WEIGHT NO MORE Team Chat - July 2020
Replies
-
Hello Everyone!
I am minstrelofsarcasm. But, my friends call me Minstrel, Min, M, or Ashley (as that, in fact, is my name outside of the internet). I was invited to this group by @1theresamcvean, and although she provided me with a lovely introduction, let me expand… (I’m very wordy, so feel free to skip over all of it)
I'm 24 years old, working as a combustion engineer (I set things on fire for money, basically) just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. I grew up in a household with a "clean plates club" and very few mechanisms for coping with emotional distress, so food was/is a major part of my life. Consequently, I've been overweight or obese for the majority of my time on this planet.
I joined MyFitnessPal during my second year of college in 2014, weighing in at a crisp 234 lbs. My dad had just been hospitalized for his diabetes, and I was terrified of that happening to me. However, I didn’t take my healthy initiatives too seriously, as I didn’t rigorously log my meals or exercise at all until my graduation in 2017. I had been recently told by my doctor that I was pre-diabetic, despite lowering my weight to around 215 lbs. This terrified me. It terrified me enough to enter territory unknown to me, the gym.
My first spin class was three years ago, today: July 1st, 2017. I remember walking out of it and thinking that I was going to vomit all over the floor and never come back.
Three days later, I walked back in.
As of the time of posting this, I’ve completed over 606 spin classes, amongst other workouts sprinkled in here and there. If I had been consistent with my calories, spin class alone would have burned over 100 lbs. Instead, I’m bouncing between having lost 65 and 70 lbs. Still not too shabby. I weigh as much as I did in middle school. But I'm a good foot taller, and most definitely stronger.
Another fun factoid: I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in December 2019. I had to make a few adjustments to my diet, and pay more attention to what my body tells me, and stay on top of my hydration, and add more vitamins to my daily regimen, and pop a couple pills a day, and drop in to the hospital for an MRI every couple months while my body adjusts to medication… but, beyond that, MS hasn’t pushed me to quit. My next flare up is coming, and I intend to be ready for it.
If you absolutely must know more about me or my journey, I write a blog (which is probably where Theresa found me in the first place). You can find it here: https://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/minstrelofsarcasm
My current goals:- Stick to a calorie consumption under 1800
- Go for walks as often as possible
- Exercise 5+ times a week
- Drink 1.5 gallons of water daily
- Lose 0.5-1 lbs per week
Add me as a friend, if you'd like. Send a message if you want to chat. We're all struggling, we all come from different places, and yet we all found each other here. That's beautiful.7 -
Thanks everyone for the prayers and well wishes. it helps a lot. Yes @sleepymom5 yesterday was the first day with the new drug. It went OK. Other than being a little sleepy today I am feeling good. So I just need to fit in a nap and plan to get to bed early. This drug a;lng with the other two promises that I will lose my hair, but so far I have proved that theory wrong. Not looking forward to being bald.4
-
minstrelofsarcasm
Week One
Weigh In Day: Wednesdays
PW (Previous Weight): 169.6 lbs (June 24th)
CW (Current Weight): 168.8 lbs (July 1st)
LTD (Loss to Date): 65.2 lbs5 -
@minstrelofsarcasm Welcome to our team here. I just know this is going to be great.
Oh, and happy Spin'versary. The first Spin class I ever took, I wanted to wipe the smile off the woman who convinced nine of us from the office to join her. She was bopping all over that bike, while we were feeling utterly destroyed. I now own my own Spin bike. The thing is, I loved cycling and bikes beforehand, so eventually took to it. I've been to cupcake Spins, beer Spins, DJ Spins, you name it. I do like it after all.
My favourite thing about when you post your pretty-much-daily Spin is that it says 'vigorous' for speed. That's an understatement, nevertheless a good word. (Nevertheless is another of my favourite words.) It's this quirkiness that bonds us.3 -
I could have sworn I posted this Monday 6/29 but apparently not so here are my stats:
Username: KristieJC
Weigh in week: Week 1
Weigh in day: Monday
Previous weight: 201.9
Today's weight: 201.5
Loss to date: 10.5
Teeny tiny loss but I was just glad not to have gained. I made bad food choices on multiple days. I am not repeating that this week!3 -
@minstrelofsarcasm welcome! I am also new to the group. I joined last week. I have to comment on a few things in your intro:
My husband, an electrical engineer, will be so disappointed when I tell him he could have gotten a job setting fires! Maybe he should have studied chemical engineering.
