Weight Loss Contest Winners & My Reader's Journey's

I decided to hold a weight loss contest at the beginning of the year for my reader's. I wanted to do this because I believe one thing that really helps motivate someone and keep them focused on losing weight is a goal to reach. Be it a vacation, dance, photoshoot,  or whatever! I had a ton of submissions and I am thrilled at the success. More so I am so grateful for the readers I have gained since I have started my blog. I hear so many stories everyday of your struggles, dreams, and goals, and you guys give me the motivation to keep pushing. My reader's mean the absolute world to me and today I am sharing my winner's and a few of my top weight loss reader's journey's. 

1st Place Winner: Amy W., 42 years old, Rhode Island. 62 pounds lost.

I found Liz's blog through my sister-in-law who heard her on the radio in North Carolina on "Murphy in the Morning". I decided to enter her weight loss contest due to having two kids and gaining over 80 pounds. I have studied her blogs, took initiative to study on my own, and joined a gym here in Dallas. This journey was extremely hard for me but having this to look forward to really helped. I can't believe how much better I feel. I am now at 250 pounds with my goal being 120. I now feel like I have the education and drive to keep going. I work full time, married, have two kids, and I find time to take care of my health. Saying you do not have time is no excuse! If I can do it anyone can. Thanks again Liz and I can't wait to spend my Victoria's Secret gift card!

2nd Place Winner: Jennifer M., Texas, 50 pounds lost.

It seems like it wasn't all that long ago that I was just another couch potato who had no idea what she was shoveling in to her mouth out of boredom or stress. That was probably just what I was doing the night I realized it was time for a change. Flipping through the channels on my television, I came across one of MTV's newest shows called I Used to be Fat. I was hooked from that moment on. Seeing this young girl, Gabby, struggling with weight problems most of her life and then finally taking charge of herself and pushing every day to eat healthy and exercise as much as possible was just so inspiring to me. Every little thing she said and did was something I too had felt in my life at some point. Right on down to constantly butting heads with her mother! lol. Seeing how much success she had by the end of the episode I was so pumped! Then right after that I saw Marci's journey and could relate similarly to her in all the same aspects of how hard it is to just say no to eating all the wrong things when they taste so delicious and give you that instant gratification you so desperately desire, especially when you feel neglected in certain parts of your life. These 2 episodes were reruns that I happened to catch on a Friday night while at home having no social life whatsoever and buried in food on my parent's recliner. I immediately went to set the DVR to record all the new episodes after these finished because I knew this is what was going to help me change my life forever. I knew that they had the help of personal trainers and that roughly 100 days or just one summer was not going to be idealistic for me personally, but I thought that if these kids could lose around 90 lbs give or take in just 3 months, I could probably do the same in 1 year's time if I took the time to do the research and put in the hours of sweating it out! I was so excited thinking about it that I was up jumping around doing jumping jacks when I saw them do them on the show and yelling out of pure happiness shouting out "YOU GO GIRL!" or other really dorky things to my tv when I saw them doing well and accomplishing what they set out to do. lol. 


That next day I took some before pictures of myself, because I knew that someday I would be able to look back and say hey... I can't believe that used to be me! I still cringe looking at those pictures today, and don't think I look all that much smaller just yet. I do feel a lot smaller though. I can breathe easier and can run around with my toddler who is in to everything these days! I used to get winded just walking up the 4 porch steps to my house. Seriously? Yeah... that was bad. I can do those like nothing now of course, lol. But I notice all the time new things that I can do that I could not for the longest time. Yesterday, I went swimming with some friends of mine and we had to climb a whole lot of hills and stairs to get over to the lake and up to the big slides, etc. They were all a lot skinnier than me but panting and groaning and complaining the whole way up, while on the inside I was jumping for joy and smiling my head off thinking how this time last year I would have been panting and groaning like that, too!

Anyways, I have learned many things over the past 5 months now. It's hard to sum it all up and say this one thing works or that one thing is better than this one thing. In reality, there is no fast track to success. You have to put in the work. You get what you give! You have to eat well and you have to exercise. Doing one or the other may help you a little bit, but doing both is what's going to give you the most results. If you really want to lose the weight and keep it off then you have to commit yourself to making this a lifestyle change. I don't refer to myself as being on a diet simply because I feel like a diet is something that ends.  This is not going to end for me. I quit drinking soda, and whenever I lose all the weight I want to lose, I will not just start drinking soda again! Sure I may have one like once in a blue moon because I feel to deny yourself something you crave will only set you up to binge on it later, but I promise you I will not allow myself to become a soda drinker again in my lifetime!  And the me from last year is saying WHAT?! lol. She was addicted to Dr Pepper since the time she was 2 years old... My son is 2. I am so glad I've made the decision to start changing things now so that I can learn how to help him make all the right choices from a much younger age than I did. He is a huge part of the reason I am on this journey. The only other important part of how I got to where I am now is that you have to have support. I am a single mom and don't really have a great close relationship with my family and my friends live pretty far away so I am alone a lot on this journey but I do make it a point to get online and talk to like minded individuals like Liz! I also found all the IUTBF kids on facebook and chat with them there. Some even on video chat. They have offered some really wonderful advice and words of encouragement to me. I am on several different forums and groups where I talk about my journey everyday. We share what kind of workouts we are doing or what we are eating, etc. Just how our day is going, good or bad, it helps to talk about it and always keep it on your mind. I think the best part about talking to others about my journey though is when I have the chance to offer up words of encouragement or advice to someone who needs it. It's wonderful getting help from my new fitness friends, but its even more rewards to give back that help. <3

Thank you, Liz, for holding this contest and allowing me to share my story with you all. I'm still in major shock that I placed! lol. Anyone who wants to follow my blog is more than welcome to though. http://a-new-poison.blogspot.com

Brandy B. from Florida:

Hey Liz and friends =)! Attached are my before and after pics over this 3 month journey. My name is Brandy Barnette. I have a 3 year old and gained a lot of weight and went through post pardem depression after my pregnancy. I was a yo-yo dieter before (in my younger years) Always going back to the eat everything and not care about what would soon catch up to me. Now, I have adjusted my lifestyle to better suit my health and well-being. I enrolled in a massage therapist program and that was the topper. I learned so much about the body mind connection and decided it was NOW or NEVER. I worked my way to a better nutritional lifestyle over that year and started the gym Jan 2011. During these contest months I have worked very hard to get back in the gym and stay active. I've spent most of this time practicing healthy eating habits and building back up some muscle tone. I was in the gym 2-a-days for the majority of the week. This is not the end of the road for me whatsoever =-) I LOVE to work out! I think of it as a new lifestyle and adjust all of my choices around that, plain and simple, "eat to live, not live to eat". Thanks for the boost Liz and the motivation of this contest really put me in the mind-set I needed to reach to achieve a healthier, happier life!

Kayla Y. from North Carolina:

I have learned so much through my journey, and  I will continue to learn as I progress through this!  I learned that you cannot quit if you make a mistake, eat something you shouldn't have, or don't exercise one day.  You have to keep going, no matter what!  While seeing a difference is great, feeling the difference is much better.  I feel so much stronger, healthier, and more full of life.  I am more confident because I know I can do it, now, while I used to believe that I could not do it.  I love to push myself farther and farther, now, since I know that I can test my own limits, and I love to beat myself in the gym (by running for longer periods or faster than before, by lifting more weight than before, and by completing longer and better workouts)!

I want to thank everyone so much for all the emails and messages I get about your journeys; keep them coming. My passion is to write for you guys, keep you motivated, and most of all keep you educated. My NEXT weight loss contest begins August 1st. Awesome prizes and details to follow!