Biggest Loser Party at my place!

I know this is short notice but I was wondering how you all feel about getting together tomorrow night at my house from 8:30 (after the kids go down) to 10-11pm to talk about how you lost weight and what was hard for you personally. Also, if you want to bring a dessert/snack to share or some recipe that you learned that would be great! Melanie Cook mentioned doing this in the beginning of the competition and I thought it was such a great idea! (Thanks Melanie!) Again, I know it's short notice, so if tomorrow night doesn't work for many of you as you are heading out of town or already have plans then we can do it next week sometime?? Please let me know what works best for you!  I will send out an email and text too so please get back to me asap! so I can make a plans or not. Thanks everyone!!!

The break down of the money is: 1st place = $200, 2nd place = $100, 3rd place = $40

AND THE WINNERS ARE....

I am SO excited that we all did this together! Everyone did so great! You know that feeling when your kid(s) do something great, and it makes you just beam like a proud mother... well, I feel like THAT proud "mom" right now with all of you!!! :) I am giggling like a little kid too!!

I am just so happy that so many of you got healthier, lost a lot of weight and fit into pants that you couldn't before! (Good job Erika!) Good job everyone!!!!

Ok, so I know a few of you are dying (biting your nails, checking the blog every second...) to know who the winners are....so without further delay here is the FINAL weigh-ins...DRUM ROLL PLEASE....














Rank #- YOUR #- Starting weight- weight TODAY- Pounds Lost-  % LOST

1st- #7 - 174 - 151- Lost 23 - 13.22%

2nd- #2 - 153 - 134.5 - Lost 18.5  -12.09%

3th- #4 - 173.4 - 153.1 - Lost 20.3 - 11.71%

4th- #17 - 171.6 - 156.8 - Lost 14.8 - 8.62%

5th- # 14 - 197.6 -181 - Lost 16.6 - 8.4%

6th- # 13 - 129 - 119.5- Lost 9.5 - 7.36%

7th- #1 - 198 - 184 - Lost 14 - 7.07%

8th- #6 - 135.5 - 126.5 - Lost 9 - 6.64%

9th- #16 - 163 - 153 - Lost 10 - 6.13%

10th- #5 - 165 - 155 - Lost 10 - 6.06%

11th- #12 - 157.8 - 149.4 Lost 8.4 - 5.32%

12th- #9 - 235.4 - 224 - Lost 11.4 - 4.84%

13th- #3 - 252.7 - 244 - Lost 8.7 - 3.44%

14th- #10 - 208 - 204 - Lost 4 - 1.92%

15th- #11 - 157 - 154 - Lost 3 - 1.91%

16th- #15 - 195.2 - 192.2 - Lost 3 - 1.54%

17th- #8 - 182.6 - 180.6 - Lost 2 - 1.1%

CONGRATS ALISA (1st), ERIKA (2nd) and HAYLEE (3rd)!!!

3 Day Detox Cleanse

So this past weekend I did this detox/cleanse that I saw on the Dr. Oz show.  I was at 161 lbs when I started the cleanse and this morning's weigh in was 156.8 lb!  I know that some of that weight was water weight, but I was pretty happy with the results, so I thought I would share it and also share some of the things I liked about it and didn't like about it.

Here's the link: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/dr-ozs-3-day-detox-cleanse-one-sheet



So, the main idea with this cleanse is that it cleans out your digestive tract and rids the body of toxins at the same time.  That's the beauty of high fiber foods, they clean away all the waste and toxic build up in you as it moves through your system.  It's supposed to help reset your metabolic hormones by stopping the rise and fall of insulin and other hormones (like grehlin- that's the one that makes you feel hungry; and leptin- that one tells your brain you're full).  By resetting the hormones you will have fewer cravings and more control over your appetite.

Here's why I like this particular cleanse:

• It's not a juice fast- you are getting real food
• Everything is plant based and whole food- no powder supplements, etc.
• By blending the food into smoothies you are more able to absorb the nutrients.  Most people don't chew their food enough and it passes through the body without the benefits of the vitamins being absorbed.  This is especially true with raw veggies- the cellulose in the plant (ie.fiber) is not digestible, so if we don't chew well, we don't access all the good stuff within the cells.
• You are not starving! Each smoothie is about 350 calories, so you're getting 1400 cals a day.

