Start Here: Group Rules + Welcome & Introductions
deskjockey925
Posts: 5,700 Member
Hello and welcome to this month’s edition of the Ultimate Accountability Challenge (UAC).
❓New here? Click the spoiler to learn how this group works. (Rules and other info.)
👋😁 To all new and returning members:
We are happy to have you with us! We invite you to introduce yourself below. Please feel free to include as much information as you feel comfortable sharing about yourself. We look forward to getting to know you a little better. Any questions, please ask any group member. We hope you enjoy your time here.
❓ Quick hints to help you navigate the group:
Privacy Note: This challenge group is open for public viewing until the end of day on the 6th of the month when it is set to "private". From that point forward, and for all time, all the postings made in that month become private and are only accessible to individuals who were registered as members of that month.
❓New here? Click the spoiler to learn how this group works. (Rules and other info.)
❗As a UAC member, you will:
❗ The 3 daily rules:
Each member is expected to report in within three days of each check-in day. This is to help us build helpful new habits through daily consistency. You may check in later if needed, but this counts as a pass day. If you do need to check in late, you are free to post a combined check-in to catch up.
❓ What's a pass day?
Whenever you do not observe all 4 UAC rules, any day, for any reason, that day is considered a pass day. Pass days can happen due to injury/illness, emotional eating, lack of planning, family issues, busy schedule, forgetfulness, vacations/celebrations, hormone fluctuations, "didn't feel up to it," or a myriad of other reasons. We will never judge anyone for taking a pass day: they exist as a tool for you to keep track, and learn where you can improve.
🏆 The UAC celebrates its Winners every month!
A Winner is a member who had 3 or fewer pass days during the previous month. This is a noble and fun goal to strive for, but please know that Winner status is NOT necessary for you to meet your health goals. We also celebrate our Champions, who exceeded their monthly pass day limit but continued to check in every day of the month. And last but not least, even if you find yourself struggling, as long as you are here we consider you a Learner, and that is your first step to a better future! So always count those pass days, always aim to improve, and -- most importantly -- keep coming back every day.
- Be accountable to yourself in your own health journey.
- Post every day in that day's check-in thread. Look for the check-in threads on the Ultimate Accountability group page: scroll down past the ANNOUNCEMENTS threads until you see DISCUSSIONS. When you check in for the day, please state whether you followed each of the three daily rules below; and include your tally of pass days for the month. (Scroll down to learn about pass days.)
- Be honest with your check-ins. If you cheat, you are only hurting yourself. Our group exists not to police each other, but to provide a friendly environment for learning, self-improvement, and mutual support
❗ The 3 daily rules:
- EXERCISE EVERY DAY FOR AT LEAST 20 MINUTES. We define exercise as an intentional and planned choice to be active beyond your "run of the mill" day to day activities. This can be chair yoga, physiotherapy, running, swimming, aerobics, weight-lifting, dancing, vacuuming, washing windows, or anything else that gets your body moving beyond your general daily movement. You can do a mix of activities, and you do not have to do all 20 minutes at once.
- CONSUME ONLY YOUR BUDGETED CALORIES. Set your own personal calorie goal for the day, and don't exceed it. (Yes you may "eat back exercise calories" if you wish.) Any day that you went over what you planned, it is considered a pass day. We are happy to help if you would like help figuring out how to set a calorie goal for yourself.
- TRACK ALL THE CALORIES YOU EAT AND DRINK. How you choose to track is up to you: you may use a paper tracker or journal, MyFitnessPal, another app/website, or any other (online or offline) tool that works for you. And, you guessed it: anytime you skip a day, for any reason, it is a pass day. Please note: Some folks fret about finding an "exact" match on their tracker. We encourage you to find the best possible match and if in doubt about a meal or snack when dining out, overestimate.
Each member is expected to report in within three days of each check-in day. This is to help us build helpful new habits through daily consistency. You may check in later if needed, but this counts as a pass day. If you do need to check in late, you are free to post a combined check-in to catch up.
❓ What's a pass day?
Whenever you do not observe all 4 UAC rules, any day, for any reason, that day is considered a pass day. Pass days can happen due to injury/illness, emotional eating, lack of planning, family issues, busy schedule, forgetfulness, vacations/celebrations, hormone fluctuations, "didn't feel up to it," or a myriad of other reasons. We will never judge anyone for taking a pass day: they exist as a tool for you to keep track, and learn where you can improve.
🏆 The UAC celebrates its Winners every month!
A Winner is a member who had 3 or fewer pass days during the previous month. This is a noble and fun goal to strive for, but please know that Winner status is NOT necessary for you to meet your health goals. We also celebrate our Champions, who exceeded their monthly pass day limit but continued to check in every day of the month. And last but not least, even if you find yourself struggling, as long as you are here we consider you a Learner, and that is your first step to a better future! So always count those pass days, always aim to improve, and -- most importantly -- keep coming back every day.
