Winner, Winner!!

1st place

Jill Papa with a 9.29% weight lost.

2nd palce

Brigette Matheson with a 7.49% weight lost.

3rd place

Alisha Wyatt with a 6.02% weight lost.

Results...

Jill 8.57
Brigette 6.02
Alisha 5.98
Shanna 5.65
Karlee 5.58
Kanna 4.48
Heidi 3.0

There are 11 days left! Keep up the hard work. After our last weigh in on the 21st I will go back and get the names of the people who turned in their %'s most consistently. Those will be the people in the running for all the dough :)

Results...

Jill- 7.86
Brigette-5.94
Alisha- 5.08
Jamie- 4.22
 Melissa- 3.99
Dustin- 3.67
Teri- 2.08
Heidi- 1.8
Ashley- 1.57

Chelsea-no change
Amy- no change
Alicia- no change
Holly- no change

We end on the 21st of this month! Good luck ladies. I thought I would try and see how just counting calories and working out would work for the first 30 days and well.... not so much. I didn't loose a darn thing. So I'm kicking it up for the next 30 days. I started South Beach yesterday. No carbs or sugar for 2 weeks. Instead of going to the gym 2 times a week I'll be going 3 plus riding my stationary bike on off days. What are you guys doing???

Results...

Jill 7.14!!!!
Brigette 5.94!!
Karlee 4.09
Alisha 3.94
Jamie 3.61
Melissa 3.24
Shanna 3.04
Kazan 2.68
Misty .87

Holly- no change
Heidi-no change
Dustin-no change
Alisha-no change
Kenna-no change
Amy-no change
Kasey-no change
Here are all the results for the last two weeks :) Way to go people! There are less than 30 days left. It's time to kick it into gear. Good luck ladies!

Please remember to send me your stats on time. This is a compilation of the last 2 weeks.

A little more

Everyone is probably a little tired about talking food. I am an information gatherer so I love to inquire and get insights into how people make things work in their lives. A couple of more things regarding food and then I will move onto other things next week.
1. Planning. It is super hard to change on a whim. Sset yourself up for success by planning for it. Mentally plan your food for the day when you get up so you don't grab a candy bar for lunch because you didn't make time to prepare a good meal. Prepare a list of healthy snacks and put it on the fridge so that you can skim that when you feel hungry. You can even go as far as making snacks bag for the go. If you are a super busy person than portion out your veggies or crackers or whatever into smaller bags so you can quick throw them in your purse as you head out the door.
2. A tool that has helped me is a website called eMeals. It is a menu planner. It is $5 a month and you get a 7-day dinner meal plan. I LOVE this site. I came across the site because I was struggling trying to find dinners to make for my carb-conscious hubby. My thinking when we first got married was 'how can you not have carbs with a meal?' My answer came by way of this website. You can choose a menu-plan that works best for your family. There is low-carb, low-fat, clean eating, gluten free, etc. I didn't use every recipe for the week. I used it like a supplement to my own stuff. The recipes were super easy with minimal ingredients. We have actually found some new favorite things to eat because of it. If you are struggling with what to make for dinner I would check this site out. At one time I had a monthly menu. I am so much more likely to cook at home when I have something down on paper that I can follow.
3. Ask people around you. If there is someone at work or church that is super fit or has lost weight, ask them questions. Find out what has worked for them.
Good luck!

What to eat....

That seems to be the question of the day, everyday, in my house! I loved Alicia's post below... I too am a "MyFitnessPal groupie", and love every gosh darn thing about it. I have lost 25lbs that way, and hope to continue! What I love about counting calories is that I can still have my loved Peanut M&M's. However, I know that just a few of them carry a lot more calories than an apple for example. So counting calories allows me to make better choices knowing that if I chose something on the healthy side, I can have a lot more of it. So in the spirit of making good eating choices, and that nagging "what to eat" question, here are a few of my favorite go-to snacks that make me feel like I am getting someething super wonderful without the calorie guilt:)

1. Any celery lovers out there (I understand it is not for everyone), but if you are a fan then here you go! Grab a couple sticks of celery, slap on some 35 calorie wedge Laughing Cow cheese, sprinkle a little Lowery's Season Salt, wrap in low fat turkey. This is so yummy! This is a staple lunch for me most days!

