It’s been a long time coming. The 10-Pound Challenge officially ended April 9th, and while the winners were contacted and received their prizes, I haven’t gotten around to an update because well…I was hoping I’d have more to report.
First, I want to congratulate the winners:
Grand Prize: $75 Paypal Cash
Biggest Loser Prize: $5 Amazon Gift Card
Ali from Rap to Records and the bonus winner of the Biggest Loser Prize!
First Prize: $50 PayPal cash
Stacey from Newlywed Survival
Second Prize: Ipod Shuffle
Micah from Unabashedly Me
(2) Third Prizes: $25 Amazon or Paypal
BabyBluewater from Head over Heels in Debt
Lindsay from Hot Mess Cold Day
Fourth Prize: $20 Amazon or Paypal
Anne Marie (no blog)
Fifth Prize: $15 Paypal
Jamie from Me Mastering Money
I also want to again generously thank our donors!
First Prize, generously sponsored by The Money Principle
Second Prize, generously donated by Prairie Eco-Thrifter
(2) Third Prizes, generously sponsored by Budgeting in the Fun Stuff and Pinch That Penny
Fourth Prize, generously contributed by Bucksome Boomer
Fifth Prize, generously donated by Debt Eye
Biggest Loser Prize generously donated by Tight Fisted Miser
(the grand prize was hosted by me)
Now as for an update:
I had more than 105 people sign up for the contest when it started on January 16th.
At the end of the contest, on April 9th, only 21 people input their final weight.
What this tells me? It’s ridiculously hard to lose weight.
My own journey has been up and down. I lost weight at the beginning and it slowly waned and came to a complete halt. In the past month, I have regained a few pounds back that I had originally lost. This sucks.
I even held off writing about the results for this long, because I was hoping I could starve myself enough to lose a few more pounds. No such luck. I love food too much.
I get really sad about it sometimes. Some days I eat really, really well (like today!) and other days I just go all out. Story of my life, I guess.
I thought that training for the half-marathon, and doing barre classes, were going to make the weight just melt off. But no matter how much you exercise, if you’re eating a crap ton of food, you’re not going to lose anything.
I don’t regret the working out. My butt is as hard as a rock thanks to Barre class. But I have a feeling I am going to be on this weight loss journey for a while longer.
I am starting to realize that it is much more of a lifestyle change that needs to be made, and I really think I am at least headed in the right direction. I know we are eating a ton of vegetables in our house. I am not going to stop trying to lose weight, but I don’t want to obsess about it as much anymore.
I never want to get complacent. And perhaps I just have to come to terms that I am always going to need to focus on healthy eating, until it becomes second nature.
How are you doing with your weight loss goals?
18 comments
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Have you considered that you’ve lost fat and gained muscle? Do your clothes fit better? Do not be a slave to the scale, it’s about how you feel.
It’s definitely a lifestyle change that takes some adaptation and getting used to. Throughout the course, there will be times when you will be winning and some losing. You’re doing amazing and you’ve put in a lot of hard work. The hardest part is maintenance but you have crazy determination and you are being open to a lot of different exercise methods! Just keep truckin’ 🙂
It is pretty darn hard to lose weight. I ended up at my same weight at the end of the challenge, which I wasnt particularly discouraged on. I know my metabolism is shot, and I don’t do enough physical activity as to lose the weight. But it was a great way to get many people involved. Congrats to all the winners.
Thank you again for the prize! This was a great idea…you should try it again.
I have found (through repeated trial and error) that weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise. My husband is a certified personal trainer, and he has worked with me for a couple of years to lose weight through exercise with no luck (the more I worked out, the more I was hungry and ate). Once I started concentrating on my diet, the weight came off.
Keep trying and thanks again!
Thanks so much for the prize! I was one of the happy winners. Down 10 lbs and up a prize 🙂 Thanks for keeping me motivated!
It is definitely a lifestyle change mindset. I just started tracking my calories and working out again and man oh man it gets tougher the longer you go!
I just keep telling myself I can eat what I want, but just less or a variation of it. Moderation, right? 🙂
My husband lost 20 lbs doing P90X2 for 90 days. He made it seem easy somehow (just gotta hate him for that!!) but it’s not. It is a lifestyle change. You can lose weight by just fixing your diet but you can’t lose weight with just exercise; so it really is all about the food. One binge can erase weeks of hard work so you have to be consistent. You will get there! Just keep trying.
As long as you enjoy the exercise you’re getting and accepting of your body, weight doesn’t matter. Being “fit” has such a skewed connotation and there’s no one miracle food or workout that will make everyone’s body perfect. I’m encouraged by your motivation to complete the half marathon and pursue a healthy lifestyle!
It definitely is a lifestyle change. You know me and my year long journey with it, and that’s really the only way it worked for me. No other way around it, I have also tried everything, too! We can talk more next week, if you want, about it! I just don’t want to bark your ear off about it if this approach isn’t for you, either, but at least I know no matter what you do, it’s gotta be doable for life, or it’ll feel like deprivation! XOXO you look awesome!
I think I’ve finally lost the ten pounds, but I was a month too late to put in my info! Congrats to the winners!
I have tried for years and years with no luck. Several years I did the crazy boot camp at the gym for 3 months in a row and where others were losing a ton…I gained weight.
This has been the first time ever I’ve lost weight and it’s really just counting points. For me bread is my biggest trouble. I’ve been holding off on the exercise piece until I get closer to the weight I want to be at (another 10-15) and then I can focus. Doing both at once seemed too much for me.
Congrats on the progress you’ve been making. Don’t forget that as you become more fit, you’re going to be more solid. I’ve gained about 7 pounds since I started running daily, but I look better than ever. It was kind of upsetting to watch those numbers climb initially, but I got over it. Remember strong is the new skinny!
I never received the email asking for the final weight loss tally. I wonder if you only received 21 responses, because other’s didn’t receive your email either. Either way congratulations to all your winners. I lost 10.2 pounds and your contest was definitely good motivation for me!
It was emailed out on April 9th to 95 receipients–I just checked it again. Perhaps it went to your spam?
I just came across this post, I wish I knew about it when you started. I have not been doing too well. I started doing Insanity and quit after the second week. I’ve gone through Insanity before and was wanting to complete it again, but I stopped.
Are you planning to run this challenge again?
Congrats to those who won! And I’m doing good, I’ve been watching what I eat (which is hard). I really just need to workout more.
Don’t get discouraged too easily! I had to constantly remind my wife when she was on her “wedding diet” that muscle weighs more than fat. So, as you train and do classes, you’re actually toning and building muscle, which is MUCH better for you, but may not lose weight per se. You’ll look and feel better, but the absolute results may not be as you wish.
Keep your head up and congrats on the half-marathon!