Hello Team Downsizers ....First I would like to welcome our new members @laura9400, @JaysFan82, @MadDuck62, @mgarci88, @nekishaearly637, @noways13, @paradoxisland, @chrissyinbloom, @Nite_Owl, @KirstyK01 @Paulksh and @mdtobe2944 to our awesome team...I hope you enjoy it as much as I have ...I have been with this group for 2 years this month (June) and absolutely love it ... I have been on and off of MFP since 2009 (I had a bad habit of giving up on myself and deleting my accounts..I promised myself that I would not give up on myself ever again(been on this screen name since 2018) Second let me introduce myself ... I am Megan and I am the co-captain of this marvelous team along with our amazing captain Linda..I am also one of the moderator's so if a problem arises please let me know so that I and the other moderator's can solve the problem ... Most of you newcomers have already met me since I am in charge of recruiting ...Now a little about me ... I was born in Alberta Canada..I was adopted as a baby...I have lived in California most of my life ... I would love to move to Colorado.. I am an animal lover... I have 2 dogs a German Shepherd named Dakota and a Siberian Husky named Aspen(both are 4 years old) ... I also have 2 grandma kitties Kylie 16 and Mocha 15 1/2 and a parrot named Petey (not sure who talks more him or myself LOL) I am a mom of 2 ..Alyssa who is 16 and will be graduating from High School next year ..I have home schooled her from day 1 .. She has been on honor roll every year ... I have a son named Austin who is 22 and in the Navy .. I am a very proud mama

Now lets talk about the step challenge that I am in-charge of for our team ...If you want to be added please give me your name and a step pledge that you plan to hit daily and post your steps either daily or weekly (whatever is easiest for you) in here .... If you want to be removed , change your step goal , excused etc. please let me know ... I do have a converter chart where I can convert most exercise into steps ...On Sunday mornings I will put up a reminder of the people's steps I need ...

My Goals for June are ..........Stay with IF and go low carb (my Dr is not a fan of Keto) my plan is to do low carb 1 month then switch to keto the next month etc etc. ...drink 140 ounces of water daily ....walk 4 days a week M-TH .... Swim in our pool 4-5 days a week and get 15,000 steps a day on days I walk and 12,000 steps on other days ...meal prep once a week ..As for weight loss goals .. I would like to lose 8 lbs this month (if it is more I will be a happy camper) I have a lot of health issues so I will do my best to keep these goals for June ..I am a type 2 diabetic ... kidney stones ... 3 hernia surgeries ... a screw in my right foot due to stress fractures ... Left foot has arthritis in the ankle and I have quite a few bone spurs in the foot .. ... I also have tendonitis in my knees and I was born with hip dysplasia..yup I am mess LOL but I won't let it stop me from being successful.... I am an open book so if you want to know more about me then just ask Let's have an awesome month and let's show the month of June who is boss

hi everyone. here's another welcome to the team to all of the new members. i hope you all have success in your journey here, no matter what your ultimate goal is. you will find that we have great ears to listen with. if you need to vent, bounce something off us, complain, encourage or just say something out loud we will be here to listen. we have a variety of experiences and will gladly give support or our experiences.
a bit about myself...my name is Roger. i am 57, married with an adult daughter still living with us, thankfully. i am in maintenance since i am recovering from surgery. i started my downward trek in march 2019 after a long uphill journey and topped out at 566 pounds. i have lost 344 pounds in 37 months without bariatric surgery or weight loss meds. just a lot of help getting my head on straight and learning new behaviors and light exercise. i lost 10-12 pounds a month from october 2019 to october 2021. the surgery i just had was my first skin removal to rid me of my excess blobs. this one was on both of my thighs. the incisions were 13" and 13 1/2" long. the recovery is hard on me due to having orthostatic hypotension which is losing b/p while standing, which has led to several bouts of lightheadedness and a blackout.
i hope to return to exercise when i get my last drain out of my leg. i normally walk about 7 miles 3 times a week or do light weights at the gym with some time on the recumbent bike. i will be starting over to build up again.
my eating is suffering since i need to eat more for healing and i am stressing out a bit. i have been snacking a lot, yesterday was 1476 calories plus another 66 in the middle of the night to get something in my stomach with pain pills for an ugly headache that came on. i won't dwell on that today, as it's over and history. i won't undereat today to make up for it.
my goal for june is to recover and get back to steady eating and exercise. having to stay at home is very hard on me since i was truly house-bound for 1 1/2 years before i began losing weight.
if you have any questions for me, i will gladly respond and feel free to friend me, but i don't post much on my wall.

