Welcome to May!
This is our home for the month, where all of our triumphs and challenges take place. Please (re)introduce yourselves and set some goals and daily actions for the month. Focus on the small every day choices, and you will get where you want to go!

I am Liselyn, co-captain along with @micki48. I live in rural Québec, about 85 miles east of Montreal, and I'm a retired university professor of music. My weight loss story? After being somewhat overweight for most of my life, I really packed it on while in an admin job that involved a lot of sitting, meetings, travel, and meals. I tried many times to lose, but it was not until I was 58 that I got really serious with both food and exercise, and lost 40 pounds. I have been in a good zone for almost 9 years now, always refining and figuring out the things that work best, and making sure I don't have to do it all over again. Yes, it is possible to lose weight and get in shape during and after menopause!

I know there are people on this team who have a lot to lose, others who have lost a lot and are closing in on their goals, and some who might be working on losses that are stubbornly resisting. There is much wisdom here, and the most important lesson we learn from each other time and time again is that it is not a straight shot, there will be trials and errors, and sticking with it when it feels like you have fallen off yet again is the best thing you can do for yourself. Plateaus can be good, but going back the way you came is not!

Some helpful information/tools:
Posting your daily updates
We know from experience that posting daily (or as often as you can!) makes a huge difference to your success. Use any format you like to let everyone know how you are doing on your daily goals and habits. You can report on food, exercise, water, sleep, or whatever you are tracking and trying to stick with. While you're there, talk about how you are, ask questions, and if you can answer someone else, please do! Congratulate others, commiserate, enjoy someone's rant, or go ahead and rant yourself. It all helps make the kind of community where we are in each others' heads when the hand is reaching for that off-plan snack, or the couch is feeling way too inviting...

Weighing in
Please try to weigh in on time! When you post, put your weigh in at the TOP of a message, so it is clear and easy to find. If you cannot post your weight for whatever reason, please request a week off, or if you need a longer break, you can request to move to the "Support Team" where you can still participate but your weigh-ins will not be part of the weekly tally. This is where members who are ill, on vacation, or just needing a break can hang out for as long as needed.

The F2F Habit Tracker
If you want a simple place to track your most important habits, give this a try. You can see how your teammates are doing too The link is under "Announcements" on the main F2F page or go directly to:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1csppgqduVDCP95RPzgDNdUoEQBJAbFDFpy-HBP1vFsc/edit?usp=sharing

So everyone, tell us a bit about you. It's fun to know your name and where you live, if you're willing to share that, and what brought you here, how your weight loss journey has been, and where you are headed now. Let the introductions roll!

One thing I did not include above that might be of interest -

You can view the F2F spreadsheet any time. This is a great source of information about yourself and everyone else in the group. Everyone's weekly weigh-ins are there. Their cumulative totals. The number of weeks each person hits "green" and loses even a little bit. Steps. People's names if they have shared them. Their total loss from their highest weight ever. It is all there.

It can be useful to look at the stats for all the teams. You'll see how often a large loss one week is followed by a bounce back up, and then you might not feel so worried when that happens to you. It's pretty normal. You'll see how a small weekly loss adds up to over the month and be amazed at how much some people lose in spite of a slow pace or a bunch of setbacks. In any case, if that sounds like something you'd like to look at from time to time, here is the link:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1csppgqduVDCP95RPzgDNdUoEQBJAbFDFpy-HBP1vFsc/edit?usp=sharing

Each team has a tab at the bottom - find WaistAways and there we are. Be sure to scroll all the way right (to see the green weeks and where people live), and all the way down (to see the step/exercise team, the goal zone for those maintaining, the support team for people taking a break from weight loss but still on the team, and the list of people who drop either by choice or by non-participation.

Geek out!