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! ;)