Introductions!
Replies
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@craigo3154 Really happy to see you again. No stranger to mental health issues myself.5
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I am back again, again. The Vovid experience, coupled with a couple of other challenges, knocked me for a loop. Ready to get back to a healthy lifestyle!6
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Good morning, I'm Regina and I'm in for the first time!!! Thank you for welcoming me, I'm so excited to be a part of a supportive community.8
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Welcome back Craig. You have been missed3
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I am back again, again. The Vovid experience, coupled with a couple of other challenges, knocked me for a loop. Ready to get back to a healthy lifestyle!
Great to see you here Jan! Welcome to all the new and returning members.
I am bON from Austin Tx. Been doing this maybe 6 or more months now? I have lost track. Absolutely love the daily aspect of this challenge and all the support and ideas from everyone. I am maintaining since 2017 but since my history is serial yo yo all my life I keep my hand and foot in the game now.4 -
craigo3154 wrote: »Back again. This time under doctors orders.
I am a 52yo married father of one. I used to be a regular on UAC, but life had other plans.
I have had some quite severe mental health challenges and part of my recovery is re-joining UAC. This is why doctors orders.
The last 16 months have been very trying. Due to medication and personal circumstances I put on over 20kg (40lbs) in that time. The medication slowed my metabolism and increased my appetite. The medications also made it mentally difficult to get out and exercise. Literally this has put me back at my starting weight (and fitness) of when I first joined UAC.
UAC had been a lifeline (literally). I used to enjoy the daily reporting and reading others accomplishments. It kept me in touch with people.
Now I need the support again. I am still on a number of medications. However, hopefully with UAC, the support and re-establishing the habits that got me to an ideal weight and fitness; I can get back there again.
I do have one advantage from where I started last time. All the knowledge from the research I had done I still have. I know what works (and what worked for me). I just need to do again what I have done before.
Reposting what I wrote May 1:
Oh @craigo3154 !!! I have missed you SO MUCH! Thrilled to see your message this morning. I’m beginning my 38th month in here & you & @RangerRickL have been invaluable to my successes!! Using much of what I learned from you both, I lost my last 25 of 75 lbs, reached goal weight & have now maintained for 2-2/3 YEARS. Thank you for helping create a MIRACLE!
🎉👍😄😄😄
Maddie
Addendum: I’m here for you - unequivocally. You are a person of great strength Craig.4 -
I am back again, again. The Vovid experience, coupled with a couple of other challenges, knocked me for a loop. Ready to get back to a healthy lifestyle!
Dear @jan110144 !!
Welcome back! I have missed you greatly as well. I know our journeys were in sync, and you amazed me with your athleticism!!
I look forward to reconnecting!
Hugs,
Maddie
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@craigo3154 so glad to see you back!
You've been an encourager to me on this healthy journey road.
Definitely here for you also!3 -
Hi folks. Back in for May. Welcome to our returnees and newcomers, and a thousand thanks to our leader, @RangerRickL for helping us stay accountable.
And an especially warm Welcome back to @craigo3154 - who has been greatly missed.
I’m Terri from Northern Ireland. Back for my 31st month. Still working on improving my fitness and health. Made the Winners Circle 30 times so far.
UAC is a good place for anyone to start the practicing of new habits, in a supportive and encouraging atmosphere. Through being a member, I have achieved my lowest weight in 4 decades, and have maintained it since late 2019.
Just a few details on my personal journey to health and fitness.
Aim for 2021 ~ maintain around 145 (I may even manage to drop a little more! 😂 ✅WHAT I HAVE DISCOVERED
I am FOCUSED on heathy food choices and
DETERMINED to achieve my goals!
Age: 75: Height 5’2”; Female
SW: 227lbs (Mar 2014)
LW: 142.2 (Mar 2021)
UGW: 140 (this may change when I get there 😂 )
CW: 143.2- Initially, dropped down to around 165, and stayed about there until late 2018.
- Set new goal in 2019 to drop to 155.
- Reset it to 150 in March 2020
- reset it to 145 in September 2020
- My ideal situation is to maintain < 150
- I use CI/CO and a variety exercise for extra calories.
- Logic would suggest that I have found a natural comfortable weight, and, according to Smart BMI calculation, I am in the upper range of normal for my age and height. However, logic doesn't always dictate our desires and feelings. 😂
THERE ARE NO QUICK FIXES OR SHORTCUTS to achieving permanent change.- Getting and staying healthy and fit requires the development of a permanent lifestyle reset.
- Replacing unhelpful habits with more useful ones is key to to the process.
- Losing weight is only one of the elements.
- Eating healthy and staying actively is not OPTIONAL, but an ABSOLUTE ESSENTIAL.
REMINDERS One or two thoughts on weight which might give heart to some of you.Stick with the process. It DOES work! But it does take time, effort, and most of all, patience!- Daily weight fluctuations are normal, and can be several lbs a day for no apparent reason.
- A general downward trend is what we are looking for.
- Eating out can cause apparent weight gain because of high sodium levels, but usually goes quickly. Drinking extra water helps with this.
- The human body does not react instantly to what we do to it. Sometimes it can take several days to see results.
- Plateaus are a normal part of the process. The body is consolidating and adapting to your new way of eating/exercising.
- The closer you get to your goal weight, the more difficult it becomes to lose weight, as your body becomes more efficient at using what you feed it.
- When you exercise you build muscle, which takes up less space than fat, so use measurements as well as weight to assess your progress.
- Getting/Staying fit and healthy requires a permanent lifestyle change for most people.
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Hello again!
I’m Maryann, this will be my 5th month doing UAC. I’m 38 years old, 5’8”, and currently am sitting at 176lbs. I started at 241lbs in August 2019, and am clearly a “slow and steady” kind of girl. Lol. Mentally, though, I really need to hit my final goal of 160 by August so I’m done with the 80lbs within 2 years.