Here's some helpful hints:

• Eat every 3-4 hours and at the same times every day.  There are 3 smoothies featured, but you get to eat 4, so choose one of them to repeat for a snack.
• You can cut up enough of everything on day one, so when you go to make the smoothies on days two and three, it goes much faster.
• I really couldn't tolerate the lunch smoothie (celery and cucumber and kale doesn't puree very well in my blender, so it was pretty chunky).  So on the next days I actually chose to just eat the food rather than blend it.  I tried to chew it well :)
• You can buy frozen fruit- it makes it a little cheaper.  Just be sure that it doesn't have any added sugar.
• Coconut water was hard to find.  I found it at Winco in the cooler just to the right of the lettuce.  It was among the bottled smoothies and in a light blue container.

I just thought I would share my experience in case anyone wanted to try it out.  Christy said that she was looking to do a cleanse and there might be more of you out there.

Hopefully everyone is happy with their results of the Challenge.  I know I didn't win, but the motivation and commitment that came with it was worth the $20- cheapest weightloss plan I've ever used :)  Everyone looks great and we are all winners (or losers)

It's over! I can't believe it. Thanks to everyone who participated. This was the motivation I needed to get  moving in the right direction. I didn't make it to my goal weight but I was close. I am at my pre-baby weight of 4 yrs ago so that makes me happy. I have learned a lot about myself and how my body responds to diet and exercise. I hope to keep it up and maybe get to that goal weight. If not at least my jeans fit now! 

Just wanted to say that Erika is wearing "those" jeans today!!!  (the one's she was trying to fit back into). Way to go, Erika, they look great on you!  You better post a pic :)

ONE MORE WEEK!!!

We only have one week left in the competition! But that doesn't mean you go back to your old eating habits and stop working out! I hope everyone has learned a lot from this experience and I hope you will stay motivated to continue to stay healthy and keep the pounds off. 

I was talking with Erika's husband, Shawn the other day about a way we can stay motivated and keep the pounds off. He mentioned that we should do a weigh- in, in a few months from now and see who has kept the weight off, or who has lost any more weight. I thought that was a great idea! 

And for a little motivation I thought I would throw in a gift card to Target to the top person who has either kept all the weight off, OR to the person who looses the most weight from the 19th of November to the day I decide to have a weigh in. I am not however, going to tell anyone the future day of that weigh in, until a week before, so you just have to be prepared and continue to work hard. (Here's a hint... it will be in about 3 months from now). :) 

So for those that want to keep going here's another chance to stay motivated! 

Good luck this week everyone!

 

Diet Devil

I am afraid that I gave in to the temptations of the diet devil A LOT. I have a lot of repenting to do this week but I am afraid it is too late for tomorrows weight in.

We are almost at the end! The diet devil is working hard against me this week. I thought I was in the clear after Halloween. Here is how my weekend is shaping up:

Friday: Going to Boise for Temple open house.."have" to eat somewhere yummy for lunch.
            Birthday party Friday night with goodies and cake.
Saturday: A birthday lunch with some friends, a pampered chef party and then the Gourmet Dinner Club    
            meeting ( if you want to know about that ask Tara Packham).

How much is one person supposed to withstand?

Hey ladies!! 

Everyone is doing so great! We just have 2 weeks left of the competition and I will announce 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners!

I am so impressed with the amount of weight so many of you have lost! In the beginning I said the 16th,( which is a Friday) was the last day of the competition. But looking at the calendar, I thought maybe it would be better to have the last day on the 19th, which is a Monday, a weigh-in day. Please let me know what you think. I don't think it's that big of a deal but if most of you still want the last day to be the 16th, that is fine too. I am still waiting on a few to email/text me their weigh-ins and I will post today. Thanks girls!

Stay strong the next 2 weeks! Make them your best weeks yet!

Halloween Candy

I have done really good at avoiding the Halloween candy until Friday night. Now, thanks to the ward trunk or treat, my house has candy everywhere! It is all bite size and easy to steal out of unsuspecting children's bags. Help!!!

