WINNERS!!!!

The numbers are in!!!! (Sorry for another delay! A bunch of sickies over here this week!)

The winners will receive the following prizes as determined at the beginning of the competition:
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First Place: $100 plus ANY/ALL penalty payments ...seriously nice Grand Prize pot!

Second Place: $40...enough to enjoy a nice meal high in calories to celebrate your success! =)

Third Place: $10...covers your buy-in for the competition

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Without further ado, our winners for the competition are as follows:


Coming in THIRD place with  5.80% overall weight lost is ERIKA!


Coming in SECOND place with 7.25% overall weight lost is KAYLA!


And our GRAND PRIZE WINNER coming in FIRST place with 14.55% overall weight lost is ANN!!!


Wonderful work, ladies!!!

Here's a look at your total percentage of weight lost over the past 12 weeks:

Brittany  4.12%

Kim       3.17%

Kayla     7.25%

Ann     14.55%

Sarah    5.26%

Katie     1.49%

Erika     5.80%

Kristeen 4.95%

Meike    5.00%

Leanne  5.19%

Carol    2.29%

Melissa  2.50%

Stephanie2.05%

You will be receiving an email from me if you owe any penalties- please get your money to me via check or cash by Sunday, November 3 so we can get the prizes out to our winners!

As soon as I get all the penalties in, I will mail out the prize $$$! =)

Thanks for your patience with me and all of my late posts throughout the past 12 weeks, ladies!  And thank you for participating!!!

Go enjoy at least a liiiittle bit of chocolate tomorrow and have a happy week! =)  

Final Countdown

Hi Ladies!

I'm so sorry I've been MIA for so much of this month!  You all are doing a great job pressing on without the blog updates- good work!!!

This coming Friday will be our very last weigh-in!!!!  It feels like the time has gone by so quickly.  Great work sticking with it to the end! Since we're seven days away from the final weigh-in, I'm going to post a different percentage this week.  Since the beginning, I have been posting weekly weight-change percentages, but tonight I'm posting grand total weight-loss percentages as we are in the final stretch.  So these numbers will look much different from what you've seen since the beginning because these are the percentages for the OVERALL competition versus the week-to-week percentages I've posted in the past. This will give you an idea of where you fall in the line-up for the win, and will hopefully give you a burst of motivation to really git 'er done this week!

Don't forget to send in your weigh-in next week Friday, and I will announce the winners as soon as everyone is in!  Then I will calculate all penalties and send you an email with how much you owe to the winner's pot. =) There were several weeks that I did not have time to update the blog (eek!), so I haven't penalized anyone for late weigh-ins. That was totally my bad, but I just didn't have the time I thought I would have to pull together percentages to post each week.  There's still some $$$ to be had in pounds gained, so be looking for that email after our last weigh-in so we can be sure to pay-up to the pot! Thanks, ladies. =)

Without further ado, where we stand as of right now, with only one week left:

Ann is currently in first place overall with 13.33% overall percentage of weight-lost. Its going to be tough to catch up to you, Ann!  Good work! Kayla is in second place at 6.52% weight-lost, and Leanne is in third with 5.19% weight-loss.  WAY TO GO!!!

Some of these numbers are VERY close, so there's still time to shake up the first, second, and third place standings before the final winners are announced next weekend.  GO FOR GOLD, ladies!!!!


Overall Percentages as of October 20:

Brittany 3.53%

Kim      3.17%

Kayla    6.52%

Ann     13.33%

Sarah    4.61%

Katie    1.49%

Erika     5.07%

Kristeen 4.95%

Meike    5.00%

Leanne  5.19%

Carol     1.71%

Melissa  2.50%

Stephanie2.05%

Good luck this week!  Be back next weekend with the update on the WINNERS!

Week 7 Results!

Ladies!

I'm sliding in at the last minute just before tomorrow's weigh-in with our results from last week.  Sorry for the delay (again!).

Last week Kristeen came in first place at 2.09%- good work, Kristeen!  Melissa was second at 1.89%, and Sarah was third at 1.36%.  Nice work!

