Women 200lb+, Let's Astound Ourselves This April!!!

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RavenStCloud
RavenStCloud Posts: 354 Member
edited April 2023 in Motivation and Support
🌻 Hello, ladies, and Happy April!!!🌻

🌻The weather is changing, and we're changing with it! What are your goals for this month and the spring overall? And how do you feel the first three months of the year went?

🌻There are lots of holidays this month, and some have already begun! What are you looking forward to the most? Do you have plans in place to navigate any of the trickier aspects of your holiday?

🟡If you've never been here before, please know you are welcome to join at any point in the month. All you have to do is post something, and then BAM!, you're one of us.

🟡In this group, we post our weekly and monthly goals and provide support and motivation to each other as we share our triumphs and our struggles. This group is all about accountability.

🟡All are welcome, and if you think you belong here, you do! No matter how much you currently weigh or how you measure (or don't measure) your weight, we'd love to hear from you.

🟡Victories, both scale and non-scale, are great to hear about, but, conversely, we know that weight loss isn't all sunshine and roses. If you're going through a rough patch, please feel free to be honest and vent your heart out. The struggle is real and we're all here to support each other!

🌻This April, let's astound and astonish ourselves with everything we can accomplish!!!🌻
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  • CupcakeCrusoe
    CupcakeCrusoe Posts: 1,364 Member
    edited April 2023
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    Good morning everyone, happy April!

    Thank you @RavenStCloud for keeping this group going!

    Christina
    34 years old
    5'4"

    SW: 220ish
    Re-SW (Feb 2022): 200.4
    UGW: 150

    SW 4/1: 173 (174.1 average)

    🌻 April Goals! 🌻

    🌻 April GW (average): 172.5

    🟡Log everything in grams
    🟡Do at least three fitness classes a week
    🟡More than 100g protein every day
    🟡No doomscrolling after 7PM each night
    🟡At least 64oz of water a day
    RavenStCloud wrote: »
    🌻The weather is changing, and we're changing with it! What are your goals for this month and the spring overall? And how do you feel the first three months of the year went?

    I feel like the first three months of this year have gone pretty well. I'm in that good positive feedback loop of seeing progress -> being motivated to make more progress. For that, I really have to credit how much I love my gym, and want to be there.

    For this spring, my goal is to work my way into the 160s by summer, even if I just barely hit 169 on June 20th, haha. Also for this spring: to hit the yoga block in the lowest orientation for my front splits! So that summer can be getting just as flat as possible.
    🌻There are lots of holidays this month, and some have already begun! What are you looking forward to the most? Do you have plans in place to navigate any of the trickier aspects of your holiday?
    This month is spring break, and Whatsisface and I are going to Boston. I absolutely cannot wait, and I intend to take a diet break for that time- eat at maintenance the whole time.

    Now, maintenance calories is only 200-300 more than I'm currently taking in, so it's going to be tough, and I'm going to have to decide when I really want to splurge those calories, and when I want to save them. But that is good practice for my eventual forever-maintenance.

    🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡

    I had car trouble yesterday, so unfortunately my planned gym days today and Monday are out. For those days, I'm going to do an at-home pole conditioning workout without a pole, thanks to a webinar I took a couple weeks ago, and an at-home splits workout.

    I know we're eating sushi tomorrow, but I don't know what I'm fixing for dinner tonight- lots of veg, as we've got some from our garden in, but for the meat, I'm not sure yet. I'm going to do my favorite thing, and go into the grocery store and see what speaks to me while the girls are at the gym this afternoon.

    I've got to do laundry and pack this weekend, but luckily my house is pretty clean still from the professional clean on Wednesday, so we just have to keep it clean before we leave next Saturday to start our spring break.

    Have a great day and happy April Fool's day, everyone!

  • pamperedlinny
    pamperedlinny Posts: 1,558 Member
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    Linda. I'm 40 years old and 5'7"
    SW:300 lbs
    GW: 180 lbs
    4/1: 194.4 (up slightly from last week low of 192)
    **I update whenever I lose.

