Overall Winners

Congrats to everyont who started and FINISHED this competition!!  Below are the percentages for the competition for everyone who weighed in today!  Way to go guys!!!

1st- Robyn  32 lbs 17.98%

2nd - Scott 44.5 lbs 14.99%

3rd - Julie 17.5 lbs 9.43%

4th - Michelle 21.6 lbs 7.98%

5th - Marinda 15.2 lbs 7.92%

6th - Lisa 13.5 lbs 7.61%

7th - Brandy 9.7 lbs 4.04%

8th - Mindy 3.6 lbs 1.24%

Congratulations to everyone!!  Not only did you lose over the last month, but you also managed to keep those lbs off!  I wish you all the best of luck. 

LOVE YOU ALL!!



Winners for this month

Our winners for the month of November are....

1st - Scott with 5.54%

2nd - Robyn with 3.42%

Overall winners will follow shortly!!  Congrats Scott and Robyn!!

No excuses.

I am so sorry.  I am in the middle of a move.  I FORGOT to post the household item.  PLEASE forgive me!!

If you took your weight this morning without a household item feel free to e-mail it to me. 

Otherwise.. if you want to take your weight first thing tomorrow morning include a knife in the picture and we will have the official weigh in/posting etc tomorrow!  Weights due by 5 pm tomorrow. 

Winners!!!

This month brings an interesting predicament but first our WINNERS!!!

1st - Lisa 7.0 lbs 4.07%

2nd- Julie 4.0 lbs 2.25%

So here is where it gets interesting.  Only 6 of you actually met the blog requirement for the month and of those 6 the highest amount of weight lost was less than 2 lbs.  I know that Lisa and Julie have been working really hard so for this month I am going to waive the blogging rule in order to give them the credit they are due. (A huge reason I am doing this is because this was an incredibly unproductive month for almost EVERYONE!!)  

Next month... if you do not blog you will NOT get your prize and any prizes forfeited due to failure to blog will be added to the overall first place winner. 

[If you saw the blog I posted before this... I somehow missed Lisa's email and found it AFTER I posted that! She kicked her own booty this month and it's not her fault that I almost overlooked it!]

LAST MONTH!!!  LET'S BRING IT!

Holy Guacamole!!

Wahoo!!  Weigh in is tomorrow. 

Your weights are DUE to me at kariscomp@yahoo.com by 6 pm MST. Also, your after pics must be into me by Midnight. If you have any questions about these pics.. please feel free to email me.


Your household item for this weigh in is a fork! Please remember to have the date in all 3 pics!  Good luck to all!  Can't wait to see how much this month has taken from your scale numbers! :)

Challenge! :)

My life has been beyond insane and I'm so sorry I haven't got a challenge up till now!  I thought this challenge would be a good one to stick to till weigh in. No really!!  You want optimum results??  GO FOR IT!!!

My hope for this challenge was to give you something that would help you with your results and so... before I say it out loud... I just want to mention that NO ONE EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, HAS DIED.... from not eating sugar. ;o)

So.. here is your challenge! NO SUGAR!! No sugar, or high fructose corn syrup for 1 week! We all know that sugar is not good for us... this is nothing new. I get that sometimes we NEED things... like chocolate ;o) BUT THIS IS ONLY A ONE WEEK CHALLENGE!! Anyone can do it for a week right? It's not like I'm asking you to give up your diet coke! ;o) YET!

Here are some tips for going sugar free. First off, when you read a label you need to be checking out the INGREDIENTS. The word "sugar" on the nutrition label [followed by a number of g's] could actually be referring to natural sweeteners like honey, agave, stevia and THESE things are NOT off limits. They are awesome natural ways to sweeten things and they are good for you!! Check out the list of INGREDIENTS on your labels. If the words SUGAR, CANE SUGAR, or HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP are anywhere on the list BACK AWAY FROM THE item. :o) There are always alternatives here. It is POSSIBLE to buy bread that does not contain these items (usually this would be a honey version of bread) but... if you are having a hard time... count how far down the label the forbidden words are. If they are not one of the first 10 items and you are desperate GO FOR IT! The idea/goal here is to get you reading labels and knowing what's in your food.

I have my own VERY REAL issues with chemical sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose. I am not trying to encourage you IN ANY WAY to become obsessed with "sugar free" treats. Please do not become addicted to splenda because of this challenge. :o) [Here is where I scream at the computer about the evils of these items... but alas...it's your body and you do what you want with your body!]

Good luck to everyone!!

CHALLENGE!!

Sorry.. life has been busy this holiday weekend!  Hope you are all doing fantastic!  This week the challenge has nothing to do with weight loss per say.. your challenge is to introduce yourself on your blog.  Tell everyone a little about yourself.  Make a list of why you want to lose weight... and comment on other peoples blogs!

