Hello out there! We have reached the halfway point of our competition! Our teams are still going strong, and there are some great updates to report this week. A few teams have reached a plateau due in large part to previous success, so staying motivated and pushing through is one of the most challenging aspects of the competition currently.
This week’s contest for our ladies, is to win a gorgeous piece of jewelry courtesy of independent Cookie Lee consultant, Amanda James! (Click the link to shop your own bling!)
Amanda has generously offered to award our winning pair with a piece of jewelry each, of their choosing worth up to $48! Also, to help encourage all of our competitors to keep pushing ahead, Amanda is also offering 25% off of all jewelry to all of our teams! Thank you Amanda!
Just as a teaser, here are two of my personal favorite pieces from the Cookie Lee collection:
Opalescent Heirloom Pendant
Fireball pendant
In order to choose a winning team this week, I will be asking you, our dear readers to vote on a PHOTO CONTEST! I have asked that each of our teams submit a photo of their team, showing off their enthusiasm for healthy living. Please check out this week’s updates, then follow the voting instructions at the bottom of the post to vote on the picture you find to be the most fun and creative!
Updates for week three:
Drop It Like It’s Hot: Abre and Shea have met 42% of their goal loss and say the biggest positive change is they are BOTH down a full size! The biggest ongoing challenge is pushing through physical limitations. Shea has shin splints and Abre has asthma, so exercising can be tough at times. 
The Big Butt Theory: Amy and Lindsey have met 7% of their goal loss and say the biggest positive change is having the accountability factor of your friend, counting on you not to quit! The hardest thing for the team has been seeing the other teams lose significantly faster, though they know they are doing the right things too. It’s a bit discouraging.
Beer by the Pound: Melanie and Annemarie have met 17% of their goal loss and say they are both feeling better about themselves and trimmer overall. The ladies have had a hard time cooking in the heat though, and often would rather eat out than cook healthy foods at home, so the weather has posed a challenge.
iSkinny: Mishelle and Ashley have met 39% of their goal loss and are starting to notice their clothes fit better and people are asking them whether they’ve lost weight! Team iSkinny is feeling some pressure to hit the drive thrus due to excessively busy evenings, but they’re staying strong!
Quit Stuffin’ the Muffin: Kristine and Dena have met 27% of their goal loss and are both feeling healthier and making better food choices. The biggest challenge has been not being able to workout together, as they’ve both been out of town, but as of Monday, it’s “game on!” they say!
Weapons of Mass Reduction: Yesi and Lela have met 43% of their loss goal and are benefiting from increased energy, but are finding it tough to stick to a strict diet.
The Waist Watchers: Michelle and Mary have met 30% of their loss goal and have both significantly increased their exercise habits and now exercise every day! The toughest thing for this team has been continuing to workout despite super hot weather and Mary is struggling with cutting carbs.
Bringing Sexy Back: Ana and Becky have met 44% of their loss goal and say they are benefiting from eating better AND spending more time with each other! The biggest challenge for this team is finding the time to workout.
Booty Busters: Karien and Angela have met 36% of their loss goal and are noticing lots of positive changes including increased muscle tone, decreasing body fat and stronger willpower when it comes to saying “no!” to junk food. The hardest time for the team is the weekend, as they’ve given up their wine, margaritas and chips and salsa, but the body changes they are seeing keep them focused.
Ms. Fit Mavens: Krystin and Tawni have met 42% of their loss goal. Krystin feels so much stronger since starting the competition, and is pleased as she knows building muscle burns fat. Tawni is loving the exercise endorphins she’s benefiting from. Krystin struggles with drinking enough water and notices her food cravings are worse when she’s dehydrated. Tawni has been a little frustrated with her current loss plateau but is happy to see her body composition is changing, even if the scale hasn’t moved again just yet.
Mission Slimpossible: Suzanne and Jamie have met 46% of their loss goal and are actually becoming exercise addicts! They are fitting into their formerly too tight jeans, experiencing increased energy and enjoying spending time together and building friendships through this challenge. Both of the ladies are struggling to fight their sweet tooths at times.
Evanesco! Lisa and Alyssa are currently a little behind towards meeting the goals they set, but they have plenty of time to catch up! Lisa is proud to be making better food choices and adding activity to her daily routine. She also said she had a pretty rough week, but being in a pattern of good habits, she avoided turning to food due to emotions, which is a great accomplishment. Alyssa is experiencing greater energy, though she hasn’t shed pounds, she feels it’s worth it to continue her healthy habits.
Those are all of the updates I have for week three, there are some teams that have not checked in this week, hopefully because they are so busy enjoying their workouts they didn’t have time to sit on the computer to update 
And now, it’s time to vote on your favorite team photo for the jewelry prize!
Please click here to vote.
(Due to issues with the prior poll feature, we are now using an outside polling system
to ensure voting accuracy, we apologize for any inconvenience.)
Thank you again to all of our wonderful challenge sponsors!
Rosa’s Dance and Fitness Studio, Ruffles with Love, Cookie Lee Consultant, Amanda James,
Dr. Rob A. Smith, DDS, & Twee Boutique
[featured image via nomoreplussize]