    Good morning all!
    Yesterday was my work fiscal year end so I wasn't really online at all except to log food. I'm crazy busy today too (church kids Easter party, daughter's volleyball game, friend's daughter 18 birthday party) so this is probably my only check in for the weekend. Tomorrow we have a whole group of 3 families going to the circus after church. I'll try to catch up on Monday.

    🌻What are your goals for this month and the spring overall? And how do you feel the first three months of the year went?

    April is just to survive my family visiting without turning to food to keep my mouth shut. 🙃 Other than 2 or 3 days I stuck to all my food boundaries so far for the first 3 months. It makes me really proud of myself, especially since I hit a new low weight and have stayed on the right track without getting deprived.

    🌻What are you looking forward to the most? Do you have plans in place to navigate any of the trickier aspects of your holiday?

    I don't really plan to do anything big for the holidays right now. My daughter is going to a church Easter party and we'll have someone egg our yard for Easter morning. Otherwise, I'm not making a bunch of stuff this year. My parents are coming just 2 days after Easter so I want to save any outside the lines food choices for if they want to go out to eat.

    @RavenStCloud thank you for continuing this thread each month!

    @CupcakeCrusoe car trouble makes everything harder. Hope it's an easy fix.
  • Aswennu
    Aswennu Posts: 57 Member
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    Hello Everyone, Happy April ☔️💐

    Aswennu; 35yrs old & 5'8
    Starting Weight: 248
    Ultimate Goal Weight: 145
    SW for April: 213.2
    GW for April: 208

    I've had a lot of false starts and I am hoping to stay on track this time.

    Near the end of April, I will be traveling to Amsterdam for a few days of fun with my family. I'm a little terrified about it because every time I let myself get off track, I go WAY off track and it takes me a good couple of weeks to sort myself out again. So, my plan is to accept that there is no perfection and try to find balance. I'm going to aim for maintenance calories for the travel days, do my best to guess track, pack healthy snacks, and pace myself. I often stop tracking when I'm heading off the rails, so hopefully just making myself keep track will help me stay mindful. I'm open to any suggestions if anyone has some for traveling to a foreign country.

    I'll post weight updates here weekly. I weigh every day, but fluctuate a ton so I'll spare you guys the day to day :)
  • nebslp
    nebslp Posts: 1,649 Member
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    Hi! Happy Spring 🌺
    Rita, 71, 5’3
    Starting weight: 240’s last September
    Ultimate (realistic) goal weight: 160
    SW for April: 236
    GW for April: 229

    *What are your goals for this month and the spring overall? And how do you feel the first three months of the year went?*
    I have a list of daily goals that I want to become my daily norm someday.
    1. Make my bed (so far 10 days in a row)
    2. Spend 2-5 minutes doing ikigai exercises (Japanese) before doing Wordle (10 days)
    3. Hang up my robe after shower (10 days )
    4. Study French after checking email (372 Days)
    5. Get morning sun / walk
    6. Journal
    7. Workout / classical stretch / yoga / tai chi
    8. Be in bed by 11:00 (this may be the hardest one!)


    The first three months were good, not great in the eating/ exercise department which I think needs to be my top priority going forward. The weather will finally warm into the 50’s+ next week so it should be easier to talk myself into putting on those 👟 👟

    *What are you looking forward to the most? Do you have plans in place to navigate any of the trickier aspects of your holiday*
    I’m looking forward to spending more time at home reading and working on unfinished projects. I was away from home most of March and had a really nice break at my daughter’s house in the Corpus Christi sunshine while it was in the teens-30’s at home. My kids and greats will be here on Easter, then we have a birthday or two coming up to celebrate, and a day trip with my sister. Should be a fun month. I need to preplan my meals when we’re out and about because if I don’t, I tend to throw caution to the wind and blow whatever progress I might have been making.

    I liked the idea of posting weight loss whenever it happens. Seeing the numbers go down in print might incentivize me to keep going 🤔
    I’m tired of seeing the same numbers month after month. I’ve been hanging within 3-4 pounds for months now and am ready to see the 20’s again.

    @RavenStCloud thank you for continuing this thread 💗

    Wishing everyone a really great April in every way possible!