2. Breakfast is a tricky one for me because my mornings (who am I kidding, my entire day) are CRAZY! But, I know that if I eat a good breakfast I am more inclined to eat better throughout the day. My fav breakfast by far is as simple as it gets. 2 Eggo Whole Grain Waffles with a container of lite yougurt on top! YUM-O! I honestly feel like I am getting something so creamy and bad for me, but it's major good!

3. My beloved Sugarfree Fudgsicles... whatever would I do without you. Grab 2 of those bad boys for only 80 calories. It really is heaven when you are on a diet:)

4. My all time favorite, low calorie, late night snack.....POPCORN! Jolly Time Healthy Pop White Popcorn is my popcorn of choice. LOVE!!! And so darn low in calories, sometimes I really eat the whole bag:)

So there you have it! Diets do not have to be miserable. There are plenty of things to enjoy.

Result...

Chelsea-no loss
Heidi-no loss
Teri-no loss
Amy-no loss
Alisha-no loss
Karlee-no loss
Brigette -4.41%
Jill -2.86%
Kazan-2.78%
Shanna 2.61%
Jamie-2.41%
Kenna-2.4%
Dustin- 1.47%
Holly-1.33%

Please send in your results by Sunday night so your stats will be put up on Monday.

You Are What You Eat

...At least that is how the saying goes right?
My name is Alicia and I asked Heidi if I could help contribute to this blog/weight loss challenge. I recently lost 15 lbs on my own get healthy/weight loss adventure. I have 3 boys. The youngest is 18 months old. I am nurse. After our 3rd was born I decided to try out the ol' stay at home mom thing. It has its DAILY struggles, but overall I love being home with my kids. I love to read and craft. Pinterest is now apart of my daily life. I love exercise but am not always perfect at doing it and I LOVE LOVE LOVE food!
First off I want to say congrats to all of you because you recognize that there are things in your life that need to change. Whether you win this competition or not, you are already on the path to success because you are wanting to take steps to become more healthy.
I am a big fan of food and that is why I would like to discuss it today. It is only one of the many parts to becoming healthier and losing weight. There are many ways to approach a change in diet when you want to shed pounds. As Heidi mentioned before she likes the South Beach Diet. I don't know much about it, but I am sure she can answer any questions you have. Weight Watchers in another effective way to lose weight. My hubby's aunt lost 160 lbs doing Weight Watchers and has kept most of it off. I am not going to list all of them, but my point is that there are a lot of tools out there and it is important to find the one that works well for you. I struggled for about 9 months on my journey to find something that fit me and my lifestyle. I met a lady at church that talked to me about calorie counting with myfitnesspal. She had lost 30 pounds counting calories. She ate Oreos and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups on a daily basis and was still losing weight! WHAT!? Sign me up!! Little did I know it would become a new passion of mine.
I am now down 15 pounds because I joined the myfitnesspal groupies. That is the calorie counter I use. I did not lose the weight I wanted until I started counting calories. I am a very type A personality so keeping track of what I eat on a daily basis is right up my alley. :) Plus it has an app for my iPhone that makes logging a breeze.  It makes sense to me. If you take in less calories than what you burn, you will lose weight. A negative balance meant a movement on the scale for me. AND I could still eat kind of what I wanted to eat. And I had friends supporting me along the way. It is kind of like a Facebook for weight loss. You have friends in the system and they can see what you log whether it is food or exercise. It totally helps with the accountability thing and every time you lose weight people see it immediately and congratulate you on it which only helps to perpetuate the cycle.
I have told a lot of people about it and some people it fits perfectly with how they want to monitor their eating and with others not so much. My sister has lost 16 lbs doing it and a couple of other friends 19 lbs and 14 lbs. Pretty cool, right?!
A couple of other features I love are you can put your recipes into the system and it will tell you how many calories are in a serving. For example, my mom's recipe for fruit pizza has 166 calories per serving. I ate some for dessert last night. As I said before I still can't eat everything I want. It definitely puts certain things in moderation. I could have eaten the whole fruit pizza last night but that would have meant I could not have had anything else to eat yesterday.
Another thing I love is whatever calories you burn while exercising (there is a calculator in there for that too) you can eat in calories. I love my food so I try to exercise everyday because 1200 calories is not enough to feed this girl! If the hubby and I want to go out to eat for date night, we decide early in the day so I know how much I can eat throughout the day to have enough calories for later that night or I know how much exercise I need to do in order to have enough left to eat what I want to eat that night. I also scope out the menu. Most restaurants have nutrition info listed online so I will go and take a peek to see what I can eat before we go. One time for Girls Night Out we were going to Cheesecake Factory (WARNING: if you need to lose weight do NOT go into this restaurant without planning ahead! Most entree items have at least 900 calories. Even the salads are around 1200 calories. YIKES!). I went online and decided what I wanted and knew that I could eat half that night and save the other half for my lunch the next day. It really is all about planning. AND if you fail to plan you plan to fail, right?!
Okay, enought about that. Can you tell I love it?! If you think it would work for you go to their website at www.myfitnesspal.com and join. My username is akurzawski so look me up and we can be friends!
If that doesn't sound like something you would like, take a look what you are eating and pick something that you can cut down or eliminate entirely. For instance soda. I am not a soda drinker, but my hubs is so I know that it is refreshing for lots of people out there. So maybe cut down to one a day or  3 a week. If your family eats white bread and white rice maybe try switching to more things with whole grains. Or add in more fruits and veggies. If you are a family that eats out a lot (and believe me we have our times when the drive-thru lady at Taco Bell knows me by name) maybe pick 2 meals to plan and eat at home. Baby steps are definitely better than no steps at all!
Hope this helps! Happy eating!

