"I feel so much stronger now."

Last May I felt like I was on my last legs; no energy, sick of being huge, uncomfortable and out of breath.  I joined a health club and began exercise classes.  Over the next few months, I became much stronger, but still weighed the same;  too much at 166 pounds and 4' 11".  When I joined the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Weight Loss Challenge in September, I finally began to lose weight.  The extra motivation provided by the BC/BS program was just what I needed.  I continued classes at the health club and began to be more conscious of what I was eating, as well as found that I am very competitive!  I took an average of 6 exercise classes a week.  The classes were extremely helpful for me as I needed someone to 'cracking the whip'.  

I lost 24 pounds during the challenge and am down to 142 pounds!  I feel so much stronger now,  and have a lot more energy.  In fact, I even feel years younger than a few months ago.  My 5-year old grandson says I am younger now too.  Now,  I mostly eat salads, fruit, yogurt and granola, soups and peanut butter, banana and grape (and honey) sandwiches.  To help curb my appetite, I drink decaf coffee. 

At my last doctor visit, she was very pleased with my progress and advised I should only lose about ten more pounds.  That shouldn't be too hard.  Thanks, Blue Cross and Blue Shield for the extra impetus to get so close to my goal!  And best of luck to all who make this effort.  The REALLY sweet thing about exercise is that when you are stronger, you burn more calories ALL the time, not just when you exercise.

  Robin M

I entered the Weight Loss Challenge #2 competition having lost 68 pounds since the beginning of February 2011.  I lost an additional 17 pounds and finished 14th in the competition.  I appreciate the emphasis on life style changes.  I had a few challenges during the trial that tried to "derail" my workout plan.  I stayed focused and remembered it is a life style change,  a week or two does not make or break you.  I had an emergency appendectomy while on vacation that kept me from exercising a couple of weeks.   I also fell and pulled a muscle prior to Thanksgiving, that also halted my exercise.  I encourage folks to  "remember one day at a time" and "don't be too hard on yourself".  I look forward to January 2012.  I should have about 10 pounds to go and I will be successful this time on the all important MAINTENANCE. 

Sheryl M

 At the end of December, I set a goal to compete in the NPC (National Physique Committee) Big Sky Championships (body building, figure, bikini competition) scheduled for April 9, 2011, in Missoula. 

On January 1st  of this year, I weighed 132 pounds. With the help of the Well with Blue Weight Loss Challenge, I began a vigorous training and dieting program.  The Challenge website helped me be accountable for my caloric intake and track my exercise and success. I also took advantage of the Zumba sessions and BCBSMT Fitness Coordinator Anneliese Smith’s cardio/strength classes offered to our employees. 

Last weekend, I competed in my first Figure competition. I was in the B class, which is for women 5’2 ½” to 5’4”. I placed 3rd out of 9 competitors.  I now weigh 119 pounds and lost 4 inches from my hips. I did this all without a personal trainer.

The internet, and our Well with Blue website in particular, is a wonderful source of information on diets and workout plans.  I will be the first to tell you that it is not easy. Working full time and having children involved in everything presented its own challenges—such as 4:30 a.m. cardio and bringing baggies of chicken while have to watch my kids chow down at Burger King.  I feel strongly that anyone can do this.  Set goals, hold yourself accountable, and no excuses.

Shawn Kremer-Yanzick

"I have lost 19 pounds and enjoy shopping for new smaller clothes."

Thank you for sponsoring the Weight Loss Challenge program these last 12 weeks! I have lost 19 pounds and enjoy shopping for new smaller clothes. The best change I have experienced with the weight loss is I am taking very little heartburn medication. Now I am only taking the medication once or twice a week. My husband is also excited, because I have also quit snoring! I am looking forward to being a part of the program this September. I feel very strongly that offering this wellness challenge again in September will help people manage the coming holiday months when many of us seem to gain pounds. Again, thank you!