Let's try and get a little personal feel to this comp.  I think knowing eachother helps us WANT to support eachother!  :)

Winners!!!

Congrats to everyone who weighed in this month... gain or loss you are making a commitment to yourself and that is huge!! 

Our winners are:

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1st - Robyn 4.40%

2nd - Michelle 3.70%

Congrats to the two of you!!

Weigh in!!

Hi guys!!!  Thought I'd better post a household item for tomorrows weigh in! :)

 Please include a HAIRBRUSH or COMB in your pics tomorrw!

Make sure you get them to me @ kariscomp@yahoo.com by 6 MST!

Good luck to all! :)

Challenge Number 4

Can you believe weigh in is Wednesday? SO INSANE!!!  So this is your challenge at least until Wednesday:

Be PERFECT at whatever it is you are doing!! 

 If you are doing weight watchers, track points, measure portions, do everything perfectly!!  If you are doing no sugar NO SUGAR.  Ideally you all entered this thing with a plan, so reevalute that plan and DO IT!!!  Can't wait to see the results on Wednesday!!  Good luck all!

Challenge Number 3

Hi all!! This weekend has been slightly insane for me. Hope you have all had a little less chaos than I! ;o)

I am sure you all wonder where I come up with this stuff. Honestly... I try to create challenges that will help you be successful in your goals. This week, your challenge is to:

Keep a food journal!

Really, truly, write it all down. Every bite of everything you eat. No one is grading you or judging you, but SOMETIMES, seeing it all written down can help you figure out what changes you can make in order to be more successful in accomplishing your goals. ALSO.. if you are willing to write it all down and would like some input about it... you can email it to me and I can help you tweek your diet. :o) Either way.. GOOD LUCK THIS WEEK!! Remember that we don't gain the weight over night and surely we can't expect to lose it over night. ;o) Keep working at it. 5 lbs a month is 60 lbs in a year! You CAN do it...

Did you know?!?!?

There are 75 calories in 1 double stuffed oreo?  And to think.. I've been guilty of eating a whole bag! :(

Your next challenge!!

. BEFORE I post this challenge I want to say this....

EXERCISE IS NOT AN EXCUSE TO EAT BADLY!!!!

You see... I have this issue with exercise and weight loss. I think it's an absolutely necessary and integral part of weight loss. I also run into people ALL THE TIME who use it as an excuse to eat whatever they want and then wonder WHY AM I NOT LOSING WEIGHT?!?!?! Exercise is amazing for a zillion different reasons.. it prevents practically every disease on the frickin' planet. The health benefits are ENDLESS!! BUT if you think that exercise alone is going to shed the lbs for you.. you couldn't be farther from reality!! Aerobic (cardio) exercise burns fat. Resistance exercise builds muscle tissue which burns fat more efficiently. These are EXCELLENT reasons WHY exercise is necessary as you work towards your weight loss goals. HOWEVER... you must burn more calories than you eat in order to lose weight.

SO... your challenge for the week??

Exercise for AT LEAST 30 minutes AT LEAST 5 times this week.

Make sure that during that time you get at least 1.5 hours of cardio in... (this means your heart rate should be 65%-85% of your MAX HEART RATE!! ) * If you already do this then pick a certain amount of minutes LONGER to exercise. Here is a fantastic secret to keep in mind when you are trying to decide what to do. The best cardio exercise is:

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WHATEVER YOU ENJOY DOING!!! That's right... why force yourself onto a treadmill if you get a great cardio workout on the bike AND enjoy yourself!?!? Really truly.. find what cardio you enjoy the most and go for it!!

Another thing to keep in mind is that for the most part walking does NOT provide an adequate increase in heart rate (for most of us). If you are walking for your cardio... pick up the pace, do some hills, add some jogging... get UNCOMFORTABLE!!!

I can't wait to here how this week goes for all of you!! Good luck and get ready for the challenge from HELL next week! ;o)

[* To calculate MAX HEART RATE subtract your age from 220. Then calculate the percentage by multiplying that number by .65 or .85.. here's' MY example. 220-29=191 65% of 191 is 191x.65=124 85% of 191=162. So I would want my heart rate to be between 124 and 162. ]

First Challenge!! :)

Ya'll ready for this?!?!

This weeks challenge is about PORTION SIZES.

I challenge everyone to PAY ATTENTION TO AND CONSUME PROPER PORTION SIZES!! Read your labels! Regardless of what you are eating, it is never as damaging to your goals if you are paying attention to HOW MUCH you are eating. This means if you are going to eat Doritos you should count out 11 chips according to the label. (I would guess that when you fill a bowl with chips and eat them, you are getting at least 3 servings, in this case that would be 420 calories.)