  • swimmom_1
    swimmom_1 Posts: 1,302 Member
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    My name is Mary, 65 from Pennsylvania.
    Been MIA for a few months but still logging in everyday since I started MFP 5/14/21.

    Unfortunately lost my mojo and gained a lot back but not all Thank God! Need to get back on track and focused. I bought a NEW to me, gently used, Commercial PreCor EFX 835 Elliptical. It was delivered the beginning of November, as others here know I wore my previous 10+ year old one out from my extensive workouts. Back up to 150 minutes on my 3 days off per week.

    Good to see some familiar names here and glad to see some new ones too!

    Heaviest weight 255 lbs, twice. :-(
    9/14/20-255 lbs
    5/14/21-232.2 lbs
    4/6/22- 147.6 lbs (107.4 lbs lost) I did NOT have a surgery. Did Keto.
    8/1/22- 167.2 lbs
    12/1/22-198 lbs
    1/1/23- 213.4 lbs
    2/1/23- 207.4 lbs
    3/1/23-201 lbs Yippee!

    4/1/23- 207.6 lbs Been struggling as you can see. :-(
  • RavenStCloud
    RavenStCloud Posts: 354 Member
    edited April 2023
    Options
    Nov 1st: 260
    Dec 1st: 250
    Jan 1st: 243
    Feb 1st: 238
    Mar 1st: 246
    Apr 1st: 245

    💛April Goals💛

    🌻Swim x2 a week
    🌻Strength Train x2-3 a week
    🌻Stay within calorie goal
    🌻Eat more protein
    🌻Log all food
    🌻Find a new job

    Well, March was a bit of a yo-yo with my binge eating. But I managed to lose a whole pound! and started strength training.

    I'm excited for April because I have some time to myself and things aren't so hectic. A personal goal I'm working on is to be more flexible when unexpected/unplanned things happen.

    I'm excited about the weather getting nicer, and as I'm writing this we're having a giant thunderstorm with tons of lightning and rain, which is my fav kind of weather.

    I'm not sure what I'm doing for the holidays yet, if we're going somewhere or staying home. But if we go somewhere, I'll bring my own food (b/c my family are heavy meat eaters and I'm a pescatarian), so that's a plan I've already got in place.

    Here's to an Awesome April!
  • swimmom_1
    swimmom_1 Posts: 1,302 Member
    Options
    My name is Mary, 65 from Pennsylvania.
    Been MIA for a few months but still logging in everyday since I started MFP 5/14/21.

    Unfortunately lost my mojo and gained a lot back but not all Thank God! Need to get back on track and focused. I bought a NEW to me, gently used, Commercial PreCor EFX 835 Elliptical. It was delivered the beginning of November, as others here know I wore my previous 10+ year old one out from my extensive workouts. Back up to 150 minutes on my 3 days off per week.

    Good to see some familiar names here and glad to see some new ones too!

    Heaviest weight 255 lbs, twice. :-(
    9/14/20-255 lbs
    5/14/21-232.2 lbs
    4/6/22- 147.6 lbs (107.4 lbs lost) I did NOT have a surgery. Did Keto.
    8/1/22- 167.2 lbs
    12/1/22-198 lbs
    1/1/23- 213.4 lbs
    2/1/23- 207.4 lbs
    3/1/23-201 lbs Yippee!

    4/1/23- 207.6 lbs Been struggling as you can see. :-(

    4/2/23- 209 lbs. I need to get my head right and be more accountable to myself in this. I need to get back in control and off the carbs again. Back to my lower level of daily carbs(15g net +/- 3) and FOCUSED on what is best for me! Not short term enjoyment. Elliptical HIIT setting 150 minutes for 10.11 miles today (I do my elliptical like this 3x per week, on my off work days, pretty religiously. Thursday, Friday & Sunday this week).
  • sandramarshall200
    sandramarshall200 Posts: 106 Member
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    Hi, Sandra from Leicester, England. I stuck pretty well to my goals for March and lost 200 grams! We did go away for a few days and I gained 2 kilos, so not unhappy. Swimming is going well, I feel my legs and shoulders are more defined now. And I have been more sociable. Goal for April is to please please get close to 95 kilos. I have loads to do in my vegetable garden, it’s a mess. Lots of family coming for Easter, we have 3 tiny grandchildren so we thought w3would decorate and do an egg hunt.
  • sandramarshall200
    sandramarshall200 Posts: 106 Member
    Options
    Current weight 96.6 kilos.
  • CupcakeCrusoe
    CupcakeCrusoe Posts: 1,364 Member
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    Good morning everyone!

