Week 6 Results

We’ve made it half way through the competition and I am so impressed with everyone’s determination and dedication to becoming healthier! We have collectively lost over 240 pounds! Good job, everybody!!

Here are this week’s results:

Top Ten

Amanda	1.55%
Jake	1.20%
Sherry	0.84%
Amy	0.82%
Matt	0.76%
Taylor	0.76%
Chris	0.67%
Annalee	0.63%
Ashley	0.60%
John	0.52%

Lindsey .3%, Stephanie .25%, JJ .23%

Here are the standings for everyone in the competition thus far. I’ve included the percentages of weight lost for the top ten people. If you would like to know what your percentage is, message me and I will tell you where you’re at. I am not posting this to be discouraging to anyone but to hopefully motivate you to keep going! This is still anyone’s game! 

1.    Amy	7.47%
2.    John	7.46%
3.    Brianne	6.98%
4.     Linda	6.55%
5.    Jake	6.30%
6.     Amanda	6.22%
7.     Sherry	5.89%
8.     Julie	5.71%
9.     Melissa	5.71%
10.   JJ	5.69%
11.   Alex
12.   Brent*
13.   Matt
14.   Taylor
15.   Mike
16.   Annalee
17.   Sheila
18.   Chris
19.   Stephanie
20.   Lindsey
21.   TJ
22.   Ashley
23.   Crystal
24.   Sue
25.   Jaymie
26.   Judy
27.   Heather
28.   Valerie
29.   Karlie
30.   Mark*
31.   Susan
32.   Elizabeth
33.   Leslie
34.   Sally
35.   Tag  *not competing for $$

This week’s challenge is to go for a walk at least 5 times for 20-30 minutes. This is such a simple thing and there are so many benefits to doing it. This is a habit that everyone should develop, no matter what physical shape they’re in. 

Specific Walking Benefits (http://weight-loss.emedtv.com/exercise/benefits-of-walking.html)

Based on research studies, walking on a regular basis has the following health benefits:

• ·      It reduces your risk of dying from heart disease or stroke
• ·       It lowers your risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, colon cancer, and diabetes
• ·       It lowers high blood pressure
• ·       It protects against falling and bone fractures in older adults
• ·       It may help protect against certain types of cancer, such as breast cancer
• ·       It increases the number of calories your body uses, which helps to control your weight
• ·       It helps control joint swelling and pain from arthritis.  

Regular physical activity, such as walking, can also make you feel better, because it: 

• ·       Helps keep your bones, muscles, and joints healthy
• ·       Reduces anxiety and depression, boosting your mood
• ·       Helps you handle stress
• ·       Helps you feel more energetic
• ·       Helps you sleep better
• ·       Improves your self-esteem
• ·       Gives you an opportunity to socialize actively with friends and family

**ONE LAST THING**

Attendance each Saturday at the weigh-ins has been getting worse and worse by the week. PLEASE DON’T GIVE UP! If you can’t make it one week or are going to be late, please give me a head’s up so I can plan the rest of my day instead of sitting at home, hoping you'll show up. If you absolutely cannot make it to the house by 10:30, let me know beforehand and I’d be happy to work out a time for you to come over. Thanks!! :)

Week 5 Results

We are only one week away from hitting the half way point! Can you believe how fast this competition has gone by? I hope everyone is just as motivated today as you were at the beginning. Unfortunately, our numbers have been dwindling and I haven’t been seeing everyone each week. Please don’t give up! It is not too late to lose the weight and win some money! This Saturday, after I have gotten everybody’s weight, I will post everyone’s position in the competition so you can see where you stand and how much money you would win were this the final weigh-in.

Here are the results for this week:

TOP TEN

Sue Dewey	2.62%
JJ Bidwell	2.35%
Alex Jones	2.34%
Jaymie Maines	1.51%
Brianne Sheaffer	1.33%
Linda Bowe	1.24%
John Bowe	1.05%
Sherry Ashford	0.95%
Melissa Singleton	0.93%
Amy Bowe	0.82%

Susan .71%, Lindsey .40%, Stephanie .30%, Tag .23%

This week’s challenge is to try a new low-calorie recipe. For a second name in the drawing, share the recipe with the group either on the blog here or on the facebook event page, or bring a copy of it to the weigh-in.

