Weight No More Team Chat - JANUARY 2024

jugar
jugar Posts: 10,262 Member
edited February 4 in Social Groups
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Here is your Team chat room for January 2024. Happy New Year! This is where you weigh in, 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. Try to post often, and help each other succeed! Bookmark this thread to make it easy to land here any time.

Fat2Fit has five great teams. The group and team leaders are as follows:

Our Moderators:
Liselyn - @jugar
Megan - @Megan_smartiepants1970
Ashley - @minstrelofsarcasm
Jessica - @jessicakrall8

Our Team Captains:
Downsizers - @lindamtuck2018 and @Megan_smartiepants1970
Mission Slimpossible - @Katmary71 and @trooworld
Weight No More - @minstrelofsarcasm and @melaniedscott
WaistAways - @jugar and @ashleycarole86
Shape Shifters - @jessicakrall8 and @Pupowl

Our Team Motivators:
Downsizers - @Slimmersixties & @NachDeezy
Mission Slimpossibles - open
Weight No More - @rachelrjh
WaistAways - @MaddawgMadsen
Shape Shifters - @Sbus12 and @Cyncia85

HOW IT ALL WORKS: The January challenge runs for 5 weeks, from December 31 - February 3. F2F months always start on a Sunday and end on a Saturday, so adjust your calendars!

Everyone weighs in weekly on their chosen day right here in the team chat. At the end of each week, the tallies are done to determine the team and individuals with the most weight lost. The best losers are announced with full fanfare every Sunday. The team competition is all in good spirits - may the most losing win, and may everyone else get to work on next week!

We also celebrate those small, steady losses. If you lose, however small an amount, you are in the green! At the end of the month, we celebrate everyone who lost at least a bit every single week. You are heading steadily towards your goal even if you aren't at the top of the weight loss leaderboard.

To make your weigh-in easy to find for your team Captains, please put it right at the top of a message, and use this format:
Weigh In Day:
PW (Previous Weight):
CW (Current Weight):

If you miss two weigh-ins in a row without asking for a break, you will be dropped from the team, so be sure to inform your team captain if you are traveling, sick, or just need some time off. If you want a break, you can be excused for a week or two, or can be moved to the Support Team for as long as you need. You still participate in the discussions, you can weigh in if you want to, but it will not count in the weekly tally. Don't worry! You can always come back even if you get dropped.

Once you reach your goal weight, you join the Goal Zone. You continue to weigh in every week. If you have 2 weeks above your self-defined goal zone, you go back to the regular team to lose that amount before it builds up. You will have a chance to hone those maintenance skills and stick with your team.

In addition to your own team, there are weekly F2F Full Group CHALLENGES. You can do all or none - it's up to you. Participating adds a lot to your success, so we hope to see you there often! These can involve anything fitness, health, or nutrition - and they’ll get you moving, thinking, and learning about this journey. Check the Announcements section for full group challenges.

Let’s show our fellow challengers some F2F love! Introduce yourselves right away, and let the first month of 2024 begin!!
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Replies

  • Kyra_TB97
    Kyra_TB97 Posts: 23 Member
    Hi, I'm Kyra. I am 26 years old and live just outside of London. I have been up and down with my weight over the years. I joined MFP last year and managed to lose 2 and a half stone and felt really good, but have managed to put some of it back on. Ideally, I would like to get back down to to this weight before my holiday in April.

    Thank you for allowing me to be apart of this group, I am looking forward to the next 5 weeks!
  • mrs1spy
    mrs1spy Posts: 193 Member
    Hi all,
    I'm Elena, I'm 41 and I'm from the UK.
    I have managed to loose 22 lb 2 years ago and was very happy but now in my pre menopause phase and put 22 lb back and 22 on top of that.

    Hopefully, all of that will be successfully lost.

    Good luck, everyone! 🙏☺️
  • majork29
    majork29 Posts: 760 Member
    edited December 2023
    Hi all, I'm Kira 51 years young. I'm a team lead/trainer, my team is all over Alberta and BC. I travel a fair amount for work, never places that you really want to go.