So, I just realized I’m actually only 37 currently and I could have corrected that but it really sums up where I am mentally after COVID upended life so… 😂🤦🏻♀️.
I am married and we have a very active 5 year old. My hubs is on a similar journey, which is helpful at times and other times means I have two of us to keep motivated by myself - so having the support of this group is key and I appreciate all of you. ❤️
May goals:
*See 169.8 on the scale
*Add 20 minutes of yoga or stretching to every day. My hamstrings are so tight right now it’s both embarrassing and a wonder I haven’t had an injury.
*(The hard one) Join my gym’s 6 weeks summer challenge, have my initial body scan, and focus on how far I’ve come without getting caught up on how far I still have to go once I see it.
May we all have a successful month! ❤️🙌🏻
(Pun intended. Lol.)
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Hi All, I am 38, married and hve a lil buba. I started UAC in December 2020 and just love it to bits! Ive learnt so much from u all not only about weight management but life in general.
My life goals for May are:
* Focus on weekly calories.
* Contine my workout routine.
* Get out in nature as much as possible.
* Up my water intake.
* Continue with silence, talking less and listening more.
* To do things badly instead of not at all as i can be a perfectionists which results in procrastinating.
Welcome to all the newcomers! I will jump on later tonight to read all ur intros. Also thanks @RangerRickL for leading us to success.
Xox4 -
@donna25trinity "To do things badly instead of not at all as i can be a perfectionists which results in procrastinating." I'm right there with you. Here's to doing things badly rather than not doing them at all!3
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Hello all...I’m on month 3 of my second tour participating in the UAC. Was here from November’19 to April ‘20. I was very successful the first time losing about 60 but got derailed when the gyms closed last spring. Managed to put back on a considerable amount I had lost. Need to drop around 30 to get back to where I was. It took quite a while to get back into the routine , but I think I’m pretty much there now. Looking to lose another 10 this month. At 56 it is not as easy as it once was. Jim4
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Aww loved reading all ur intros and goals for May, good luck guys! We got this in the bag team! I feel like May doesn't hve as many peeps as we usually do?? Xox
@MizSpiffy let me know how u go with doing it badly! Lol! I hve started this w/e and hve made sum real head way with my to do list! Yay!! Its such a relief to get stuff ticked off and not be held back due to indecisiveness, fear and procrastination! Xox1 -
@Hsvaquita and @mshawski we are almost the same age!!Thats pretty cool! Xox
@Hsvaquita i also am away from family and friends so understand ur struggle! U will find great support here with Uac! Xox1 -
@donna25trinity
good to know that this is a great group to join. And yay on almost being the same age, I feel leas lonely knowing someone else is in this that might resemble my life a bit. 1 -
This will be my fifth month of the UAC.
Aiming for weight maintenance this month.
Good luck to everyone!3 -
Hello, I’m Lesley, living in Somerset UK.
This is my fifth month in UAC – found the group very supportive and inspiring.
I’m a little old lady (155 cm. 70 years old) and retired.
I started logging in MFP in July 2019 and lost 22.5 kg (about 50 lbs) over 9 months, have been maintaining since April 2019. 2 year anniversary!
Even now that I’m maintaining I still have to be very careful with food, as a little old lady my BMR is under 1000, and even ticking “moderately active” only earns me about 1400 calories a day. I do a lot of exercise to keep fit and earn a little more food and treats. I still log my food every day as it is still a struggle to keep to the limits. So, the three rules keep me on the straight and narrow!
Being retired means I have plenty of time for a variety of exercise - cycling, walking, YouTube workouts. I haven't been back to the gym or the swimming pool since they closed last April. But my local centre has re-opened and I should go back.
I have had some difficult issues to deal with in the last 18 months and Covid has made everything worse so I also have experience of mental health problems. My son was diagnosed with a brain tumour in late 2019 and after 12 months of reasonable quality of life the tumour changed and became more aggressive late in 2020. He deteriorated quickly earlier this year and died in March.
Good to see new folks and some returners. Good luck to everyone!
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Back for another month I really can not remember how long I have been a part of this challenge but so glad it’s here. Much support and positive thoughts/ideas good luck to each this month5
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I'm in! First time I have tried this challenge. I wasn't so sure due to the "exercise 20 mins per day" thing since I am a stickler about rest days, but I am active those days so reading that "cleaning the house for 20 minutes" counts has taken away that concern!
I'm not new to MFP, have lost weight using the macro calculators here before, and thanks to the forums and running challenge threads went from being a couch potato to running 3 full marathons in under 30 days with a tremendous amount of the credit going to MFP and the great people and advice I found here.
I've since gained a bunch of weight back in the last couple of years though and let myself get out of shape. My goals are to lose weight and become stronger, healthier and faster.
For my daily nutrition I have been following a (mostly) clean keto diet and following a 20/4 intermittent fasting routine, so I do not eat back my exercise calories as I'm just not hungry enough for them (I'm curious to see how that continues to play out as mileage increases). I plan to keep doing that as long as I can until I approach my target weight (still a long ways off). I have been diligently logging daily since I started going into ketosis in March.
For exercise I do yoga, runs and walks 6 days/week (weather might preclude some walks though). I also have some strength routines that are on a short break (this week) and will resume next week, 3/week (2 upper body, 1 lower). As mentioned earlier, I am a stickler about having 1 rest day/week and I don't log any "exercise" that day, but I am still active in some way. I never get to just sit around (no matter how much I want to), so I will log some sort of activity for those days like "yard work", "cleaning the house", etc.
Very curious to see how this will go!7