Congratulations to Linda for being the week 4 drawing winner! She got a box of healthy-alternative snacks! Just be careful, Linda. Even though they’re only 100 calories each, the calories do add up, so maybe stick to one at a time ;)

As always, good luck everybody! I hope to see (or hear from) all of you on Saturday!

Week 4 Results

We’re a third of the way through our competition!! How are you feeling about your progress? This week was another good one. We collectively lost 21.8 pounds, which brings our total loss so far to 213.1 pounds!!!  Can you believe that?!? That’s insane!! Great job, everyone!!

Congratulations to Lindsey Eatchel for being the week 3 drawing winner! I would suggest not using your Subway gift card to buy a meatball foot-long with its whopping 960 calories. Maybe get a turkey foot-long, which has 400 fewer calories, and share half with your hubby. But, you know, do whatever you want ;D

Here are the results for this week:

TOP TEN

Brianne Sheaffer	2.77%
Alex Jones	1.58%
Julie Fairbanks	1.31%
Matt Bowe	1.29%
Stephanie Thomson	1.15%
Amanda Campbell	1.04%
Lindsey Eatchel	1.01%
Ashley Smith	0.97%
Sheila McFarland	0.95%
Amy Bowe	0.91%

Jake .9%, Judy .88%, Crystal .84%, Sherry .84%, Mike .81%, John .79%, Melissa .69%, Chris .67%, Brent* .59%, TJ .47%, Heather .43%, Linda .12%

This week’s challenge is to try a new form of exercise or restart one you haven’t done in a while. I’m thinking maybe I’m going to try yoga… maybe. I’ve never wanted to try it because it seems like it may be the most boring thing on Earth, but perhaps this is a good time for me to see why it’s so appealing. Or maybe I’ll pull out my Insanity DVD’s and see if it’s easier to do 50 pounds lighter.*shameless gloating, I apologize* ;D What are you gonna try?

As always, good luck everyone and keep up the fantastic work! If you’re feeling discouraged and need some encouragement, give me a call or send me a message. I’d love to go hiking/swimming/walking or just talk with you and try to help you light that fire within again. This has been a really neat experience for me and I hope you’re getting as much out of it as you can. 

Week 3 Results

Happy End-of-Week-3 everybody!

Thank you to everyone that came and weighed in this weekend! I was sad to see so few of you but certainly understand how holiday weeks go. Hopefully next week will be a lot better! :)

Despite the setback of Independence Day, we still managed to collectively lose 28.3 pounds! Not bad for a week where hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and s'mores were running rampant :D We just all need to make sure we hop right back onto the bandwagon and push ourselves a little bit harder to work off our indulgences.

Here are the results for the week:

   TOP TEN

Amy Bowe	4.46%
Melissa Singleton	2.39%
Susan McCoy	1.72%
Sherry Ashford	1.37%
JJ Bidwell	1.21%
Crystal McFarland	1.09%
Stephanie Thomson	1.05%
Lindsey Eatchel	1.01%
Sheila McFarland	0.97%
Annalee Hawkins	0.95%

Karlie .81%, Chris .76%, Linda .74%, Jake .3%, Heather .29%, John .26%

This week's challenge is to give up that one guilty pleasure you haven't quite been able to let go of. For some, it may be chocolate. For others, maybe it's soda. Think of the one thing you know you really shouldn't be eating and give it up. For now, it's just for this week, but you may be surprised to find at the end of the week that you don't really miss it all that much. Or maybe you'll have a secret stash of it set aside to devour after the weigh-in is over on Saturday ;) For me, I think I'm gonna have to give up ice cream. Wish me luck! And good luck to all of you this week as well!