I wish a dinosaur could chase me so I would have more motivation to exercise! This mornings workout was pretty pathetic to say the least. So much so, that I think it would have been better to have just slept in and let my body rest. Because it is proven that getting a good nights sleep also helps in losing weight. ;)

I struggled to get out of bed. I struggled to keep up the pace with Instansity's warm-up. And I struggled half way through the video and gave up. Grrrrr.

I was a little upset with myself.

I need some more motivation right now....

So tomorrow morning, will someone dress up like a dinosaur and chase me? :)

Does anyone else feel like their goal weight is not going to be enough?  The closer I get to mine, the more I think that it's just not going to take care of the muffin top and underarm-bra overhang.  I only have 5 pounds to go, and I honestly don't think I've seen any difference in those two trouble spots.  If only we could choose where the fat comes off.  My butt is almost non existent now, and I wish it had a little more shape to it.  Somehow my older sister got a Jennifer Lopez booty and I got my dad's flat, shapeless thing.  I better up my butt workouts and see if I can add some muscle at least.  After I reach my goal weight, I might have to reevuate and take off a little more.  (is this where obsessive/compulsive eating and exercising starts?)  Good job, ladies, on all your success!

For those who have dogs

I saw this and thought of all of you. Hope you are having a great week!

Ok here it is....my somewhat before picture. This was taken the beginning of last week. I am half way to my goal weight and working on getting those jeans to fit :)   

No I haven't been able to give up pop, still working on that one! Between Kristy and Shawn maybe it will happen.

I wanted to let everyone know that this Saturday is out BodyPump and BodyStep Launch at Golds Gym. These are super fun classes. I teach BodyPump and Haylee (see her post below) teaches BodyStep. The class are open to everyone so come at try them out. BodyStep is at 8 am and Pump is at 9 am. Come and try one or both!
Erika

Fun Idea

Here is a picture of something I found on Pinterest that I have been doing and it is so exciting to hear the clank of the marbles fall in the "Pounds Lost" jar.  My jars say "Pounds to lose" and "Pounds Destroyed", it made it seem a little more powerful, and if they are "destroyed" then I can never find them again! :)  It has been a fun little motivator for me and thought maybe someone else might like the idea too.~ Mel (Hatch)

I know that I want to buy a new pair of HOT jeans. The other 2 things I would want to buy is a new dress and/or skirt. 

Everyone is doing great!! We have some competitive ladies (ahem...you know who you are!) but it's still anyone's game and anyone could win! So keep it up!

Late night snacking...

One of the toughest things for me about losing weight is late night snacking...I just love a big bowl of cereal around 9 or 10pm. It's the best! I started that habit when I was pregnant with my second child and have continued that at least 3-4 nights a week. That child is now 5 years old!! I know my metabalism is slowing down so if I keep that habit up for another 5 years I will not be able to lose weight, plus I will slowly gain weight. So I made a goal not to eat passed 7pm.


 Have I been following through with that goal?


Umm, sadly NO. I have broken that goal at least twice a week still.


I was thinking of other ways I could conquer this goal...and when I saw this I laughed:

 

haha! Awesome. Maybe putting a mirror in my fridge after dinner so if I am tempted to get some milk for a bowl of cereal at 9pm I can see myself and STOP!

Not a bad plan, huh?

Or I could do something like this too...

But seriously though, does anyone have any suggestions on how I can stop cravings at night?? Anyone else suffer from this???

Way to go #14!!!  That is inspiring.  Last week for me started out great, but really fizzled by the weekend, so I ended up not losing anything (but also not gaining, so I guess that is good).  But I want to make a few more changes to really help boost me over the beginning hump.  I am going to give up all sweets for now.  Something that has helped me in the past when I lost weight (I dropped 30 lbs in 3 months about a year after Mason was born) was to have a cup of herbal tea (unsweetened) whenever I craved something sweet.  It took a little while to grow accustomed to the unsweetened flavor, but now I really LOVE it!  And with fall coming, it's a great time to start drinking nice warm drinks again.  I just keep my tea kettle full and on the stove, so I can turn it on anytime I want.  It's also a fun little ritual to have with the kids when they get home from school- a little snack and tea (hey, the British don't have a patten on it :)

                           My favorites:
                                                                                 
                           

I try to look for ones that don't have any artificial flavors (I've never seen Stash teas with artificial flavors, but they might be out there).  Bigalow brand often has them, but their flavors are also very bold, so if you're trying to get used to unsweetened tea, they're a good transition tea.  Oh, and Winco has a couple of the Stash teas in the bulk section, too (better price!).  Just make sure it says "herbal" if you want to stay away from real tea (fyi, Chai tea is real tea).

