The Winner!

The Winner Is....

Chantel.... and Amber?

What?!? 2 winners, but how is that even possible?

Well i'll tell you how it is possible, there are 4 contestants, meaning there is the possibility of a tie AND that is what we have here folks!

Congratulations you two!

Have fun splitting your winnings...

Oh, hey there.

Hey guys!

So, I lost 12 lbs this season! But then I gained 3 back. Still, 9 lbs is pretty good.

I may not qualify to win any of the prizes, but I'm still pretty happy with the results.

-Helena

Season 4: Cast Your Vote

It's time. 

The moment we've all been waiting for and working towards for the past three months

You have until next Saturday, 08/27/11 to write a blog post and vote on who you think deserves to win Season 4 of Reasons to Lose.

Good work ladies, and good luck!

Final

Quick review of last week challenges:

I did not do Jillian, and I did not give it all I had. I was focused on finishing school and working.

I did fine on the no sugar diet. Easy as pie. Sugar free non mushy pie.

Overall.

I did not do as well as I would have hoped. I was very consumed with work (bought by a new company) and school (full time) I found it hard to have the drive to exercise once I completed all of my tasks. The nutritional challenges we not hard to do, just making time for the physical ones.

I did not loose any weight. I did not lose any inches either.

I think I did pretty well with my lack o carbs diet. I even got Jimmy to not detest brown rice! I also tried new grains and even made banana bread for others will all whole wheat flower!

I completed 14 Challenges. It could be worse, but could be better.

I am so proud of you girls! You rock it and I am proud to have you as my sisters!! :)

My final update for season 4

Hey guys, another "season" of Ripped in 30 has come to a close.

And so it's time to let you know how I did

With last weeks challenges:

Physical: I gave it 100%! 

Nutritional: I had my four meals of no meat- it was really easy for me

Emotional: I listened to Jillian's motivational speech at the end of the DVD

Now for my overall update:

As you know I've been working out with Bryn throughout this season nearly every week. Almost every week during these three months looked like this: I would do the Ripped in 30 with you guys on Monday, on Wednesday morning I would do the 30 Day Shred with Bryn, and then on Friday I would do Ripped in 30 again with Bryn. 

Of course, it would vary sometimes, but that was mostly how it would look :-)

I'm proud of myself. I've pushed myself harder in this season than any of the others.

And I really see and feel the difference.

I revisited the goals we were all supposed to write down in the beginning of this cycle and I'm pleased to say that I have met them all! 

Of course there's still room for improvement with all of them, but I've seen some great advancement in each area which was my main goal :-)

I've lost a little bit of weight (which is weird to me, because I know I've gained muscle), and I've seen some changes in the inches. My body fat and BMI went down a little as well. 

But what I'm really excited about are the changes I can see and feel. 

Especially those in my endurance, health, confidence and just over all well being.

and that I can see some definition of course ;-)

I feel great! 

And I am really very proud of how hard I pushed myself and how far I feel I have come.

Also, I'm pleased to announce that I purchased 3lb weights a few weeks ago and I have been using them each time I work out :-)

As for the weekly challenges:

I have a total of 22.5 points :-)

Amber you beat my by half a point! Good job!

We've been doing this for a year now, I'm very proud of all of you. <3

The End

Before I get to my final results, I want to play a little catch up. I was out of town last week, and that meant I had no internet, cellphone reception or even electricity. So if you guys don't mind, i'd like to post about how I did on the last few challenges!

• I worked out with Dave (we went walking!) for the physical challenge

• For the Emotional Challenge I made a list things I would like to change. I also found that I have more confidence (it keeps growing!) and have been dealing with stress much better.

• Nutritionally I was able to do the 4 meals without any simple carbs (it was tough, I didn't have my normal food around because we were out of town!)

• The other Physical Challenge was to give it your all, I couldn't do the ripped in 30 (no electricity) last week but I did do a lot of physical activity and I did give it my all!

Now for my results-

I did 23 challenges this season!

I didn't lose any inch's except on my thighs (1 1/2 in!) Though my arms are getting more defined, really my whole body is getting more toned and just keeps changing! I don't know if I lost any weight, my scale isn't working right now so I can't check, but I feel good and don't really care either way.

I really enjoyed this season, I pushed myself, moved on to 8lb weights and really had fun! I stuck to my No Meat restriction and didn't even use most of my cheat days. I worked really hard this season and am getting so much stronger, I can see the results, both physically and emotionally!

Season 4 Final Week

It's the end of another season, and that means that it's time to post about how we did.

This week when you post about how you did with last weeks challenges also tell us how you did this season.

