The end is near!

So ladies we are getting down to the wire here! Who is it gonna be?

So I wanted to remind you all that this Sat, is the weigh in this month. So I will need to receive your percentage of weight loss by Midnight on Sat. July 31. Just so we are all on the same page the way you calculate that is as follows: If you were 150 and lost 5 pounds it would look like this. 5/150=0.03333333333333333333 then x 100 = 3.33333% So I think we should have the decimal go out 5 places then you may round accordingly. I will post the winner on Aug 1st.

Now, after hearing few other people's ideas, I thought that we could change this competition for the next months. We thought it should be 3 months starting August 1st. Then the money you put in the pot would be 20 instead of 10. I would also like to run a 5K for those of you who are local. I think there is one at thanksgiving but maybe there is one sooner than that we can do together. Also to help keep the blog going I would like to have everyone post their weight loss each week. I will make the blog private so that only those of us competing will have access to it.

So if you would like to start next month, please send your 20 to me. Your starting weight will be whatever your ending weight was on July 31st. Then the final weigh for this round will be Oct 31st. Don'y forget any friends that may want to join.

I hope this has helped you all get the drive that you needed to work on your weight goals. I know it has for me and I am looking forward to the next round!

If you have any questions please contact me.

Thanks and good luck everyone

Yummy Salad

Do you find that salads just aren't filling enough? Well I found this awesome salad that I love. It is the perfect summer salad and since the berries are in season right now, I just had to share this recipe with you all.

Raspberry/Blueberry salad from Taste of Home Magazine
1 pkg ready to serve salad greens
3 1/2 cups cooked chicken (I use leftover chicken of whatever I made or you could buy the frozen chicken or even canned chicken.)
1 cup fresh sugar snap peas
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 celery rib sliced
1/4 cup slivered almonds

Dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
3Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp seedless red raspberry preserves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp pepper

Mix oil, vinegar, preserves, s&p, onion powder. Pour over remaining ingredient


I hope you all enjoy this one! We have had it a couple times and I am craving one right now just thinking about it.

Soda lovers you have been warned

So through my conversations with some of you, I have found that many of you have the same temptation as me....soda. I would reframe from cookies, chips, ice cream and even chocolate but I have a real hard time passing up a nice cold Dr Pepper.


I thought I would run the numbers and see how many calories I was getting from my little addiction.

I don't drink a lot during a typical day but one can of soda was average for me. In one can of Dr. Pepper there is 150 calories. So 150 a day for 7 days equals 1050 extra calories a week. I also learned that there is 3500 calories in 1 pound. So if I drank only one soda a day for 24 days I would gain a pound. That is more than a pound a month just from soda. Now I admit, that I sometimes had more than one can a day so in reality I was probably at least gaining 2 lbs a month just from my naughty habit. Yicks!

I am not a nutrionist by any means, but even I can tell that this is a big downfall for me in losing weight. If you are a soda lover too, think about taking away a few cans of soda and this I am sure will help you drop those pounds.

I haven't completely restricted myself because I would just cave and buy a whole case of Dr. Pepper and it would be gone in no time. So I found that if I allow myself to have 1-2 cans a week, that was ok. But the key for me was, I can't have it in the house. I have to go out and get it. And when you are talking about putting MY kids in the car, I definately think twice about that.

Please feel free to share any struggles you are trying to overcome. If you run the numbers it might help you think twice about putting that into your mouth.

Some brave souls

So here are 2 other brave people who sent me a before pic. Good luck to both of you on your goals!

 

First weigh in

SO here are my pictures as promised. Yeah I know some of you may be thinking you, that I am not going to be a tough competitor but look at this muffin top I have going on.




Yeah I know...not good! Granted I am wearing a tight pair of pants and the tighest shirt I could find, but I wanted to see it in all it's glory.

So here is my weigh in...



Well, I have been working hard so my hope is that this looks quite a bit smaller by the end of this month. My goal is to lose 5 lbs this month.

Some of you have emailed me your weights which is awesome. If you want to, you are more than welcome. If you are like me and feel like you need to be held accountable for it then please send it along. I will only post it if you ask me to.

Please feel free to email me your goals or post them in a the comment box. (of course this is always optional)

Happy working out and eating to you all.

By the way we are now at $130 and I know there is a 10 spot in the mail

Today is the Day

So ladies it is on. I am super excited that you all joined. So far we are at $100 and I think there are a few ones in the mail.

So I have had a few questions, so I thought I would clarify it now. The whole point of this competition is to help each to lose weight, the healthy way. So please don't strave yourself or do any of those cleanse things. We want everyone to have a fair chance.

I am not doing a weigh in and I am not asking your weights, so please write down you weight today so you don't forget. I will be posting my weight and a "before" picture of myself so you will know that I didn't cheat, if I were to win. If you would like to do the same, you are more than welcome. You don't have to add your name or face if you would like to post a picture.

I am doing my best to make this a fun and healthy competition. I am glad all of you want to join me, and good luck to all.