Biggest Loser Results

After 8 weeks of competition, the Biggest Loser contest at work is complete. I was in first place for the first week, second place for the rest of the contest, except one week when I slipped to third place while I was on vacation and couldn't weigh in but went back to second place for the duration of the contest...until the final weigh in. We didn't have to weigh in at work on Week 7, which was good because I gained weight that week. After my final 8th week weigh-in, I finished in third place out of the 13 women in the contest. I only had to compete against the women but finished in 6th place out of the remaining 25 contestants. There were two others but one dropped out and the other got fired.

I lost 15 lbs over the course of 8 weeks. There were multiple ways I stayed successful and continued to lose weight and some facts about my 8 weeks:

• I eliminated all processed foods. I used to eat a Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice or Smart Ones for lunch every single day for years. No more. Everything that I eat (with exception of restaurants and some snacks) I now prepare. I have a salad and veggies every day and eat small amounts of protein for every meal or snack.
• I always made sure I was prepared. Whether it was cooking chicken or other protein, I made sure I had enough for the next day at lunch or another variation for the next dinner. It was sometimes time consuming to do this every day but it was worth it and now it's become a habit. I like knowing that I am controlling what I eat.
• I eliminated sugar. Sugar is the devil and will make you fat. I already have slightly elevated levels of triglycerides so this was important to me. I did treat myself to one piece of sugar free candy every night to keep myself from falling off the wagon and also to feed my chocolate addiction. :) I am curious as to how my tri's count will be come my next doctor's appointment in April.
• Overall, I followed a low-carb diet. I cut out the whites...refined foods, white flour, sugar, starchy (potatoes, rice), etc. These are the bad carbs that make you store fat instead of burning it.
• I ate low-carb bars and almonds for snacks. I have always liked almonds but now I've learned to love them. You just can't eat too many at one time. I also like a lot of the low carb bars. I bought Atkins bars mostly but another brand that I can't remember the name of also.
• I exercised but not very consistently. I did great in January but then was in Florida for 11 days, then got a cold and then I was off track. Never really picked it up much in the gym after that. I need to be more consistent with this.
• I lost a total of 12.75 inches off of my body between January 12th and February 28th (my last measurement). I am very glad I decided to measure myself since the scale was depressing some days.
• I'm fitting into clothes that I haven't for a long time. Yay!
• My journey isn't over. I have pledged to lose a certain amount of weight through the Pound for Pound Challenge. I have until June 30th to complete my goal. I have close to 16 more weeks to complete this goal. I will need to lose over 1 lb a week to make my pledged goal.
• Wish me luck!

Biggest Loser-The Finale

It's been a week since we weighed in for the biggest loser finale and to determine a winner.  There were people that lost a lot of weight, a little bit of weight and some that stayed the same.  Our HR peeps told us that we should be proud of ourselves as most of lost weight.  I don't know why it took for the HR chic to say it for me to realize, Yeah! I am proud.  I did lose weight. (I fall into the "a little bit of weight" category)  It was nice to be accountable but it's also nice to not have to be in the contest anymore.  I've actually dropped a couple more pounds since the contest ended so the pressure is off with the hope that I'll continue to try to lose weight, as slow as that may be.  

The winner of both the male and female were not the first place position from the week before. Both were ousted and new winners were crowned.  The female winner had not even been in first place the whole contest.  

I finished 11th place of 19, a little lower than I had hoped.  I was hoping to finish anywhere from 5-8th place.  

For the duration of the contest, the females lost almost 125 lbs and the guys lost almost 197 lbs for a total a little over 322 lbs!  What a great statistic!