Alicia

Comfort Food...

My go to diet is the South Beach Diet. It is the only thing that really works for me. It is hard to cut out carbs and sugar but there are lots of other options on SB diet. One thing I miss on any diet is Mexican food and warm food. Salads are a diet staple but you can only eat so many cold salads before you crave "real" food. I found this recipe a few years back and it is awesome. It hits the spot for warm, Mexican food that I miss while dieting. 

 

Click here for the recipe. This whole site is awesome for South Beach recipes.

It's a wash...

So I'm reading through all my results for week two and it seems as though most or you did as well as me... Or shall I say the holiday weekend took a toll on the scale. I am impressed that many of you kept it together so well! Way to go! So we're calling it a wash. I won't be posting all the results this week. Work hard this week! Or at least what is left of it ;)

The weekend...

Oh dear, the weekend was not good to my waist line :) I went camping with my wonderful family. My family loves to make yummy camping food. So for me it is back to square one. Sense it was a holiday weekend it will take me a bit to get this weeks results in. Please send me how you did this past week! Hopefully it was better then me. Just as an FYI send me your over all percentage each week. That means as you calculate your loss each week start with you very beginning weight and use your current weight to get your percentage. Hopefully that make sense! I will have the results up this evening.   

Week one results...

Great job everyone! Keep up your hard work. If you didn't send me your results this week, you're not out. Send it in asap.

*sorry if I spell your name wrong :)

1. Bridgette 3.67%
2. Dustin 2.61%
3. Chelsea 2.33%
4. Karlee 2.16%
5. Casey R. 1.69%
6. Shanna 1.52%
7. Jennifer 1.51%
8. Melissa 1.43% tie for 8th Jill 1.43%
9. Teri 1.39%
10. Heidi 1.38%
11. Ashlee 1.33%
12. "Kay" Clark 1.28%
13. Jamie 1.2%
14. Shanna C. .87%
15. Holy .67%

 No Change/Gain-Misty, Alisha, Tracy, Jessica, Amy,

This is my big brother :) he is joining us on our 60 day:
Starting 214, Today 209  %2.34  I got down to 207 but the weekend was tough!
Sorry for no Blurb on myself, I'll just stay behind the scenes as the only boy:)

More...

