Start Here - Group Rules + Welcome + Introductions
Hello and welcome to this month’s edition of the Ultimate Accountability Challenge (UAC).
😁 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.
❓New here? Click the spoiler to learn how this group works. (Rules and other info.)
❗As a UAC member, you will:
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.
❗ Rule #4:
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. Please note: there is currently a technical issue with this function. You can still bookmark, but you have to go into each thread and then bookmark it… MFP says they will fix this issue, but probably not right away. The easiest work-around is to right-click each day’s thread from the list (opening each day in a separate tab) and then hit the subscribe flag on each thread, closing the tabs as you go.
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 by turning their username into a blue hyperlink, 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.)
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.
Replies
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@pfpryor @dipikah50 @davisps552 @Tabitha1280 @pgxmvjpydq @jenycole93 @LydiaMcPantzenNotFitzen @Spicebeautie @pradodia123
Welcome to the May UAC – we’re so glad you’re here! 🎉
When you have a moment, drop a quick hello and share a little about your journey, your goals, or what brought you to UAC. We’d love to get to know you!Feel free to explore and get familiar with everything UAC has to offer. Be sure to check out the rules (don’t worry—they’re simple!) and the helpful info pinned at the top.
It might seem like a lot at first, but you’re not alone—if you have any questions, just ask. We’re here to help!
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Hey everyone! I’m Charissa, the welcome committee 😋, and I’ve been part of UAC for over two years now—and I absolutely love it here.
The support, motivation, and wisdom in this community are truly incredible. Whether I’m crushing my goals or facing a setback, this group keeps me grounded and coming back.To all our new members—welcome aboard! You’re in for a journey filled with encouragement, accountability, and helpful insights. So glad you’re here! To our existing members - glad your sticking with us for the ride!
A little about me: I’m 64, and like many of us, my weight has slowly crept up over the years. For me, it's been the last 30 years. I had a strong start in 2023, but some major life changes set me back to square one as 2024 rolled in. Then came more life shifts—thankfully, mostly positive—but once again, I found myself reversing progress. I’m now up 7 lbs from where I started this year. So it's time for me to start rocking this challenge as well!!
I’m feeling excited, motivated, and ready—and I can’t wait to see the amazing success stories that this month! Good Luck to All 🍀
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Hey Everyone I'm back for another month. I'm Sarah and currently unemployed even though that could change after next Thursday. I have an interview at the local Community Health Clinic in the capacity of Health Information Specialist. Please send positive vibes that I get this job. I've been without a job since February 21st when the company I worked for filed for bankruptcy last June and decided to close all stores in December the Thursday before Christmas to be exact.
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Hooray for our lovely welcome committee @itladyee 🎉
Welcome everyone (newbies and "oldies" alike). I look forward to my 23rd UAC month with all of you.
I love everything about this group: the support I've found here; the information I have learned, and skills & perspective that I have gained. Most importantly, I'm grateful for the consistency and stability the UAC has brought to my life, even in the midst of some very challenging times. I've lost weight and gained friends, what more could I ask for 😁 I share my thoughts quite freely here but I'm very private when it comes to sharing personal details online… you'll get a pretty good idea of me if you hang around long enough though!
See you all in the daily check-in threads.
@macrat12 Sending lots of good vibes for your job interview, you got this! ~~~~~~~
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@deskjockey925 I really like that May blessing! And May is my birthday month, too!
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I am Jackie from Texas, an off and on UACer since November 2023. Hasn't worked, yet, but I am determined to keep trying to form permanent life-changing HEALTHY habits that will ultimately lead to losing 75 lbs. I've lost those 75 lbs twice before. I know I can do it again. For the last time.
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@foodgloriousfood77 ~ Welcome back and YOU got this…..it will happen…
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Greetings from sunny South Africa. I'm Dory, 46 years old. I get to spend my days playing with various animals (zoo keeper) and most of my free time is spent training martial arts (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and judo) or hiking. I got a pretty serious injury to my leg in late March, but thankfully despite the size of the cut from the rusty bridge, I didn't cut anything important (blood vessels, muscles, tendons) and after 5 frustrating weeks I was able to do a tough hike this past weekend and have been cleared by my physio to return to normal routines so it's a great time to get the UAC habits back in place.