Portion sizes are ABSOLUTELY KEY to weight loss! You can eat TOO MUCH of a good thing. So how do you know that you are eating the right sized portion? Here is a rule of thumb. A proper portion size for a piece of meat is about the size of the palm of your hand 5-6 ozs. [You also can be REALLY good at portion sizes by purchasing a food scale!] A proper portion size for a complex carb or starch is about the size of a cupped hand. (Umm... this means if you must eat mashed potatoes you are getting ONE SMALL SCOOP!! As opposed to filling half the plate! ;o) ) The proper portion size for fruits/veggies is about the size of two cupped hands! And in case you were wondering... The proper portion size for simple sugar carbs is NONE! ;o) But at least read the label and KNOW how many calories/fat g/carbs etc you are eating before you put it in your mouth.

*My suggestion for being successful in this challenge is to WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN!! Everything that goes into your mouth should be measured out. If you are writing it down, it's just a little extra focus/effort on achieving your goal. *

There are a zillion lessons that can be learned by taking on this challenge!! ARE YOU IN?!?!?

Weekly Challenges!

Hey guys!!  I had a suggestion to start up weekly challenges!  I LOVE doing these!!  They seem to keep people focused on one mini goal at a time.  That being said... I am going to start posting them on Saturdays so you can be prepared to start the week off right!  These are not mandatory but are a lot of fun in keeping you motivated/focused and learning how to live a healthier life!  Watch for it on Saturday!!  ALSO... please leave comments.  I love doing these but tend to get burnt out when I feel like people aren't interested!

Keep up the amazing work!!  :)

Kari

Pics and where do you rate?!?

Here are the results for the first month!!  Click on them to make them bigger!  See where you rate this month! :) Also.. for anyone commenting that their loss isn't nearly as amazing as someone elses... A LOSS IS A LOSS!!  Be proud and keep going in the right direction! :)

  Combined you lost 131.2 LBS!! 

 That is an entire person!!  WOOT WOOT!!

Winners!

We have a couple of amazing results!
Our winners are....
Robyn who lost 19.0 lbs for a 10.67% loss!
Scott who lost 31.6 lbs for a 10.51% loss!
Congrats!!!

Weigh In!!!

Weigh in!!

Okay!! Weigh in is TOMORROW!! YAY!!


Remember to weigh in at the SAME TIME of day, in the SAME CLOTHES or lack thereof as your original scale pic. Also.. don't forget to get me your AFTER PICS in the same OUTFIT. Front and Side are REQUIRED and you need to be holding the DATE and HOUSEHOLD ITEM IN THE PICS!!! Your weights are DUE to me at kariscomp@yahoo.com by 6 pm MST. Also, your after pics must be into me by Midnight. If you have any questions about these pics.. please feel free to email me.

The household item for this month is a TOOTHBRUSH!!

It's totally okay to take your AFTER pics tonight in order to have them ready to send in tomorrow!! I would LOVE if the after pics came with the scale pics!! Also.. if you take your pics first thing in the morning feel free to send them at that time. I would love to have them coming all day long to save me from having to spend a ton of time in front of the computer at once. THANKS!
Can't wait to see how hard you've been working this month!! GOOD LUCK!!!!!

One of my favs!

Direction, not intention, determines destination. -Andy Stanley

What does this mean to you??  Leave a comment and lets see how we each interpret it!

Prizes!!

Assuming the last person who needs to get money to me is going to send me the money the prizes are going to look like this:

Monthly

First $100

Second $40

 Overall

First $250

Second $100

The way this works is that monthly prizes are given for all 4 months, including the final month so in the final month there is $490 up for grab!!  Good luck all! :)

Friend posted this on facebook!

"You are the right person, this is the right time, you've paid your dues, you're thinking the right thoughts, you're doing the right things, and this very moment, you are exactly where you are supposed to be ... poised for the happiest time of your life."

What have you tried?!?

I admit it.. I'm on a kick.  Fad dieting is a concept that is hard for me to swallow.  Of course, my greatest frustration is the statistic that 75-95% of people who lose weight will regain it ALL in the first 3 years.  I blame this statistic on fad dieting.  I will comfortably go out on a limb and say 100% of people who lose weight by making lifestyle changes (and maintaining these changes) WILL maintain their weight loss!! 

I also want to point this out.  People who lose weight by diets that use pills, take an entire food type (like carbs) completely out of the diet, or tell you you can eat WHATEVER you want as long as you don't exceed a ridiculously low amount of calories per day... these people decrease their lean muscle mass significantly.  Here's my example.  When I started I was right around 40% body fat.  Had I taken a different approach to weight loss, like taken pills that stunt my hunger etc... I could have lost the weight but even at 120 lbs could still have been around 30% fat!  (I am currently just under 18%)  Here's the thing... when these people regain the weight (cause 75-95% of them will)... they REGAIN fat!!  Now they are back to the weight they started at but NOW they are 50% fat and WORSE off then they were when they started. 

