Still need to go back and read everything I've missed the past week.

Losing weight is sooo much slower than it ever had been in the past, but I did finally break 240 today so we'll see where I end up on Monday. I have been eating at a huge calorie deficit just to get 1 lb per week.

Horseback riding is going pretty well. The mare I'm riding is getting very fit but has a sore back from me being so heavy. She gets body work this week. My mare has an exercise rider and is getting worse with bucking and stopping. She would absolutely buck me off, so not sure what I'm going to do about her.

I'd like to continue with the step challenge...
Daily step goal: 10,000

Steps
9/1 14,896
9/2 11,949

Hi @Armygirlarmyof1 and welcome to our team! Glad you found us! Make sure to read from the beginning of this page, especially our FAQ posting. It should answer a lot of your questions about how things work. If there's something you want to ask about that's NOT in that posting, just ask away. Someone will respond to try and help.

When you get a second, take a few minutes and introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your journey and a few of your goals for Sept and beyond. I'm Jessica, your Captain. On behalf of the whole team and our two wonderful Motivators @PatriceFitnessPal and @angmarie28 we hope this group helps you along your way and becomes a strong source of support for you!

If you're a walk/run fanatic, please sign up for our Step Challenge each month. Just give me your first name for the chart, your daily step goal and tell us your favorite place to walk. That's all it takes. You can find our Step Challenge chart on the same spreadsheet as the weekly weigh-ins, just scroll beneath the weather chart and you'll find the Steppers chart. These charts are off the main Fat2Fit page where you went to register and it's listed as "SEPTEMBER SPREADSHEET", then look for the Shape Shifters tab at the bottom.

If you like a little extra challenge to give you a push, each week we have a Group Challenge with members for all five of our teams, in a separate chatroom and the challenge changes each week. The link for the one starting tomorrow is above on this page.

Again, welcome! Looking forward to celebrating your losses and NSV (non-scale victories) with you soon!

Good luck in September!
Jessica

My steps 9/3 6,699
Welcome to Shape Shifters @Armygirlarmyof1 I hope you enjoy this group.

Every month, we start a new Team Chat space. For me, it’s an opportunity to start fresh, a clean slate for making positive changes or solidifying good habits (i.e., ones that work for me and help me to be the person I want to be).

@jugar wrote:
“This is where you weigh weekly, post your goals and progress, discuss any issues or topics of interest, share ideas, support your teammates, receive help when you need it, and dream big.” (Emphasis added)

I try to re-read the monthly introduction about the purpose of this space because it helps me re-focus my intentions. I glean something new from it each time; and, this month, I am going to concentrate on the reminder to DREAM BIG!

When you reach your goal, what would you like people to be seeing, saying, feeling, and/ or experiencing with you? What is the identity of the person you want to become? What tiny first decision or action will help you move toward that image of yourself? Let’s dream big! — and then take tiny steps forward together!

INTRODUCTION

Greetings, Shape Shifters! I’m Patrice, a 56-year-old woman who gradually became overweight as I faced various stressors over the years. My goal for September is to dream big!

I developed some unhealthy habits trying to cope with stressful relationship experiences, life transitions (e.g., moves, busy days of parenting young children while working and volunteering, death of a beloved parent), and the resulting fatigue through emotional eating. I gained 30 pounds over about 30 years of life’s ups and downs (with the scale mirroring the ups and downs!).

I grew up in a low-income area where people were loving, loyal, and caring but didn’t always cope or communicate well. I learned compassion, and developed what came to be known as ‘grit’ in the research (but that word grates on me for some reason 😬) by adapting to various circumstances. My motto became ‘adapt or die,’ which sounds more dramatic than it was but my friends were dying by suicide and substance abuse at a time when people shunned them as “junkies” and didn’t recognize substance abuse disorder or understand the differing ways people deal with grief, loss, and hopelessness. From an early age, I recognized - and observed with awe - the lessons we can learn from each person we meet.

In my ‘dream big’ version of life, I look forward to a time when each individual person is respected, belongs, and is loved for exactly who we are. We are ‘enough’ as we are. I also strive for continuous improvement and believe we can appreciate each individual while also encouraging one another to learn and grow.

My parents are the ones who modeled a love of learning and my father taught me that we can learn something valuable from every person we meet. He said that if we are passionate about a topic, it relates to everything else, and we can find a connection if we look for it. So, that’s why I’m here, participating in the F2F challenge to learn ways to improve my health as I age.