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Welcome back @Dory_42 I was wondering how your leg was doing after that incident on the bridge! Glad to see you are recovered.
I am bON from Tx. One of the groups long term maintainers who stays here to keep her head in the game and learn new things from everyone.
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Thank you, @itladyee. You rock! And I look forward to seeing you rock this challenge this month!😊
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Hello everyone 👋 I joined UAC for the first time in January and have really enjoyed it. I have lost 43lbs so far and have another 30lbs to go. I am taking a more holistic approach this time and being kinder to myself. Trying to add in more consistent strength training this month.
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Hi @Dory_42 ~ Glad to see you back again. Congrats on completing the hike AND being cleared o retun to normal routines! Great way to start May.
@SummerSkier ~ We are glad you are maintaining with us. I think maintaining is probably more difficult!
@DarkNightBrightDays ~ 43lbs since January!!! Absolutely amazing and hats off to you for sticking with it. Your body is responding to your kindness.
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Hi, I’m Lori, just checking in to say Welcome May and wishing you all a blessed month as we hold each other accountable!
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Hi all. This is my third month with UAC. I'm approaching the end of my first 16 week block at a deficit and will switch to maintenance for 2-4 weeks in mid May. So goals for this month are to finish out strong and then learn about maintenance. I want to improve my ability to moderate highly palatable foods. I want to keep my nutrition above my minimum goals (and ideally better) and learn to eat just one serving of ice cream, chips, etc. I also want to make sure I can have some days without treats at all and not be climbing the walls. Another goal is to resume more consistent exercise. Gl to everyone!
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Welcome to the May UAC! We’re so glad you’ve joined us! 🎉
When you get a chance, pop in and say hello—tell us a little about yourself, your goals, or what inspired you to join UAC. We’d really love to get to know you!
Take a look around and explore everything UAC has to offer. Make sure to check out the group rules (they’re super simple, promise!) and the helpful info pinned at the top of the page.
It might feel like a lot to take in at first, but don’t worry—you’re not in this alone. If you have questions, need support, or just want to chat, reach out.
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Welcome back! Wishing you a blessed month as well.
@four_bumblebees Welcome back and please share any tips for moderating highly palatable foods. 100% my weakness. Great goals!
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@itladyee Honestly by far the biggest help has been making sure I get enough protein and veggies. I thought I had a sugar addiction but maybe not? When I improved my nutrition the cravings almost entirely disappeared. I eat about 120-170g protein/day at 5'4.
It also helps me to have planned treats. I eat lunch at McDonald's every Friday. It was a bad habit I'd fallen into and now I unfortunately enjoy it. So I let myself have it and just plan for it. I also have a couple squares of dark chocolate per day. For me that's a food I enjoy but don't go completely crazy for so it's good practice. I also eat 25g of simple carbs in the form of candy before I lift. Having these things so regularly I think is helping me reduce that scarcity mindset that drove me to overeat them.
Lastly, I realized I was using meal/snack times as my rest from other things (work, chores, etc.) and had conflated the two. As in I felt like I couldn't rest unless I was eating. I took a few months and switched that - working meals only and I rested as often as I wanted, for as long as I wanted. I think that helped my brain trust me more now to take those breaks, so it doesn't try to trick me as much with the thoughts of "Better have a snack and sit down for a bit. Why not keep eating so you can finish this movie?"
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Thank you @four_bumblebees
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May 2024
Hey UAC Family!
Bridget here! A married mom of 2 school aged boys living in Michigan. I’ve been around the UAC since the fall of 2021.
I utilize the UAC to make sure I track every BLT (Bite Lick or Taste)
Typically, I’ll pop in every 3 days or so. I hope to place in the winner circle or achieve champion status. 🤞🏾Let’s see where the journey takes us.
Rooting for us all. Here’s to the road ahead!
@ takinitalloff Always wonderful seeing you! You’re still holding it down, supporting and motivating our seasoned and new recruits!
@ itladyee Love seeing you in this welcoming capacity. Suits you well. Wishing nothing but the best for you, my friend.