    I am finally an empty nester. We moved our youngest into care this fall. She is special needs and needs 24/7 supervision.
    My Stats
    Name: Kira
    Age: 52
    Pronouns: she/her
    Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
    Occupation: Team Lead/Trainer
    Height: 5'1"
    Highest Weight: 205lbs- was much higher but I refused to look!!
    Current Weight: 188.0 lbs
    Lowest Weight: 9lbs 10oz (Feb 4, 1971)
    Medical Diagnosis: Ankylosing Spondylitis

    My story
    I was 9lbs 10oz at birth. I was late arrival much to my mother's wishes. I finally came into the world during one of the worst snow storms of that time. Mom went to the hospital on the skidoo. She has an awesome story to tell. I simply don't personally remember it.

    I was average weight until grade 7 (jr High) when I gained what I thought at the time was an incredible amount of weight. I was 145lbs at 5'2" that was overweight but looking back I wish I could say that I was that small. In grade 8 I decided after much bullying and teasing to lose the weight and I did it, getting down to a nice 100lbs. I went on what I called my OJ and vitamin diet. I would drink OJ and take a multi vitamin for breakfast, skip lunch and eat as little as possible for dinner. I also started swimming every day. I became a lifeguard and really started working out. Got to the point where I could eat anything and not gain weight. Of course I was so active that I burned all the calories plus more.

    In 1987 while in high school I was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis. At that time, doctors didn't really think that women could get this disease, now they know that is not true. At that time, the outlook was not good, the doctors felt because I was having problems while so young, most people weren't diagnosed until they were in their 40s, that I would probably be in a wheelchair before I hit the age of 30. They recommended I take it easy, cut back on my exercise, eat better and started my on some very strong medications. I started taking the meds and they did help at that time. But I didn’t stop my exercise at all, in fact I increased what I was doing. This probably kept me out of that wheelchair (still not in it at 52)

    Fast forward to 1997 I got married to my best friend and weighed in at 98lbs on m wedding day. My dress was a size 2. I loved my body. I was still working out all the time, walked everywhere I could, ran and swam daily. I was loving life. Then life changed. I was in a really bad car accident. All of the sudden I was in bed and unable to do a lot. 16 weeks of laying around eating my Cheetos. I gained 20lbs. When I finally got the all clear from my doctor that I could get back to the gym, I was tired and sore. My AS was in a big flare, walking hurt and I was more then a little depressed. Then I discovered I was pregnant with our first child. My brain decided then and there that it wasn't the Cheetos and lack of exercise that caused my weight gain but my growing child. (yup because you gain before you get pregnant we all know this!!) Because of my AS, just getting over my accident and my blood pressure doing weird things going from really high to really low, the doctors put me on bedrest, so more laying around and Cheetos for me. I gained 80lb more while pregnant and was at 205lbs when My son was born. But I was happy and at that time didn’t care. I didn't spend any time looking in the mirror. I continued to wear my maternity clothing for a long time and then started buying stretch pants and long shirts. I was happy but continued to gain weight. 6 years later, just before the birth of m 3rd and final child I wouldn't let them tell me how much I weight. I know that I was well over 200lbs and that I actually was losing weight while pregnant.

    2006 came and I saw myself in a picture. I was scared I was fat. I was out of shape, in pain and tired all the time. I knew that things had to change. I also knew that I needed to change the way I ate. I was living on junk. So this started my journey with Weight Watchers, Atkins, and many others which would work for a while but then I would get tired of the restrictions and binge and gain it all back plus some.

    In 2015 I found MFP and Spark People. I really miss Spark People. I started working on me and stopped following a diet. I know that I am healthier today then I was. I also know that I have a long way to go.
  • jessicakrall8
    jessicakrall8 Posts: 5,458 Member
    The January Week 1 Group Challenge is open and ready to begin on Sunday, Dec. 31st and will run until Saturday, Jan. 6th. Please join us for the New Year New You Challenge! Here's your link:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10906030/january-week-1-group-challenge-new-year-new-you-challenge#latest

    Hope to see you in the chat thread...great opportunity to set and begin working on new goals!
    Jessica :blush:
  • mrs1spy
    mrs1spy Posts: 193 Member
    Happy New Year Eve everyone 🎄

    My first post:
    Mrs1spy
    Weigh In Day: Sunday
    PW (Previous Weight): 198
    CW (Current Weight): 198


  • Losingweekly
    Losingweekly Posts: 14 Member
    Happy New Year Everyone!!!
    Losingweekly
    First weigh In is today:
    Weigh in Day is Sunday
    PW: 171.4
    CW: 171.4

    WEEK 1: January Challenge
    Nutrition:
    Short Term Goal: Introduce more veggies and fruit to diet daily
    Long Term Goal: Make tracking a daily habit and be mindful of intake with MFP. Consistently

    Fitness:
    Short Term Goal: Walk daily to become a habit
    Long Term Goal: Walk 50,000 steps weekly on a regular basis

    Emotional Wellness:
    Short Term Goal: Decrease procrastination which leads to guilty feelings.
    Long Term Goal: Feel positivity while reaching short and long term goals.