• My name is Jill.  I am Heidi's older sister that nobody knows exists.  Seriously, when people greet my parents after not seeing them for a while, they ask about all of the Merrill children/accomplishments -- and then say something like, "And you have an older daughter, too, right?"  Ha ha.  :)  All joking aside, I've always been more on the quiet side {with exceptions} and less likely to participate in anything like this as to not draw attention to myself.  BUT, I wanted to accomplish this, even if I don't win.  I can definitely stand to loose some extra around the middle and this little challenge will be great motivation.  I asked a friend to join me, and she said, "Na, I'm not really a good dieter" which got me thinking; neither am I.  So this isn't a diet--it's a change in the right direction.   I hope I can loose 10 pounds in 60 days, but if not, I will have made a habit to do and be better with my health and fitness. (Not true, everybody knows Jill :)
• My goal is to work out 3 times a week, run 3 miles without stopping,   That should help me drop the extra 10-15 I have in my middle, and get me ready for a triathlon!!  Oh, and feel much better about myself!
• My name is Ashley and I am 29 years old. I have 2 incredible little boys and an awesome hubby who I love to death. I for one growing up didn't ever think I would have to struggle with weight until I had kids!! I know everyone feels my pain lol! After I had my first son I never got all of the baby weight off and after my second son it was all still there! Now that I am thinking of having a third baby I know that if I don't get my butt back into shape its only going to get worse! I really have no excuses at all since my hubby is a personal trainer and I myself was a licensed trainer as well :-/ Pathetic? Yes I know :) My husband and I even owned our own personal training gym in Utah but when your a mom with 2 kids at home the last thing you do is put yourself first, but I have realized that if I don't then I will never be the type of wife and mom that I want to be. I have always wanted to help others get their lives back on track and so now I feel is the time to do it myself even if it is only the 10 pounds or so that I want to lose....besides, if not now, when?
  
  
  Starting weight: 126
  Body fat: 24%
• My name is Melissa Priest. I am married to Alex and we  have two boys (Ben is 13, and John is 11). I am a SAHM and volunteer. In my spare time, I love to scrapnook and run. I began running in April and found that I truly enjoy it! I have a goal of participating in a Triathlon before I turn 35. My starting weight is 160.6 lbs. I will be updating my blog on Mondays with my progress, if you'd like to follow along! www.melissapriest.com
• My name is Shawna and I am a mother of three and have 6 grandchildren. I recently moved from Utah about a year ago with my daughter and her family and am very slowly adjusting to the AZ heat :) I love more than anything to be with my family especially my grandchildren. They are the light of my life. I was born in raised in Holladay, Utah. I love to be outdoors and camping with my family is one of my favorite things. I am at the point in my life where I am tired of always struggling with my weight and It only gets harder as you get older. I am ready to get back into shape and to be able to be more active with my family and enjoy life to its fullest.Starting weight: 208
  Body fat: 43%
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Stay tuned...

Results from the first week will be up in the morning!

An introduction & Our Potential.....

Hi There! I am Ashley, and I will be helping Heidi just a bit with this 60 day Challenge! I am so excited! Just a little bit about me.... I am 29 years old, married to my biggest fan (most of the time), and have 3 sweet girls. I work, started up a little business on the side, have a busy church calling, taxi driver, chef, maid, I do it all. I recently lost 30 lbs., and was training for my first 1/2 marathon. In the few weeks before my race I tore my quad muscle, and that has put me on the sidelines for the last 5 months. During that time I have put back on 10 lbs. NO MORE! I am still rehabbing my leg, and not released to do too much yet, but I am definitely getting there.I want to master the 1/2 marathon. This challenge is just what the doctor ordered:)

I LOVE this picture! Like I mentioned before... I am BUSY, we all are! But if we are too busy to realize all the potential and power we hold, not only are we missing out, but so are those around us! So lets do this.... let's discover our beauty, potential, power! Lets have a GREAT week!!! What Power do you want to discover?

A few more to add...

