Wrapping it up- Great Job Ladies

In past competitions I have not asked any of you how much weight you have lost. I think that is partly because my emphasis is more on adopting healthy habits (for the rest of your life) than the number on the scale. It's also partly because we all come in different shapes and sizes with different amounts to lose and different metabolisms. But someone asked me how much weight people lose on the competitions I host, so I thought I'd ask. Thanks to each of you for sharing. And it's interesting that I'm as excited about the one pound that was lost by Susan (who is on maintenance and spent her time firming up healthy habits now that she has lost all the weight she needs to lose) as those of us that dream of that day! Anyway here are some numbers to applaud and some vows to be inspired by! 

Sandee

Jessica (Who lost 13 pounds) said “I think the biggest thing is to snack on fruits and vegetables. It makes me feel good.”

Paige (Who lost 9.5 pounds) said ,” I'm definitely going to keep with tracking my food on MyFitness Pal. I am addicted to running, my issue is nutrition and I need stay accountable to myself. “

Emily (Who lost 6.9 pounds said) “My goal is to join a gym challenge at the gym. Which I already did! I also plan on keeping track of my food again starting tomorrow until the next challenge. (Been on a mini vacation ) I am also going to start planning my meals and snacks the day before.”

Tiffani (Who lost 18 pounds) said, “I plan on doing a version of the challenge until the next challenge. I am moving my weight loss goal to 1 pound a week so I have a few more calories. I am going to give myself 1-2 sweet days a week and not specifying how many of my 5 fruits and veggies have to be veggies and lowering my work outs to 45 min.

Tracy (Who lost 12 pounds) said, “I plan to keep exercising this time and trying some more of the yummy grains you introduced me to! “

Debra (Who lost 15 pounds) said, “I am going to continue using myfitness pal to monitor calories and try to lose a few more pounds. Exercise will also be a part of my regimen and watching sugar.”

Angel (Who lost 8 pounds)  said, “am planning to continue on with this eating plan to try and lose more weight.”

Vicki (Who lost 9 pounds) said “Going forward, I need to be really mindful of how much water I drink and fruits/veggies.  As I get older and my thyroid is changing, it is much harder to lose weight than before.  My husband also did the challenge with me and lost 20 pounds so it was good for both of us.  He still has more he wants to lose so I hope it keeps us both on track.”

Susan ( I need to give a special shout out to Susan here. She entered this round of competition trying so hard not to regain the 50 pounds she had previously lost.  She has gone from 178lb to 126 lb. -  with 128 as her ideal weight. So she was on maintenance for this challenge and lost 1 pound)   She  said, " There is only one way to continue!!   Just do it!!!!!!!!!

      5 veggie/fruits a day

      1 hour of exercise

       7 cups of water

Keep track  --  people don't like to count calories but how else do you know what you are putting in your mouth?  I now know the calories in most of the foods I eat, so I can keep track in my head.   I know a small dairy queen cone is what?  250 calories  so now I can make an educated decision where to eat or not to eat."

Tracy (Who lost 12 pounds)  I plan to keep exercising this time and trying some more of the yummy grains you introduced me to! 

Jean (Who lost 15 pounds) said," I plan to continue to log everything into myfitnesspal and use the maintaining calorie limits to keep this weight off."

Carlene (Who lost 13 ponds) said This time after the competition, I am actually keeping up with my sister, who was my partner,and we will continue to contact each other and keep up on myfitnesspal.com. I am also trying to keep the sugar down as my husband has type 2 diabetes.

Mariann (Who lost 15.2 pounds) said, “My plans to keep the weight off:  I've switched my weight loss goal on My Fitness Pal to .5 pounds loss per week.  I'm still logging my calories daily.  In about a month I'll go back to the 2 pounds a week goal I followed through the program until I lose the 5 pounds more I'm planning to lose.  I'm also considering training for a marathon in October.  Before the program I was just too heavy to run long distance, it feels fantastic to be running again!

Hannah (who lost 11 pounds) said, “ I am trying to limit sweets and keep track of what I am eating. “

Jill Reeder (who lost 23 pounds) plans to continue to go to the gym with the membership she got for Christmas. She recently found out she is pregnant and so her goals are to continue to exercise and watch what she eats (especially carbs) She plans to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables and to watch her blood sugar as she has had gestational diabetes in the past.

Onna (Who lost 10.8 pounds) said ,” I really liked the whole grains challenge that we did this time so I am embracing that and trying to have more whole grains. I am continuing to log in the my fitness pal and trying to be relatively strict through the week and then more relaxed on the weekend and continue my exercising at least six days a week.”

Lori (Who lost 12 pounds) said, “I plan to maintain my weight by continuing to restrict my sugars, stay within a maintainable calorie count and get my exercise. I need to continue to tack my calories (which I haven’t done real well this week because there is so much going on) but I’m committed to not let this busy schedule hold me back”

I am sure that those of us that did not win an award in this round of competition still accomplished some great things. Take a few minutes to make a plan for how you will continue to choose healthy habits. Congratulations to all!