to a 1st birthday party today- enjoyed a piece of cake and time with friends. After getting home I was hit with some major anxiety. I'm not sure where it came from but it completely messed up the rest of my day. The snacking got out of control.
I also having anxiety about flying to New York Wednesday night. I'm not good ay flying. I hope the gym will help with these emotions and overwhelming feelings.

Xo

Ha! Just checking in, and realize that I've already lost the mini-challenge, lol! I apologize for that! From now on, I will be diligent about catching up with you each day. I've had a very good first week so far. I started my keto diet to lower my blood sugar and I can already see a big difference. Last Monday it was 140 mg/dL, and I just took it a few minutes ago and it was 89mg/dL. Also got a blood ketone meter and my most recent reading was .9mml/L. So I am moving in the right direction.

Did I get 20 min of exercise? Yes. Played 9 holes of golf with my husband.
Did I track my food and water? Yes. Been very diligent because I have to get these macros just right for ketosis.
Did I stay within my calorie budge? Yes! And I am thrilled about that. No grazing at all for me!

Tuesday is my weigh in day for this challenge. Wish me luck! Good night and good luck, Everybody!