• My name is Shanna and I am 29 years old! I am almost to that wonderful age of 30 and I am feeling it. I have been married for 7 1/2 years. I have twin boys who are 4 and a sweet baby girl that is almost 8 months. I am having a hard time losing that stubborn 10 pounds after this last baby. And I want to lose 5 pounds from before I got pregnant, so my goal is 15 pounds!! This is a great motivation and I have already been working hard.  Starting weight is 169.
• Hi I am Casey, I am almost 33 and I am a stay at home mom of three awesome kiddos. My oldest is my son who is 13, my middle child (daughter) is 12, and my youngest (daughter) is 3.5. I am 5'6" and weighing in at 178lbs.  I gained a lot more weight with my 3.5 yr old and have only lost 22 lbs in the last three years. I do eat pretty healthy, love my veggies, fruits, chicken and fish, and whole wheat pasta but I also love candy.  This year I have been working hard to keep myself off of sugar which I  have cut down drastically but have my occasional limit of 3 red vines or 10 skittles and yet I have maintained my weight. So I decided to join this to give myself someone to answer to, so to speak. Make myself get more active and to take a "ME" break from my mini me, to workout. I hope to get back down to my pre-pregnancy weight of 140, 135 would be ideal for me. But I would definitely just be happy if I was at a healthier weight range for my build which is between 129-145. Since I eat pretty healthy, limited sugar, very little red meat, limited carbs, lots of veggies, fruits, chicken, and fish, I think for me I will be watching my intake and working out 3-5 days a week. 
• My name is Shanna Vineyard and I’m a 39 year old work at home momma.  Life is crazy trying to keep up with everything and I’ve “let myself go” over the years as I’ve put everyone else’s needs ahead of my own.  Well…..  It’s time to manage my time and schedule more efficiently as well as my diet and exercise routine.  My goal is to be “FIT By Forty”.   My kids are old enough now that I want to be playing soccer, volleyball and basketball WITH them…. Not just watching them so that’s the real motivation for me.  Of course as well as looking and feeling better!  Looking forward to the next 60 days.   http://healthyandfitbyforty.blogspot.com/
• Hi! My name is Allison Alexander.  I am married and have 2 boys ages 10 and 12.  I have struggled with my weight for years and want to get it off once and for all.  I am a fast food addict.  I can honestly say that is why I'm "fat".  I know the right foods to eat, but the drive thru is always easier.  I've lost the same 25 pounds each year for the past 3 or 4 years but have always gained it back.  I'm excited to participate in this challenge with all of you...it will be nice not to feel "alone" through this journey. My starting weight (I can't believe I'm saying it) is 226.

Even more...

• I am Heidi. I am 28 years old. I have been married to my best friend for 7 years and we have 3 beautiful children. My youngest will turn 1 in October and I am determined to have my body back by then. When I started working out after I had her I was 174. I lost 18 pounds and got stuck. I started this challenge to motivate me to loose my last 10 pounds. My staring weight is 159.2.
• Hi, I'm Tracy. 174.5 is my starting weight.. morning of 08/21 I am the mother of 2, a 20 year old son and a 15 year old daughter.I have been married for almost 22 years… My husband is active duty air force and we have been stationed here at Luke for 12 years. In two weeks we will be going to Hawaii for a week to celebrate our 22^nd anniversary ( so I might miss one week of sending my results)Weight has always been an issue with me. I do the typical yo-yo thing and really want to get into better habits instead of “dieting” off and on.I am excited to be able to join a group for encouragement and support.
• My Name is Jamie Smith, I'm 26 years old. I have been married for 7 years now to my husband Brady. We have a 2 year old son named Cole, he is the light of my life and he gives me reason to live a good life and always do my best! I have always been a little over weight. I was always the friend that was the biggest. In 2004 I started Weight Watchers and lost 30lbs in 6 month. In 2005 I got married and we both gained weight. I got pregnant in 2009 with my son and gain a lot of weight during my pregnancy, most of it was water weight. I became really swollen and even got hives at the end of my pregnancy. I had a lot problems during my pregnancy and even after with my body my blood pressure, my back etc. I would like to loose at least 50lbs. I want to be healthier and want to be able to have more kids and a better pregnancy next time. My starting weight is 210.
• My name is Megan. I am a mom of 5 kids, ranging in age from 18 to 2. My husband is in the military.  We are currently stationed in Washington DC.  I keep super busy with my kids, homeschooling my 6 year old, and being a full time student.  Unfortunately I have put taking care of myself on the back burner for way too many years. I have made a commitment to myself to start taking better care of ME. This challenge is exactly what I need to motivate me. My starting weight is 207.  
• My name is Jamie.  I am 34, and a single mother raising 3 girls on my own.  About a year and a half ago, I lost 65 pounds and it is a constant battle to keep it off.  I think I have put back on 20 pounds over the past year.  I am excited to have this to help motivate me again... whatever works, right? My starting weight is 166.
•  Hello, I am Alisha. I live in showlow az.  I am married and have three girls(two 6yr olds and a 3 yr old.)  I am excited about the weight challenge!!!  My beginning weight is 153.8
• My Name is Jenn Roth, I have been Married for 8 years and have a 6 and a 3 year old. I stayed home with Brianna the 1st 2 years and my weight got out of control because I sat home and didn't get out much and didn't eat well.. Now I am working a desk job and again sit all day so I needed the motivation to get me started on my weight loss journey!!!
  
  

How are you doing...

I, for one, had a bad diet day. I think it is important remember that a weight loss journey does not happen over night. That there will be bad days and good days. Just remember that just because you had a bad day doesn't mean that the next day has to be the same. Don't give up!

