Co-Worker Challenge

[Jenn052402]

Week 2
Ok so here it goes..... I entered into a bet with 2 co-workers to see who could loose the most % of weight in an 8 week time frame. God only knows why I entered into this bet considering I absolutely love my high fat high calorie food. I had a baby 1 1/2 years ago and I gained some MASSIVE weight. WOW! My husband and I were looking back at the DVD from when I gave birth the other night and he looked over at me and said "I don't remember you being that fat". Gee Thanks!!!!!!!!!!! Granted I have lost 33lbs since I gave birth and most of that was within the past 6 months. So I really think I entered into this bet so that I would have the motivation to loose my last 15lbs that I feel I need to loose. Working at a doctors office with catered lunches of fatty food and huge tins of cookies and candy doesn't help matters any. But I can say that I am going to the gym for 1 hour 5 times a week. I am also walking through our neighborhood pushing a stroller while my older daughter rides her bike 3-5 times a week.

This past Monday we had our first weigh in. Can I say it hurt me to see that the scale had gone up a pound. But it made me feel so much better that one of the girls I am up against is up a pound also. Granted she only weighs as much as a feather to begin with. The other girl I am competing against lost 5lbs. which makes me absolutely sick to my stomach. But I have 7 more weeks and that gives me plenty of time to loose weight. I just am gonna have to buckle down and do what I need to do............ WISH ME LUCK!

[AT]

I joined a weight loss competition with 2 of my co-workers on June 16th. The competition will last for 8 weeks & the person who loses the biggest percentage of weight wins. I have been married for 5 years & during that time I have slowly but surely added on the extra pounds. My husband & I are ready to add on to our family, but in order to do that I have to lose weight. I have been dieting for a little while now & lost 15 lbs before the competition started. I go to the gym 2-3 times a week & walk a lot, either during my lunch hour or after work in a park. I have also been making sure to eat three meals a day, cutting back on my portion sizes & sometimes have a light snack between meals if needed. Our first weigh in was on Monday & I lost five pounds. My co-workers have really been my biggest inspiration & supporters & I know I couldn't do this without them. Wish us luck!

[AT]

Well, its day 12 of the competiton & I feel great. I have been eating a lot better since the competition started. I eat oatmeal or cereal for breakfast & for lunch I usually have a sandwich & some fruit. For dinner I sometimes have chicken or baked fish or fat free hot dogs (yum!). I haven't walked as much this week as I normally do, but I will do better next week. I'm going on a trip to the lake this weekend, so I know it will be hard to stick to my diet with all the temptations that I know will be there. I plan on taking plenty of fruits & healthy snacks to much on while I'm there. If all goes well, I hopefully will have lost a few more pounds by our weigh in on Monday.

[mbake]

you girls are on fire. No I mean it! Do you know how many women I see and HEAR talking about doing something but still haven't? I am so impressed. Are your husbands or significant others in this with you? It is so much easier when they too are "of the same mind" and so sabotaging when they aren't! Have we heard from the third co-worker?

[ligatoni]

Well, here it is, the end of week 2. I'm a little nervous about the weigh in tomorrow. The gain of 1 lb was a bit of a shock. I've been doing really well with my walking; Tuesdays after work I even have a couple of coworkers joining me at the park. I've been trying to do a little more weight training with 8lb weights, so I've done that a couple times over the week. I am taking today off since I'm really sore and figured that between walking my dog at the park this am and doing some gardening (pulling weeds, planting, and watering) I have done sufficient activity regardless. Eating is still the hardest thing. I'm happy to say that I am not craving any sweets and I have been doing a little better with portions. Breakfast is typically cereal, granola bar midmorning and then a lean cuisine for lunch (unless lunch is brought to the office, and then I'll have that). Dinner varies depending on what's in the fridge and our time constraints (my husband plays soccer some nights so sometimes we need something fast). I think the only downside this week was going out to eat on Friday with our neighbors. We went to Applebee's and the food wasn't even that good but I was so hungry by the time the food came that I pretty much cleaned the plate.
My coworkers seem to have better control over the food issues. I am impressed with how well they are sticking to their routines and as much as I want to win, I will be really happy for them if they make their goals. Just knowing that they are trying keeps me motivated to do my part.

[mbake]

Can't wait for the weigh in results!

[ligatoni]

Well, I am happy to report a loss of 2 lbs since the last week. Granted, that only brings me down 1 pound overall, but at least I'm going in the right direction now! It's a big motivator to keep going- not to mention a 2 pound weight loss from each of my coworkers. I'm heading out walking after work, and despite sleeping in a bit later than usual this am, I still did a little bit of an ab routine. I wish I could really get in gear and get up early enough to do a serious workout, but unfortunately am under a bit of sleep deprivation from that thunderstorm of Sun. My dog doesn't handle storms well, so I had a long night being up with her and am still trying to catch up on rest. But overall, am holding steady on activity, and am hoping I can keep my willpower up!

