Hi all! Ashley here... new(ish) co-captain of this lovely team alongside @jugar

I run the step challenge for our team and will check in with more information on that for anyone that wants to join for September. Those who are participating in August will roll over into September automatically with the same step pledge, so if anything needs to change for you, just let me know!

I am a few months away from my 35th birthday, and I live just outside Calgary, Alberta, Canada with my lovely husband and fellow teammate @bowens1973

Last September, Brad had a life changing hip replacement surgery, and that is certainly a catalyst for our ability to be active together. But, for me my weight loss journey goes way back.... in some ways I've been on this journey (unsuccessfully) my whole adult life.

This past January, at my highest weight ever, approaching the 300's and thinking I was just going to accept that I was destined to be overweight forever, I had a bad dream, woke up and logged onto here, and I've been on here ever since.

I've lost just over 75 pounds to date and I have about another 50 I'd like to lose. Having said that, the last time I remember being under 200 pounds was in university, so I'm starting to get to very exciting weight loss milestones already. I am truly thankful for every pound gone. I know when I started I thought it would be impossible to lose 100+ pounds (because I didn't believe in myself), but now I KNOW it will happen for me.

My shorter term goals right now are 1) get to my weight that puts me in the overweight category vs obese (very low 200's), 2) get into the 100's.

I am confident this time it's a true lifestyle change, with understanding that being on here and actively working on this is a very important part of my life right now to be successful with that. So, daily check-ins and accountability are very important for me, which makes being part of this group a big part of my day!

Welcome to September!
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 @ashleycarole86 . I live in rural Québec, 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 9 years this month (!), 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/1S87tdasD3vACBag3mYG1mnnRCw1Lbx5TQxVUwuDXKrk/edit?usp=sharing

So everyone, tell us a bit about you, your goals for September, what steps you are going to work on. 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!

Got my goals for September all set up. Here is what I'll be working on:

Complaint free day
Alternate push-ups & squats
2.5L water daily
10K steps (or equivalent)
Yoga min 3x/week

Emerald_Storm wrote: »

Hi Everyone!

My name is Colleen, I am 35, married to an amazing man whose my best friend, mom of an amazing 3 year old little boy and fur mama to our 1 year old Pitsky. I’m from Colorado and I work from home with a desk job.

Before I had gotten pregnant my highest weight ever was 195lbs, oddly I took pride that I wasn’t over 200. Then I was enjoying my pregnancy and things didn’t go as planned. I developed pre eclampsia and I had to have an emergency c section and delivered our son 8 weeks early. At deliver I was 235 and I couldn’t see my ankle bones and well you know all that fun stuff.

Fast forward 2 years and I finally was losing some weight down 15 lbs and feeling good. But like always something happens and that something was COVID! I started working from home full time and the weight crept right back on and I’m 232.8 as of last week.

My long term goal is to get down to 150lbs hell if I remember how long ago that was. But I want to be there.

My goals for September:

• Take my dog for a walk atleast once a day at minimum 30mins
• log my foods daily
• exercise atleast 3x a week to start

Nice to meet you all!!!!

Great to have you with us Colleen! Getting weight and fitness to a good spot is hard with a small child and a desk job, but if you don't get it going anyhow, you won't be able to keep up with that kid and make him proud to have such a fit mama! Your goals are a great start - logging food, no matter if it is perfect or not, is extremely important. We never really want to log the "bad" days, but it is all information. A bad weigh-in one week? Use the information to improve the next one. A crazy meal just because? A great reason to make the next few meals as close to your preferred plan as possible. A dog is a great excuse to get outside to move around too - and they always love it every single time, no matter what. I hope the team here can help you have some hands to hold as you head for 150. We're great dance partners when it comes time to celebrate too!

Thanks @jugar.. this is a good one to pair with the habit tracker and get off on the right foot.