    173.8 this morning, which is fine. I ate a couple normal sized pieces of cookie cake yesterday, which put me over by a little bit. I had a normal amount of sushi, which was amazing. :yum:

    Things are coming together for my upcoming trip, which I'm excited about: I'm almost all packed, and it's only Monday. I've got the supplies to start on a new knit-along in my crafting competition, and hopefully the rest of the needles I need will come by Friday. And I've got 24 hours on a train to just listen to podcasts and read books and knit, bookending a very busy Boston trip. Going to be glorious.

    I've got overnight oats with figs and (honey, which imo is not as good as garlic herb) goat cheese for breakfasts, with chili for lunches, so just two big tupperwares of Stuff, lol, but it'll be good.

    I'm sad about missing the gym Saturday and today, but at the same time, that will give me some extra time at home with the kids before they go to Grandma's for the week.

    Tag party time:
    @pamperedlinny sending keep-your-mouth-shut mojo! I know it's so hard around my family, a lot of the time, as well. :neutral:

    @Aswennu hi again! I think what I'm going to try out on my Boston trip, and what might help you abroad, is to embrace the idea that food tastes good and so you want more of it later, just wrap some of it up and take it with you, rather than eating it all at once. I'm trying to purposefully not book every meal out, to skip some, with the hope that I'm going to pack up half my food wherever I go to eat later, when I get hungry, rather than being super full and then getting hungry again anyway. I don't know how well it will work for me, but we'll find out next week.

    @nebslp hi again! ikigai sounds so interesting! what sort of exercises are you doing, is there some kind of workbook?

    @swimmom_1 you can do it! 15g net carbs is very low for all day, but you know what you do best.

    @RavenStCloud being pescatarian makes things somewhat easier in that regard, love that. Weather getting nicer is always a plus.

    @sandramarshall200 vegetable gardens getting cleared out- the best for before/after pictures, so satisfying.

    Have a great day, everyone!
  • pamperedlinny
    pamperedlinny Posts: 1,558 Member
    Options
    Happy Monday!

    It’s been a busy weekend. Church kids Easter party, neighborhood Easter egg hunt, volleyball, friend’s birthday, church, and the circus with a group of 13 taking up an entire section. I’m so tired. I did get my face painted to match my daughter this time. She LOVED that we matched. I know she’s 9 and the day will soon come she’ll be embarrassed when I do that kind of thing. I’m loving every minute I can still get of that joy.
    skbgdin9s3qm.jpg


    Tonight my kid asked for tacos. I’ll have to make a grocery run because my husband killed off the lettuce and cheese over the weekend. What is everyone else having tonight?

    @Aswennu I love that you have a plan and recognize that going off is hard for you. I know I had to learn the hard way after numerous fails that I’m the same way. If I go off plan for more than 24 hours I have a very hard time coming back.

    @nebslp Sounds like a busy but fun month!

    @RavenStCloud I’m with you on the nice weather. I’m so glad that here in the south it’s been fairly nice for the past month. Of course, come July and August I’ll wish it would cool back down. Right now we’re averaging 70 to 80 degree days and I’m all about that.

    @sandramarshall200 I love that you can tell you have more definition. Sometimes those types of changes are so much better than the scale ones. It’s more noticeable to ourselves and others. Something you can see in the mirror.

