Since I will be away for the next week, I delayed my return to the team weigh ins until after July 5. Keep up the good work everyone.

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 1,040 spin classes. There was some… drama at the spin studio, so I no longer have a membership, but will drop in from time to time.

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) around 170 lbs, over 60 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 have recently moved to another part of the city and am on the lookout for a new gym. There’s one in my apartment building, but it’s difficult to be self motivated on my own. Maybe I’ll have more determination if I start to see my weight slip…

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
• More Work to Do - Here’s a confession of some recent unhealthy thoughts I’ve had regarding my health journey, and some of my thoughts may sound similar to ones you’ve had towards yourself
• 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.

Steps

Sun-4,919
Mon-7,737
Tues-8,646
Wed-10,329
Thurs-12,012
Fri-14,062
Sat-7,986

Weigh In Day: Monday
PW 182.8
CW 185.8

Back from vacation and the weight did go up. Honestly, I was expecting more since I didn't even estimate what I was eating. Now that vacation is done, back to it again : )

Goal for July: getting back to the routine.

HorsesRock9999
Monday Weigh-In
PW: 133.2
CW: 134.2. (GAME ON for NEXT WEEK)
GW: 127

Weigh In Day: Monday
PW 172
CW 168.8

Nice loss @seltzer_lover @shnkrnrynn - love the graph and thanks for the introduction @HorsesRock9999 and @minstrelofsarcasm

I'm new here and even though this isn't the best time to start the challenge I want to keep some kind of accountability. I'm from Alberta and a full time RN, wife and mom. My SIL is getting married next week so I'm not expecting a loss but will be thrilled with maintenance. I love to walk my German Shephard and have a 8 year old daughter

Can't wait to meet all of you more as time goes on

cleaneater80 wrote: »

Weigh In Day: Monday
PW 172
CW 168.8

Nice loss @seltzer_lover @shnkrnrynn - love the graph and thanks for the introduction @HorsesRock9999 and @minstrelofsarcasm

I'm new here and even though this isn't the best time to start the challenge I want to keep some kind of accountability. I'm from Alberta and a full time RN, wife and mom. My SIL is getting married next week so I'm not expecting a loss but will be thrilled with maintenance. I love to walk my German Shephard and have a 8 year old daughter

Can't wait to meet all of you more as time goes on

OMG am from Alberta too !!!

May Week 9
Weigh In Day: Sunday
Previous Weight: June 19th - 233.2
Current Weight: June 26th - 231.2

Pizzafruit - July, week 1

Weigh-In Day: Tuesday (Since I missed Sunday, may I switch to Tuesdays?)
PW:285
CW:284

I'm trying to figure out what's going on with me. June is totally void of success. July has to be better!

@worldtrav89 should that be 232?
Good loss!

June Week Four Team Statistics -
Steppers: 4
Total Steps: 303,644
Average Steps per Stepper: 75,911

June Week Four Leaderboard -
@MotylekOkruchy - 118,636 total | 16,948 average - Most Steps in One Day!!
@Browan19 - 67,551 total | 9,650 average
@ljdanny - 65,691 total | 9,384 average
@shnkrnrynn - 51,766 total | 7,395 average - Most Consistent!

June Team Statistics -
Steppers: 8
Total Steps: 1,449,273
Average Steps per Stepper: 181,159

June Leaderboard -
@MotylekOkruchy - 410,571
@ljdanny - 270,897 - Most Consistent Week to Week!!
@Browan19 - 258,700
@shnkrnrynn - 218,600
@BodyTalking - 171,621
@TwinMama91521 - 62,448
@pacsnc6 - 36,337
@melaniedscott - 20,099

Clearly, some of these numbers come from logging some days/weeks and not others. But even so, what a strong group of steppers! I finally redownloaded a pedometer on my phone, so you might see me jumping into the mix this coming week - look out, folks!

Ljdanny
Thursday
Pw 188
Cw 187.4

BodyTalking
Friday weigh in
PW 78.6 kg (173.3 lb) 24/06
CW 77.7 kg (171.3 lb) 01/07