Biggest Loser: Week 7 Weigh In

Hmmm, where to start...ok, I gained weight.  .85% to be exact.   What happened you say?  I'm not sure.  I worked out 5 days and walked 6.5 miles since last weigh in.  I ate relatively the same with a sneak of dark chocolate and some chips and salsa.  Even so, it should have minimal impact.  I am lucky that many others in the contest also didn't do as well.  There were many that didn't lose any weight at all and those that did, it was minimal.  Here's a good example...On week 1, we lost 87 lbs collectively of the 33 of us.  This week, we lost 9.2 lbs collectively.  Not very good!  I don't know if we're all sick of the contest or we're hitting a plateau or what but we're all in a slump.  We found out there is a twist in the contest.  We will not be weighing in next week.  We will be accountable for staying on track ourselves and we will all do our final weigh in on Tuesday, June 2nd. So, the results are below.  Even though I did gain, my first week doing so in the contest, I only slipped 2 places and I am in 10th place.

Here are results:

Total 1st place female: -9.42%- New Leader
Total 1st place male: -9.33%- New Leader
Total Me: -2.78%
# of people who did worse than me this week: 1 female and 3 males

# of people who gained or lost no weight this week: 10 females and 8 males
Average weight loss for week 7: -.21% female, -.09% male
Where I rank with the females: 10 of 19 (last week 8 of 19)
Total lost in lbs: 105.8 lbs for female, 139 lbs for male= 244.8 lbs total

Biggest Loser: Week 6 Weigh In

I did a lot better this week than last week, that's for sure. In fact, this week was the best weigh in that I've had since doing the contest. I lost 1.06% this week. Yay! I finally feel like my hard work is paying off. There were a few that had a big week too but I managed to move up from 11th place to 8th place. Now I would love to stay in the 5-8th place range through the remainder of the contest. Only 3 more weigh ins!

Here are results:

Total 1st place female: -7.70%- New Leader
Total 1st place male: -9.04%
Total Me: -3.60%
# of people who did worse than me this week: 15 females and 9 males
Average weight loss for week 6: -.31% female, -.56% male
Where I rank with the females: 8 of 19 (last week 11 of 19)
Total lost in lbs: 99.4 lbs for female, 136.2 lbs for male= 235.6 lbs total

Biggest Loser: Week 5 Weigh In

All I can say is I should have gotten my haircut like I suggested in last week's weigh in post.  I did not do good this week.  I lost a measly -.11%.  Bodies are weird.  I ate healthy the whole week, I worked out two times and I walked 14 miles.  I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing so even if the scale doesn't match my output, I am still becoming healthy.  I say this with the most positive attitude.  (I've already cried about it and the negativity is out of my system)  I slipped 1 spot this week to 11th.   It's Saturday and based on the scale this week, I'm not expecting great results on Tuesday either.  I am only 1 of 5 that I have lost weight each week.  I'm holding on to that positive stat for as long as I can. 

Here are results:

Total 1st place female: -7.09%- Same leader as last week
Total 1st place male: -7.13%
Total Me: -2.57%
# of people who did worse than me this week: 4 females and 5 males
Average weight loss for week 5: -.50% female, -.38% male
Where I rank with the females: 11 of 19 (last week 10 of 19)

Total lost in lbs: 89.8 lbs for female, 119 lbs for male= 208.8 lbs total 

Biggest Loser: Week 4 Weigh In

Today I weighed in for the biggest loser contest at work. My results were as I expected....not the greatest. I did lose weight and I should be thankful for any weight loss because that at least means I'm doing something right but it wasn't enough to keep me in the 8th position. I slipped back to 10th place with my measly weight loss percentage of -.42%. Let's just say it wasn't the best week because my "monthly bill" arrived. (Sorry, guys) I did some evaluating of the results throughout the weeks and I did notice that I am only 1 of 5 people that have lost weight each week. Everyone else has gained weight on at least one of the weeks. I can be happy about that. I'm giving blood again tomorrow. I wish I could have given blood on Monday. That's a pint (16 oz which is 1 lb) less of me! Ok, I don't know if 16 fluid ounces equates to 1 lb or not but I'm trying anything I can here. Maybe I'll tell my body to not "make" any more blood until the next Wednesday. Maybe I'll get my haircut next Monday night. That has to be a few ounces, right?