So, that's my little tip.  Hopefully my new goal will start to show on the scales! Good luck ladies!

Introductions and Salads!!!

Hello my fellow biggest loser contestants!!!  I thought I'd get on here and introduce myself as I think most of you in this contest are in the same ward and I'm way out in good old Kimberly!  :)

My name is Haylee Mollerup.  I joined this contest through the invite of Erika Willsey.  I know Erika and I've seen that Kristy Hill is in this contest as well.  My little boy, Erik, went to Kristy for preschool about 4 years ago, so I know her!  I met Christy simply when I dropped my money off to her!  :)  Other than that, I don't think I know anyone else in the contest!

So, I joined this contest for the same reason we all did....to lose weight!!!!  :)  I have 3 boys and just I had my third baby boy 5 1/2 months ago and I've simply had NO MOTIVATION since I had him.  I should rephrase that......I've had desire and a little of motivation, but NO SELF CONTROL!!!!  I'm pretty sure that since I had my chunky adorable baby boy, I've had at least one candy bar every day!  And I won't even admit how much soda I was drinking!!!  ;)   It was diet soda, but I still see a HUGE difference in my ability to lose weight when I'm drinking pop and when I'm not!  So this competition was the motivation and the work with my self-control that I needed!!!!  I'm happy to report that I quite the everyday devour a candy bar habit the first week of this competition!  I'm an all or nothing kind of girl, so for right now until I get the craving completely away (it's not gone yet!!!) I'm not having sugar in the form of candy, cookies, brownies, donuts, etc. etc.  And this past week I finally gave up pop!!!  AHHHHHH!!!!!!!  Headaches like crazy last week but I've been feeling better the past few days and I'm amazed at how much more water I drink when I'm not drinking that dang pop!!!!  So, for now, those were my two top goals to start off this competition!!  Thanks for letting me join you even though I'm not in your ward!!!

Now onto SALADS!!!!  In my opinion, salads can get SO BORING!  So this past week I tried to make a couple "new" type of salads (for me at least) than the same lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, and maybe adding some grilled chicken or turkey.  I thought I'd share my two favorite salads I had this past week!!!

Some of you may not be big fruit on salads type of girls, but I am!!!!!  If you like fruit on a salad, try this!!!!!

*Mixed greens (mine included lettuce, the purple cabbage, and sliced carrots)
*Sliced Strawberries
*Raspberries
*dried cranberries (just about a couple TBSP)
*glazed almonds (1 TBSP -- crushed up and sprinkled over salad) -- found at Winco by the chocolate chips... but DON'T go buy the glazed almonds and end up with a bag of chocolate chips to take home!!!  Too tempting to eat!!!  ;)  They also have glazed walnuts and pecans....whichever you prefer.
*feta cheese sprinkled on top (1 TBSP)
***new salad dressing that I'm IN LOVE with that is VERY low calories, fat, carbs, and sugars!***
The brand is Annie's and it's a Raspberry Vinaigrette.  It's SO yummy on this salad!!!  It's also at Winco on the top shelf of their salad dressings!

In fact, here's a picture of it!!!

 










Second salad is my version of a "southwest salad"
(I make extra to use throughout the week)

*Mixed greens (same as above)
*In a saucepan grill/saute
--2 large chicken breasts
--1/2 green pepper sliced really small
--1/2 onion sliced really small
--1 can of black beans (drained)
--1 can of kernel corn (drained)
--1 package of taco seasoning
--1/4 cup taco sauce

(my friend puts cheese, sour cream, and guac on this salad too.  But, I've been leaving off the cheese and sour cream and putting just a little bit of guac on it.  I also have just used salsa as my salad dressing for this salad.)

Eat and enjoy!!!!

Well, there is my introductions and salads post!

Again, thanks for letting me join this competition with you!  Oh.........and I'm #4 contestant.  My start weight was 173.4 and my goal weight is anywhere between 140-145.  That's where I feel the best about myself!!!!

New favorite recipe!