PS Congratulations to Annalee for winning the Week 1 Challenge Drawing. I hope you're loving that water bottle! Also, congrats to Julie for winning Week 2's drawing! Since she's an outta towner, she got the $5 I spend on the prize each week transferred into her bank account instead. Buy yourself something nice, Jules! You've certainly earned it ;D

Get to Know Your Competition (cont)

Ashley Smith

Hi My name is Ashley Smith.  I am 26 years old. I am single and have my bachelors of science from Utah State University  in Archaeology.  My weight has severely limited my job options in my chosen field and that has been a very frustrating journey. So much so that I've altered my focus.  I want to go into Museum Education, which I love!  Eventually I want to go back for my Masters. I currently work at Antelope Island State Park. 
Other things. . . hmmm I love food and cooking. My secret fatal food that I can't get enough of is of course chocolate.  I live in Ogden. One of my favorite shows is Destination Truth, I love Cryptos! I am also so excited for this year because of the Olympics! I love watching all the proceedings and cheering the athletes on!   I am so excited for this Biggest Loser Competition. I really needed something like this to get me going. I have been overweight most of my life. It has affected my self-esteem  and my personality. If I win any money, it will definitely go towards a fabulous new wardrobe! I am so looking forward to actually enjoying the shopping experience.
Gook Luck everyone!

Stephanie Thomson

Hey! My name is Stephanie Thomson. I was raised in Park City, Ut and now live in Pocatello. I am the oldest of 3 girls, I am currently single and working at convergys. I have struggled with loosing weight at several points in my life. Between 17 years old and 18 I lost 80 pounds in 3 months. then in college i gained most if not all back. then I lost 50 pounds the spring of 2010 by just walking more and drinking as much water as I thought I could possibly hold. Good Luck to all!

Annalee Hawkins

I just turned 31 and am a stay at home mom of two little munchkins, Avery (almost 4 going on 16) and Rylee (15 months). I guess I am a pretty typical mom who puts everyone before themselves. I have baby weight to lose, but kind of forgot to take care of myself along the way. My husband has been running and finished his first marathon in June. Someday I hope to be able to run along side of him. (I don't like to be the heavy wife!) I have been married to my sweetheart 8 years and it has been the best years of my life. I love to go camping, sit at the beach, craft/scrapbook and travel. I'm hoping to get down to my goal weight by the second week of December!

Here's to losing weight! Thanks for letting me join the journey!

Week 2 Results

We had another really good week! Well, you guys did. Me, not so much. I went to Idaho with my sister to visit my other sister and brother-in-law and we made homemade ice cream and Chicken Carbonara with homemade pasta... let's just say I'm going to have to REALLY work hard to make up for that! Good thing Wednesday is a holiday. That should make things so much easier for me (note my sarcasm) ;D 

Anyway, despite my weekend of gluttony, everyone else managed to lose a total of 51.2 pounds, making our overall weight loss 164.7 lbs!! That's more than a lot of our competitors weigh! Go us!!! 

Here are the results for this week:

Top Ten

Matt Bowe                3.18%

JJ Bidwell                 2.81%

John Bowe               2.19%

Leslie Hilleary          2.12%

Julie Sewell             1.90%

TJ McCoy                 1.88%  

Brianne Sheaffer     1.64%

Sally Taggart            1.62%

Linda Bowe              1.55%

Jake Cantwell           1.40%

Sherry Ashford 1.37 %, Karlie Badger 1.26%, Sheila McFarland 1.23%, Brent Earl* 1.14%, Valerie Kellogg 1.14%, Ashley Smith 1.11% Amanda Campbell 1.04%, Annalee Hawkins .63%, Alex Jones .59%, Mike Badger .45%, Elizabeth Madsen .40%, Chris Kennedy .29%, Stephanie Thomson .05%

This week's challenge is to eat breakfast every morning (preferably a healthy one)! We've all heard our whole lives that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but that doesn't mean we do it. I know this one is particularly challenging for me. My favorite breakfast (when I do eat it) is yogurt mixed with something, be it cereal, cottage cheese, fruit or oatmeal. What's your favorite healthy breakfast? Bonus challenge (for an extra ticket in the drawing): make a healthy red, white and blue breakfast on Independence Day and post a picture &/or recipe in the comment section or bring it with you at the weigh-in for the group to drool over!! :D