Season 3 - A few words on each contestant

And the winners are: (1) Luz (2) Mark and (3) Connie! Mark did awesome throughout the entire challenge but lost by just .3%! So close. A few words about each contestant:

(1) Mark - Very inspirational. Every time you passed his desk he would have a salad for lunch and a glass of water for sipping. He said no to junk food and was so determined to live a healthier lifestyle. I'm also told Mark runs to and from work every day!

(2) Connie - Steady Connie. She met with a nutritionist early on in the challenge and she got rid of 1 pound each week. She can't visit a gym but she was able to focus on eating better!

(3) Karlye - Karlye was our season 2 winner. She was awesome then and did great this go around. She's really hard on herself because she's an overachiever - but I'm proud of her for working towards a healthier lifestyle and getting back into a groove that will bring her to her ideal weight. One thing you should know about Karlye is that she's very dedicated. Once she decides to do something, it's a wrap.

(4) Valerie - At the beginning of this completion Valerie was in the middle of a move with no access to her healthy food and lots of reasons to go out and eat unhealthy. At one point in the competition Valerie was UP over 3% from her starting weight. In Week 5 she kicked it into gear and dedicated herself to losing weight. She ended up losing just under 2% of her starting weight but from Week 5 until the finale she actually lost a total of almost 5% weight lost in just 5 weeks! That’s impressive!

(5) Monica – Many of you don’t know Monica but she’s also a Weight Watchers member and an awesome person. She was never discouraged and continuously put her “back-on” face into gear. This last week wasn’t a good one for her in terms of her weight but it was an accurate reflection of all the good times she had during Thanksgiving with her family. She got on that scale with a smile and said – she enjoyed every pound she put on BUT she was back-on to loosing it again. Considering 7 of the 10 contestants actually gained weight this week, this is the positive attitude we all need to have during the holidays. Gain it, love it, now loose it!

(6) Maria – Maria is a sweet lady, who decided to get into the groove with loosing weight. She’s been more cognizant about what she eats and although she’s not able to manage a few trips to the gym as often as she’d like, she remains positive and continues to make healthier choices in food. I’m also impressed with Maria because she’s always surrounded by such good food! Yummy fatty food is all around her and I know she will do great if she stays motivated and continuous to have a strong will power!

(7) Rigina – For those of you that don’t know skinny Rigina, she rocks! She recently had a baby and lost at least 50 pounds in 3 months. Seriously! It was no wonder these last 10 weeks were a bit challenging for her on the scale since her body was in shock from all the weight shed in the previous 3 months. Rigina always has a positive attitude, gets on the scale regardless of her week and always thinks twice before accepting a yummy calorie-loaded snack. I know Rigina will have a good next few weeks and I’m cheering for her to reach her goal weight, which is probably just a few pounds away.

(8) Sarah – Is our other skinny contestant. She recently got married and put on a couple extra pounds. If you ask me, I think the extra 2 pounds look great on her – but good for her for wanting to take them back off. I hope to see you at Zumba very soon Sarah, and I know those 2 pounds will come off like a banana peel in a monkey parlor.

(9) Lisa – Lisa is a huge baseball fan and a food connoisseur. She travels frequently for work and is blessed to sample the eateries of yummy places with international flare. How can you say no to pizza in NYC? Lisa is obviously a motivator and maintains a positive attitude always thinking about the next week ahead. Thanks to Lisa, it looks like we’re getting a group together during the holidays. Go Lisa!

(10) Luz – Trying to come up with a witty or a unique way to start off rambling about myself is always daunting, therefore, I will give the proverbial “wave” to everyone and say that I didn’t expect to win at all. But I must confess that I thrive on competition. Seeing how Mark did so great week after week was impressive to me and the more I learn about Mark the more I respect him. Although I tried offering him his favorite high-caloric meal, he did not bite. Then I found out his Achilles heel was his mama’s cooking! At that point, I realized that with Thanksgiving well underway I had an outside shot if I could just exercise all the food I put in my mouth during Thanksgiving. I started by running a Thanksgiving Trot, which I didn’t even sign up for until the morning of the run. Then Thursday was such a beautiful day that I went out for another run, and another run on Saturday, and another run on Sunday, and then Zumba on Monday and Tuesday. I ate like a pig on Thursday, Friday, and even Saturday – but I think the combination of exercise really helped me sweat it off. Thanks Mark for setting the bar so high!

This was so much fun being a part of this team building activity. The centralized role I played with you all allowed me to talk to each one of you and realize that I’m not the only one that struggles with the love of food – especially with sweets. I learned something from each of you and I hope we continue this lifestyle in 2012.

Season 3, Week 7

Last week, Valerie came back with a strong attack! Luz slid into 2nd place and Mark still holds a strong lead. 3 more weeks.

Season 3, Week 6

It's getting down to the wire and Mark has a huge lead with Karlye and Connie right behind him sharing 2nd place. Luz isn't too far behind but the biggest accomplishment this week was made by Valerie!!!! Valerie is almost at her starting weight, after going UP 3.09%. She is now only up by .24%. Next week she will be in the negative numbers, which is where we all want to be! Let's go Lisa and Valerie. Let's end up in the negative numbers... 4 more weeks!

Season 3, Week 5

Sorry about the late post... but here are last week's results. Although Valerie had gained weight, she's crawling back to her starting weight and I saw her at the gym last week at least 3 times, so I'm expecting a nice comeback from her. Mark is keeping the lead with Karlye on his heels. Connie is still the slowly but steady 3rd place. Monica is doing great and keeping her weight loss steady. Luz started eating better and exercising, which has paid off.