Cheryl C

"Motivation to a 14 lbs weight loss"

A great big THANK YOU for offering this wonderful program.  If it had not been for your advertising in the newspaper and motivating me I would not weigh 14 lbs less now than I did on January 3rd.  I am looking forward to the next challenge and will continue to incorporate my improved health habits.

Sharon

"I have lost about 12 pounds, my goal is to keep on going."

My little story about my weight loss success began with participating in the Weight Loss Challenge.  I found out I had a problem with high blood pressure (159/90) and this was my wake up call. My husband and I started to walk after work.   I feel so much better already, by eating only salads and a portion of meat, as well as cutting out the salt and carbs we are on our way to feeling better together.  I recently found an old pair of jeans that I can now get into!  So thank-you for being there to guide me in my weight loss. I have lost about 12 pounds and my goal is to keep on going.

Cindy Howard

"I'm glad to be rid of the extra pounds!"

Thank you so very much for your generosity in providing this program online.  It has been very helpful for me.  I'm glad to be rid of the extra pounds!

My absolute favorite recipe in the whole world is the Go Green Smoothie.  I'm addicted to it.  I get groceries approximately one and a half times a month so I'm kind of in a dither when I run out of ingredients! I live too far from the groceries!  I work outside a lot and my favorite "treat" is looking forward to being able to come in the house and have a smoothie.  I freeze the whole batch and prefer to eat it like a slushy.  So thank you , thank you and I'll miss being "connected" to the outside world!

Rosanna

"I feel really strong."

A year ago I started a new job, which involves traveling with lots of lunch meetings.  It didn’t take me long to pack on 15 pounds.  I’m tall so I can kind of pulled it off, but I was not comfortable at all.  All my clothes were tight … if they even fit at all.  At first I struggled to keep my size 10s, but in the end I was most certainly a 12 and sometimes a 14.  It was really depressing.  I would half-heartedly try to diet, but I would make it maybe a day and then just give in to stress or to the temptations of a lunch meeting where I felt I had to eat. 

I was really getting sick of listening to myself whine so I decided to make a change.  I have a good friend who mentioned that I would be welcome to join the group fitness classes she teaches.  I never thought that I was much of a group fitness person.  Because I’m with people all day, my notion of relaxing exercise is taking a walk with my dogs – that is if I woke up early enough –if it wasn’t raining –if it wasn’t dark out – if it wasn’t too cold and windy.  Well, you get the idea!  So, I started the classes, which were hard but fun.  Every class I felt like I could push myself a little bit more.  Soon, I was looking forward to the next class so much that I almost forgot it was supposed to be work!  I really started to enjoy that “exercise high” – and for the first time in my life, I knew what it was.

After about a month of getting into an exercise routine, I also got into some healthier food habits.  I signed up to do Weight Watchers online, and I really was meticulous about tracking everything.  It’s amazing to see how much I actually ate when I wrote it all down.I also joined the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana “Wake Up Your Life” 12-week weight loss challenge at the beginning of the year.  I have found the tools useful and the website tips inspiring.  The classes offered by Anneliese Smith definitely push me even further, and though I leave sore, I also leave feeling strong.

Of course, I was still dealing with lots of lunch meetings.  I’ve realized that many lunch meetings can be moved to be “coffee shop” meetings.  For me, this means not having the temptation to eat out too often.  My work life on the road has changed too.  I still do look for a place to have a good meal, but I will eat something like fish and asparagus instead of steak and potatoes or pasta and cream sauce.  Plus I have even taken exercise classes at the places I’ve been.  There are options, but when traveling in the past I would just conveniently forget to see them.  I really feel strong; I have my mommy pouch, but I also have these lines on my stomach, which I’m convinced must be some sort of muscles!  I still want to lose more, but more than that I want to be stronger.  I now weigh a couple pounds less than when I started my job so I’ve lost the 15, plus two.  I’m an 8 now – one size smaller – so I guess muscle does weigh more than fat.

Oh, and one more thing—my dogs are really overweight now, but at least I’m not!   Heidi O’Brien