(ARE YOU STARTING TO SEE WHY I HATE FAD DIETING SO MUCH?!?!)

Just for fun... what "fad diets" have you tried AND why do you think they failed?

Other losers!!

I met this gal who is starting her journey.. and even though she is not a competitor she would love all the support she can get!!  SOOOOOO  Support Kayla on her journey!!  Add her to your list... watch her DO IT!!!
http://iamaloser23.blogspot.com/ GO KAYLA!!

One more!

Hey guys!!  I had a good friend ask me today if she could join the comp and since we needed 1 more to be at 20, because we are still at the very beginning of the comp, and because she is awesome and is asking for extra motivation I told her YES!!!  SO.. we are up to 20.  Please add Nicholette to your blog lists! :) 

Starting numbers!

Here is our Starting Chart!!  This will always be located at the bottom of the page. :)    I am still waiting on a couple of checks before I can post the prize amounts. Can't wait to get to know you all better!

:o) Kari

PS.. IT DOESN'T HURT TO LEAVE A COMMENT!!!! ;o)

LAST DAY!!

Today is the last day to sign up! :) If you are interested or know anyone who is interested email me ASAP @ kariscomp@yahoo.com !  YAY!!  So excited for this adventure to begin!

Household item and extension!!

Hi ALL!!!
Before you get to the household item I wanted to post a few guidelines for weigh ins!


1. Weigh yourself at the same time of day eachtime you weigh in (including your initial weigh in!)

2. PLEASE weigh yourself in the same clothing (or lack there of) for ALL weigh in's! If you are planning on weighing in naked for subsequent weigh ins.. be naked for the first one!!

3. Make sure that your scale is on a flat surface each time you weigh yourself. You might think you've made progress when really it's just the fact that the corner of your scale is on the bathroom mat.

4. Remember you must use a DIGITAL scale! WII scales do not count.

  For the first month please include a spoon in your pics as well as the date!! 

ALSO.. because I want to give more people an opportunity to join I will extend the cut off day to the 5th of the month!  This gives you time to recruit your friends and gives no one any advantages.. the later you join.. the less time you have to lose this month!! 

Send me an email if you want info about joining! :)

kariscomp@yahoo.com

Confused about what the pics should look like?  Here's a play by play!

 Your scale picture needs to have the date and the item and look something similar to this (in this example the househould item was a cd/dvd):

Then you must send pictures of the side and front view and they need to include the DVD and date in them . I strongly encourage you to take back pictures as well.. they are very shocking and revealing (as you never see yourself from the back!!) Either way.. here's my examples of the front and side.

I will also include some OTHER examples of acceptable before outfits. Because some women might be panicking thinking they are required to pose half naked.. this is not the case!!  You can wear a tight fitting outfit that does not show skin!! 

These pics are not meant to be flattering in any way/shape or form! They are meant to be brutally honest and are a great tool for myself to measure your progress and to keep the competition HONEST!

There is also the option of wearing clothes that are TOO small and taking progressive pics as you start to fit into them... something like this! (Thanks Mindy!!)

Also.. you may notice that the before pics are FULL BODY PICS! Please make sure any pics you send to me ARE full body! I will crop them to post them on the blog (when you win) but please do not send pics that do not include your face! Also.. remember that you are not REQUIRED to post these pics on your blog. They are fantastic to share IF you want to but... don't worry that you HAVE to... because YOU DON'T!!

So there you have it! Pics are due by 6 pm MST to kariscomp@yahoo.com . I will let you know if I have any problems with them. Please be flexible if I ask you to retake something because it is blurry or because the clothes you have chosen are just WAY TOO LOOSE!!

Can't wait to get this party started!

WAHOO... the countdown is on! ;o)

Are you ready?!?!

New comp starts JULY 1st!! 

Are you ready?

Please review the rules and details and send me an email at kariscomp@yahoo.com!  Can't wait to see a new group lose it! ;o)
You can send your entry contribution of $50 via paypal to kariscomp@yahoo.com !

Details for New comp! Changes are in pink.

*  Buy in for the competition is $50 due at the beginning of the comp. Please email Kari @ kariscomp@yahoo.com for info on how to send in your contribution.


*  Competition will run July 1st, 2010 through November 1st, 2010.

*  Weigh in's will be on the 1st of each month. Weights are due by 6:00 p.m. MST to kariscomp@yahoo.com.

*  Monthly prizes will be awarded each month for the competitor with the highest percentage of weight lost.

*  2nd and 3rd place monthly winners may be awarded depending on how large the competition is. (If there are 20 plus competitors we will have a 2nd place monthly winner, if there are 30 plus we will have a 3rd place. 50% of monthly award money will be for first place. 30% for 2nd and 20% for third.)

