And it starts now!

Yesterday the contest started.  Many people showed up paid their money and are committing themselves to a new and healthier lifestyle.  So far we have 19 paid participants.  So unless others still join in the next week (yes, if you know of others that still want to join, they have this week to do so.) The prize money will be distributed as follows:

1st Place $400

2nd Place $250

3rd Place $150

4th Place $100

Participation prize $50

A quick explanation of how you can win the participation prize.  To be eligible for this prize, you need to have NOT placed in the top 4, you need to make it to at least 10 out of the 12 weigh ins, and you cannot have gained additional weight from your first weigh in.  At the time of money distribution anyone that meets these requirements will put their name in a drawing and the first place winner will draw it out.  If any of you are confused, just ask me questions next Saturday when I see you. There is alot of money to be earned so I hope everyone stays motivated!

If you've ever wondered why some people are able to shed those pounds and keep them off, it's probably because they know the five secrets to lasting weight loss...and now so do you.
1. They eat breakfast
2. They eat fruit and/or vegetables with each meal
3. They have protein with each meal and snack
4. They're physically active
5. They plan their meals, their snacks, and their exercise.

WEEKLY CHALLENGE

This weeks challenge is to journal.  This means to write down everything that you eat good or bad.  This will help you look back on your days and know where you need to improve or add different food items.   Maybe your goal is to keep track and do not exceed a calorie maximum. A great website for calorie counting is calorieking.com.   All you do is click on the food, search, and then enter the food you have eaten and follow the prompts to figure out the calories.  For those that have a IPhone or IPad, a free app that I use and love is Calorie Counter by FatSecret.  This will truly help you in your success to shed those pounds.  Oh, by the way what are you playing for?  A new water bottle because later in the contest this will come in handy!

One last thing, in my last contest everyone wrote down what they would do with the money if they won it.  This was really fun to post and great goals to work towards.  I would like to do that next time, so be thinking of that and come prepared to write it down.

Looking forward to a great weigh in next week. If I didn't take your photo yesterday, please remind me to do so.  It's so fun to see the before and afters!