@ macrat12 Rooting for your employment. I empathize with you—Losing Party City JoAnna Fabrics this year sucked and it’s kinda hard to imagine a world without those stores
@deskjockey925 I’d have to agree with @foodgloriousfood77 regarding the May blessing—I’m going to have to take that—as well as the phrase “off and on UACer” cause it fits me so well 🤦🏾♀️
@SummerSkier ~ Good to see a familiar name 👋🏾
Hi Fellow UACer Make it a great month! @Dory_42
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Hi everyone, Happy Weekend! I am very grateful to join this community for the month of May!
Some background:
Name: Carole
Age: 66 (67 on 8/18 this year)
Height: 5'3"
Weight ~160 (Weigh-in days: Sundays and Thursdays.)
Highest Weight: 217 on 2/29/2008
Goal weight: 132-140 range
Goal for May: Lose at least 5 lbs.
One son, age 41 (no grandkids)
One cat, age 3.5
Renting 2-BR Apt. (41.5 years now)
Still working full-time time (in Cambridge).
Have a great day!
💗 Carole
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Welcome back @StayFITTer I will be looking for you in the winner's circle!
Happy to see you again @Walela617
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I didn't get a chance to comment yesterday, but I love how you have your plan all mapped out. How do you consistently get in that much protein? I can usually hit 100 relatively easily, if I add a protein smoothie, that put's me between 120 ~ 130.
I also love how you leave the pleasure trips to McDonalds and consuming chocolate in your plan, so it feels like nothing is off limits.
I also can relate to the food/rest connection. I can see why you've been so successful!! Thanks for sharing!
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@itladyee Thanks for the kind words!
I meal prep for the week on Sundays so I eat pretty much the same thing daily. It lets me pack the protein in once and stop thinking about it there.
Breakfast is usually Greek yogurt with some fixings and skim milk (so I can drink it at work). ~30g protein. Lunch and dinner are usually 30-45g protein each. I just modify my recipes to add more meat, reduce carbs or fat as needed. For my batch of six servings, I usually aim for about 2.25 lbs of whatever meat I'm eating. I drink a casein supplement almost every night which I think is an additional 25g protein, and sometimes in skim milk which adds more.
I aim for 30-40g carbs per meal (usually coming from a grain of some sort so easy to measure). And the fat tends to sort itself out well enough. I just keep a vague eye on it.
Depending on exercise this usually lands me at 1600-1900 Cal/day. If screenshots would be helpful I can try to figure that out!
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Lastly, I realized I was using meal/snack times as my rest from other things (work, chores, etc.) and had conflated the two. As in I felt like I couldn't rest unless I was eating. I took a few months and switched that - working meals only and I rested as often as I wanted, for as long as I wanted. I think that helped my brain trust me more now to take those breaks, so it doesn't try to trick me as much with the thoughts of "Better have a snack and sit down for a bit. Why not keep eating so you can finish this movie?"
@four_bumblebees Wow I like how you turned this around, very insightful. Thanks for sharing!
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@four_bumblebees ~ I'm inspired and motivated… did/do you not experience any inflammation with so much protein? I'm not sure there is a relationship, but when I was aiming for 150g protein, I was experiencing joint pain and stiffness…. didn't form the correlation then, but when I slowed on protein, I realized it went away… may or may not be the culprit…but I'm watching….
I didn't realize the protein in skim milk, gotta look that up….
You've given me some fuel to work with… I will focus on a plan in the next couple of days and get going….I've got a lot of irons in the fire, and I feel like I'm at the breaking point of finding what works…..
Thank you again for sharing.
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@takinitalloff Thank you! It felt like one of my bigger epiphanies in the last decade 😂
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@itladyee Not at all! I actually have decreased joint pain since increasing my protein. I'm pretty sure my diet was too low in protein before though so that could have something to do with it.
I think skim milk has like 9g P per cup for 90 Cal? Something like that. Far from a "high protein food" but I have about 1/2 cup with breakfast and it gives me an extra 5g protein.
Happy I could help! Let me know if you want to chat recipes or anything.
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@four_bumblebees ~ let me get some structure in place and then I'll ping you as needed. going to send a friend request (if i haven't already!)
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