Weight Loss Competition

So my friend did a weight loss competition that just ended a couple of days ago. I, having gained a lot of weight since Josh and I got married, decided, heck why not. It was 12 weeks long and $50 to join and then the prizes were broken down dependent on how many participants there were. 

1st prize-$700

2nd-$200

3rd-$100

There were a hefty list of rules we had to follow (ie. no medical intervention etc). I was set for the challenge. From the beginning I was determined to win. One girl kicked everyone's trash from the beginning and lost almost 12 pounds the first week... WTH???

I learned a lot of new things about my body. I am super sensitive to sodium. If I have anything super salty one day, then the day after I will weigh at least a pound more due to water retention. My body is also very sensitive to foods that have fat in it... (you are thinking duh) I mean, if I have more than 10 grams of fat a day I'm screwed... Carbs, however, were my best friend. If I ate a lot of carbs one day then the next day I was always down.

This competition was a great experience for me. There were some weeks where it was difficult, but overall it was not as hard as I thought it would be.

My meal plan usually resembled something like this:

Breakfast: Flat Belly Smoothie (Kale, pineapple, frozen blueberries, greek yogurt and coconut water)

Lunch: Chicken Salad (Romaine, Broiled chicken, salad toppings (by McCormick), and fat-free Balsamic Vinaigrette and a Banana.

Dinner: Whole grain pasta with sauce and then either broccoli, corn, or baked potato

Dessert: Yes I had dessert almost every night still. I am a big sweet-a-holic. If I would have cut out dessert I am sure I would have ended up binging and failing at this. I would typically have one scoop of Vanilla (no sugar added type) and then a light Cookies n Cream. There is also this awesome mug cake from the paleo diet that I would have on the nights I was really craving something chocolate.

So as you can see, overall my diet was fairly simple and I still got to eat yummy foods!!! There were obviously nights where I had something other than this for dinner, however, the carbs/fat/sodium counts were generally about the same. Then there were nights where we went out with friends and I ate good food but just had the condiments on the side and ate about 1/3 of the plate. One rule I always followed was to start with the veggies first. Eat the most healthy and then eat the rest that way I was filling up on the good stuff.

It was pretty easy to follow this and I am very proud of myself. I did not win, however I did come in 3rd place! 3rd out of 20 women!!!!! Pretty awesome if you ask me!

Here are my stats:

Start-

Weight-186.2

Waist-41.5

Finish-

Weight-157.0

Waist-33

I lost 29.8 pounds and 8.5 inches! I am so proud of myself. I did very well! I am glad it is over. 12 weeks is about as long as I could go without going crazy. I exercised a lot. Everyday I ride my bike to work and home and then on the weekends I would ride along the shore for about an hour. I think that was also a big factor in my success!

And now the moment you all have been "weighting" for! (did you catch the pun?? I came up with that on my own ;) )

My before and afters!!!

 

My friend is also organizing a turbo challenge to do for the 3 weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is only so we don't gain. It is $20 to enter and as long as you don't gain anything you get your money back. If you are interested let me know and I can hook you up with more details! After the first of the year we are doing another 12 weeker and I will definitely be doing that to keep the motivation to shed the last 17-20 pounds! If you want more info let me know!