The December - Week 1 - Scrabble Challenge is posted. Here's the link. Please take part and enjoy!

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10850345/december-week-1-challenge-scrabble#latest

Jessica

Happy New Month, Everybody! So happy to see all the new faces in the chat (and the old ones too, not that I'm calling anyone old, I swear)!

I am minstrelofsarcasm, also known as Minstrel, also known as Ashley, also known as "that sweaty girl in the corner"... I am one of the co-captains along with the ever-marvelous @melaniedscott. My role here is to provide some real talk, some good motivation, and a few too many jokes about stress eating for anyone's comfort levels.

The Basics:

I am 26 and currently living in Ohio. I work as a combustion engineer for an industrial manufacturing company (I set things on fire for money). I am fascinated by all facets of science, whether that be nuclear physics, nutrition, geology (I hear it rocks), chemistry, etc. Feel free to ask any of your questions when it comes to the science of things. I can't guarantee I'll know the answer, but I can definitely figure it out and provide an answer in a way that's (hopefully) understandable.

Why I am Here:

I love numbers, and when I discovered that I could get healthier (as my doctor told me I absolutely had to do) by keeping track of numbers, I signed up for MFP. My original weight was 8lbs 2oz, and while I don't think I'll ever make it quite that low ever again, my goal is to never be above my highest weight of 234 (September 2014).

Despite having joined this wonderful community, I didn't take my weight loss or my health seriously until after I graduated college in May 2017 and was told by a different doctor that my eating and (lack of) exercise habits put me on the road to diabetes. I'll admit, I was terrified. I grew up with a diabetic parent who took no actions towards improving their health to reduce their dependence on insulin and is now facing some very serious health complications. I didn't want that to happen to me - I wouldn't want to put anyone through having to worry about me in the same way I worried about them.

So I searched "gym" on Google Maps, and signed up for a free class with the first place that popped up in the results, a spin studio. Since July 1st, 2017, I have completed over 1,000 spin classes. I guess you can say they hooked me.

In other news, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in December 2019 after an arduous journey from doctor to doctor, through several misdiagnoses (why is it that the first thing a doctor will suggest is anxiety if you're female and show emotion in the doctor's office?), 14 vials of blood drawn for blood tests, 3 weeks of being unable to consistently feel the left side of my body, 2 MRIs, 1 spinal tap, and a partridge in a pear tree. I could go into a long rant about everything, and I have, but there's no need to fill my introduction with things I've written time and time again (I'll post a link to my blog, for those of you interested in my madness).

In Summary:

Since joining MFP, I have lost over 70 lbs, regained about 15 while on a three-month business trip in France (wine and cheese is my weakness), lost 5 of them, gained 5 of them, maintained throughout 2020, yo-yo'ed for the first few months of 2021, and here I stand (sit) at 170-ish lbs, a good 64 net lbs lost. I don't have a goal weight anymore, since BMI was developed by a mathematician and not a doctor, and as long as I feel healthy, I can weigh whatever I want (somewhere in the 150's sounds pretty good right now, but I guess we'll see).

As for exercising, I still have a membership to the spin studio, but I also do regular functional training HIIT classes to build up some resistance training on top of my strong cardio regimen. Due to a plethora of reasons, I will no longer be regularly spinning after December, but I expect functional training to suffice as we move into 2022 and will adjust as necessary.

If you want to know more about me, or my journey, feel free to ask questions, or you can find my blog here: LINK

Blog posts I’m especially proud of:

• Creating a Sense of Accountability - This is my first blog post ever, and I’ve grown a lot since then, but so many of the same factors are still present in my life
• Timeline of a Post-Vacation Bloat - Follow how my weight fluctuates throughout the week after my return from a short vacation, and the factors that I believe played a role in each shift
• BMI is BS - I essentially wrote a history lesson on BMI and why you shouldn’t base your self worth on it. Most likely, your BMI is misrepresenting you.

I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you even more as we work our way through the month! Feel free to post any questions or concerns you may have - there's an entire team here to support you!

Welcome new team members. I had a great week with steps, only 1 day I was under goal. I started walking again on the treadmill everyday even if it was only for 30 minutes before work. I was off work for 3 days waiting for covid results which took 5 days to get which were negative. Makes me never want to call my dr again because not everything is covid. Anyway... I'm Tracy from New Hampshire, I work in childcare as an assistant director. I have 2 kids and 2 granddaughters with a grandson on the way. I also have been married for a long time. I have been fighting the battle of the bulge for a while. Every time I lose a few pounds I gain a few plus. I did start going to a weight loss clinic and nutritionist, hoping to see some results. I have an appointment at both this week, I do have to cancel the clinic though because it is on my shopping day so I wont be around.

Weigh in day- Monday’s
Ama3387
PW 192.8 lbs
CW 191.0 lbs

Steps
11/28 7,432
11/29 5,882
11/30 1,175
12/1 5,643
12/2 7,112
12/3 6,633
12/4 9,004

Hey everyone! Just starting back again after a few hectic months it’s about time to get back on track.

My name is Marcy, I’m 31 years old live outside of Toronto, Ontario with my 4 year old and 2 dogs. I’ve always struggled with being consistent with my weight and healthy weight loss strategies. After my son was born I weighed 176lbs and have been slowly working to get back to 130lbs. I love running, jiu jitsu and do Orangetheory 3x a week which has kept me accountable since I was not always a fan of working out.

Glad to be here again, and good luck to everyone this month! 😁

Weigh in #1 Monday
PW 144.2 lbs
CW 144.2 Lbs

In our final week of the step challenge we...

• Had SIX strong steppers
• Took over 437,000 steps
• Averaged over 72,000 steps per person
• Contributed to the monthly total of 1,871,578 steps from NINE participants

Weekly Leaderboard

@MotylekOkruchy - 116,127 total | 16,590 average - Most Steps in One Day!
@ljdanny - 93,813 total | 13,402 average
@IDebraK - 77,060 total | 11,009 average
@lennoncpa - 65,419 total | 9,346 average
@ama3387 - 42,881 total | 6,126 average
@pacsnc6 - 42,317 total | 6,045 average - Most Consistent!

Monthly Leaderboard

@MotylekOkruchy - 450,411 total
@ljdanny - 296,272 total
@lennoncpa - 241,839 total
@IDebraK - 227,382 total
@sandielewis2001 - 203,888 total
@ama3387 - 193,395 total
@pacsnc6 - 158,008 total - Most Consistent Week to Week!
@annliz23 - 68,004 total
@dbrinkmeyer - 32,379 total

Thursday weigh in
Week 2
PW: 159.8
CW: 160.4

Just can't stay below 160! I will get there