I sure hope everyone is doing good! I have seen many of you out running in the mornings and it's great to see that! Keep it up! We are only 2 1/2 weeks into this, so everyone is still in this. If you haven't been doing so well than commit again to improving. Like I said in the previous post, I have to commit everyday, every meal, to choosing better foods for my body and when there is no motivation to get out of bed and work out, I just get up anyway and it comes....eventually. haha.

Yesterday for lunch I tried a new recipe I found on Pinterest. I LOVED it. I love to eat salmon, salsa and avocados, so when I saw this recipe with all three together I knew I hit jackpot! I thought for any anyone that likes salmon or maybe you don't but likes salsa and want to give fish another try, I thought I would share this recipe with you. It's SO freaking good! :) Now if anyone wants to leave THIS on my doorstep I would be more than happy to partake. 

Here's what my lunch looked like:

This meal was between 400-450 calories. So not bad. I could have maybe had a smaller portion of Salmon but I didn't! Give it a try!

!#*!!!!!!!!!

Ahhhhh! Stepped on the scale this morning and it was not good. I have dropping and adding these same 5-10 lbs over the last 3 yrs. I take it off and then I hit a wall and some adds back on. This is when I usually give up and eat a pound of cookie dough but not this time!!! I am recommitting and going to work hard to get past this.
Erika

Great work everyone! Just a few thoughts I have:
*Here is my info: I started at 153 and my goal is 130. Working out is easy for me I get plenty of it. The main thing is to switch it up. Don't do the same thing day after day....it gets boring and your body adjusts and you no longer see results. I have been mainly focusing on my diet by not "dieting". I want this to be a long term change in how I view food and how I fuel my body.
*Don't be afraid of your number! You can't compare yours to others. Every body is different. I could be the same height and weight as someone else but our bodies can look totally different. There are so many other factors involved.

I totally agree with you Kristy. However, there were a few ladies that wanted to remain private and I have to respect that. But those that want to share their weight, what they are doing to lose it, get healthier and share their goals with everyone would be great too. I will share mine, since it's only fair as I know everyone else's!

My weight when I started: 135.5

My goal weight 120-125

Mostly I just want to feel good, get stronger, leaner and fit into my clothes better!

I have been running 4 miles, 3/4 days a week and doing a workout video with weights 2 days a week. I have been tracking my calories everyday. So that is how I am doing it....or trying to anyway! Some days are harder than others of course. I have to commit everyday. Every meal really. :)

I will post results tonight! Everyone is doing great! It was a tough week for some, but keep going. Remember if you had a bad day... didn't eat good or didn't workout, don't give up just for ONE bad day or even one bad week... Do better the next day or week!

So, I thought it would be fun/ motivating to hear what everyone's weightloss goals are and how they are working to achieve them.  I know that I feel more accountable to stick with my diet and exercise plan when I've told people what I'm doing.  Also, I want to revisit the posting weight issue.  I think we should have our weight with our names.  It just feels so impersonal and abstract to see numbers up there instead of people.  Putting our name with our weight is one more motivating factor.  I don't want to gain weight, or not meet my goals if everyone sees my progress.  Also, we are able to encourage people or congratulate them when we see how everyone is doing.  Come on, ladies!  This is a safe environment.  No one is here to judge or make fun. We all are doing this for the same reason, to get fit and be healthy.  Let's make it a little more personal and be able to help each other along just a little bit better.  (Although, I do know that Alisa has thought about sabotaging some of us by delivering cookies to our houses, so be on your guard! :)

So, here's my goals and how I'm going to achieve them:

Starting weight: 171.6
Goal weight:      160

My plan:  P90X lean version (hubby is doing it too, so that's extra encouragement as well).  Also, I am running 4 miles 3 days a week (as long as the weather holds out).  I have a half marathon to stay in shape for on November 3rd.

Now I'm committed!!!  I have it in writing and it's out there for all to see!  Good luck ladies!

(I thought this was good...all, except the swear word! Sorry. Not a fan of swearing. But having good thoughts will make you successful!)

Weigh-In Monday!

I will have results up hopefully tonight, once I hear from everyone so check back later for the line-up and to see who made BIGGEST LOSER OF THE WEEK!

