6-Month Challenge & Everybody Can Be a Winner!

I'm hoping some of you have this on your feed so you'll get this post as there has been little activity here in a year or so.  Anyway, I read about some challenges in a magazine and one in particular spoke to my need to put my wallet where my waist is:  Healthy Wage's 10% challenge.  Here's how it works--you put down $150 on a credit card, have your starting weight verified by a doctor or health club (or a complicated home self-verification method), then you go about losing weight for 6 months, logging in your weight weekly (weekly weigh-ins are not verified).  At the end of the 6 months, you have your weight verified one more time and if you have lost 10%, then you get a check for $300!  Double your money!  So if you weigh 230 pounds, you have to lose 23 pounds in 6 months, that's about a pound a week--totally do-able!  I started last week, had a trainer at the YMCA verify my weight for free and feel I have a very reasonable goal--I need to lose about 5 pounds a month, but I plan to lose a few more.   What I love about this is that everyone who does it can win, so we're working for, not against each other, and you can go about it in whatever way works for you.  So, go check it out: www.healthywage.com.  Oh, and if you decide to sign up, please put in my registration number when it asks who referred you (2772522075).  Then go get your friends to do the same for you (because for everyone who signs up that you refer, your reward goes up by $20!--talk about working for, not against each other!).  They have a couple other challenges, but this is the one that seemed the best fit for me. Although the BMI challenge is interesting--if I ever get my BMI closer 25, I might try that one.  Anyway, check it out, and good luck! 
Oh, and one more site I read about--www.21habit.com.  I haven't tried this one but I just might use it as an interim motivator on while I work on the other.  This doesn't give you money, but you have the chance to lose money.  You put up $21, set a goal like exercise every day for 3 weeks, then every day you do it, you keep $1.  At the end of the 3 weeks, you get back whatever you have kept and the remainder goes to charity, and hopefully you have developed a good habit. 

Good luck ladies!

Jen

And the winner is ...

Congrats to Cheryl, the winner of this challenge! Leah is second! Send me your addresses and I'll get your money in the mail. I'm glad so many were able to see positive results. This was my FOURTH challenge, which is probably why I fizzled a little early (that and a very long period of sick kids). That's also why I'm mixing it up for the fall. I hope to see a few of you back in the fall after an active summer of more weight loss. :)

And, Jen, once things in your life settle down I'd also like a cookbook ... especially if it will help me eat more veggies!

I hope you all have a great spring and summer!

Lost Cause

Okay I gave up the last three weeks. I didn't even keep track. I got too stressed and keeping track of something else was too much. So I am not giving my final number, since I don't really have one. I am still exercising and planning on running a half marathon in August. Even if I have to walk part of it I will do it!

Finally Final!!

Hurray it is over!!!! That's the wrong attitude huh? Whatever, I ate four cookies today and they were awesome :-) It was a good challenge and I am glad I participated, I just really like desserts and I don't want to live without them. All things in moderation (she says after eating 4 cookies, hee hee) and lots of exercise with healthy meals. I will get the baby fat off, it just is going to take a little longer than I had hoped. Congrats to the winner, I do believe it is Cheryl, you have certainly earned it and very much kudos on all your weight loss. I hope you are able to continue to lose all the weight you would like to have gone. And good job to those that didn't give up especially when it would have been so easy to do so. Good luck to you all. Oh, and my total points are- 847. Sick kids and a husband out of town didn't make for a very successful week but that's okay, cause I always have tomorrow ;-)

Week 12 Dawn

Yea! It's finally over. After doing two challenges in a row, this one seemed long. But, it's good to have a way to keep track. I have 72 today with a total of 808 and 5lbs more off. And yes, it is possible to get 74 today if you didn't give yourself 77 the first week. Thanks everyone who stayed in. You were what kept me going.

Claudia - Final Tally

I made a run for it this week, and I was able to lose 1.5 lbs. and got a total of 70 points this week. My final tally is 831 for the challenge. I yo-yoed back and forth but held my ground between this and the last challenge, with a total of 16 lbs lost between the two. I have formed some good habits and feel much healthier and in control of my life. Thank you, Denise, for hosting the challenges, and all of you for setting a good example and giving me some friendly competition. I'm going to continue my program and set my own goals, so that I can keep losing weight over the summer. Hope to see you all in the competition this fall!

Cheryl - Final Week!!

First of all, I must say that I'm so glad I did this challenge. I've needed something to motivate me, and this did it. I'm glad I did it this time instead of waiting for next time. I don't think the changes for the next challenge would be for me. I needed the guidelines and the daily point system to keep me on track. But I know that's not to say that it might be different for others. My first 6 weeks of this challenge I did an exercise DVD at home. Then I started walking outside for the last 6 weeks. First I was just walking briskly, then one day I decided to run a little - just to see how far I could go. I didn't expect much, but did surprise myself. Then I decided to just run when I felt like it. Each day I started doing a run/walk for two miles. I never pushed myself, just ran when I felt like it. Then Friday last week, I ran a mile w/o stopping for the first time. Then I did it again Saturday. I am so proud of myself. I don't know when the last time was that I could do something like that. In the beginning of this challenge, my goal was to lose 20 lbs. Honestly, I didn't think I would lose that much. So, as we were nearing the end, I was just hoping for 15. Now that we're finally here, I am proud to say that I lost a total of 15.6 lbs and it feels great. My points for this week are 74 which includes today's posting and loss. My grand total is 859 points. Since the total possible is 869, I'm amazed at myself that I only missed 10 points throughout the whole challenge. Thank you for your experiences shared. I've learned from them. And Jen's fruit/spinach smoothie and veggie/egg "mess" are both things I enjoy eating. I would love to have a recipe book by Jen if all her recipes are that good! Thanks for sharing. Thank you Denise for being the instigator to get these challenges going and trying to make things work so a veriety of people will be happy. I hope that those who participate next time do well. Provided I don't gain all my weight back (it's not in the plan anyway) I will not be joining next time. But I wish luck to all those who do! Thank you everyone!