    Self-Care:
    Short Term Goal: Small reward for work done with weight loss this week.
    Long Term Goal: Celebrate a year of success for 2025
  • jugar
    jugar Posts: 10,262 Member
    Happy new month and new year, WNM!

    A bit of housekeeping:

    @9Harvey it would be great to have a starting weight as well as today's weigh in. The starting weight would just be from last Sunday - approximate is fine! Thanks :smiley:
  • 9Harvey
    9Harvey Posts: 105 Member
    @minstrelofsarcasm @jugar Since I am a returning from November can I not use that weight? I never weighted last week.

    Weight In (Sunday)

    Today - 216.4

    Also I would like to be added to the step challenge. Goal 7500 a day
  • minstrelofsarcasm
    minstrelofsarcasm Posts: 2,576 Member
    @9Harvey - I'll find the last recorded weight we have from you, not a problem. Glad to have you back with us!
  • minstrelofsarcasm
    minstrelofsarcasm Posts: 2,576 Member
    edited February 4
    Hey WeightNoMores! Welcome to ... oh jeez... 2024! I'm Ashley, I'll be one of your two co-captains here to guide you through the month (and even longer, if you'll stick around with us).

    While most of this information has been copied and pasted, I have updated some of my information to be more current and accurate. And if there are any questions, any at all, please do not hesitate to ask. I'm more than willing to talk about my struggles, my digestive tract, my sleep schedule, how starting a new relationship stresses me about because there are very few healthy date foods and I don't want to look like that person, how lifting heavy saves me from potentially beating up my coworkers, stress baking, stress eating... you get the idea.

    There's a lot of content here, and it's spoilered, so it doesn't make a long post even longer. You get to pick and choose what you read.
    ~ THE BASICS ~
    Name: Ashley
    Age: 28
    Pronouns: she/her
    Location: Ohio, USA
    Occupation: Chemical Engineer
    Height: 5'7"
    Highest Weight: 234lbs
    Current Weight: 183lbs (ooof - updating this number hurt a little bit, and it's probably even higher from all the holiday eating and minimal activity)
    Lowest Weight: 6lb 10oz (August 28th, 1995)
    Medical Diagnosis: Multiple Sclerosis
    ~ MY HEALTH STORY ~
    I grew up in a Clean Plates Club™ household, with the idea that food could stuff down any emotion and mask any discomfort. This led to being bullied as a child, expecting people to be mean to me in middle and high school (and then being mean to people first so they didn't have the chance), having an identity crisis in college, and being scared (ahem) poopless after a doctor told me I was on the edge of being pre-diabetic.

    I used this fear to catapult me into fitness, starting with indoor cycling classes. I expanded into trying out OrangeTheory, Barry's Bootcamp, F45, and numerous smaller boutique fitness studios. Eventually, I landed on a nice gym that offers group fitness but also allows you to use their equipment for your own personal use. That, combined with having a personal training session once a week, and dropping into group fitness studios from time to time, has led me to have a balanced fitness routine.

    In the middle of me getting my (ahem) stuff together, November 2019, I had my first major Multiple Sclerosis relapse and could not feel half of my body. At the time, I had no diagnosis and did not know what was going on outside of the sensation of pins and needles on my left side. After playing a rousing game of Musical Neurologists™, I found a doctor who did not believe my condition to be severe anxiety. He ordered an MRI and a spinal tap, and I was on my way. 14 vials of blood, 2 MRIs, and one spinal tap later, I had a diagnosis. My symptoms are mostly manageable, and my active lifestyle along with reasonably healthy eating has allowed me to continue on with my life without much interruption. My next MRI is in a week, and I hope it shows no further deterioration, as there is currently no cure for MS.