    @CupcakeCrusoe Your overnight oats always sound so good. If oatmeal in the morning didn’t spike my blood sugar I would be copying that for sure. I can only eat oatmeal, grits, Cream of Wheat, or any other grain based cereal like them later in the day. If it’s part of the first thing I eat, unless I pair it with extra protein like a sausage patty, my blood sugar goes way up. If I have it in the afternoon when I’ve already been up and moving it doesn’t happen as bad… but I don’t want it in the afternoon. LOL. I want it in the morning. I appreciate your mojo sent my way! I’m going to need all the help I can get.
  • kelliward1
    kelliward1 Posts: 99 Member
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    GM from Texas

    Kelli
    HW: 289
    SW: 282.2
    CW: 249
    GW: 150s

    Howdy from Texas. We are enjoying our few weeks of "spring" weather before the hot weather comes in. The bluebonnets are out and are so beautiful this time of year.

    How did the first 3 months go? Well I did lose the weight I had gained back during the holidays. But March I just hovered around 250 the whole month. Some was me overeating and some is my body going through perimenopause, which makes it a little harder to lose the weight.

    For Easter I will be at church in the morning as I sing in the choir. We are doing a couple of great songs for the 2 services that we will sing in. Not sure what the plan is for the rest of the day because my husband and sons will all be working. This week I'm working everyday to cover for the other daytime nurse that is out of town. I know I'll be tired by the weekend..but the paycheck will sure look good.

    I was hoping to test for black belt this month (we only hold 2 black belt tests each year in our martial arts) but after a talk with my instructor we decided that waiting until October would be better since I still have some things to work on and my knee and elbow has been acting up. Hoping to have lost a little more weight by then too.

    Made a "protein breakfast sandwich" for breakfast today....I made some protein pancakes on Saturday and saved some for the sandwich. So I have 2 protein pancakes, a Morning Star farms veggie sausage patty and 1 egg (I used egg beaters). Something I can quickly make and throw together on a workday morning..and it keeps me full until lunch!

  • kelliward1
    kelliward1 Posts: 99 Member
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    @pamperedlinny We are having tacos tonight too...we have tacos every Monday night since I work on Mondays. My youngest son cooks the Taco meat for us and everyone can make them how they want. Some want soft tacos with tortillas, others have hard tacos with the shells or a combination of both. I usually make a "Taco bowl" with some brown rice, Taco meat (we add in black beans in our meat for added fiber and protein), cheese, lettuce and some tortilla chips crunched up for a little crunch.

    Here's a picture of the protein pancake breakfast sandwich I was talking about in my previous post...
    sfr1n30r0m1u.jpg
  • CupcakeCrusoe
    CupcakeCrusoe Posts: 1,364 Member
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    Good morning everyone!

    173.8 again today, which is fine.

    Last night I made shrimp alfredo for dinner, and man, it's hard to regulate shrimp alfredo. Shrimp is good, alfredo sauce is good, pasta is good. Ugh. And then Little was just very fussy and needed a lot of attention, and I found myself wanting to just dive into the bowl of ferrero rocher. Whenever I can't properly relax, that desire to eat my stress/feelings/lack of relaxation gets stronger.

    I didn't dive into the bowl of chocolates. I did have one more, and that put me over my calories, but I didn't have more than that, which, given my mindset, was pretty okay.

    This morning I'm back at it, planned meals, and tonight will be thai coconut chicken and rice for dinner, and I have plenty of excess calories right now for a good dessert while I listen to the hurricanes game on the radio. :smile: Internet radio is a great thing I don't take advantage of often enough.

    Our raspberry plants should be in today, so we get to plant those next to our mama fig tree. I'm excited to have yet another berry on the property, lol.

    I'm excited, too, to have some relaxation time on my lunch break. Who knows, maybe Little will be more chill tonight, too. We'll see. Hopefully we hear that they're done with my car, today, too.

    Tag party time!
    @pamperedlinny I do love that your kid still likes to match you. :love: that's the best.

    @kelliward1 I'm tucking that breakfast sandwich idea in my back pocket, sounds great! Replacing the carb with a protein pancake or two is genius.

    Have a great day, everyone!
  • badnoodle
    badnoodle Posts: 215 Member
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    'lo all, badnoodle from West Virginia. I lost a bunch of weight back in 2016, but it all came back with a vengeance so here we go again. I was also diagnosed with T2 (and a bunch of other stuff) in February, so I was really given the come-to-Jesus talk about managing blood sugar and losing weight.