I live in Texas but work with a supplier in Cleveland/Newburg Heights. You may have heard of ALCOA aka Arconic aka Howmet. They keep changing their name. They make parts for one of the fighter jets my company makes.
Regarding MS, it sounds like you’ve got that pretty well figured out and you’ve probably already heard about this. My husband’s aunt was diagnosed with MS about 20 years ago. She’s 70. She was advised way back then to eat a gluten free diet. She’s stuck with that all these years and it works well for her.
Glad you joined the group!4 -
Did well with the water for the week. 80 oz every day except Sunday. That was 48 oz. Also drank more than 12 oz before each meal Friday, Saturday and Sunday with the rest of the week with 2 meals at home.
My trainer and I decided for me to work on something else this week. He didn't give me a specific number but wants me to keep track of my protein. He also wants me to work on more mindful eating, also putting my fork down between bites.
I get to work on that while keeping up with my water intake.3 -
I just wanted to check in and say that although I had wanted to send each one of you a message, it’s been quite a couple of days.
Please know that I’ve read all of your posts and whether you’re struggling, celebrating, or rolling along, I am thinking of you.
My daughter, as many of you know, has a host of health issues, too many to mention. While she continues to get treatment for cancer, something else has come up. She has severe arthritis and her joints are often in trouble. Walking her dog a few days ago, she suddenly couldn’t walk and had to be picked up and went to emergency. She needs to have both her meniscus repaired, rebuilt, or replaced in the knee that she already had extensive surgery on six years ago.
She has such a funny sense of humour. Most of the people in the waiting room of her surgeon are soccer players. One woman asked her what she was doing when she got her ‘injury’ last time. Elisabeth said, ‘Oh, I was doing crafts.’
I have a fair amount of survivor’s guilt because I don’t suffer the number or type of conditions she does. When she was a child, she had genetic testing done at Sick Children’s Hospital and they say she has some genetic mutations.
I’m going to see her in the morning. We still need to visit at a distance, though she would very much like me to find out if exceptions can be made because we chose our circles of 10 so that I could see my grandchildren close up and her partner could see his parents. If she knew this was about to happen, she would have chosen to have me in the house to help her.
Good night everyone.
5 -
Check in: Weds 1st July
Food: logged and under (some exercise cals used)
Water: over 64oz
Exercise: 55min BodyCombat
Long working day yesterday. I get so frustrated how inactive my working days are (especially Wednesday as that is my longer day) whilst at home. When working in the office, I walk around a lot (to kitchen, toilets, to talk to people etc), but at home I am just sat hardly moving at all. When I smoked, I would take the odd break in the garden and wander whilst having a cigerette. I finished yesterday at 6pm having only walked 600 steps all day. So my evening was spent walking around the house, and then a workout video. Managed to finish the day just over 9000 steps, so not too bad - but I really need to find reason and time to get up and be active during the day too.
This week I have tried to up my water. I think yesterday was the 3rd day of hitting 64oz or over - hoping at some point I will see and understand the benefit as at the moment the increased need for the toilet is just annoying! (Maybe that can help up my steps?!?!? Except I seem to drink most of the water in the evening, and then find I wake up for the loo during the night!) Arrrgggghhhhh!
Today is the last working day of the week, and hoping that tomorrow my partner will take off work and we will find something fun to do as a family (fingers crossed for good weather)
@minstrelofsarcasm Great intro! Welcome to the group. I had a similar first spin experience to you - but alas I never went back and just hearing about spinning makes me shudder!
@tryingagain5 So pleased you are back with your trainer - and sounds like he is working you hard! Good on you for smashing the tasks he is giving you.
@1theresamcvean so sorry to hear about what your daughter is going through. Love the comment about crafts! I would imagine that given change of circumstance the 10 people bubble rule can be reasonably amended? Hope her condition improves quickly. Big hugs.
@pacsnc6 Hopefully you'll prove them wrong this time too. Sending big hugs your way also.
@Mrsbell8well and I'm coming too if there is cherry jam - searching for flight tickets......
@sleepymom5 Jersey shore sounds amazing - I love doing things on water and the idea of kayaking first thing in the morning sounds ideal. Are you right on the water front?4 -
07/01 steps 144091
-
ProfDawnLee wrote: »Check in: Thursday 2nd July
Food: logged and over
Water: over 64oz
Exercise: running and swimming laps
@theresacaravan I’m sorry to hear about your daughter but glad you are able to see her. Hang in there and lots of hugs.