Weigh In
I will post a weigh in reminder every day. Please use the following format for reporting your weight as it makes it much easier to find. Let me know if you need to change your weigh in day or have to miss a week.

Username
PW (Previous Weight):
CW (Current Weight):


Daily Check In
You can do this in any format you want. Things you may want to report could include calories, exercise, water intake, goals or anything you want to share. Share your successes with the team, any struggles or questions you may have.

Step Challenge
Megan takes care of the step challenge. Let her know her if you would like to join.

Weekly Group Challenge
Each week there is a group challenge that runs from Sunday to Saturday. Jessica, one of the moderators, will post a link each week. Take time to check them out.

Introductions
Take time to introduce yourself. It’s fun to get to know each other. If you have been on this journey for awhile tell us about your successes.

Good evening all. I hope you are all enjoying your weekend.
Calories - 2250 or close. I stayed inside to rest my legs. Probably take a few days off to recover better.
My snacking is somewhat better, but I am noticing I am eating more salty foods than normal. Maybe I need some more since I try to avoid lots of salt.

Weigh in gharvey2753

Previous 170ibs
Current 169.8ibs

Targeting under 165ibs end June. Have a good week everyone!

Tell us a little about yourself?
Did this above.

Why are you on this journey? What pushed you to start?
I want to feel healthier and be healthier. I started the journey as I was concerned about my diabetes and heart health. I had become insulin dependent and now have neuropathy from the diabetes. So far I have lost 60 pounds and I am off insulin.

What are your triggers and how can you avoid them?
Stress! I have binge eating disorder and stress leads to a binge. I can avoid this by finding ways to reduce stress. I went through a bad period of stress about 14 months ago which lead to lots of binges and a weigh gain of 30 plus pounds. I had to lose that weight again. With my trigger foods I have my husband put them somewhere that I can’t reach.

Do you have a favourite diet you go by? ie keto, low carb
Not really. I try to do intermittent fasting. I need to get more serious about it as I find my weight loss is better when I do this.

What is your favourite way to workout?
Swimming and water aerobics. I love to walk but I go shorter distances now that I am using a walker.

What are some of your goals this month? Year?
I would love to get below 200 pounds this month. Also, workout 5 to 6 days a week.

What do you expect to gain from the team? Do you have any suggestions?
Support and ideas for staying on track. I have no suggestions.

gharvey2753 wrote: »

Weigh in gharvey2753

Previous 170ibs
Current 169.8ibs

Targeting under 165ibs end June. Have a good week everyone!

Nice loss! Do you have any goals to help with the weight loss?

rwood566 wrote: »

Good evening all. I hope you are all enjoying your weekend.
Calories - 2250 or close. I stayed inside to rest my legs. Probably take a few days off to recover better.
My snacking is somewhat better, but I am noticing I am eating more salty foods than normal. Maybe I need some more since I try to avoid lots of salt.

Probably a good idea to rest. I know salt causes me to retain water. Is that why you avoid salt? Also, will you be weighing in this week?

Morethanjustanumber wrote: »

@Megan_smartiepants1970

Date 5/28
Step count 7618

Nice steps. You do so well with meeting your step goal.

1. Tell us a little about yourself?
I'm Greg, 40 years old from Windsor Ontsrio Canada

3. Why are you on this journey? What pushed you to start?

My dad died of a heart attack when he was 51 and I was close to 400 pounds when I started.

5. What are your triggers and how can you avoid them?

Haha well I smoke a lot of weed so the munchies can be a pain. I just choose health alternatives


7. Do you have a favourite diet you go by? ie keto, low carb

No gimmicks. Just calorie counting and exercise.

9. What is your favourite way to workout?

I swim laps 5 days a week, go for walks and play baseball

11. What are some of your goals this month? Year?

I'm currently 337.2 so I'd like to get down to 325 by the end of the month. I'm currently down 51.2 pounds.

