Diet-to-Go 4-Week Weight-Loss Challenge Winners

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Our First Ever 4-Week Weight-Loss Challenge!

On August 11th we welcomed thirteen customer participants and six Diet-to-Go staff participants to the very first 4-Week Diet-to-Go Weight-Loss Challenge. The Challenge offered expert support, reflection assignments and exercise recommendations all hosted in the new myDiettogo Wellness Warriors discussion forum.

Get Ready. Get Set.

Jillnorth was excited and scared to get started and we were all excited for her.

“I started Diet-to-Go a week ago tomorrow. Although I wasn't extremely heavy, I was still pretty surprised when I weighed in last week. I usually avoid the scale, for that reason - BAD NEWS! The first 2 days of the diet were a little more difficult at dinner time - that was usually when I would binge eat. On the 3rd day, my stomach had adjusted, and I started to have a lot more energy during the day. I also have been exercising regularly, but not adding much more than I did previously (ex. walking the dogs twice a day). Tomorrow, I'm gonna weigh in. I'm a little scared. What if I didn't lose any weight? Or worse - what if I managed to gain weight??? I've never been on an actual diet before. I'm scared, but excited- what if I LOST weight?? What if I lost more than I thought I would lose??? Looking forward to seeing if there are any positive results tomorrow.”

Melanie_Diettogo had some encouraging words for Jillnorth: 

“You are doing great! The first step is commitment! Don't freak if you don't lose as much the first week, it takes time and it is better to lose weight slowly! Keep us updated!”

“I LOST 4.8 LBS!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!! That was way more than I expected! I can't believe it! Thank you Melanie and Nelly for the encouraging words! I CAN do this!!!”

Week One – Two Goals and a Pledge

“My health is important to me and I realize that the only way to fail is to not try my best to make healthy decisions. That's why I am making a commitment to take control of my health.”

• "Sticking with the diet" (6)
• "Controlling sugar intake"
• "Cutting back on beer"
• "Adopting useful strategies to deal with stress, instead of hopping on the sugar train"
• “Cutting back on SODA, my ultimate weakness”
• “Not eating out as much (max 2 times per week) and drinking more water”
• “Sticking with my meal plan as closely as possible while also realizing that perfect adherence is not likely. I will not beat myself up and throw all of my goals out the window if I have a slip-up.”
• “Being kind to myself with healthy food choices” 

•  Going to the gym at least 5 days per week (4)
• “Going back to Muay Thai classes”
• “Getting more active, starting with riding my bike to work every day.”
• “Exercising daily even if it is just playing outside with my granddaughter or dog” 

• “Be true to myself.”
• “Forgive myself if I mess up.”
• “Start to do more mindful activities” 

The Challenge moderators encouraged participants to fine-tune their goals after their first week. 

Week One Results

After week one, the competition pool narrowed to nine customer challengers and six Diet-to-Go employees; all but two of our challengers had lost one or more pounds and we had a clear front runner. Crazyjojo had lost a stunning seven pounds and 5.36% of her total body weight. “Scared and excited” Jillnorth had lost almost eight pounds and 4.91% of her total body weight. The Diet-to-Go Staff Challenge was also heating up. Shelby_Diettogo had lost almost seven pounds and 3.53% of her total weight and Amy_Diettogo had lost almost 4 pounds and 2.40% of her total weight.

CEB1108: Crazyjojo! That is AWESOME! I was just wondering, besides the DiettoGo meals, what else did you do to lose that percentage of weight? Any cardio or other exercises the rest of us should try?

Crazyjojo: This was the first week I really stuck to the program. Before I used to eat a little snack here and there and the days I don't have the [Diet-to-Go] meals (I'm on the 6 day plan) I used to eat unhealthy. However this week I stuck to just the diet meals and for the days I didn't have them I ate using good portion control (split meals with my hubby) and tried to eat healthy food. I also did a strength training yoga program (DDP Yoga) 3x this week as well as walked 1-2 miles every day.