    And now? Now I'm focused on building muscle, maintaining my cardiovascular health, and holding back the icky side effects of the autoimmune disorder. Losing weight would be fantastic, but it's not my focus anymore. I've also become a certified personal trainer, with the intent to make fitness more accessible for those with chronic illness. Oh boy, do I have some new fun facts bouncing around in my brain.

    I'm currently chatting with a local Burn Boot Camp about potentially leading a couple group fitness classes. I am going to spend my first week of the year exploring some of their class formats and seeing if it is a good fit for me - let's see how this goes.
    ~ FUN NUMBERS ~
    Number of Spin Classes Attended: 1170
    Deadlift Personal Best: 180 lbs
    Squat Personal Best: 155 lbs
    Fastest Mile Run: 6m 11s
    Percent Body Fat: 27%
    Times "Started Over": Too High to Count
    ~ THINGS TO KNOW ~
    • I am also a moderator for F2F, so if something doesn't look right, you can let me know and I'll take care of it.
    • As a chemical engineer, I am VERY familiar with a lot of the chemicals we put into our bodies, and numbers are my friends. I also do research for a living. You want facts? I'm your girl. I am always (ALWAYS) happy to explain the science behind something.
    • I used to have a blog on MFP before they removed the blog feature. I didn't save everything I ever wrote, but you can find some of it here: LINK
    • I am an open book. You want to know about life with MS? Just ask. You want to know when my last bowel movement was? Just ask. You want my maple donut cookie recipe? Just ask. There is not a single topic I am unwilling to chat about - all it takes is asking the right questions.
    ~ CURRENT STRUGGLES ~
    My weight has been slowly increasing over the past year. And even though I know there's been quite a bit of muscle growth, and plenty of sources of water retention, it's getting to me.

    In an attempt to quell my anxieties, I ordered a new scale.

    I know what you're thinking. Obsessing over my weight even more will not help.

    But that's not why I ordered a new scale. This new scale has a couple built in features I'm excited to try out, tracking a dozen more metrics than a standard scale, including BMI, body fat percentages, muscle mass, etc. I am hoping (HOPING) that these new numbers will help me re-center myself and trust that this slow process is working for me, that my plan to build muscle to increase my basal metabolic rate (BMR) while losing fat from a slight caloric deficit has been benefitting me.

    Because sure, my BMI claims I'm overweight. It's been decades since I haven't been overweight. But I know I'm more muscular than I've ever been at 180lbs, and I've been here several times before. And I know I can do far more than I ever could previously.

    So, it's going to be okay. But my brain needs a few more numbers, just a little more data, before it believes that.

    UPDATE - OCTOBER: The new scale was incredibly helpful. Here's what I posted soon after testing it out:
    ~ New NSV!!! ~

    I mentioned in my long rambling post about myself that I ordered a new scale to better track the numbers in a way that matters, and oh boy was that a smart idea. I have the results of the InBody scan I did way back in May last year, when I was actively participating in a challenge at my gym at the time, F45. And while there are some things to be wary of when comparing two different methods of obtaining these numbers, I am still ridiculously proud of how far I've come.

    Let's take a look...

    May 9th, 2022

    Weight - 177.1 lbs
    BMI - 27.7 kg/m2
    Skeletal Muscle Mass - 74.3 lbs

    September 8th, 2023

    Weight - 179.4 lbs
    BMI - 28.2 kg/m2
    Skeletal Muscle Mass - 88.2 lbs

    But what does this mean?

    So here's the thing. My weight went up. For a lot of people, this is a huge no-no. And because my weight went up, so did my BMI, because BMI is based solely on weight and height, not levels of health. I wrote a blog post back in the days when MFP still had the blog feature (I was smart and made a copy of this blog, so if you want to read it, you can click here).

    But let me draw your attention to what I'm actually proud of: Skeletal Muscle Mass. According to what my special scale told me this morning, I've gained almost 14 whole pounds of muscle over the past 16 months. And if I gained 14 pounds of muscle, but only 2 pounds of weight, that also means I've lost approximately 12 pounds of fat, give or take a pound or two to account for hydration levels and how much heavier my hair may have gotten.