👋😁 To all new and returning members:
We are happy to have you with us! We invite you to introduce yourself below. Please feel free to include as much information as you feel comfortable sharing about yourself. We look forward to getting to know you a little better. Any questions, please ask any group member. We hope you enjoy your time here.
❓ Quick hints to help you navigate the group:
- Please do NOT open any threads in the Discussion area: they will be deleted. Discussions are set up as one post per day of the month. If you have questions please ask in the daily thread, or in the What's on your mind today? thread.
- Click the little flag icon in the top right corner of any thread that interests you. When the flag is blue, you will receive a notification anytime someone posts to the thread. To unsubscribe, simply click the flag again to turn it white.
- You can use the "Quote" function at the bottom of every post in this group, to copy what someone previously wrote and then respond to it.
- If you would like to respond directly to what another group member wrote, add an @ right in front of their username, like so: @username (This will tag the person you are responding to, and they will receive a notification.)
- In order to see whether someone has tagged you, click/tap the bell in the top right hand corner of your screen, and check your notifications. If you are using the app, first access Community mode, then tap your avatar in the top right corner, then tap the bell. (You must have notifications turned on.)
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Read and understood0
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Awesome group of people we keep each other focused and motivated2
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Everyone please help me welcome our newest members: @erockville77 @kbarrett0731 @leyjennifer04 @mcgm139 @dawnprete @sarahfit40 @MartinSeville @JessicaBensonmfp @chaniyahlolo @lospang1442 @1rnprn
We are happy to have you here with us, please take a look around the group and introduce yourselves if you'd like. Our check-in thread for October 1 will be over here
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I'm looking forward to trying this group out. I love how easy the rules are to understand.4
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Welcome @travlnwoman1 ... Glad you found us and looking forward to October !!
Hi Everyone! Thank you for joining the UAC this month .. Glad you found us
I'm Diane. Looking forward to another month with the support of the UAC Team!
Although my weight loss is moving very slowly, I am focusing on maximizing my Cardio and ST Routines and eating whole foods.
A little about me ... I am married 37 years to Alan. We have 1 daughter, son-in-law and grandson who live not too far away and we are able to see them frequently. One dog Freddy and 2 cats Marie & Susie. We live in a fairly rural area (mostly beaches and farms) and I work largely from home as an IT Project Manager. I’m planning to retire by the end of next year.
Wishing you all a very successful month!7 -
Hello UAC members🤗
I am Clare (cmoak54). I have been a member of MFP for over two years now and was a member back in 2007-2010 when I lost 125 pounds. I came back after regaining 70 pounds because tracking what I eat has proven to be the best weight loss method for me.
I am 70 years old and retired from a Quality Manager position for an automotive company where I worked for 45 years. I have been married for 51 years to Jeff and have 3 children and 7 grandkids all who live within 3 miles of our home, all living on family land passed down for 5 generations of my husband's family. We live in a very rural area in Northeastern Wisconsin (farms and a very touristy lake district, the closest town is 5 miles from us and only has 930 people). I do not have any pets, we have had many throughout the years, but after our last dog died in 2006 and we built a new home we decided no more pets.
My current journey started in late 2022 after my Dr put me on Ozempic to control my diabetes. After 3 months of being constantly sick and losing about 17 pounds, I ended up having an emergency surgery to have my gallbladder taken out and vowed to stop taking medications and dealing with their side effects! After my surgery in Feb through all of 2023 I lost over 63 pounds and felt wonderful, but I have struggled in 2024 and recently started gaining weight (about 20 pounds). I am determined to refocus and again feel joy in the process of living a healthy life.
I am T2 diabetic and need to focus on controlling carbs so I follow a diet with carbs under 100 per day. I welcome a kick in the pants from the UAC group if I start whining or start losing my way again. Thank you all in advance.👏👏7 -
Hello 👋
I'm Kat and this is month 3 for me of the UAC - it's been a total game changer for me - two months in and I've lost steadily and I think another month or two and I'll be at my goal weight (approx 5lbs to go)
I live in Scotland with my husband and two young daughters (4 and 2). I'm really active - I love to climb, run, swim, cycle and do yoga and more. I've a history of having a bad relationship with food - restricting to binging and back again. This group and finding consistency with tracking has really helped!
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Streak of 155 days, 13 kilos lost in the last 6 months, three if those in September. Now between 65.3 and 65.9 kilos. Hope to get down to between 64 and 65 kilos end of October. Won't be easy as I am spending the month in Italy.5
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Got cut off. My name is Elsien and I've been doing really well these last 5 months on MFP / UAC. I'm hoping for a successful October!2
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This group was referred to me by a friend. I’m on several other groups and see a few familiar names.
I’m trying to find something else to help me be more accountable for myself. I don’t want to become frustrated with myself. So this group should help keep me accountable to myself.