My Dad’d passion was ice hockey; mine is continuous learning that improves education, health, and overall wellbeing. These are complex social problems that include many perspectives and elements (e.g., mental health, meaningful relationships and community connections, a sense of belonging, reducing racism, poverty, fear, etc.) that affect individuals, families, communities, and the broader systems responsible for ensuring positive outcomes.

During the pandemic, I focused on ‘being the change I want to see in the world.’ So, my ‘dream big’ challenge is to build a company that can survive financially while supporting positive individual and systems change. After all, systems are made of people, taking collective action to make a difference.

So, I’ve had to address my emotional eating and replace some habits. This group provides the support I need to figure out how to sustain the habits that work and continue to seek solutions or make adjustments when something is not working. Here’s a good reference on some of the changes I’ve made — and some that I’m still working to maintain:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/weight-loss/art-20047342

Nice progress @AC204!

@Pupowl - I was helping my older son move into his new living space near the college campus. So, I’m catching up on some of the messages from last week. I saw your update on the neighborhood cat and share your range of feelings. I’m relieved to see that you plan to intervene if the neglect continues. I’m sure it’s not an easy action to take and I’m impressed by your courage and conviction. I’m also impressed by your ambitious reading list. I was reading two books on the airplane home last night - and keep alternating between the two. One is a book about creating and sharing moments of joy with people who are experiencing memory decline. My father in law is in the final stage of vascular dementia and the book has been really helpful to me. I had a number of very satisfying interactions with him while visiting during my time in Boston last week.

My mother, uncle, and great aunt are also at varying places while traveling this road. I think I’ll be applying the tips in the book for awhile —

The other book is by the South African born comedian Trevor Noah, who has amazing resilience, intelligence, wit, and charisma. I enjoy learning from people who have overcome barriers and find ways to thrive despite the adversity they face. Again, inspiring! I guess that’s my word for today!

I am doing the Habit Tracker for September- I believe I'm the only one as no one else signed up, but hoping it will help to keep things under control for me

@LaurieWrobo
Wow, I’m so glad she is going to be ok. What a difficult journey you’ve been on

Sending you well wishes

Weighed in this morning. 216.4. Starting in the group with 222.0. What I originally weighed in at when I started with mfp was 265.5. Still aways too go but it's better then where I was right?

@laurie_wrobo - I’m sorry to hear about your mother-in-law’s heart attack and all the additional stress of trying to support her while managing your husband’s precarious health — AND dealing with the emergency as you were traveling back home from Las Vegas. You could really use a respite trip just to take care for yourself for a few days. I hope your mother in law recovers quickly so you and your husband can focus on his next round of chemotherapy and healing. Take care!

Since today is the Labor Day holiday in the USA, I selected some quotes that relate to labor and work, which I'm interpreting here as the energy, discipline, or practice of improving our health. We all need to find balance between working to achieve our goals, and managing to rest and rejuvenate. If we see positive results, it gives us momentum to continue building our "practice" of incorporating healthy habits into our daily life. Is there a quote that resonates with you today? If so, let us know which one, and why?

(1) Aristotle — "Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work."

(2) Martin Luther King, Jr. — "All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity."

(3) Colin Powell — "There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure."

(4) Ralph Marston — "Rest when you're weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work."

(5) Ovid — "Take rest. A field that has rested gives a bountiful crop."

(6) Margaret Mead — "I learned the value of hard work by working hard."

(7) Ralph Lauren — "A lot of hard work is hidden behind nice things."

(8) Thomas Edison — "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration."

(9) Donovan Bailey — "Follow your passion, be prepared to work hard and sacrifice, and, above all, don't let anyone limit your dreams."

(10) Pearl Buck — "To find joy in work is to discover the fountain of youth."

There are 30 quotes in the source I used to select the ones above. The pictures include lots of American flags and feels very nationalistic or patriotic depending on your point of view :-)

I'm always struck by the fact that the people working on Labor Day are mainly the people who are underappreciated for the frontline work they do, such as first responders, caregivers, store clerks, restaurant and hospitality industry workers, entertainers, etc. So, this picture is intended as a tribute to those of you who work when most of us have a day off. I'll be doing a little work today but it's not mandatory. I'm developing a website for my company which is long overdue! I'm so grateful for this day to make progress toward that goal. Focusing on gratitude is proven to make us happier. What are you thankful for today? I hope everyone enjoys the day -- Be well, Shape Shifters!