    All of this is to say that the number on the scale isn't the whole picture. I can already see a couple issues I have with the measurements my new scale has taken, because there's way too many variables that could affect the values they're giving me, but it's a lovely way to compare my values one day to my values on another, and that's a better picture than a standard weight-only scale could ever provide.

    UPDATE - November: I still have a couple issues with the numbers I've been seeing, but the slight shifts from day to day have aligned reasonably well with my eating/exercise habits, so I can't complain too much.

    UPDATE - December: I've been out of control with my eating recently, but I think I've discovered several of my triggers to overeat, and I have a plan to regain control. It's just a matter of doing the damn thing.
  • minstrelofsarcasm
    minstrelofsarcasm Posts: 2,576 Member
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    Team Results
    By Percentage
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    By Pounds
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    Individual Results
    By Percentage
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    By Pounds
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    Team Winners
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  • laslofitness
    laslofitness Posts: 14 Member
    Happy New Year!

    I'm new to Fat2Fit and super excited to get started! My name is Laura and I'm 48 years old, living in California.

    My first post:

    Weigh In Day: Saturday
    PW (Previous Weight): 150
    CW (Current Weight): 150
    All time high : 200

    I lost 65 lbs 10 years ago and it's been creeping back on over the last few years. I need to stop the progression before I'm back to where I started!
  • minstrelofsarcasm
    minstrelofsarcasm Posts: 2,576 Member
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    Team Results
    By Percentage
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    By Pounds
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    Individual Results
    By Percentage
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    By Pounds
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    Team Winners
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  • sydditt
    sydditt Posts: 1,082 Member
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  • sydditt
    sydditt Posts: 1,082 Member
    edited January 1
    If you could use my weight from last week as the starting weight, that would be great! I’m still on vacation and won’t be back until Wednesday. I’m normally a Friday weigher. I’ve been hitting the gym every couple of days in the various hotels to use their dumbbells. My steps are up with all the walking so hopefully that’s enough cardio to get me through!

    I’ve been focusing on making sure I get a decent amount of protein with every meal. My main issue I think is lack of fiber/veggies (along with too much sugar and alcohol!) Oh well… vacation will be over soon enough. I’ll enjoy it while I can, but my body is actually pretty ready to be back on my normal diet. 😜 Happy New Year everyone!
  • daria0919
    daria0919 Posts: 1,136 Member
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  • BodyTalking
    BodyTalking Posts: 2,822 Member
    I'm still on holiday and can't weigh-in until Sunday 😊
  • BodyTalking
    BodyTalking Posts: 2,822 Member
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    Happy New Year 🎊 and all the best for 2024
  • kndalby01
    kndalby01 Posts: 4 Member
    My first post!
    Weigh in day is Sunday. (I weighed in but could not figure out where to post this)
    PW 177.8
    CW 177.8
  • daria0919
    daria0919 Posts: 1,136 Member
    Weigh In Day: Sunday
    PW (Previous Weight): 239.2
    CW (Current Weight): 237.6

    I desperately want to get my weight under control, and I hope 2024 will be good for that!

    Nice Job @CassieGetsFit2013!!
    Keep up the good effort and keep checking in here and chatting with us!

    Happy New Year! 🎉🎉
  • sydditt
    sydditt Posts: 1,082 Member
    edited January 2
    Hi all!

    My name is Syd - age 48 - perimenopausal… Husband, a son in college and a daughter who is a senior in high school. I live in Colorado - home to mountains and lots of fit people.

    I’m focusing on building muscle - mostly doing strength training and walking with very short amounts of cardio (HIIT and Spin) added in. (I absolutely despise any sort of jumping around, but it does help me walk up the hills a little faster.) I’m eating lots of protein and fiber and trying to keep my calories during the work week down around 1500-1650.

    I lost 15 lbs last quarter. I don’t really mind slow weight loss as I can see my body changing and getting more trim with the weightlifting I’m doing. I feel so hungry all the time. I think it must really rev up my metabolism.

    My goal is to ultimately lose another 15-20lbs to get down around 160, but I’m trying not to dwell on it too much.

