What an inspiring beginning to 2023! I love having some things to think about. Here are some of those thoughts -

@adrimango I have never planned to eat my exercise calories, partly because I am a bit loose about my calorie tracking. I like having a bit of "loose" in the plan, so the exercise calories are useful sometimes when eating gets a bit high, or when I might be inaccurate in logging, or... I am good with chaos, so having a bit of wiggle room either way works for me. But I do try to stay within the smaller calorie amount, knowing that it might not be so accurate, and NEVER thinking that the calorie counts for exercise are accurate.

@YinxFed We heard that word with yourself. I think you can manage a 0.5 pound loss per week - really stick it, and even if you don't always make it, that word will gain power Hit the STOP button when you get negative! Go for that 15 minutes of sweat or the STOP eating whenever you can. And then you get to tell us how great it feels. We'll be there when it works and when it doesn't - but hoping for party hats at the end of 2023!

@KellyBgetsfit You too - the consistency! You have done so well during some times, now all you need to do is expand those. It won't be dramatic or all at once, but you'll be so proud if more weeks are consistent than not. Hugs to you!!!

@micki48 Yikes. Just when you were taking a breath from all the stress, you are covering for a colleague with covid! Channel your great energy, and love those little people. It's your superpower

I'm also chiming in on the feeling that less=failure. I'm just about to turn 69 this month - 70th year starting! I am walking that line between less because maybe that is enough, and more because that keeps me strong and feeling great. We are all on some part of that line. I'm glad to have pushed things up a bit lately (except for right now while I have covid, dammit) - my "strength reduces pain" mantra still feels true. Challenging ourselves is fabulous. Keep doing it! Challenge your kids, challenge your friends and family - we all need that.

This team is here to challenge you. Never forget that. Sure, we're also here to hug you when it goes awry, but the right challenge at the right time is a joy. Choose a challenge that works and keep looking until you find the one that is right for right now.

I think I'm going to try something. Each week I will check off every single box in the habit tracker for the week. Then if I don't do something, I have to remove the check mark. That will be harder than simply not putting one in. I'm not sure if this will be useful, but often when I pre-log food or exercise, dry days, etc. I stick with it better than if I only log afterwards. I'll let you know how it goes! Anyone else who feels like joining the experiment - go for it! We'll compare notes.