Yesterday felt good To get back on track. I was down 4lbs In 1 day despite being over calories by about 300. I should know myself and my weight fluctuates so much. This is a reminder why I need the happy scale app. It helps me get desensitized to it. I just hate when the app projects a gain. Because sometimes it’s right! I only like it when it gives me good info lol!
Anyway, back to work. Still trying to balance a heavy workload with obligations of being a mom of 3 working from home in a time of covid. Many of us are in the same boat so let’s be kind to ourselves 💓
Thanks, Dawn. Glad you're back on track so quickly ~ phew! Great tip about the Happy Scale app. It's a bit like the weekly average on Fitbit that I use plus it appears to be gamified, which is good for combating scale mind games. I'm trying to see if it will sync with my Fitbit and Aria scale. I see that it works well with Apple watches.1 -
Wednesday check in
Food - A bit under
Water - 1.8 l
Exercise - - 25 min walk, 8267 steps
What a subdued Canada day, but it was actually nice to have a quiet day. I am back in Toronto. We are not usually here in the city this time of year. Even though we are in Phase 2, we are still under emergency orders and the city is way quieter than usual. The city just passed a bylaw yesterday making masks mandatory in all public indoor spaces. A lot of people are doing this already, but the bylaw will help me with my teen, who thinks he is invincible.
@ProfDawnLee - Great job getting right back into things! The happy scale app is a good one, and I may go back to it. With daily weighing, fluctuations are really apparent. I totally sympathize with working and having the kids home during the pandemic. My kids are a bit older than yours, but still this has been such an overwhelming time.
@freeglerock - Great job getting those steps. Sitting down for work is so hard. You maybe could set an alarm on your phone to remind you to get up every hour? My Apple Watch does this for me automatically. At first, I found it annoying, but over time, it really worked. Water was a hard one for me too, and don’t give up on it. The toilet breaks are annoying, but they do subside over time.
@1theresamcvean - I am so sorry about your daughter. I hope she can have the surgery soon. Is she at Toronto Western? That is where my husband had surgery when he broke his leg and we were pleased with how quickly he could be scheduled and with the speedy recovery too. Maybe you can have an 11 person bubble or make some adjustments. I know that you want to see your grandchildren too, and you should not have to choose. The bubble thing is kind of impossible anyway. I am sure that you daughter needs you right now and you want to be there for her too. Big hug.
@tryagain5 - You are doing great and please keep going. Your trainer sounds like a real gem. A little loss is still a loss, so good job!
@KristieJC - A loss is a loss, so good job! Do you have a plan for the 4th of July? That might be a trickier day coming up this week. I totally got a pass with Canada Day this year because everything was cancelled!
@minstrelofsarcasm - Welcome to the team and great intro! I love the fact that you set things on fire for a living. Sorry about the MS diagnosis, and it is great that you are so active with the spinning. I used to be a spinner and it is such a great workout. My spin class was in a gym where a local TV station gave memberships to their employees. A famous journalist (famous in Canada) used to show up at my noon spin class periodically. He was always late, in street clothes, wearing sunglasses, unkempt and most likely, hungover. He would spin for 20 minutes, then be completely out of breath and look like he was having a heart attack (but he didn’t). Then he would leave before class was over. I would laugh every time I saw him on tv thinking about his spin class antics. @1theresamcvean, message me if you want to know who this is.
@ljdanny - Thanks for the Canada Day wishes. Sorry that you have to have the surgery, but hopefully you will feel better afterwards. Try to enjoy the summer as best you can and enjoy that pool now that the annoying pool liner people are gone.
@annliz - I am sorry about what your son is going through. It is so hard when our children are suffering. Try to take care of yourself as best you can and glad that you are trying to stay focused. Sending you a big hug and prayers for your son.
@mrsbell8well - Happy 2 year anniversary! Glad that you are getting some good sleeps and eating well. Once you are rested, the exercise will come back. Yoga is a great thing to do, even just one or two poses. My birthday is in October too, so we can make it a party!
@sleepymom5 - Thanks for the Canada Day wishes. You are doing great and keep going!Yes, that photo is Niagara-on-the-lake. It is so lovely there and it is where I grew up. I love your July goals!
@Gingerpwr - Great loss, congratulations!
1 -
Thursday
@ljdanny
@nstephenson01
@1theresamcvean
Friday
@hope002
@Cafelelia
@lennoncpa
@sleepymom5
@KUMEcyclingteam
@lenka1
@bburrer30
@Ademann1
Saturday
@kirsten11872
@Zumba_Luvah
Late
@JillyBT - If you need to be excused, just let me or Theresa know.