13. What do you expect to gain from the team? Do you have any suggestions?

Just being able to vent and talk about my journey

lindamtuck2018 wrote: »

Let’s get to know each other!

1. Tell us a little about yourself? Please read above
2. Why are you on this journey? What pushed you to start? I started my journey back in 2009/2010...I had lost 78 lbs was doing great then tragedy hit ... I lost 3 family members within a month I didn't finish what I started I gave up on myself and was lost for a few years ... What pushed me to start this time around was finding out I was not heathly , diabetes, obese etc etc ..I want to see what I can do if I put my mind to it ..so far I have lost 78lbs I am thrilled ..I want to see me accomplish it until the end
3. What are your triggers and how can you avoid them? Popcorn was a big one for me but now I make popcorn out of cheese since I am keto/Low carb
4. Do you have a favourite diet you go by? ie keto, low carb I absolutely love Keto (Dr does not) so this month I will be doing low carb and switching back and fourth each month
5. What is your favourite way to workout? walking with my daughter and husky
6. What are some of your goals this month? Year? Stay with IF/go low carb..Drink 140 oz of water...walk 4 days a week ...swim in our pool 4/5 days a week
7. What do you expect to gain from the team? Do you have any suggestions? I expect the same as every new month ... Support , friendships and best of all have fun

1. Tell us a little about yourself?
Hi my name is Kisha🙃 I'm 38 from California. I have 3 kids and 2 huskies.

2. Why are you on this journey? What pushed you to start?
I'm on this journey to lose weight and stay healthy so i can be around as long as i can for my kids.

3. What are your triggers and how can you avoid them?
Chocolate and sweets are my triggers. To avoid them I eat sugar free sweets lol🤷‍♀️

4. Do you have a favourite diet you go by? ie keto, low carb
My fav diet is low carb, I also do keto at times. Forgot to add that I love doing Intermittent Fasting as well

5. What is your favourite way to workout?
I dread working out, but I love walking my dogs.

6. What are some of your goals this month? Year?
One of my goals is to get back into the gym.

7. What do you expect to gain from the team? Do you have any suggestions?
Support, motivation and fun!

@lindamtuck2018
Weigh-in Cheesy567
PW 232
CW 232.2
Oh how I love plateaus, the view is beautiful up here
NSV- my massage therapist commented on how much weight I’d lost since last visit… um… scale says zero, but I’ll take the win. My belt went in another notch, and I don’t have to unbuckle the button to take my pants down, so something is shifting.

Linda I think you had asked about CSA, it stands for community supported agriculture. It’s a system where you pay the farmers ahead of time (so they can buy seed and supplies) for a box of produce (your “share”) through the summer. They often deliver it somewhere convenient or some have pickups at the farm. The program I use is a co-op of several farmers and producers locally across two or three counties who deliver to three towns. It’s nice because as the consumer I’m not tied to one farm doing well or poorly, and it’s a very wide variety of products. No decisions, no shopping, delivered very close by and easy for me energy wise. I split a share with a neighbor, to accommodate the amount of food and preferences and allergies. This CSA includes bread, honey, oats, wild rice, eggs, meats, cheese, in addition to veggies and fruits and mushrooms when in season. They even had sunflower oil and pepitas last year, offer flours, soaps, candies, and handmade gifts for purchase too. All locally grown and processed. This CSA runs June 15-Sept and a winter version Nov-Mar. Every CSA is different. I’ve been in single-farm pure veggie CSAs in the past that run just June-Aug, and I’ve seen flower CSAs.