The rest of the results are as follows:

Brittany    1.19%

Kim          0.54%

Kayla        0.77%

Ann          1.32%

Sarah       1.36%

Katie        +0.50%

Erika        0.00%

Kristeen     2.09%

Meike        0.00%

Leanne     0.78%

Carol       +1.16%

Melissa     1.89%

Sue          0.00%

Stephanie   0.68%

Looks like we are picking up the pace again a little bit as we head into the last month of competition!   Every little decision counts, and each day is a new day- keep on keepin' on, girls!

SO LONG, COOKIE PANTS!

We're Still In This!

Hi Ladies!

No, you have not been missing post updates!  I have just reeeeally dropped the ball on getting our percentages up here each week.  I'm so sorry! Between juggling a new preschool schedule and a three-month old, I just flat out have not had a chance to get the percentages up.

I'm sorry for the delay!  And the bad news is I'm out of town again this weekend so the update will be late again this week- my apologies in advance, and thank you for your patience!

The good news is we are still in it to win it! (And also in the good news for you department: I threw a donut breakfast party this morning and ate more than my fair share so there's a good chance your weigh-in will look better than mine this weekend! HA!)

Let's play catch-up a little bit and announce the first place winners for the past three weeks:

Ann came in first the weekend after Memorial Day with a whopping 1.27% loss!  Melissa was right behind her with a 1.25% loss.  Tight race that week!!! WAY TO GO, ladies!!!

The week after Erika won first place with a 1.49% weight loss for the week.  Great work, Erika!  Ann and Sarah were not far behind!

And here are the results for last weekend:

Yours truly came in first with a 1.18% loss. Ann and Kim were hot on my heels!  

Brittany   1.18%

Kim        0.54%

Kayla      0.00%

Ann        0.65%

Sarah V.  0.00%

Katie C.  +0.51%

Erika       0.00%

Kristeen   0.00%

Meike      0.40%

Leanne   +0.78%

Carol      +0.58%

Melissa   0.00%

Sue         0.00%

Stephanie 0.00%

Ladies, we are just over the half way point with only five weeks left.  We can do this!  Several of us have had weeks recently where we haven't lost enough to count towards a percentage of loss...hang in there!  If you're getting close to your goal weight, remember that those pounds close to your goal are the most difficult to lose.  If you're like me and you are light years away from your goal weight, but you've just had a rough couple of weeks taking in pumpkin spice lattes by the gallon and apple cinnamon donuts by the dozen, then just remember that each week is a new week, each day a new day.  Keep workin' it! =)

Stay tough, ladies.  Looking at the month's overall percentages, it is definitely still anybody's game!  Five weeks is a lot of time to make a good dent in your weight-loss goal and to kick some cookie pants boo-tay.   

Keep at it and I'll be back as soon as I can be with this weekend's line up of percentages. 

Week 3 Weigh-In Results

Hi Ladies!

Thought I'd give you a little something to encourage you as we head into Week 4 of the competition and remind you that EVERY pound you lose is something to get excited about!  Check this out:

(via Pinterest "diet motivation")

One pound is a big (nasty?!) deal so get excited when you bust each.and.every.one!  I don't know about you, but I do a little fist pump and mental high five each time I step off the scale and see that I'm one down.  Seriously.  Because its something to celebrate, folks- it means you're headed in the right direction, no matter how small the change may seem!  Woohoo!

And just for giggles, if you're trying to get in some workouts:

(via Pinterest "workout motivation")

And just remember:

"Sweat is fat crying."  

HA!

*****

Now for this past week's weigh-in results:

Ann is in first place this week with a 1.88% loss!  Way to go, Ann! Kayla and Kim are not far behind!

Brittany 0.58%

Kim 1.60%

Kayla 1.50%

Ann 1.88%

Sarah 0.67%

Katie 0.99%

Erika 0.74%

Kristeen 0.00%

Meike 0.00%

Alex 0.00%

Leanne 0.77%

Carol +0.59%

Melissa 0.62%

Sue 0.00%

Stephanie 1.39%

Next week will mark the end of our first month with two months left to go. Its definitely still anyone's game!  Remember we will be calculating your first weigh-in with your very last weigh-in to determine the winners.  These weekly calculations are just to encourage us and help us keep track of how we're progressing. =)

I have calculated our prizes as follows:

First Place: $100 plus ANY/ALL penalty payments (Pentalties= $1 per late weigh-in and $1 per pound gained)...a seriously good Grand Prize worth playing for, ladies!!!