I thought I would share this great article called, "Strengthen your Self-Control." It's about overcoming urges and how to improve your will power. I know this is something I struggle with and I thought maybe some of  you do to. So check it out!

"Sweet" rewards = fitting into old pants! Or buying new SMALLER pants!

Perspective...

This was me today. haha!

A few of my favorite foods...

For breakfast or for a snack, I sometimes have a cup of low-fat cottage cheese with fresh blueberries, strawberries and peaches. SOOOO good! You are drooling at the mouth, aren't you?

I love love LOVE a good salad. In my opinion there is nothing better than that.  I have a few different salad I make. This one is my favorite, as it is pretty easy to prepare, takes 10 minutes or less, and tastes FABULOUS. 

Love at first sight, right??

I buy a big bag of grilled chicken strips at Costco that usually lasts me almost a month. Before I prepare my fresh salad and cut everything up I grill up about 3 ounces of chicken strips.

With the chicken grilling, I add my lettuce, cut up red peppers(sometimes orange), broccoli, sliced red onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, sometimes an avocado, and sometimes dried blueberries or a few dried cranberries. And then I top it with a sprinkle of sunflower seeds. For dressing I add about 2 tablespoons of poppy seed dressing. I have tried about 5 poppy seed dressings, because I wanted to find one that was low in calories yet not disgusting to MY taste buds.
This dressing was definitely my favorite as far as flavor goes, but

LiteHouse makes a pretty good poppy seed dressing that is half the fat and calories and tastes similar to the Brianna's brand.


Now obviously you can add whatever you want to your salad. I just wanted to share my specialty salad with you. My husband loves it and even my girls love it. I like to see them eating healthy foods along with me.

What is your favorite snack or salad recipe?

I think one of the hardest things in trying to be healthy is in your diet. I have been talking to Michael about this and his cousin used to be a personal trainer. Here is the eating plan that Michael helped put together and maybe it will help some of you.

You always hear that eating 5 to 6 small meals a day is better than 3 big ones and that is how this plan works.

Eat at least 30 minutes after you wake up to get your metabolism going.

Meal 1:
     Some protein (3 to 4 egg whites with one yoke or a protein shake)
     Oatmeal
     piece of fruit

Mid morning snack:
      string cheese and apple or Wheat Thins

Lunch:
     Turkey sandwich (real turkey is best, but if you get high quality deli meat that works as well) on  
     whole wheat bread (some kind of protein with a grain)
      Vegetable

Mid afternoon snack:
      Protein bar or cottage cheese and fruit

Dinner: This can be protein with some grain and vegetable - you can substitute fish and any kind of vegetable. You could do a salad, but make sure you put eggs for protein on it.
       1/2 cup of brown rice or wheat pasta
       Chicken 1/2 cup
        1/2 cup of broccoli (steamed or raw)

Before bed snack:
       Greek yogurt - plain - you can add raspberries or agave (this helps if you have ice cream    
      cravings:)
      or egg whites

          You do not have to eat this food exactly because you can get tired of chicken, turkey and egg whites very quickly, so substitute the meat with a lean protein. Make sure you are using wheat not white and as many vegetables as you want, but limit the amount of fruit. If you are on the go and can't get to a meal or snack, make a protein shake.
        Now the part that gets you through the week -  you can have one cheat meal a week where you can eat anything you want and as much as you want., so plan that out and look forward to it. Reward yourself.
         Drink as much water as you can throughout the day to stay hydrated. The key is to get your metabolism by eating throughout the day and to eat protein to build muscle. This needs to be paired with at least 5 days of exercise for at least 30 minutes with at least 2 days of weight bearing activity.

I hope this helps anyone who might be wondering, what should I eat to help me through this challenge.

Let me know if you have any questions, suggestions or additions to this.

Get Ready, Get Set, GO!!!

I am really excited to start this weight loss competition with all of you! I hope you all are as excited too. Okay, so I might be a tad hesitant, I'm not going to lie. I think the hesitant part comes as it's not always easy to work out and eat healthy everyday. We all know that good things are worth fighting for, yet it most always comes with a cost. But the reward is sweet!!

A couple of things I want to mention and clear up again:

*I have received money from several of you, but there a few people I still need money from. I have put the money into a "pot", actually a jar to be specific, with your name written down if you have paid.

