the GRAND finale

I took 4th place in the Muffin Top Weight Loss Challenge and I am very happy with that. I lost 11.56% of my body weight and 21 pounds. I exceeded my goal by 1 pound. Yahoo! The biggest impact it had one me was counting my calories and realizing just how many calories are in a lot of foods. Who wants to waste 410 daily calories on a single serving of mac n' cheese??? I don't. It's kind of like budgeting. Figuring out where you want to spend your calories and getting the most bang for your buck. I wish I was at good at budgeting money as I am calories. Haha!

I used SparkPeople.com to log all my calories as well as exercise. You can also track different nutrients and they will give you a daily recommended range. Some of the ones I tracked other than the carbs, fat, and protein were: sodium, fiber, calcium and iron. You can also connect with and get support from other weight losers on the site.

I am very happy the challenge is over and congratulations to all my fellow muffin toppers who did an amazing job shedding the pounds!

it's the final countdown...

to the LAST weigh-in of the challenge. it's gonna be good!

I'd like to celebrate by eating something that looks like this!

muffin top...one week left

It was a good week. Lost 2.1 lbs and only POINT TWO! from making my 20lb goal. One week left and I think I can squeeze out another .2

muffin top challenge week 11

I'm still losing and only 2.3 lbs from my goal of losing 20 lbs in this challenge. Those darn top 3 are unstoppable, so at this point I'd have to lose an unrealistic amount of weight in the next 2 weeks to catch up. So, that's ok. I hope I can make it to the 20 lbs at least. It's been a good experience.

17.7 lbs lost. Let's eat cake!

muffin top challenge week 10

I am not going to lie, I am really looking forward to the challenge being over. I am exhausted. I have been working my butt off, literally. The hard work has really paid off and I feel so good physically, but I think the pace I have been going at is catching up to me this week. I have been working out 5 or 6 days out of the week and sometimes doing 2, and occasionally 3 workouts in the same day. The last 2 weeks I tried even harder to be very good with my diet. And suddenly I hit the dreaded plateau. It really stinks to have this happen with only 3 weeks left. I am totally in it to win it. Of course I am. However, being first place isn't what is most important (can you tell I am still trying to convince myself?) and as Justin keeps telling me, I have won no matter what. He's right.

I am very grateful for and proud of my hard work because it has paid off. I only lost .6 this week. I was disappointed for sure (that's the competitive side of me coming out), especially because I worked so hard this past week. I'm up to 16.8 lbs lost. My goal was to lose at least 20. All I can do is my very best and the rest is out of my hands. I actually do not think I will win it, but I can sure try!

I never want to be in another weight loss challenge EVER again! I don't want to have to have the need for it. I don't ever want to go back to where I was. That is NOT who I am.

I was so happy on Sunday when someone who I had attended the singles ward with a LONG time ago happened to be visiting my ward and I didn't feel embarrassed about how much I had let myself go. It felt so good! I actually wanted to go and say hi instead of duck out of sight.

Really, I have been blessed. I am so, so thankful for health and strength. And I am also thankful for the ability to do HARD THINGS! For the hard things I have had to endure, especially in the last year and a half. Every time I do something I didn't think I could do, I grow immensely. If you want to feel good about yourself, challenge yourself to do something you think you could never do. I think you will be amazed at what you actually CAN do! Just go for it!

Muffin Top Challenge Week 9

Lost 1.4 last week, 1.8 this week for a total loss of 16.2lbs

4 weeks to go and I plan on workin' it all the way to the end baby!

muffin top challenge week 7

Lost 3.4 lbs this week and earned this sweet water bottle!

total loss: 13 lbs

muffin top challenge week 5, 6 & running

Last week was not a good week for the Muffin Toppers. As a group, we gained 1 pound. Individually, I gained .2 which in the big picture isn't that big of a deal, but of course I was hard on myself. There's no one to blame but myself either. However, I sure did enjoy that pizza and those cookies :)

This week I lost 2.6 lbs and that puts me at a total of 9.6 lbs since the start of the challenge.

Last week I ran 4 miles (on the treadmill) and 3.25 miles (outside) without stopping to walk. That was good for me. I have been wanting to work on my endurance. Yesterday we ran 5 miles in 52 minutes, which I thought was great. We beat our last 5 mile time and I felt good. Not as tired. We took it nice and easy, which apparently paid off.