3 down....12 to go.

Week 4 has officially begun in our Biggest Loser contest. We had our first drop-out this week, so we're down to 24 contestants. I'm very proud of my colleagues for making this kind of commitment to better health (the potential for prizes doesn't hurt either).

The one thing I'm most pleased about with this competition is how it seems to have raised morale around the building. People are talking to each other more (mind you, it's usually about the funny thing that happened in Zumba class or the weird concoction they had for dinner last night). Nonetheless, it's bringing us closer together.

C.S., who is in the competition, had the nerve to bring in a cake today that she baked on the weekend. Unfair tactics or smart games(wo)manship? It's not chocolate, so I have no problem resisting.

All right, down to the nitty gritty. I lost 3.2 pounds this past week and I earned it. I worked out 6 days out of 7. Nothing crazy, my usual 30 - 40 when at home and a little longer when I go to the gym.

I feel good. I can already see the difference in my face and my clothes are fitting a little better. My "loose" jeans are loose again.

All together, I have lost 11 pounds (14 more to go to reach my ultimate goal). I'm pretty sure I'll make the top ten losers this week again. (10th the first week, second last week).

Starting weight: 164.8 lbs.
After week 1: 160.8 lbs.
After week 2: 157 lbs.
After week 3: 153.8 lbs.

Goal for this week: 1.5 lbs.

Wish me luck!

P.S. My bro got Wii fit and made me try it. My physical age is 34! Put some icing on that and eat it! ; )

P.S. 2 - I'm this week's biggest loser!!! Woohoo!!!

End of week 2...

There were a lot of nerves ahead of this week's weigh-in for our Biggest Loser competition. There were such big weight losses after the first week, people were wondering if they could keep it up. The answer for the most part is - of course not.

This week's results were much more in line with what you'd expect. People lost 1 or 2 pounds. Some had bigger results, but everyone is different. The sad part is I heard people lamenting the fact they didn't lose nearly as much this week. My answer to that is - did you gain weight? A loss of a pound or two in a week is something that can be sustained.

Now, having said that, I have to confess I lost almost as much this week as last. 3.8 lbs. this week. No, I am not starving myself. I eat 5 times a day. What I did do, was cut out white food for the most part - bread, pasta, sugar, etc. I stopped eating within 3 hours of bedtime. I am drinking even more water and green tea than I used to and I worked out 5 times in the past week.

Have I cheated? Of course. For dinner last night, I ate onion tart, baguette, camembert cheese, pate and grapes - leftovers from the birthday party we threw the night before.

Tonight, I'm taking my husband out to dinner to celebrate my success and that will probably include a glass (or two) of wine.

7.8 lbs. in 2 weeks. My goal for week 3 is one pound. Wish me luck!

By the way, I'm now back in the "normal" range of the BMI.

week 1 - 164.8
week 2 - 160.8
week 3 - 157

Am I a slacker?

When I arrived at work today (around noon), most people in the Biggest Loser contest had already weighed in. I was told one guy lost 11 pounds, another lost 10 and one of the women lost 8. I thought to myself - am I a slacker? I had planned to lose 3 pounds the first week of the competition. What are these people doing that I'm not.

Then the chatter started......"you know, she drank as much water as she could hold before her first weigh-in"....."well, guys always lose weight easier than women"....."there should be separate male/female competitions".....LOL. I love it! Seriously, nobody was saying these things in a malicious way. It's all part of the heat of the battle.

I'm looking at this competition the way I looked at my sagging mutual funds portfolio this morning - I'm in it for the long haul. 15 weeks. It's only the end of week 1.

I refuse to engage in a ridiculous fad diet that will ultimately end in defeat once the competition is over. I worked out 4 times last week for 30 - 40 minutes. Nothing too strenuous because of my back, but I got off my butt. I guess I'm the tortoise - I believe slow and steady wins the race.

By the way, I exceeded my target for the week by one pound. I lost 4 and am down to 160.8 lbs.

In my mind, that's a huge success.

Until next Monday...........

The first weigh-in...

The Biggest Loser competition is officially underway. Today was the first weigh-in and boy, did I do a good job of trying to pack on a few extra pounds over the holidays. Let me explain my reasoning....I figured I probably didn't have enough to lose to win the contest, so I should bulk up before the first step on the scale. Well, it worked. I weighed in today at a bloated 164.8 pounds on my 5'7" frame!

I managed to put myself into the overweight category on the Body Mass Index (BMI). Normal weight is considered to be a BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9. I currently stand at 25.8. I'm going to have to drop about 6 pounds before I'm back to "normal".

I'll be honest, I feel lousy after all the comsumption I enjoyed over the holidays. I'm tired. I feel like someone glued a tire around my midsection. Even my "loose" jeans are now tight.

I have a few goals. My goal for week 1 is to lose 3 pounds. After that, I will be satisfied with a one pound per week loss. My long term goals are two-fold. My tier one goal is to lose 15 pounds by the end of the competition which is 15 weeks long. My really ambitious goal is to hit 140 pounds by the end of the competition. If I do, I have promised my husband a beach vacation in May.

Let the games begin!