TT Thursday – my Weight Loss Challenge Weeks 23 & 24

Yay! They finally did the payout for the Going for Goal Jackpot Weight Loss Challenge

 

A few weeks ago I said I did the weigh out for the Going for Goal Jackpot Weight Loss Challenge.  The challenge has officially ended.  532 people participated. As I noted before HealthyWage receives 25% off the top and those of us who succeed split the rest. This time more than half succeeded; 262 lost 6% so we shared the jackpot of $24,390. Each winner received $92.94.  We each put in $20 a month for three months contributing $60. My final net profit was $32.94.  More importantly I lost 14 pounds in three months.

You are allowed to join more than one 6% challenge. The 6% challenges are all the same format — they are for three months at a set monthly fee ($10, $20 or $33.33) and it’s a potluck challenge — everyone who succeeds gets a share.  So previously I had won more than $150 because only about 30% succeeded that time.  This time half did so I won $92.94.

Note: HealthyWage just sent us a note for new people: Win Up To $10,000 In Cash Prizes While Getting Healthy. PLUS get $100 Prize Boost from through 11/30/18!

I usually do a weight loss advice/diet plans/etc section at the top but as it’s Thanksgiving here in the USA, this week I’m just doing my weight loss results for a quicker post.  I expect my USA visitors will be too busy to read this week.

Yeah, I skipped last week. I was frustrated because I was plateauing.  I was plateauing because I was walking about two to three hours most everyday (which was another reason I didn’t post — I was dead tired after and napped).  I walked 10,000 four days out of 7 — which is good because previously it was one day out of 7.  I hit 15,000 steps for the first time.

I know more exercise is good for me but there’s that first couple weeks when muscle gain and fat loss kind of equal (plateau) or you gain. I have a new pattern.  Hit a new low, jump back up 2 to 4 pounds, bonk my head against the wall, drop down and touch that previous new low, and then even lower, a new new low and then back up.  I’m beginning to feel like a yo-yo even though the trend is downward overall.  However, since I weigh less, I feel ready to start improving my fitness especially as I want to get into shape so I can hike Mount Lemmon once the rain starts filling up the streams.

The current yo-yoing is frustrating because two challenges are ending and I needed to weigh in.  Luckily this week I finally dropped below 209 and could do my final video weigh-in for those challenges.  I hit 208.9 and video taped it quick before I went back up again (I’m at 210 today, sighs). Now I just wait for the end for the final tally of the successful participants and my winnings.

Pound Shedders Jackpot Challenge End date: Nov. 26, 2018 Jackpot : $29,430 Participants: 644 Succeeded so far: 266 my begin weight : 223.1 lbs my final weight:    208.9 lbs

Big Losers Jackpot Challenge End date: Dec. 3, 2018 Jackpot : $40,275 Participants: 525 Succeeded so far: 210 my begin weight : 223.1 lbs my final weight: 208.9 lbs

I have succeeded so I’m happy.  I expect the number of successful participants  in these two challenges to go up over the next few days as a lot of people are close and just need to drop a few extra pounds.  So I’ve succeeded at four 3-month 6% weight loss challenges which is awesome.

I have four more 6% challenges that I am in as well as the big HealthyWager challenge.

Here is how I’m doing on my current challenges.

name	end date	goal	expected	ontrack?
Poundshedders	11/26/18	209.7	212.6	done
Big Losers	12/3/18	209.7	213.7	done
Healthy Wager	12/4	187.1	191.3	no
Falling Pounds	12/26	206.7	212.1	yes
Big Buck Losers	1/2	202.3	208.6	a little off
Healthier Holidays	1/6	202.3	209.2	yes
Scale Watchers	1/16	202.7	211.1	yes

Since I have finished three jackpots, I am thinking of joining another one.  Six percent over three months is doable and a fresh one will bring me a goal under 200 which I really want.  I find this checking in with HealthyWage and having an “expected” weight to try to meet daily very helpful.  And yes, I get that I could set up a chart myself but I like winning the money at the end as a little treat. I started at over 250 and getting under 200 will be awesome.

The thing with the big HealthyWager is that I paid in $30 for 6 months ($180) and if I am at 187 on December 4th, I will win $768.  You cannot extend with the 6% challenges, but you can extend the big HealthyWager and pay for another 6 months but the winning amount remains the same.  So if I extend, instead of being in for $180, I would be in for $360 but if I am at 187 at the end of an extra 6 months, I will still win the $768, still making a profit.  At the rate I am going, I will probably hit the 187 at the 9 month mark.  You can’t extend for only three months though.  Six is the minimum.  So I am considering it.  Mostly because I hate losing.

The end date of December 4th is two weeks and I’m fluctuating between 208 and 211 right now so that’s 20 pounds away. It’s sooo close but the most I’ve lost in a week during this entire challenge has been 3 or 4 pounds. I seriously doubt I could lose 10 pounds each week for two weeks in a healthy way.  I’m not willing to do anything unhealthy (like starve myself) to get there.  Just bugs me to be sooo close but no cigar.  So like I said, I’m considering extending but letting it go is appealing too.  The thing is it’s another 6 months of weekly posts too and I’m more than a little worried if I can sustain the writing portion too.  So since I’m thinking about the writing ….

What kind of weight loss/fitness/eating healthy/etc post do you like?

I’ve done several types of posts over the last five months with varied research while reporting my weekly results to give you all at least a little takeaway of useful info.  I am curious which kind of posts did you enjoy?

A) how chefs lost weight
B) the posts on inspirational fitness folks like Coach Tulin and Minervator
C) the other culture’s weight loss techniques in Malaysia, Norway and Japan
D) my own random observations of what worked for me
E) or none of the above, but you would love to see me research and write about (fill in the blank about what kind of weight loss or fitness or healthy eating thing you’d like to see)

That’s it for this week

I hope for those in America, you are enjoying an awesome Thanksgiving.  For those of you outside of the USA, I hope you’re having a great autumn.  And always to everybody, thank you for your continued support.  I can’t thank you enough.

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I am an affiliate for HealthyWage because I like them and I think it helps people a lot to have that extra incentive to lose weight.  In the post text, they are affiliate links only but down here you can also choose to join by a friends link.  If you join through the links above, I’ll get a small fee whether you or I succeed or fail. However, they also have a friends link where we both earn only  if we both succeed — the added motivation of social pressure! If you join up by clicking this friends link, it adds a $40 to your HealthyWager award if you complete your goal and $40 to my HealthyWager award if I complete my goal.  Neither of us gets the $40 if either person fails.   I think the $40 is for HealthyWager challenges only and not the other ones like the 6% individual challenge or the team challenge. The HealthyWage affiliate link doesn’t matter if anyone succeeds but there is no benefit for the friend, just for the affiliate no matter what kind of challenge they join. Joining through the friends link also lets you view your friend on the dashboard: you’ll see their name and what % they’ve lost so far but not the actual weight.  That’s private unless you make it public.

I am also an affiliate for Amazon: “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.”