I biked just under 30 KM on roads by my trailer today. I love this fitness accomplishment! I am lucky that I've always enjoyed being active so as the weight comes off it's fun to feel the joy coming back in my exercise.

Hi, I'm Kristi and I am 39 years old. I have been married to my awesome husband for 14 years and we have 3 kids age 12, 10 and 6. I live near Spokane Washington in the USA. My husband and I work for the schools so we are getting ready to go back to school in the next few days. Busy time for us. I'm not sure how things will go with weight loss. I'm a little nervous especially since last month I ended up gaining.

I have struggled with my weight since my early 20s. It has been a combination of hormones, having babies and loving food too much. My top weight was 255lbs about 2 1/2 years ago. I have slowly been making my way down to the 220's right now. I have used noom and this group to help me make progress. I have blown my calorie budget a lot lately. So often that I'm going to tell myself I did one of those fancy diet tricks called a re-feed week 😉 Now that my re-feed week is behind me I'm ready to get back to my calorie budget.

This month I am working on:

Logging and sticking to my calories

Managing the stress of a new school year with things that aren't food. My kids are going back to school after a year at home. My husband starts a new job. My preschool completely restructured its program and my role as a therapist will be different as well. Lots of changes

Exercise 4 days a week

Almost September?! I am ready for fall for sure, but the year is FLYING.

I'm Kay, 26, living in Boston - currently WFH for my job downtown, but we are supposedly going hybrid starting Oct 4. I gained a lot of weigh in college and have been unsteadily losing it since. I've been on Waistaways since Aug 2020, but did take a 2 month break this April & May (not my best idea... big backslide on the scale!). I love to cook, do yoga, and Covid was actually almost helpful for my weight loss journey since I love home workouts (vs going to a gym or class) and that kind of content exploded the last 1.5 years.

@KellyBgetsfit happy birthday to the little one!

@ashleycarole86 Saturday steps: 9,468 + 63 min Epic (total body, dumbbells) - (yes, I am sore.)

CW: 164

I think we can all see that this was a bad week for me.

I'm thinking of increasing my gym time to try offset the bad weeks but I like sleep. Not sure I'm willing to give it up.

You have a new member heading your way ... Please welcome @rawataishwarya890

Weekend is coming to an end - for those of you who actually have a different weekday and weekend! It is odd being retired and have fewer signals about what day it is, but it is fun not really caring

@bowens1973
I always enjoy the introductions every month, and hearing about changes and progress. I am SURE you are rocking that Lycra/Spandex look, and it is not just for show! You and Ash both inspire many of us. Who needs 21,836 pingpong balls anyhow? (I'd kind of like to know how much room they would take up.) Your idea to go to spin classes is a good one - better than curling followed by drinks with the team... Spinning is a blast if you have the right leader who can make it both fun and challenging. I hope it works!

@Terytha
Hugs to you! Sleep is a gift, but yeah - you can't get quite the same calorie burn as going to the gym. You'll figure a way to either cut the in or up the out. Let's see you into the 150s - you've got this!

It has been a good day with lots of things coming in from the garden, but also time to do other stuff - feels good to get back to Pilates and other exercise that I skipped while visiting my sister (no excuse...). I'm going to go check out the no sugar challenge thing - not sure if I'll join in, but it could be interesting to take a look.

Heads up for Monday people:
@DD265
@lovethyneighbor
@Emerald_Storm
@TessieMac833
For the 2 new people - even though you just recently signed up, Monday is your weigh-in day for week 1 already! Be sure to post it here on the chat thread, and you'll be golden. Off to a start and it isn't even "real" September yet!

And a hearty welcome for @rawataishwarya890 - please don't hesitate to jump right in. Tell us about yourself, and feel free to ask any questions you might have, or bring up things you would like to discuss. Looking forward to meeting you!

Monday weigh in:
CW-176lbs

I want to make it a habit to go to the gym 4-5times per week and walk a minimum of 7-8 km per day.
Let’s see how it goes