Photo credit

More participants...

• My name is Brigette, I am 30 years old.  I have been married for 7 years and have 3 amazing kids!  I love candy so this may be a bit difficult.  I have about 12lbs I'd like to get rid of since having my last little one!  So here goes!  Good luck to us all! Starting weight 136.2
• My name is Jessica, I'm 28, married to my best friend and high school sweet heart for almost 11 years.  I'm a stay at home Mom of 3 kids... My oldest two Maci (10) and Kernan (6) are in school all day and my youngest, McKenna, was born in April.  I'm actually weighing less then when I became pregnant last year, but wasn't happy with my weight then... I'd like to loose 20 or so pounds!  We are taking family pictures with my side of the family in October, my 10 year reunion is in October and I'm running my first 5k in October!  So this 60 day challenge is a great plus to my October goal!! Ü  My starting weight is 158lbs.
• My name is Noelani. I just turned 40...ughh, I have had five children and can't seem to loose my last 20lbs.  Trust me when I say it is so much harder the older you get.  I have never struggled like I am to keep the weight off. I am 5' 10" and weigh 145lbs.  I know many think that is perfect, but I have the bone structure of a 12 year old :0.  On paper is a lot different, than person. 
• Hi everyone! My name is Kenna and I am 33 years old. I have 4 amazing, beautiful children. I have gained a lot of weight since my first child was born almost 9 years ago, gaining and loosing a little here and there, never loosing it all before I would get pregnant again. This being my last baby and him being 6 months old already and dealing with all the added stress in my life. With having an infant and going through a divorce, I just find it hard to have much motivation other than to just function. Then I saw that my cousin Heidi was doing this challenge to help motivate herself and others, I thought, it is about time you get in shape and loose some much needed weight. My current weight is 208. 
• Hi Guys - this is Kay: I am 42 years old married, with two little girls (6&8)!  I moved to the States from South Africa 14 years ago and slowly but surely my weight just piled on and then I had babies on top of that too!!!  Last year I managed to lose a lot of weight (30lbs) but once off the diet gained 15 which I would LOVE to get rid of before 15 becomes 20 becomes 30 and then back to square 1 *lol*.  My goal for this challenge is MINUS 15-20 lbs!!!  Yikes that is a lot in 60 days :)  I am 5'8 and as of this morning weigh: 186.8  Good luck to everyone - can't wait to be a loser!
  
  

Do something everyday...

I know that it is hard to get to the gym, put on running shoes or pop in an exercise video. I for one to not work out really hard everyday. 3 days a week I take group classes at the gym. They are great and I love them but I don't have the time to do that every day. So here is a great, small workout for the days you don't get in a full work out. Do this when you get up, before you get in the shower or before you go to bed at night. Doing something everyday will help you on your weight loss journey!

credit

If you did not receive an email from me today please send and email address so you can keep updated!

There are tons of people interested and lots of emails coming in. If I missed you I am sorry, we can get things worked out.

Meet a few participants...

I will be adding these as I get them, for now here are a few of our competitors!