*  A large prize for the overall winner will be awarded at the end of the competition based on percentage of weight loss.

*  Amounts of prizes will depend on the number of competitors and will be posted by July 7th.

*  ALL competitors WEIGHTS will be posted on this blog at all times.  You are not required to post your weight on your own blog but KNOW that other competitiors and anyone visiting the comp site will have access to your weight.

*  ALL winners pictures will be posted on THIS blog with heads cut off. This blog will remain PUBLIC so if you are uncomfortable with this, please don't join. (I will be cropping and putting them side by side so no worries about how to get this done.)

* At the beginning of the comp competitors will need to send in their HEIGHTS with their starting weights.. heights will be posted on a stats column on the side of the main blog.

*  This comp will most likely be co-ed... if you do not wish to compete against persons of the opposite sex PLEASE don't join! :) 

$45 of each contribution will go directly to the pot and be distributed as prizes throughout the course of the competition. $5 of every contribution will go to the administrator of the competition.

Rules for new comp... there are some changes here! :)

Rules
* This comp. is about changing lives!! NO diet pills (this includes prescription AND over the counter weight loss pills), supplements (you may take regular vitamins.. no metabolism boosters, fat burners etc...), colon cleanses, detox programs/drinks/shakes/pills, laxatives, diuretics, drug use of any kind, cosmetic and or weight loss surgical procedures, HCG dieting, EATING DISORDERS or anything that is not long term are allowed DURING this competition. (If you have had a weight loss surgical procedure more than 18 months ago you are welcome to compete!)

* Each competitor is REQUIRED to blog AT LEAST 4 TIMES A MONTH with no longer than 10 days between entries on a blog set up specifically for weight loss. (Check out an example HERE) Competitors who miss a week in any given month will not be eligible for prizes that month. Competitors who miss more than 4 entries over the four months will NOT be eligible for overall prizes.

* Each competitor must submit before pictures from a side and front view BEFORE the competition begins. They also must submit new pictures with their weigh in on the 1st of each month. The pictures are to be taken in fitted clothing (no sweat shirts, sweat pants, or baggy clothes) and competitors must wear the same outfit for all pictures taken for the duration of the competition.

 (These pictures are meant to be EXAMPLES... you do not HAVE to take pictures in tank tops or pants that are too small.)

* Weigh in pictures need to include the date and whatever the household item is for the month and must be taken on a digital scale.

* Weights MUST be received by 6:00 p.m. on the 1st of each month in order for competitors to qualify for prizes.

* Prizes will be awarded based on percentage of weight loss.

* Weight gain will not be calculated when determining your percentage for the month. This means if you gain 2 lbs one month and lose 10 the next, you will only be given credit for 8 lbs.

* No EARLY weights will be accepted.

Pictures! :) Congrats to all!

Brandon took a calorie counting approach to weight loss.  He diligently limited his calories while making sure to eat frequently throughout the day.  He gave up Mountain Dew.. his vice of choice and replaced it with WATER!  He excercised daily, usually between running, basketball and weight lifting.  He finished off the comp having lost 52.8 lbs!  WAY TO GO BRANDON!!

Brandy took her weightloss guidelines straight from the guidelines she was given when she was pregnant and facing gestational diabetes.  Her low carb diet took out most processed carbs but left room for fruits! :) She also upped her water intake and activity level and found a love for ZUMBA!!  Brandy is the only one I've been within a close proximity of during this comp.. it's been FANTASTIC to watch her drop 61.7 lbs and transform.. she has really come out of her shell and I can't wait to watch her continue to kick butt in the next comp!

Justin took all of his nutrition tips from his AWESOME SISTER who happened to win a lot of money last year while competiting in these types of comps.  ME!!  He worked very hard to eat "as clean" as he could and gave up SODA (which is kind of a big deal!) He also worked his butt off at the gym and was impressed to find that inside of him is a runner!  While he will NOT be joining us in the next comp, he will continue to do what it takes to maintain a new healthy lifestyle with his wife JESSICA who happened to finish 4th overall in this comp.  Grand total lost for Justin? 38.2 lbs!

Mindy and Pamella placed third and 4th this month!  I figured it was funner to do the all out pics!  What do you think? ;) GO GIRLS!!

WINNERS!!!

Winners for the month of June are as follows!!!

1st- Brandy 5.26%

2nd - Brandon 4.41%

3rd - Mindy 2.98 %

4th - Pamella 2.27%

And the overall winners... who combined lost a total of 151.3 lbs are:

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1st - Brandon 24.95%

2nd - Brandy 20.99%

3rd - Justin 19.85%

Final weigh in!!

Wow!!  Tomorrow is our final weigh in!  I cannot WAIT to see how you guys did and to pass out the remaining $750!! 