* I need everyone to email me (christy.e.hodges@gmail.com) or text me (208-530-0576) sometime tomorrow with your starting weight. Be honest!

* I have sent several of you emails with an invitation to this blog. What you need to do is open it, click the link, and sign in using your email and password. This allows you to become an "author" on the blog. This means you may post anything you like. You may share tips, recipes or workouts that you are doing. You may share thoughts and feelings you are having about weight loss or even share fun pictures with everyone. If you need help with this please let me know and I can help you.

* I HIGHLY recommend taking body measurements. Get out your tape measure and do your arms, neck, stomach, hips, thighs, calves and even wrist. Record each number and it will surprise you how many inches you will lose. I have done this and have seen a huge difference. You may get discourage after a few weeks if you have only lost 5 or so pounds but if you measure yourself periodically you will see a big difference in inches lost!

* Also, once I receive your weight and money I will email you your number. No one else will know this number but you (and me of course). I will post your number and next to it will be your weight and percentage of weight loss every week. I will try and have those posted by Monday afternoon/evening so you will know what place you are in.

*Again, our last weigh-in will be the 16th of November.

 Remember...

Making a few adjustments...

Okay so after talking with 2 people about posting their weights, I have decided we are not going to post names next to our weights. I will give everyone a number and you don't have to tell anyone what it is. However, I do need to know everyone's starting weight in order to calculate your percentage of body weight lost every week. SO make sure you weigh in on Monday and send me your staring weight!  I will then email you a number that only you and I will know. Sound good? I hope so!! :)

Also, 3 months is a bit long for some. So we are going to shorten it by 2 weeks! The final weigh in will be now on  Friday, NOVEMBER 16th. 

And remember...

So tell yourself...

Welcome to the Biggest Loser 12th ward blog!

Hey everyone! 

So I have been throwing an idea around now for a month or so, about starting a friendly competition of the biggest loser with family and friends in the 12th ward. Anyone is welcome to join. So please let others in the ward know, or any family or friends that would like to join in are welcome to as well. 

The competition will start on Monday, Sept 3rd. And will end on November 30th. That's 3 months...of fun and weight loss! :) (So be ready to get those skinny jeans out again!)  I will be calculating weight loss by your total percentage loss, not by pounds.

To join it will be $20. All the money will go into a big "pot".  Depending on how many people join, I will split the money up so that there are 3 winners at the end of the 3 months... 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. 

The rules are:

No extreme diet pills, weight loss surgeries, or amputations. haha. :) (To CLARIFY, "extreme diet pills": I am fine with whatever diet program you want to use to lose weight. But starving yourself is not a healthy way of doing this nor will it be a life style change. And that is ALL I have to say about that. So use your best judgement!)  

Must email me every Monday with your new weight. I will post weights Monday night or Tuesday morning. 

Be honest.

And have fun while losing weight and getting healthier!

This blog will be open for everyone joining the 'Biggest Loser 12th ward'. (And like I said, anyone can join, not just those from the 12th ward). You will be able to post your own entries on the blog. You may post healthy tips and recipes to share with everyone. You may share anything you want that pertains to weight loss, exercise and life style changes.You may even post how you are feeling and doing during the day/week. Pictures and comics of weight loss are fun to post. Anything motivating and positive to help others keep going would be great! If you would like to post a before and after picture of yourself, that's great too.   

I want to post everyone's weights and percentages every Monday on the blog, however if any of you feel uncomfortable with having your name and weight posted every week, that is totally fine with me, just tell me so, and we can put a code name for you so know one will know it's you, except me. This will help everyone see what place they are in and how much everyone else is losing during the week. 

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I have had a few people tell me, "... but you don't need to lose weight! You're skinny." My response, Thank you, but this is not only about losing weight, it's about getting healthy. (And I do have weight to lose too!) I might not have 100, 60, or even 40 pounds to loose, but I don't exercise regularly and I don't eat good. I want to change that, and I know by doing this challenge with friends and family it can help us all out and that's why I wanted to start this. I keep saying, I want to feel better, be stronger, be healthier, have more energy. And I am tired of saying, "I will start on Monday." And then never doing it. Or lasting a day and giving up.  So for realssss...I am starting MONDAY, Sept. 3rd!! 

I am excited to do this with all of you! I hope you are too!