Second Place: $40...enough to enjoy a nice meal high in calories to celebrate your success! =)

Third Place: $10...covers your buy-in for the competition

Good luck this week!  Let's get it girls!

So long, cookie pants!!!

Week 2 Weigh-In Results!

Hi Ladies!

I hope you all had a good weekend!  The results for this week's weigh-in are below.  I, for one, threw a few bucks into the winner's pot...vacation hit me pretty hard last week!  And this week I'm going to be battling some birthday goodies...yikes!

I'm so encouraged by those of you that just keep kicking those pounds to the curb- way to go!!!  You're an inspiration to birthday cakers like me. =)

First place this week is Meike with a whopping 1.95% weight loss!  Stephanie came in second, and Sarah third.  Nice work, ladies!

Remember that we are rounding up to the nearest pound, so keep that in mind if your percentage feels a little wonky. =)

Brittany     +1.79%

Kim           +0.53%

Kayla          0.00%

Ann             0.62%

Sarah          1.32%

Katie C.       0.00%

Erika           0.74%

Kristeen      1.00%

Meike          1.95%

Alex

Leanne        0.76%

Carol           0.00%

Melissa     +1.90%

Sue             1.08%

Stephanie    1.37%

Back at it this week with another weigh-in on Friday.  I've been waiting to cash your buy-in checks until I receive everyone's payment- sorry for the wait!  We've had one lost in the mail which should be coming in this week and then I can cash the $$$ and let you all know what the final count is for first, second, and third place.  Thanks for your patience!

Have a happy, healthy week!!!

Week 1 Weigh-In!

Hi Ladies,

This is probably the earliest update you'll ever see from me...I'll be away from my computer all weekend, so I had to get these results out quick! =)

Something to note before you take a look at your results: in order for the formulas to work in the charts I've set up, we are going to be rounding up to the nearest pound each week.  Bummer, I know, but it has to be done in order to make the competition work. You can round up at home or I can round up when you send in your weight; either way, I have to work with whole numbers or it gets really messy. It just makes losing those pounds more hardcore- gotta lose the WHOLE pound to make it count. =) This means that if you lost less than one full pound, it will show that you lost 0%- but keep in mind, you won't be penalized unless you gain.

And now onto the results!

Kayla came in first this week with 3.62% total percentage of weight loss! Congrats, Kayla!
Leanne, Alex, and Carol were following close behind with percentages in the upper 2%- way to go, ladies!

Here are the total percentages for everyone this week:

Brittany 1.18%

Kim 1.06%

Kayla 3.62%

Ann 2.42%

Sarah 0.00%

Katie 0.00%

Erika 1.45%

Kristeen 0.5%

Meike 1.54%

Alex 2.86%

Leanne 2.96%

Carol 2.86%

Melissa 1.25%

Sue 1.06%

Stephanie 0.00%

While we will be tracking percentage of weight loss weekly and noting who lost the most each week, we will calculate the first place winner based on the overall total of percentage of weight lost at the end of the competition.  So if you weren't at the lead of the pack this week, you've still got plenty of time to claim the prize!

A big thank you for getting your money in!  We've got a great number of participants- it should make for a good bundle at the end of the line!  I'll crunch numbers this week and let you know next weekend what we're looking at as far as cash prize totals. =)

Have a happy and healthy Week 2 saying so long to those cookie pants, ladies!

A Map for this Ice Creamless Road

We're well on our way into the first week of this competition, and I say we all give ourselves a high-five for jumping into a weight-loss challenge in the middle of the summer because goodness knows that ice cream truck music sounds like its just laughing at me all the way down the street.