That's right $750 is up for grabs TOMORROW!! 

WOOT WOOT!! 

So.. for this weigh in please include a screwdriver in your picture.  Don't forget your date and have the picture in to me by 6:00 p.m. MST!!!  I will announce the winners tomorrow evening!  Remember.. no money will be rewarded until your final "after" pics are in! (MUST BE IN BY MIDNIGHT!)

Good luck to all of you!!  I can't wait to put some grand totals up... even though a lot of people who started with us are not competiting any more.. I think you will be in AWE when you see how much the people who stuck around have lost!!  It's pretty freakin' impressive!  You guys are amazing CONGRATS!!!

SATURDAY!!!

Umm... not to point out the obvious but...

 HOLY CRAP!!! FINAL WEIGH IN IS SATURDAY!!! 

I can't believe how much has happened in my life in the last 5 months.. I'm sure you feel the same way about your own lives!!!  I'm so excited to see everyones transformations!  If you send in your pics I will send you before/after pics REGARDLESS of where you place! 

And for anyone wondering... I have had a couple of volunteers to help me with another comp... anyone interested?  It will fun July 1st through November 1st and buy in will be $50. :)

Where do you stand?

These are standings for the people who weighed in this month as far as the overall comp goes!  I have not verified eligibilty and all that jazz but these people were kind enough to send in their weights this month so here you go:  Where are you on the list?

#1 - Brandon 21.64%

#2 - Amanda 19.66%

#3 - Justin 17.91%

#4 - Jessica B 17.43%

#5 - Brandy 16.6%

#6 - Kim 15%

#7 - Grace 14.02%

#8 - Robyn 10.81%

#9 - Pamella 9.09%

#10 - Kira 8.46%

#11 - Jewel 8%

#12 - Misty 6.88%

#13 - Mindy 6.45%

#14 - Jennifer B. - 5.79%

#15 - Cindi 2.43%

#16 - Alicia 1.35%

New PICS!!!

Here are the pics for this months winners!! I promise to get some standings up later today! CONGRATS GUYS!!

Winners!!!

Great month in the winners circle!! We have someone NEW and guess what?!?!?!?!

SHE GOT FIRST PLACE!!!!

1 - KIM 6.18%

2- BRANDON 5.15%

3 - GRACE 4.07%

4 - BRANDY 3.35%

CONGRATS GUYS!!! KEEP ON BUSTIN' IT OUT!!

One more month... kick it up and kick some booty!

(Pictures soon to follow!)

OH ME OH MY!!

Hi.. I'm Kari and I am a distracted everything lately. I can't even believe it but TOMORROW is weigh in day! How did that happen??? CRAZY!!!

Well.. in an effort to not forget your household item for tomorrow is a shoe! Any old shoe... baby shoes, big shoes, purple shoes, green shoes.. whatever.. just get a shoe in the pic! ;o)

Make sure your weigh in pic complete with date and a shoe are into me @ kariscomp@yahoo.com before 6:00 pm MST!! And get your after pics in by midnight.

And for those of you who may have disapeared... send in your pics anyway... next month is our last and you may still be eligible for overall! ALSO!! There are still 1-3 place in June AND 1-3 place overall so there is A LOT of money up for grabs last month! Maybe you've never won anything? Well now is your chance! GO FOR IT!!!

" You miss 100% of the shots you don't take!"
Basically, if you don't try you will never succeed.

-Brandon's latest blog entry.

Number one killer of Americans? HEART DISEASE!! Number 2? CANCER!! Guess what?!?!? Both are significantly prevented by proper nutrition and exercise...

HOW'S THAT FOR MOTIVATION???

You want to be healthy?

You want to beat the new statistic that our generation has a SHORTER life expectancy than our parents?!?!

It's all in your hands... are you eating to live or eating to die!?

Some people believe that they die when they are "destined" to die. So fine.. if I'm destined to die at 98 or 44.. I get to choose the state I will be in when it happens!! Will I be wheel chair bound minus one foot from diabetes OR will I be running a marathon and proud to be wearing underpants? I choose the latter... which do you choose?

According to my Calculations

I thought it would be fun to let people know who's in the lead for the overall prizes.

Currently the top five people for overall stand as follows:

Amanda 18.44%

Brandon 17.39%

Jessica 15.88%

Debbie 15.63%

Justin 15.32%

Keep up the fantastic work guys! :)

Chemicals you eat!

I've been sitting in on a fantastic nutrition class where we are currently learning about the CHEMICAL anatomy of APPETITE!! It's quite complex but here's the basics. When you eat CRAP.. the chemicals your brain produces keep telling your brain that you are HUNGRY!! It begs you for MORE FOOD!!