I have lost a total of 120 lbs. over the past decade. I have had my ups and downs for sure and have tried many different ways to get the weight off and keep it off.
I love to inspire others to never give up.
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Welcome @travlnwoman1
I recently cleaned up our group rules etc. and I am tickled pink that you find them easy to understand! Thanks for the positive feedback. I look forward to seeing you in the daily check-in threads.4 -
Hello @aalley5 and thank you for signing up to volunteer right away! I'm glad you accepted your friend's invitation, and I think you will like it here
Congrats on your 120 lbs weight loss, that is awesome! I had 130 lbs to lose when I started last summer (50ish lbs left to go now) and I love meeting people who have succeeded with a similar goal.1 -
A little bit about me: I joined the UAC in July 2023, with a goal of losing 130 lbs. I was down 80 lbs in the spring, and then I had some health issues so I gained back a bit of that weight, but after a medication change I'm back on track now.
I never stopped posting my daily check-ins, even during my lowest point: I racked up 20 pass days in July and 15 in August
but I counted every one of them, because if I don't know how I'm doing then how can I improve? I'm constantly analyzing my progress (and sometimes lack thereof) and making small changes that will move me in the right direction. The UAC has been a real game changer for me. I love the support I'm getting here and the focus on steady progress via daily commitment, and on doing what I can with what I have right now. I no longer think of my weight and health as something I can fail at, and that is HUGE progress for me.
I had a hysterectomy yesterday so I can't do water aerobics for a few weeks (my preferred type of exercise). I will miss it because it brings me so much joy. But the UAC has taught me that it is always possible to fit some form of beneficial movement into my day. So right now I'm focusing on walking and breathing exercises. My doctor told me not to lose any more weight for the next three months, while I heal from the surgery. So my current goal is weight maintenance until the New Year, which will be great practice for later when I reach my goal weight
Here's to a successful October for all of us!9 -
@takinitalloff - Congratulations on your weigh loss also! That is awesome! Sending you positive and healing thoughts for your surgery recovery.2
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Welcome! all new members!
I'm Vicki from WNY, and I found UAC in June, thanks to my friend and group co-leader, Diane (deskjockey925). I had a great half of June, but allowed myself to be-derailed in July, August, and September. I'm excited about the start of a new month and the new opportunity for success. "If it is to be, it is up to me!
@takinitalloff ... congratulations on your weight loss to date! I am inspired by your success with tracking even at the low points and posting no matter what. While I am optimistic for my October, my history speaks for itself in that I give up when I fail, instead of just getting back on track and finding my way again. I need to press the re-start button immediately instead of waiting for a new month. Hope your recovery from your recent operation goes well and without event!
Wishing everyone a super successful October Challenge!3 -
Hi Hi - good to see new and on-going friends here.
Found MFP and joined UAC early this year when it was advertised on the challenge forum. Found the focus on consistency and the thoughtful discussions profoundly helpful.
Enjoyed a summer break, and had planned to start again at New Years, but joined now to be with others as we go through the holiday season...
Noticed the stores are already loaded for Halloween, all things spiced pumpkin and even the Christmas items are rolling in. So glad we have the UAC, think it will help me stay focused during the upcoming silly season
@takinitalloff - the group rules/info are truly much better - awesome updates.5 -
@Adventurista Welcome back and thank you 😁1
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Welcome to all the new members! It’s so great to have your energy and enthusiasm.
This is my fourth month with the UAC and I was pretty shy at the outset. This group has been so open and supportive that I come back every day, especially for the encouragement, since I have so far never been below 9 pass days each month.
I had been trying to lose 10-15 lbs for a few months without MFP (to no avail), then started tracking again for a few months (my fourth return to the app). I lost only 3lbs, and my motivation was truly flagging. Though I have set only a 200 calorie daily deficit, I have so much trouble with hunger and pure sensory enjoyment of food that I have a very hard time meeting my calorie goals. However, this group taught me that I can lose weight, even when I feel like I’m failing, and I now have only two more pounds to go!
Thank you, UAC!
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Thank you for allowing me to join, I am excited to have the accountability and support of others.
I just turned 40 in January of 2024, I can't seem to get my energy levels back, always sore and I have gained 20-30lbs from my average body weight of my 20/30's that I can't seem to loose.
I started tracking last week, a set calorie goal of a little over 1400cal/day. My workout goal is 3x per week strength and pilates 2x per week and 10k steps a day. Hopefully eventually I will feel good enough for my long distance runs but right now it's just not there.
Weekends are my hardest days I tend to binge on these days, but I will post in here truthfully and I hope it will help me stop those days.
Thanks Again and Good Luck Everyone!
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Welcome to all the new members! My name is Mary and I have been here over a year now. This group really helps to keep me on track! I hope everyone has a great month!5