[Jenn052402]

Week 3
So I was hoping to update everyone last week but unfortunately things were a little stressful at home. I did get to go to the grocery store and get some GREAT low calorie snacks which seem to really help calm my sweet tooth. I have been trying to exercise some but with my husband not being at home at night its hard to get to the gym. My father-in-law is not doing well so my husband has been staying at their house at night to help out. But I am going to buy a couple of things today that I can use while at home. My parents have a treadmill and an exercise bike so I could always go there and have them watch the girls while I worked out but this week seems so nice I think we will just go for walks in the early evening. So I weighed in this morning and I was down 2lbs!!!!! I have been eating better and trying to do little things like parking further away from the store. I do lunges while playing with my daughter and I started doing some sit-ups during commercial breaks. This weekend I am supposed to go to Smith Mountain Lake with the girls so I will get alot of exercise swimming. I will pack food that is healthier for us instead of eating hamburgers I think we will do turkey burgers and I won't use a bun. I will take some vegetables to snack on. All of this sounds good. I will let you know how it actually works out.

[Jenn052402]

It was asked above if our husbands were participating with us...........
YES! My husband is very supportive of this weight loss challange and he helps me to choose the right things to eat and he encourages me to exercise daily. He is also trying to loose 20lbs so it definately is ALOT easier when we go out somewhere to know that I am not the only one eating salads. He is a great help!

[AT]

Ok, so last week was a really great week. We all lost 2 pounds-yeah! I was a little worried about the weigh-in because I went to the lake last weekend & even though I lost weight I didn't stick to my diet as good as I normally would. My friends wanted to go out to eat but I convinced them to grill out instead & watched them eat all kinds of desserts while I ate sugar free popsicles! The rest of my week should be ok. My husband is out of town & he is not on a diet. He is however a diabetic & since I have started my diet his blood sugars have improved a lot. He eats what I fix & doesn't complain & thats enough for me. I think the biggest thing helping me lose weight right now is walking & drinking mostly water & cutting out soft drinks (even though I only drink diet). We will have to see how the rest of the week goes with July 4th coming up. I always spend the day by the pool at my grandma's house & she makes homemade cupcakes with chocolate icing. I'll have to take a whole box of sugar free popsicles with me!

[Jenn052402]

Update
Well my diet has not been good at ALL..............
My father-in-law passed July 4th and it seems that everything that people bring over to your house is greasy, fried, homecooking. (which I can't complain AT ALL)
It doesn't help my diet any but it does feel great to have some good ole home cooking. I have tried to eat the vegetables but boy oh boy some of these desserts have been good. I haven't snacked any outside of meals so that will be one thing I need to get back into. I just need to pack some healthy snacks. Needless to say I haven't gotten a chance to exercise. I am planning on dropping my kids off at my mothers this afternoon late so that I can get in a quick visit to the gym. I am not looking forward to this coming ups weight check but I know that I have alot going on right now and once I get through this then I can get back on track. I am not going to give up.

[mbake]

Very sorry to hear about your father-in-law. I'm a big believer in doing the best you can considering what your circumstances are, which will change and are different than everyone elses at a certain time and point.

[AT]

Well the weekend is coming to an end & I feel pretty good about the weigh-in tomorrow. July 4th was ok. As usual the chocolate cupcakes were there but I didn't eat any. I got up early and went walking with one of my co-workers Saturday morning. We have done this a few times now & feel like I can walk longer & a little faster each time we go. She mentioned maybe jogging a little too but I don't think I can handle that yet. Maybe in a couple more weeks I can give it a try. My mom's birthday is tomorrow so again I will be surrounded by chocolate. (cake this time) Her party is going to be at my grandma's house. I'm glad I left the sugar free popsicles there!

[Jenn052402]

Weigh In Day!
Well its better than I thought (I guess). I didn't gain any weight but I also didn't loose any either. I was not able to get to the gym yesterday like I had wanted but I will try and go walk tonight even if its by myself. I might like it better that way anyways. One thing is that I am back at work today so I know that I will atleast have time to make myself eat better. I will be off for the rest of the week so I will just need to go grocery shopping so that I can have some healthy snacks to have over at my mother-in-laws. One of my other co-workers lost another 2lbs which will make her total 9 so far! Congratulations to her. I am so proud of her! Me and the other co-worker are neck and neck. I am not giving up, I still have 5 weeks to go so hopefully after this week things will go back to normal and I can get back into my routine of going to the gym and eating my HEALTHIER meals and snacks.

[ligatoni]

Weigh in day. Another slight disappointment. No loss, no gain. Better than going up, but it's frustrating. This has been much harder than I realized. I've been doing well with exercise-I walked Fri, Sat, and Sun along with helped my brother in law move into a 3rd floor apartment. Admittedly, the diet stunk. It seemed like I did ok in the morning but by the time dinner came, I was starving and ate way more than I should. It didn't help that my brother in laws mom came into town and brought her chocolate chip cookies which were awesome so of course I ate some. Yesterday I went to a baby shower/ brunch so of course there was lots of food there too. Jen and I are together as far as our gains and losses, which makes me feel a little bit better, and of course I'm proud of Angie (lost 9 lbs!!! all together). I just was expecting better of myself.