So... I wanted to propose some randomness for all of you. Everytime you eat something BAD... add a protein!! Why? Because protein produces chemicals in your brain that tell your body it is FULL! So.. when you eat that snickers bar and your body is demanding you stand in front of the pantry and eat any carb loaded, over processed bag of something or other you can come in contact with... SHUT THE PANTRY and fry up some egg whites, make yourself a protein shake, eat some chicken... grab a can of tuna before you shut it and eat away!

Stop the vicious cycle of eating bad.. so eating worse... so eating like there is no tomorrow.... ADD A PROTEIN!! ;o)

CHECK OUT OUR WINNERS!!!

Debbie

Amanda

Justin

Winners!!

1st - DEBBIE!!! 7.44%

2nd - BRANDY!!! 5.62%

3rd - AMANDA!!! 5.56%

4th - JUSTIN!!! 5.31%

HOLY MOLY!! YOU GUYS KICKED SOME SERIOUS BOOTY!!

Weigh in #3! TOMORROW!!

Hey all you amazing LOSERS!! I have a ton going on for Easter but wanted to get your household item posted so I didn't forget.

Tomorrow.. please weigh in with EASTER CANDY or SCISSORS!! (Debbie thought that the candy would be funny! I agree. Scissors are for those of you who have no candy!)

Remember to get those weights into me by 6:00 pm. MST. Also, remember to include the date in your pics. AND... don't forget your after pics!

GOOD LUCK!!! Can't believe tomorrow is the big day! WAHOO!!

This is why I go to the gym!

Soap Box

I want to apologize in advance for using this blog as a place to put my own agenda out there BUT... not all of you read my blog and I wanted to say something that EVERYONE needs to hear.
Last week in nutrition class a girl came up for class after having her butt kicked by her trainer. She was panting and sweating and you could tell she had just SERIOUSLY kicked ass! (YOU GO GIRL!!!) But... we started talking about our obstacles and she said "a lack of confidence in her abilities." WHAT?!? Girl.. you just did 10 8-count body builders at the end of a SERIOUSLY hardcore workout and you aren't confident in what you've done? CRAZY!!
At first I thought she must be nuts. BUT.. I realize that A LOT of us are so caught up in where we want to be that we forget how far we've come. So I pose this challenge:
BE PROUD OF WHAT YOU ARE DOING!!

Who the hell cares how fast that girl on the treadmill next to you is running? What YOU do is about YOU! And you deserve to be proud of every moment you spend working towards your goals. Just getting to the gym is worth celebrating. In the words of Tony Horton:

"Do your best and forget the rest... your best is ALWAYS good enough!!"
Surely if you are pushing yourself to levels you've never been you are giving 110%. So be FREAKIN' EXCITED!!!! I love each of you and I want you to be thrilled with every little success! Life is too short to beat yourself up over what you are not. What you are is truly amazing. Every time you find yourself comparing you to someone else, imagine where you were 3 months ago!! Would you have been able to do what you just did? Would you have been WILLING to push yourself to the level you just reached?

Marvel in your awesomeness!!

No Way!

Can we really be one week [and a few hours] away from a weigh in?!?! So insane!

This week your challenge is to challenge yourself to be better.

If there is something you are lacking in... make a special effort. Remember that a lot can happen in a week.. even if you may be slacking otherwise. Focus on your goals and figure out what you are doing to get you closer to them. GOOD LUCK!

Challenge~

Grace suggested a blogging challenge and I think it's a FANTASTIC IDEA so..

This weeks challenge is to

Comment on at least 3 other peoples blogs DAILY! (Checking boxes doesn't count!)

Lets support eachother! :o)

Fantastic idea! ;o)

A great way to lose weight is to eat while you are naked and standing in front of a mirror. Restaurants will almost always throw you out before you can eat too much.

Challenge!

Ah man! I'm out of town visiting my awesome family and my mom has all these crazy parental controls on her comp that do not allow me to view blogs... (I know.. what the heck right?) Anyway.. I'm at my bros and thought I had better get on and get a challenge up for those of
you who LOVE to be challenged!

Well.. heres the thing.. coming up with these challenges every week is getting kind of tricky. The obvious challenges have been done and soo.. I'm desperately trying to get creative.

This weeks challenge is to try something new.

We get used to eating the same things over and over when we are dieting and so... we all need to introduce new HEALTHY options into our diet. I have some great recipes I am happy to share with anyone interested. There are also MANY amazing websites that have HEALTHY recipes. I love this one! Either way try something completely out of the ordinary. Maybe a fantastic quinoa recipe or a SoyJoy bar. Just expand your wings a little.

GOOD LUCK!!

So unfair!

I've heard this a few times! ;o)

CHALLENGE!