@Megan_smartiepants1970
Steps
5/22: 4645
5/23: 4594
5/24: 5285
5/25: 5650
5/26: 9368
5/27: 7609
5/28: 7519

1. Tell us a little about yourself? I’ve been on MFP since 2015, yo-yo’d my weight before and after that. Around 2017 I learned about the concept of weight maintenance and learned how to do that with the help of a coach, and had one last weight swing up in 2018-2019 during a major health issue as I figured out maintenance on my own for the first time. Since then (2019, at a high of about 330lbs), I’ve been consistently losing with maintenance breaks every fall into winter and as needed during stressful times. I’ve lost about one hundred pounds, hit 227.8lbs on 4/7, but bounced up a bit and am hovering in the low 230’s on a plateau since then, 98lb lost. I’m not worried, plateaus are just times to practice maintenance habits, right? 👍🏼 My step count average is increasing, I’ve been adding in some PT exercises, and hitting up garage sales for next size clothing because mine is becoming loose.
2. Why are you on this journey? What pushed you to start? Morbid obesity and heart disease run on both sides of my family, and I’ve been obese since childhood. I was watching myself get bigger every time I tried to lose weight. My dad died at 61, my mom’s mom died at 54 of heart disease and diabetes, all of her sons have had heart issues in their 30’s or early 40s. I have a muscle disease (doesn’t affect the heart) and eventually I was going to be too large to move. I already have back issues, knee and hip issues, that might get better as I lose weight. My muscle disease won’t improve as I lose weight (I’ll still fatigue and get weak as I move), but it might get easier to move in the first place.
3. What are your triggers and how can you avoid them? I live alone and have the luxury of choosing what comes in and out of my house. For many years “triggers” did not come into my house or food plan. Right now, during maintenance breaks I schedule in “triggers” regularly to see how I do with them and how I manage them, learning how to fit them into my calorie allotment and learning how to have normal servings. I start with going out of the house and buying a limited one-serving package or order. There are a few things that have made it back into the house, but in limited quantities and few. For instance, I used to not keep sugar at all in the house (I used to eat it with a spoon during binges if I had a bag for “baking”). Now I can keep a spice jar container full in the spice rack for visitors who would like some with their coffee, or if a recipe calls for some that cannot be substituted with honey or molasses or something unrefined. For cookies or baked sweets I’ll go to a coffee shop and order one thing rather than baking. I’ve also found that have a plan for after a binge or unplanned treat has helped me a lot- mine is simply to log it all as best I can and move on, get back onto my plan right away. I’ll eat a higher protein snack (I have a few pre-planned and always on-hand) that I’ve found help break the binge-cycle for me as soon as I notice it happening and I take extra care to time my meals and plan my protein to help break the cycle and focus on self-care, rather than try to avoid it or fight it.
4. Do you have a favourite diet you go by? ie keto, low carb Not really, not right now. For several years I was low-carb (75gm net) by necessity due to being on high dose steroids, but my autoimmune issues flare if I go too low carb and I’m actually doing better on a higher carb diet right now. I have many allergies and intolerances, and emotionally do better on the least restrictive diet possible.
5. What is your favourite way to workout? Right now, walking is what I am able to do, and bands from my PT. If I were physically able, I love spinning, Pilates, lifting, hiking.
6. What are some of your goals this month? Year? Continue increasing my steps as much as I can, gently pushing my limits. My muscle disease is one where the more I use my muscles, the weaker they become, so I need to pace myself and listen to those limits. But I want to improve my cardiovascular status too. I’d like to continue making some strength gains too, again, gradually. I’ve managed to maintain my lean body mass while losing weight so far, I’d like to continue doing so.
7. What do you expect to gain from the team? Do you have any suggestions? I’m using the team mainly for self-accountability. Last year I had a doc breathing down my neck with a threat of “you need to get to a BMI of 35 or I’m sending you for a weight loss surgery consult” to motivate a faster speed of weightloss. I got there, 235lbs is a BMI of 35 for me. But I want to continue losing anyways, and make sure I don’t regain from having pushed so hard last year. My ultimate goal weight might be in the 177 range, it’s 154 by the BMI scale. I’ll be going based on Dexa scan and where I can reasonably maintain.

Home! I am exhausted and very sore. I had so much fun. It’s time to get back to weighing, measuring and logging my food. I am tired of restaurant food. I am terrified to stand on the scales tomorrow.

We are off to a birthday celebration for my son-in-law. I am looking forward to some homemade food. My son is smoking ribs and chicken. There will be lots of good salads.


@Megan_smartiepants1970
Just excuse me for last week. Steps on watch are not accurate because of the walker.

Congratulations @Megan_smartiepants1970 @roz0810 @tahm42 @jayenguk @cormierannie