Include the following information:

Did you lose any weight or inches?
Did you meet your goals?
What (if anything) did you learn?
How do you feel?
How did you do with your diet?
How many points did you win with weekly challenges?

We are going to wait to vote for who we think deserves to win this season after everyone has posted their results. That means you have to write your post by Saturday 8/20. 
Then next week we will vote on the winner.

This season has been a lot of fun!
I've enjoyed writing the challenges, and I hope you guys had a fun time doing them :-)

I'm really happy

We're almost done! 

So, last week I did workout with Michael.

It was fun.

We didn't do Jillian Michaels, but we played tag with our nieces and nephew! It was quite a workout.

And I've been thinking about positive changes I would like to make in my life. Here are some of them:

Be more crafty

Be more proactive

Face my fears more

Procrastinate less

Manage time better

Improve my talents

I've also been thinking about how far I've come since we've started this blog. 

I have a lot more stamina and endurance, I'm stronger, healthier and I feel really confident.

Some of the biggest changes I've seen have been muscle definition in my arms, calves and a little in my abs. One of the biggest changes I've seen in my working out is that I can actually do the push-ups! That's a pretty big deal to me; in the past I would be able to bend my elbows slightly, but now I can really do them!

I have loved getting into the habit of working out because now I can do things like hiking, swimming and running without getting as tired and worn out as I would in the past. I can also hold children in my arms for a lot longer without even starting to get tired.

I feel like I've come a long way, and I'm really happy with the progress I've made.

I'm looking forward to hearing how you guys feel about the progress you've made since starting Reasons to Lose!

Season 4 Challenge 12

In case you are new:

Each week we are given two challenges. These challenges will start on Sunday and go through the following Saturday.

On our designated blogging days we'll let each other know how we did with the previous weeks challenges!

BE HONEST. If you failed the challenge, tell us why. If you rocked it, tell us how. Most importantly, tell us how you feel about it.

This is our last weekly challenge! 
So lucky us, we get a physical, nutritional, and an emotional!
I'll give instructions for next week on Sunday.

  

This week's challenges:

Physical: Since this is our last weekly challenge in this season, we need to give our workouts all we have! We all have those times when we don't really put 100% into our workouts, maybe you could push a little harder but you don't, or maybe you are stuck in the same routine and don't really go the extra mile. This week, with whatever you do, give it your all! Don't quit, push harder, give it everything you have! You don't have to add an extra workout, just make sure whatever you are doing, you don't phone it in!

Nutritional: It's our last time to swap diets! Continue maintaining your specific diet, and in addition we will each have to follow a specified persons diet for at least four meals, preferably over the course of two days. Share at least one recipe you tried in which you incorporated the new diet.

Amber, this week you will try Annie's diet of no simple carbs

Annie, this week you will try Helena's diet of no sugar

Helena, this week you will try Chantel's diet of no dairy

Chantel, this week you will try Amber's diet of no meat




Emotional: We make fun of it, and we don't really listen, but this week when you do level 4 of Ripped in 30 on your own, really LISTEN to what Jillian says at the end. Sure, it's corny, and maybe you'll roll your eyes. But she gives some pretty good advice, and I think it would be beneficial for you to lay there, close your eyes, listen and internalize before you stretch.

AND remember our continual challenge this season is to do the Ripped in 30 DVD twice each week.

Good luck!

How I Did

Amber and I worked out the same muscles! Yeah!

I did my calves, and it was hard sometimes. But good. When I'm in the clean room at work I stand a lot, especially when I'm cleaning bottles or tanks, which worked out perfectly. I too came up with a lot of different variations of going up to my toes and lowering down. My favorite was probably going up for 8 counts, holding it for 8, and lowering down for 8. I could feel the burn!

And I also noticed a difference at the end of the week! I think my calves look and feel stronger.

I also recorded what I ate, and I notice I should probably cut back on nighttime snacking. It's nearly always popcorn or tortilla chips. Late at night I tend to crave salt.

I've been noticing a lot of physical changes this cycle, it's fun

Last Week

Well last week went pretty well, I wrote down everything I ate... It was interesting... I realized I need more vegetables, but other then that my eating wasn't too bad. Dave would get a kick out of reading my list at the end of the day, because it was always so eclectic! I also did the strength challenge and decided to workout my calves, I did do it everyday and would work them out until I couldn't do any more! I would go onto my tip tows and then lower down, I did a ton of different variations on that move. I would go fast, then slow and I would walk around on my tows, I would try anything I could think of to tire the muscles out! I even noticed a difference at the end out the week, my legs were stronger and even a little more buff!