0 -
@Cafelelia Yes, Elisabeth went to Toronto Western. She had her MRI within four days, which is some kind of record, then found out her surgeon, Dr. Chahal, had moved full-time to Women's College (which is where he did her surgery last time but had his clinic at Western then) just 29 days ago. So, to avoid a bureaucratic log jam, she sent him flowers with this note: "Roses are red, I'm calling code blue, I knee-d surgery, and really want you." I'm going to guess she did not run that by her partner, Jake, who is a poet. Our family doctor said, that if she got that note with flowers, it would definitely work with her.1
-
Username: 1theresamcvean
Weigh-in week: Week 1
Weigh-in day: Thursday
Previous weight: 149.3
Today's weight: 149.6
Loss to date: 27.8
Big sigh. I'm not feeling well today. My stomach is upset and gassy. I did get down to 149.1 on Monday but drifted back up. My weekly average weight is exactly the same as last week, 149.6 which is my weight today. So all in all, it's accurate if nothing else.2 -
@fregglerock Yes there will be cherry jam specially for you!
@1theresamcvean Ah the fairy room is very special. My favorite place in the whole house.
I should also mention that the sleeper sofa is a queen and the closest bed to the kitchen and fridge
when is your birthday Pam @sleepmom5? Mine is the 7th.
1 -
About me and my weight story:
I am going to post my before and after pictures. That tells a good story. I am married to Molly the best wife imaginable. She is such a nice person and very supportive. 4 year anniversary next month. We live in Virginia. For health reasons my parents ended up moving in with us. They are doing great but it's still part of our responsibility.
I have also struggled with weight loss and dieting my whole life. 2018-2019 were probably the best years of my life. I have never been so fit and healthy. It was my time. My energy was very focused and I lost 60 pounds in 1 year exactly. I ran a 10K, rode 34 miles on my bike, did yoga just about every day, went vegan, gave up caffeine (I still cry about it) and did everything possible to increase my health. It worked for that time period. It is working now too for the most part but 2020 has been a very different energy for me. Trying to find my place in my new norm. End of December 2019 I had the flu and pneumonia. I struggled to get better. After a month I ended up in the hospital with a pacemaker. I am 63 years old and still in pretty great shape but I have been struggling to get my fitness levels back. I am trying to make peace with the journey. I kept the weight off until about a month ago. I ended up putting on 10 pounds. Some is mental other is...I don't know what the other is. I think it is all mental.
This group has been with me every step of the way. I went from a size 3X to a size small 6-8. I still wear size 8 but my few sixes I haven't tried back on. I love all my clothes. They make me very happy.
The present:
I am taking a bit of a pause. My 3 non-negotiables in my life are Sleep, Nutritious food and Exercise. I generally can maintain all of them all the time but recently the food has not been the best and now exercise is hampered. But I am sleeping great! And my food is back on track this week.
July goals:
I want to say survive. Hmmm getting back to the 140's seems realistic. Doing yoga everyday is back on my commitment. Walking, maybe trying to get back into that with Molly. Our pool heater was just installed so I can get some pool time in too. Also taking a break from my daily weigh ins. Focusing on balance. Will weigh 1 X a week.
Word for 2020:
EMPOWER I feel empowered in every facet of my life. Looking forward to learning and moving through this interesting time period.
2 -
July 2018 202.8 pounds
1/2 way point
July 2019
December Christmas 2019 right before I got sick
Present 😁7 -
Nstephenson01
Thursday
Week 1
PW: 168.8
CW: 170.8
Weekly steps: 81,191
Retaining so much water I feel like a hippopotamus. Must be PMS. I don’t feel like I weigh 170.8 and my clothes don’t fit like I gained 2 lbs so not really trusting the scale. Eating has been mostly OK, water and exercise are good but its been a stressful week and while I’m good about a consistent bedtime, my quality of sleep has been awful lately. We had 2.5 days of non stop rain which leads to snacking. New complications arose this week with my elderly neighbor, some of you may remember that I’ve been helping, which has taken up alot of my time, unexpectedly. Blah... blah... blah... Just not a great start to the month.4 -
@KristieJC - A loss is a loss, so good job! Do you have a plan for the 4th of July? That might be a trickier day coming up this week. I totally got a pass with Canada Day this year because everything was cancelled!
The 4th will be easy. We aren’t going anywhere or having anyone over. My husband is concerned about catching corona cause he has an autoimmune disease. Mostly I find it easy to stay on plan, even on holidays, if I have the ability to bring/make my own food. So I’m good!1
This discussion has been closed.