I thought I'd post a tool to help us stay focused when the ice cream and strawberry daiquiri spritzers are calling- sometimes its easier to make healthy choices when you have a bit of a road map. =)  These are Bob Harper's rules from his book, Skinny Rules.  I really enjoyed the book last summer, and I've always thought if I could choose between Bob and Jillian on the BL show, I'd totally be a Bob girl.  I like that these are straight forward and simple.  Think about picking and choosing a couple to focus on and follow, then add a few more each week.  Or don't use these at all- whatever floats your boat. =)

Bob Harper's Skinny Rules: (italics are mine)

Rule 1: Drink a large glass of water before every meal- no excuses!
Rule 2: Don't drink your calories (I'm looking at you, Starbucks Iced Vanilla Latte)
Rule 3: Eat protein at every meal- or stay hungry and grouchy
Rule 4: Slash your intake of refined flours and grains
Rule 5: Eat 30-50 grams of fiber each day
Rule 6: Eat apples and berries every single day.  Every. single. day.
Rule 7: No carbs after lunch (nooooooo!)
Rule 8: Learn to read food labels so you know what you're eating
Rule 9: Stop guessing about portion size and get it right- for good
Rule 10: No more added sweeteners, including artificial ones (there he goes hating on my vanilla latte again)
Rule 11: Get rid of those white potatoes
Rule 12: Make one day a week meatless
Rule 13: Get rid of fast foods and fried foods
Rule 14: Eat a real breakfast
Rule 15: Make your own food and eat at least ten meals a week at home
Rule 16: Banish high-salt foods
Rule 17: Eat your vegetables- JUST DO IT! (ouch. he's got me there.)
Rule 18: Go to bed hungry
Rule 19: Sleep right
Rule 20: Plan one splurge meal a week (now we're talkin')

If you like these, the book is really good.  I felt like it was very do-able- especially if you're serious about making a lifestyle change vs. a crash diet.  Each chapter covers a rule and expands on what he means and how to incorporate it into your diet. He also includes several recipes and meal plans, so its a very practical tool.  And the rules are a lot less intimidating when you read the book and get the detailed scoop.  (He's not giving me a free book for hawking his wares, but I think he should, don't you? hehe)

Whatever route you take for kicking the pounds, I hope the kick-off this week has gone well for you so far!  Get your weigh-in to me via email by midnight tomorrow, and I'll be back soon with an update to see how we all stacked up.

Happy Thursday!

Kick Off!

Today's the day!

We're officially kicking off our Biggest Loser Challenge!

Its on like donkey kong, ladies!

Thanks for getting your starting weights in- if you haven't yet, be sure to email me before midnight tonight or you'll owe a buck to the winner's pot!

No shame in that starting number- if we stick to it, that will be the last time you see that number on the scale. "You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great"...and all that jazz. 

If you haven't already sent in your $10 buy-in, please remember to get that in by next week Friday, August 9 to stay in the competition.  We've got a 15 woman head count right now, so it looks like our Grand Prize will be a whopper!  And while the prizes are exciting, I find the thought of fitting into some smaller jeans this fall even more motivating. =)  What I'm saying is, if we pass up the chocolate and get moving in the coming weeks, we can all win!  

Remember to check back here on the blog every once in a while for encouragement and some easy breezy tips to kick-start your weight-loss.

So long, cookie pants!   

Happy hunger games, girls...and may the scale be ever in your favor! ;)

Welcome!

Welcome to our Biggest Loser Challenge where we're working to bust some pounds and get out of our cookie pants while competing for a fabulous cash prize!

cookie pants: (n) those well worn pants we live in when the fat pants are too depressing and the skinny pants don't fit anymore. =)

You've come to the right place if you're ready to say "so long" to your cookie pants!

We'll be competing against one another for first, second, and third place based on the greatest percentage of weight lost between August 2 and October 27.  There's a $10 buy-in due at the beginning of the competition, and $1 per pound owed for any pounds gained or any late weigh-ins...more details to follow regarding the rules should you chose to join us!

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If you're interested in joining in, here's what you need to do:

1) Leave me a comment here with your name and email address telling me you're in!  I'll reply back with an email sharing more details and info on where you can send your buy-in contribution.

2) Pay up! Please send $10 check/cash to the address provided in the email you receive by FRIDAY, AUGUST 9 in order to be in the challenge. (All additional money owed for weight gained or late weigh-ins will be collected at the end of the competition.) Any one interested who doesn't get payment in by the 9th will be dropped from the competition because we've got to be sure our Grand Prize is ready and waiting for our first place winner! =)

3) Email me your starting weight by midnight this FRIDAY, AUGUST 2.

4) Check your email and this blog for updates

5) Empty your cupboards, put together a workout playlist, and get ready to say so long to your cookie pants!