    The plan for Jan - Mar is to keep up with the Isometric and Weightlifting class I’m doing with my daughter at the gym. After thinking about doing the Caroline Girvan “Iron” series on YouTube, I ultimately ended up purchasing the MAPS Anabolic program. (12 week program). I did the pre-phase for a couple of weeks before vacation and have been keeping up with it in the hotel gyms. I start Phase 1 (3-4 weeks) when I get back from vacation. I’ll do it at home as I have a wide range of dumbbells from 2-15 lbs. That will give me 3 days total of weightlifting per week, 1 day of Iso, and then whatever small amount of cardio I manage to fit in.

    Hope I stick to it! Looking forward to spring, a short trip to Hawaii in March, and feeling a little better in my tank tops and swim suits than I do today!
  • BodyTalking
    BodyTalking Posts: 2,822 Member
    edited January 2
    Hi all, welcome to new members and to a new year 🥳🎉

    I'm Mairi, currently on holiday in Spain, 52 years old...well, for one more week...get my fitness through walking and general exercising and am working on better lifestyle choices and sustainable healthy habits while listening to my body along the way.

    I haven't lost much weight, but I'm ok with it, I need to better deal with the spanner-in-the-works moments, like illness, tiredness, emotional times, slumps in motivation, workload and stress. Things happen in our lives and we can't just give up on our self improvement because of them. They are obstacles in the road that we have to cross over or navigate around. Yes, our bodies need the rest at these times but getting back on track as soon as possible leads to better progress. So, that's my focus for this year.

    I've tallied my steps for the year. It's not as good as I'd wanted it to be but other things got in the way. At least it's more than 2022 and I can aim to Do More In 2024.

    💜

    Year 2023, Steps: 2,437,850
    (1,823.71 km/1133.2 mi)

    Year 2022, Steps: 2,131,101 (1,486.58 km/923.71 mi)

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  • minstrelofsarcasm
    minstrelofsarcasm Posts: 2,576 Member
    andja87 wrote: »
    I joined my local Burn Boot Camp for the start of this year, which I have to credit @minstrelofsarcasm for even mentioning it in a post last month. I had never heard of it before and I did some research and found one local to me was opening up! I looked into it and decided to give it a shot. I had been thinking about starting at a gym to help with my weight loss and build my strength but didn’t know where to look or even what I was looking for. Did my first camp this morning and it kicked my *kitten*, but I survived it! Looking forward to going to more classes!

    @andja87 - Oh my goodness, that's great! I'm glad you had the opportunity to try it out! I'm going to be dropping into a couple classes this week to make sure my local Burn Boot Camp has the right vibe for me, and then might be leading classes of my own by the end of the month!
  • minstrelofsarcasm
    minstrelofsarcasm Posts: 2,576 Member
    Folks, I was surprised this morning. I weighed myself before I left for the holidays, didn't even bother with a scale at my parents' place, and then weighed myself again this morning in my apartment. No change. None at all.

    Did I control myself over the holidays? Not as much as I kept telling myself I "should".

    I had pie, candy, extra mashed potatoes, tons and tons of cheese, alcohol, snacks from every direction... everything I was used to told me that I had consumed at least 4 bajillion calories and would have gained at least 10 lbs. But no. I didn't gain an ounce.

    Was it going to the gym? Doubtful.

    There's an F45 location relatively close to my hometown, and they have a special price for a week of unlimited classes. I went to four of them, which averaged out to a little less than $15/class. For my sanity, that was well worth it. But here's the thing: these classes didn't burn that many calories. Three of the four were resistance focused interval training. Sure, my heart rate spiked, but lifting heavy things doesn't necessarily burn a ton of calories up front - most of the energy expenditure is tied to the muscle repairing itself in the 24-72 hours after the workout (something a lot of boutique studios will claim is a special feature of their specific workout, but is in fact just movement science).

    Here's my theory:
    • I did gain a bit of weight from eating outside my normal bounds, but I did not actually consume as much as I thought I did. One of the good habits I've built over the years is using a smaller plate whenever I can, and loading it up with vegetables first before adding anything else. This helped. A lot.
    • I was also dehydrated when I weighed myself. My drive from Milwaukee to Cleveland yesterday did not involve drinking as much water as I normally would. Add that to the fact that I consumed quite a bit of alcohol for NYE and it just makes sense that my body was not holding onto as much water as it should have been to help my body recover. I would estimate maybe an additional pound of water should have been in order.
    • Lastly, there's two things I did a lot of over the past week and a half that contributed to a higher metabolic rate than normal: stress and laughter. Laughing can burn a ton of calories, especially if you don't bother holding yourself back to sound "normal". And between time with old friends and telling stories with family, there was a lot of laughter to be had. As for stress, well, I'm sure you can figure that part out.

