Yay, we did it. We are finally here. Thank you all again. I am so excited and relieved that people would do this with me. I do so much better when I have something that I am working toward and we may have four more people join which would make first place $750.00. That can buy the winner a whole new wardrobe. So on your mark, get set, Go!!!

I will have to be honest, already this first week has been really hard. I have had sick kids and that hasn't make eating well and exercising easy. But, I will say that its not the end of the world. On the biggest loser web site I was reading about the Bobs 80/20 philosophy. If you work really hard you will be successful 80% of the time but you will have to allow yourself 20% slack for when you might slip up or not have a great day. Don't give up its not worth quitting because you had one or two bad days. Get back on track and start again.

There is a wide range of goal which is great! I hope that everyone of us reaches our goals by the end of this adventure. Don't get discouraged about your goals though. This is a hard thing to accomplish for most of us. For some it might be not as hard. My Dad read this quote to us on Sunday and I thought that it fit perfect for this challenge that we are doing. Richard G. Scott said "Repeatedly, I have been impressed to learn that to reach a goal never before attained, we must do things never before done." Remember this when you are frustrated or having a hard day. It will all be worth it in six months when we are all a little thinner and a lot healthier!

Competitors and their goals:

Tyler Solt 15.4%

Alex Munoz 37.5%

Caren Solt 13.6%

Kathy Smith 12%

Vicki Peterson 21%

Brent Peterson 26.8%

Tammy H. 20.6%

Tina Irwin 17.6%

Kathy Brasher 9%

Jay Brasher 15.3%

Dawn Booth 11%

Mindie Booth 27.9%

Don Rowley 12.6%

Ryan Fenton 13.4%

Andrea Hill 14.5%

Lindsey M. 14%

Natalie S. 27%

Jessica Ward 23.6%

Jennifer Loukas 20%

Lenna Hanson 28.8%

Now for me to attain my goal I have to burn 2750 calories a day and only eat 1250 calories. Now you may ask yourself is this practical? I say no it is not but that it my goal. Hopefully even if I don't reach my goal during the next six months I will be well on my way there.

Please keep us updated on how you are doing, yummy healthy recipes you have found and fun things that your are doing to stay active. Our next weigh in is April 9th. That is 3 1/2 weeks away so lets get our butts in gear.

Weigh ins will be May 7th, June 4th, July 9th, August 6th and September 10th for our final weigh. The employees at the auction will be the day before since you weigh on fridays and all of these dates are Saturdays. I had to change the August date from our original schedule because I will be out of town that day. The weigh in will be from 9-10 a.m. If you can't make it during this time please, please let me know so that I don't have to wait around all day. We can schedule another time for you just let me know. I may have to change the times also depending on when my kids soccer and T-ball games are. I am home most of the time during the day so its not a problem to reschedule.

GOOD LUCK!