Hi all!! This weekend has been slightly insane for me. Hope you have all had a little less chaos than I! ;o)

I am sure you all wonder where I come up with this stuff. Honestly... I try to create challenges that will help you be successful in your goals. This week, your challenge is to:

Keep a food journal!

Really, truly, write it all down. Every bite of everything you eat. No one is grading you or judging you, but SOMETIMES, seeing it all written down can help you figure out what changes you can make in order to be more successful in accomplishing your goals. ALSO.. if you are willing to write it all down and would like some input about it... you can email it to me and I can help you tweek your diet. :o) Either way.. GOOD LUCK THIS WEEK!! Remember that we don't gain the weight over night and surely we can't expect to lose it over night. ;o) Keep working at it. 5 lbs a month is 60 lbs in a year! You CAN do it...

UGH!

So.. you may notice on the list below that LORI is at the top!!

CONGRATS LORI!!!

Lori had a fantastic month and lost 6.88%. Unfortunately, she was having problems with her email and although she thought she had finally got it sent, it never came. (And is not showing in her sent box...) :o(

Although she is ineligible for the prize money she is TOTALLY ELIGIBLE FOR BRAGGING RIGHTS!! So I am giving credit where credit is due here. YOU ROCK LORI! Congrats on a fantastic month and a first place finish!

Where do you line up?

Lori - 6.89%

Brandon - 6.66%

Amanda - 5.96%

Jessica B. - 5.26%

Grace - 4.51%

Jewel - 3.61%

Lisa K - 3.46%

Robyn - 3.26%

Pamella - 2.57%

Kim - 2.5%

Justin - 2.47%

Kira - 2.44%

Jacqui - 2.3%

Cindi - 2.26%

Debbie - 2.22%

Amber - 2.09%

Brandy - 1.97%

Ellura - 1.89%

Jenny - 1.57%

Annie - 1.37%

Sarah - 1.25%

Lisa C - 0.90%

Jessica G - 0.74%

Mindy - 0.54%

Alison - 0.24%

Janet - 0.21%

Kristen - 0.12%

Nancy - MAINTAIN

Alicia - 0

Andrea - 0

Angela - 0

Breanna - 0

Carmen - 0

Elise - 0

Jen - 0

Kristie - 0

Michelle - 0

Mike - 0

Misty - 0

The rest of the people did not weigh in. Anyone with a 0 is a gain (most are less than 2 lbs!). Remember gains do not count as weight lost for additional months! Congrats to everyone who weighed in.

BrAnDoN

AmAnDa
JeSsIcA B.

GrAcE

It's late. Hope you will forgive me! List to be posted tomorrow!

Winners!!!

Just wanted to post the winners! I will post the list of where everyone stands tomorrow.. off to a date tonight!

1st place - BRANDON 6.659%

2nd place - AMANDA 5.96%

3rd place - JESSICA B. 5.26%

4th place - GRACE 4.51%

CONGRATS TO OUR WINNERS!! And to everyone who is sticking to it! I'll give you stats tomorrow! Have a great weekend! :o)

Is it TIME?!?!

Holy cow.. I've been so busy studying that I have really neglected this website. I totally forgot the funny yesterday. Hope you can forgive me! I figure I'd better post the household item NOW so I don't forget to do it later. AND SO!!!!!!

The household item for tomorrows weigh in is deodorant. Make sure you've got some in the pics. Also don't forget your date and MAKE SURE to get that scale weight pic into ME by 6 p.m. MST @ kariscomp@yahoo.com.

Your after pics need to be in by midnight but I would LOVE if you could send them with your weights. Feel free to take those pics tonight!

Thanks and good luck! Can't wait to see how much you've lost this month!

Challenge!!!

I'm posting the challenge early this week! It's down to the wire with weigh in LESS THAN A WEEK AWAY!! WOWZA! I wanted to give you a head start on the challenge so that you can prepare today to take it on and be awesome through this week. Really.. I'm taking advantage of today so I can tackle this tomorrow so thought you all could use a head start as well!
This weeks challenge is simple:
HAVE A PERFECT WEEK!

What does it mean to have a perfect week?

* Drink at least 64 ozs of water EVERY DAY!

* Pay attention to portion sizes.

*ROCK THOSE PECS!

*Exercise at least 30 minutes at least 5 days this week.

* Be perfect at whatever nutritional guidelines you are following. If you are eating clean.. no cheating. If you are doing weight watchers, track and count those points like your life depends on it. If you are eating on menu STAY ON MENU!!!

* Just remember that if you slip up you can IMMEDIATELY get back on track. If you can conquer this challenge, you will conquer some serious mental challenges as well!

You've got this!! BRING IT!

My favorite Funny!!

Okay.. I LOVE this video but am too MENTALLY CHALLENGED to figure out how to get it on the blog so... click on the link for this weeks funny. EAT LESS MOVE MORE! Enjoy!