    So, I am assuming I gained maybe half a pound to a pound over the past week. I don't regret a thing. I'll weigh myself again tomorrow to see how I'm doing. Maybe this maintenance is real and I did even better than I just theorized. I'll either be right, or pleasantly surprised, and that's a great way to start the year.
  • daria0919
    daria0919 Posts: 1,136 Member
    Folks, I was surprised this morning. I weighed myself before I left for the holidays, didn't even bother with a scale at my parents' place, and then weighed myself again this morning in my apartment. No change. None at all.

    Did I control myself over the holidays? Not as much as I kept telling myself I "should".

    I had pie, candy, extra mashed potatoes, tons and tons of cheese, alcohol, snacks from every direction... everything I was used to told me that I had consumed at least 4 bajillion calories and would have gained at least 10 lbs. But no. I didn't gain an ounce.

    Was it going to the gym? Doubtful.

    There's an F45 location relatively close to my hometown, and they have a special price for a week of unlimited classes. I went to four of them, which averaged out to a little less than $15/class. For my sanity, that was well worth it. But here's the thing: these classes didn't burn that many calories. Three of the four were resistance focused interval training. Sure, my heart rate spiked, but lifting heavy things doesn't necessarily burn a ton of calories up front - most of the energy expenditure is tied to the muscle repairing itself in the 24-72 hours after the workout (something a lot of boutique studios will claim is a special feature of their specific workout, but is in fact just movement science).

    Here's my theory:
    • I did gain a bit of weight from eating outside my normal bounds, but I did not actually consume as much as I thought I did. One of the good habits I've built over the years is using a smaller plate whenever I can, and loading it up with vegetables first before adding anything else. This helped. A lot.
    • I was also dehydrated when I weighed myself. My drive from Milwaukee to Cleveland yesterday did not involve drinking as much water as I normally would. Add that to the fact that I consumed quite a bit of alcohol for NYE and it just makes sense that my body was not holding onto as much water as it should have been to help my body recover. I would estimate maybe an additional pound of water should have been in order.
    • Lastly, there's two things I did a lot of over the past week and a half that contributed to a higher metabolic rate than normal: stress and laughter. Laughing can burn a ton of calories, especially if you don't bother holding yourself back to sound "normal". And between time with old friends and telling stories with family, there was a lot of laughter to be had. As for stress, well, I'm sure you can figure that part out.

    So, I am assuming I gained maybe half a pound to a pound over the past week. I don't regret a thing. I'll weigh myself again
    tomorrow to see how I'm doing. Maybe this maintenance is real and I did even better than I just theorized. I'll either be right, or pleasantly surprised, and that's a great way
    to start the year.

    @minstrelofsarcasm this certainly makes for a motivational start for you for this year!
    That’s great!! Sounds wonderful that you laughed a lot!

  • ksludwig
    ksludwig Posts: 309 Member
    Hi all, Welcome new members! 40 years old and working on a slow and steady journey. I ended 2023 with an overall loss of 15.2 lbs I'm really proud of that, but I had lost a little over 20 at one point. I am hoping the bad habits I fell back into over November and December can be reset. I still have a ways to go.

    I am training for a 15k race over the summer that I have run before, so I hope I can get some extra lbs off before my longer run training starts. I know my knees will thank me!


  • Laurabb99
    Laurabb99 Posts: 99 Member
    Laurabb99
    Monday's weigh
    Pw 209.4
    Cw 210.7

    Happy New Year's! I've maintained this past year. Which I guess could be worst. I'm going to focus on logging food and increasing daily protein.
    Hello new members. I'm Laura. I'm 42 and homeschool my five kids between the ages of 14 and 2. My youngest will turn 3 in 3 weeks. In May, my mother-in-law moved in with us. She's at beginning stage of losing her memory. She hasn't been diagnosed yet. I feel like that's a long story there, but definitely has added more stress to our life. I need to focus on small changes at a time to lose my extra weight added during pregnancy. It will little things like fitting back into my wedding rings that I haven't worn in about 5 years. Here's to our 2024 goals!
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