Here are results:

Total 1st place female: -6.22%- I should have mentioned this earlier but we have changed leaders 3 times since we started for the females
Total 1st place male: -6.14%--Changed leaders but not sure how many times
Total Me: -2.47%
# of people who did worse than me this week: 8 females and 6 males
Average weight loss for week 4: -.43% female, -.39% male
Where I rank with the females: 10 of 19 (last week 8 of 19)

Biggest Loser: Week 3 Weigh In

I weighed in last Tuesday for week 3 of our contest but we didn't get the results until Wednesday afternoon.  Let's recap the prior week's results: I was 13 out of 19 and had lost a total of 1.24%.   This week I weighed in and lost .83% for a total weight loss of 2.06%.  With my results, I was able to move up to 8th place.  Not only that, there are 2 people tied for 7th place and I need to lose .02% to tie them.  I am very happy with my results as there were only 3 other people who lost a bigger % than I did.  This week has proved challenging though with my plan.  I have been doing what I'm supposed to be doing but the weight is coming off so slowly.  Despite trying very hard, I need to step up my game a little bit more for working out.  

I weigh in again on Tuesday.  I'm crossing my fingers my results are good enough to move up the ranks again.  

Total 1st place female: -5.12%

Total 1st place male: -5.11%

Total Me:  -2.06%

# of people who did worse than me this week: 14 females and 5 males

Average weight loss for week 3: -.16% female, -1.03% male

Where I rank with the females: 8 of 19  (last week 13 of 19) 

A few of you have asked me what I have been doing to lose weight.  I plan on doing a more detailed post but here is an overview of what I am doing.  

-I eat 1,200-1,400 calories a day, depending on if I exercise that day.

-I am counting calories only for weight loss but am reading nutrition labels for everything

-I am working out at least 3-4 times a week.  I do mostly cardio (treadmill, bike, elliptical-30-35 minutes a day) with a little bit of strength training (I need to do more)

-I am watching my sugar intake and trying not to eat sweets

-I eat plenty of vegetables and really pushing myself to eat fruit (I like fruit but I just don't reach for/crave it naturally)

-I try and eat lots of protein.  I eat chicken, LOTS of turkey and cottage cheese as my main sources of protein. 

-I drink water, decaf green tea or 10 calorie vitamin water only.  No pop or juice and an occasional alcoholic drink.

Biggest Loser: Week 2 Weigh In

I weighed in again this past Tuesday at work for the biggest loser contest.  I tried very hard this week (or so I thought) and I came up not that big of a winner, (or loser actually) but am very consistent.  I lost the exact same percentage as last week, -.62%.  Considering this was Easter weekend and treats and food all over the place, I think I did ok.  More people gained this week than last and I would imagine it was because of Easter.  Overall, everyone lost much less weight (%) than the first week.  I am posting these statistics which kind of embarrass me because I am not doing the best but I want to keep at it and see my improvement.  I never cared about winning the money but I would love to finish between 5-8th place if not better.  We'll see.  Here are the statistics for everyone this week: 

Total 1st place female: -4.51%

Total 1st place male: -3.76%

Total Me:  -1.24%

# of people who did worse than me this week: 6 females and 4 males

Average weight loss for week 2: -.49% female, -.63% male

Where I rank with the females: 13 of 19  (last week 15 of 19)  Remember, I am only competing against females.

Total weight lost for week 2 collectively: 

Female: 15.2 lbs

Male: 19.8 lbs

Total weight lost since start: 119 lbs

Slow and steady wins the race?!  Maybe that's me.

Biggest Loser: Week 1 Weigh In

33 of us all weighed in at work yesterday after our first week of the Biggest Loser challenge. I am happy to say I did lose a little bit of weight but we are competing against the percentage of weight lost, which for me was a measly -.62%. I am happy with any weight loss result but I am going to strive to do better for next week. I was not at the bottom of the list for the women who lost weight (or even the men for that matter) at least. There were 3 women and 2 men that stayed the same and 1 woman and 2 men that gained weight. The highest percentage of weight lost for women was 3.41% and for men, 2.93%. Between the 33 of us, we started at a weight of 6,361.8 lbs! Isn't that crazy? After week 1, we have lost 84 lbs collectively!