    SW: 271.4
    CW: 239
    GW: 150ish

    My goals for April are to get 7,000 steps a day and to get all 25g of fiber, with a stretch goal of actually eating all allotted 95 grams of protein at least 3 days a week. So far 3/3 on the first two, 0/3 on the last one. It sounds like humble bragging but between appetite-killing meds and dietary restrictions, I often don't eat enough.

    I also want to try at least one recipe out of each one of my new cookbooks! I wanted some new recipe ideas, so I bought five or six weight loss cookbooks based on Captain Amazon's recommendations. I already know one of them is a total nonstarter, as I didn't realize it was gluten-free, dairy-free, gmo-free, etc, but the rest look pretty interesting!
  • swimmom_1
    swimmom_1 Posts: 1,302 Member
    Options
    My name is Mary, 65 from Pennsylvania.
    Been MIA for a few months but still logging in everyday since I started MFP 5/14/21.

    Unfortunately lost my mojo and gained a lot back but not all Thank God! Need to get back on track and focused. I bought a NEW to me, gently used, Commercial PreCor EFX 835 Elliptical. It was delivered the beginning of November, as others here know I wore my previous 10+ year old one out from my extensive workouts. Back up to 150 minutes on my 3 days off per week.

    Good to see some familiar names here and glad to see some new ones too!

    Heaviest weight 255 lbs, twice. :-(
    9/14/20-255 lbs
    5/14/21-232.2 lbs
    4/6/22- 147.6 lbs (107.4 lbs lost) I did NOT have a surgery. Did Keto.
    8/1/22- 167.2 lbs
    12/1/22-198 lbs
    1/1/23- 213.4 lbs
    2/1/23- 207.4 lbs
    3/1/23-201 lbs Yippee!

    4/1/23- 207.6 lbs Been struggling as you can see. :-(
    4/2/23- 209 lbs. I need to get my head right and be more accountable to myself in this. I need to get back in control and off the carbs again. Back to my lower level of daily carbs(12 g net +/- 3) and FOCUSED on what is best for me! Not short term enjoyment. Elliptical HIIT setting 150 minutes for 10.11 miles today (I do my elliptical like this 3x per week, on my off work days, pretty religiously. Thursday, Friday & Sunday this week).

    4/4/23- 204.8 lbs Not my usual check in day but hopefully getting myself back on track, FINALLY!!! Was on track Sunday, Monday and Tuesday with my low carbs and it shows!

  • CupcakeCrusoe
    CupcakeCrusoe Posts: 1,364 Member
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    Good morning everyone!

    173.2 this morning, which is great.

    Last night went much better, Little was more chill, dinner was easier to deal with- I put my thai coconut chicken on cauliflower rice so that I could have ice cream- and I got to relax. And the Hurricanes won!

    We haven't heard a peep about my car, they haven't called back, which is aggravating.

    In another thread I'm in, there's some talk about getting 30 different fruits, veg, and herbs in a week, with herbs counting for .25 of a point and veg and fruit each counting for 1 point, and I clocked last week at 17.5 (I'm not counting multiples of things, like eating figs every day only counts as 1). Gotta work on that, would be a good gamified way for me to get more in. I'm making a database in fact, with snack and meal ideas, because of course I am. :lol:

    Tonight is little gym for the kids, and if we don't have my car back by tomorrow morning, I'm going to have to cancel on the gym again tomorrow night. :disappointed: We'll see.

    I'm almost all packed both for me and the kids for the trip, just have to try to keep this house clean before we have to leave. Whatsisface usually just throws some things in a bag just before we head out, that's how he rolls, lol.

    Tag party time!
    @pamperedlinny I think everyone has those days, where you reach out to maybe not the best coping mechanism for stress you're feeling. I've got no advice, just hugs, because I've obviously been there and done exactly that. But as long as it doesn't become a habit (and I know you, so I know it won't), it's not going to break your progress.

    @badnoodle I love new cookbook energy. I often find at least one thing I want to put in the rotation of my normal meals whenever I crack one open. Welcome!

    @swimmom_1 good for you! congratulations!

    @BarbMessimer that's great, measurable progress! congratulations!

    Have a great day, everyone!

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