• My name is Karlee. I am 36 and have 2 beautiful daughters and the most handsome little boy.  I have been trying to lose the last 10 lbs of "baby weight" since Clint was born...well here we are 3 1/2 years later and I still have that baby weight + some!  So I thought since everything else I've tried in the last 3 years hasn't been successful it was time for a change!! :)  This challenge came at a perfect time.
   My starting weight is 157.6
• My name is Dustin, I am a 33 year old stay at home mom.  I have two boys Braden (4) and Ethan (1).  My husband Greg, is my greatest supporter and best friend.  He is almost as excited about me doing this challenge as I am!  I am just now starting to enjoy going to the gym and have signed up for multiple fun runs this fall!! I look forward to working my butt off literally!!  My starting weight is 199.
• My name is Misty, I am 33 years old. I've been married to my awesome husband for almost 9 years. We only have one child, a 2 year old boy named Izzac. He's the craziest yet most wonderful 2 year old every! I have a degree in graphic design and work for an LDS jewelry company called Ringmasters. I am the main product designer and design all of the printed material for Ringmasters. I also run a small side business doing graphic design (check it out if you'd like http://www.etsy.com/shop/beeskneesdesignshop) I hope to be a stay at home mom and do my side business. I have struggled with my weight my entire life, and got really bad after having my son (postpartum depression). I have been working on losing weight since last Dec. and am almost down 70lbs. My goal is to loose 40-50 more pounds and then try for a second baby. I had gestational diabetes with my first pregnancy and would really like to avoid that this time around!!! My starting weight is  234lbs.
• My name is Teri. I’m 34 years old and married to a very supportive husband. Through our 8.5 years of marriage, we’ve had 4 beautiful daughters, the last of which was born this last March. I make a real effort to feed my family healthy meals & keep them active & it’s time I try harder to follow that advice. I want to look & feel younger than I do now & have for a long time. I’m so excited to jump into this new routine with this 60 day challenge. As much as I want the money, I’m definitely looking at this contest as a win win. My starting weight is 144 lbs. 
• Hi, my name is Rebecca McKinstry. My starting weight is 176 lbs. I'm
  5' 6" and currently wearing a size 14. I'm a stay at home mom with a
  small part time career on the side. I have two boys, Dale 4 and Aden
  1. My husband just started working for a Trucking company and I'll be
  alone with the kids for long periods of time. We do plan on having
  more children. So, my main goal is to get back to my pre-baby weight
  before getting pregnant again. I was ten pounds shy of my goal before
  becoming pregnant with Aden and this time I think I'm gonna make my
  goal before he turns 2. This challenge is just what I need to motivate
  me to break through the plateau I'm currently stuck at. The money
  would be nice. However, I really need the support and encouragement
  more.
• My name is Holly, I am 34, happily married with three kids. I enjoy working out and running, but I also love food. That is the problem. I need to eat better so that my kids will too. Staring weight 150 pounds.
• My name is Chelsea Coon and I am 24 years old. I am a wife of 5 years to an amazing husband and I have 2 perfect little kids, one boy who is 3 named Preston and my baby girl Lylah who is turning 1 next month. I have been struggling with my weight since having my kids and I was so excited about this challenge because I think it will be the motivation I have needed! I will be skinny again!!! ;)
  My starting weight is : 163 lbs 
  
  

Welcome...

60 day Participants,

My name is Heidi, if you don't know me :). I am 28 years old, married to my best friend for 7 years and the proud mother of 3 beautiful children. I started this challenge for a few reasons. Number one being that I lack motivation unless I am held accountable. I would really like to loose my last 10 pounds before my little baby turns 1. That is where I came up with the 60 days. Then I thought, heck, lets see how many other women would join me. I am always motivated by money so that's where the $10 came from. So 60Day participants, here are the rules, details, info, whatever you want to call it...

• You must get me your $10 by Monday, September 3. Cash or check is fine. If you send a check, I will not cash it until the challenge is over. You can post-date it to make it work. Please send/give me the money with your name on a sheet of paper so I can keep track of who has paid. 
• If I have not received your money by September 3 you will be dropped. 
• There will be a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. These numbers are based off of 23 participants. $150 for first, $50 for second and $30 for third place. I don't know about you but that is worth it for me!
• Weighing in- This is all up to you. We are working on the honor system, so please, no cheating! You will be required to send in your stats every week. By stats I mean pounds -/+ and over all percentage.  This is an easy link to calculate your %        
• http://www.fitwatch.com/qkcalc/calculate-weight-loss-percentage.html
• I will be posting both of these stats every week. To make this successful, please, please, please participate!!
• I am doing this for fun. I do not want to have to pester anyone for these numbers. If you repeatedly skip sending me your stats you will be dropped from the challenge and loose your $10.
• The winner will be announced October 21st. I will mail/give out the winners prize money that week.  

I am willing to take more participants through this week. The competition starts tomorrow and you will need to send me a starting weight and little info paragraph about yourself by Wednesday of this week. From then on you will need to send me your stats by Sunday night each week. Again, I am doing this for fun. I do not want to have to pester anyone for these numbers. If you repeatedly skip sending me your stats you will be dropped from the challenge and loose your $10.

                      

Just one more thing... Please be safe dieters and exerciser :) As much as we would all love to win the money the most important thing is your health. Please don't do anything drastic that will compromise your health. This is also a non judgmental challenge. No one here cares how much you weigh, how much you want to loose or if you have bad week and gain weigh back. We are all here to support each other on our own personal goals!

If you know of anyone else who would like to join this week please send am email address.