Week Two- Accountability Works

“Hmmm...I think my biggest success was tracking even though I knew I was having a gluttonous weekend with friends in town. I didn't make good choices, but I kept to my daily calorie targets and balanced bad meals with exercise and better portion size.” -Ngiste 

“My challenges this week occurred when I ate out in restaurants. I did not really overeat, but it's very difficult to track restaurant food if it is an independent restaurant that is not part of a chain and does not provide nutritional information. Rather than obsessing about it, I am just moving on.” - Snixpup

“Not only did I have the fair temptations, I got hit with a surprise engagement and a surprise engagement party…last week. My house has been full of chips and cookies since, but I haven't touched them since that night. I opted instead to bring them to work bit by bit for coworkers.” –CorruptJedi

As we marveled that even Corrupt Jedis can find love and resist chips, we looked for ways to be more accountable. DavidGrantHill proudly asserted that his “I’m Committed” bracelet is what kept him on track.

“I asked my friend to walk with me every morning for the remainder of challenge and to not let me off the hook.” – Sonjo_Diettogo

As the challenge continued, it became clear that being in the challenge itself was really helping our competitors to stay true to their goals.

Week Two Results:

On week two Crazyjojo was still leading the pack with 8.5 pounds and 6.51% of her total body weight lost but Amendoza6553 (5.46%) and Snixpup (4.77%) joined the 7+ pounds lost club and were slowly closing the gap. Jillnorth also lost another 1.5 pounds and 4.91% of her total weight. At this point all but one of our challengers had lost at least 2 pounds and were feeling pretty good.

Week Three - Tough Love

Week three and it was time to practice some tough love to keep our challengers motivated. We reflected on the three things that we didn’t like about being overweight:
 

“When I am overweight, I sit around a lot. I don't like how I don't feel like I'm really "living".”

 “It's hard to act sexy and confident when I don't feel sexy and confident.” 

“Losing weight will help me restore my confidence in myself, in addition to the fun stuff like a new wardrobe and a great body.” – Ngiste

It will greatly improve my overall health and prevent diseases that killed my parents, diabetes and heart disease. I want to be around for my son for a long time... grand and great-grand kids [too]!  – Shelby_Diettogo 
 

Week Four - Challenge Takeaways and Results

As the challenge wrapped up, challengers were encouraged to think about what habits they had mastered, what they were still working on, what they learned about themselves and what they were looking forward to:

• What new habits have you mastered? Definitely counting calories! Resisted it for years, but found out it is the secret sauce to weight loss.
• What habits are you still working toward adopting? Still need to work on more walking and exercise. It's coming though! With my Fitbit, I'm doing 7-8k steps a day and joined a fitness program at work!
• What have you learned about yourself? I've learned that anything is possible and if I stick to it, I can do it.
• What are you looking forward to? I'm looking forward to reaching my goal by November 2015! I'm right on target!!

“I've learned that the hype of eating out is just that, a hype. I am no longer craving to eat out. Instead when I do eat out, I can't wait to get back on track with the Diet-to-Go food! I've also learned to limit what I eat when eating out and not go crazy with the carbs, sugar, and fats!” - Crazyjojo

These were wise words from our biggest loser. This was a 4-week journey of self-discovery and revelation for all of our 12 finalists who put up a great effort and persevered to the end. They were diligent about posting and submitting weights each week and they were all winners…or losers depending on your perspective!
 

Prize Time!

Crazyjojo prevailed with an impressive ten pounds lost and won a FREE week of Diet-to-Go meals. Snixpup, who was very involved in the forum, won the Best Participator Award in the amount of $75 credit toward her Diet-to-Go meal plan. As a special reward to our first-ever Weight Loss Challengers, the remaining participants won $50 credits toward their meal plans. 

Among our staffers, Amy_Diettogo lost 3.88% of her total weight and was the biggest loser in the DTG Staff Challenge.
 

Misty_Diettogo finished second with 3.75% lost and Mary_Diettogo finished third with 1.26% of her total weight lost.

From the beginning, all of our challengers were at least a little “excited and scared” to embark on this four-week journey, but those who finished the challenge really committed to themselves and their health. In the end, they all say they would do it again.

Look out for upcoming Challenges in the Diet-to-Go Community Forum.
 

What have you got to lose? 

Diet-to-Go Dispatch

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