Oh, it’s a very special week here on MYFA! Not only is Darrah our Biggest Loser of the week, but…

*drumroll*

SHE HIT HER GOAL WEIGHT! Seriously, amazing amazing work. Darrah has busted her ass over the last two years, going from Couch-to-5K to triathlon and half marathons. Un-freaking-believable. Way to go, Darrah! Let’s learn more about her, shall we?

1. Intro

I’m 37 and live in east-central Kansas with my husband and our 4-year-old daughter. I work full-time as a marketing assistant/Jane-of-all-trades. In my spare time, I enjoy running, reading, and spending time with my family. I blog about my running and fitness adventures at onemominmotion.blogspot.com and tweet at @_Darrah_.

2. What are your fitness and/or weight-related goals, both for this competition and longer-term?

Short-term goals (over the course of this competition)
1. Lose 10 pounds {editor’s note: DONE, BOOYAH!}
2. Reduce body fat by 2%
3. Fit comfortably into the pair of skinny/low-rise jeans that are gathering dust in my dresser

Long-term goals (through the end of the year)
1. Find my body’s “happy weight” and maintain
2. Complete the Heartland 39.3 half-marathon series (3 halfs in 4 weeks)
3. Complete my first full marathon in October

3. What is your least favorite part about getting fit / losing weight? Or, what is the hardest part or biggest obstacle? Have you figured out any ways to deal with those challenges?

My least favorite part about losing weight is counting calories/tracking food. I’ve learned that if I don’t track my food, I WILL gain weight–no matter how often I exercise. However, I have a tendency to get too numbers-focused and become obsessed and anxious about the tracking component. So I have to walk a fine line between being aware of what I’m eating without turning into a crazy person and over-analyzing every single bite.

4. What part do you like the most? What comes the easiest for you, what do you enjoy, what do you find the most rewarding?

The easiest part of this process for me is exercise. Between the gym and running, I am able to exercise, on average, 4 days a week, and I love every minute of it. In addition to running, I’m addicted to kickboxing classes, and also enjoy some small-group personal training sessions that focus on high-intensity interval training. I like trying new fitness classes and challenging myself at the gym!

5. Where do you find motivation, how do you keep yourself on track? Competition? Routine? Keeping things fresh? Comparing yourself to all of the pretty girls from high school on Facebook?

My biggest motivator is having a deadline-based goal. Most of the time that means a race or other event, but any short-term date-specific challenge (like this one!) will usually do the trick. I’m not particularly motivated by life events (vacations, reunions, etc.) or by comparing myself physically to others, so I generally need a performance- or date- based goal to keep me on track. I also thrive on feedback and will admit that part of my desire to complete races and become more fit is because I like getting that positive feedback/reinforcement/acknowledgement from friends and family.

6. What is your favorite type of exercise, and why? Where do you do it, how do you fit it into your life?

My favorite type of exercise is running. Running leaves me less-stressed, calmer, and more centered, and it’s given me great legs and lungs. But beyond the physical benefits I’ve reaped from my two years as a runner, I’ve learned things that spill over into my non-running life. I’ve developed so much more self-confidence and discipline; I’ve learned how to set reasonable goals and I’ve experienced the joy of attaining them; I’ve met wonderful people and made new friends; and I’ve learned how important it is to make time for myself and that it’s not selfish to make your health a priority. I love how there’s always room for improvment–you can always run faster or longer or harder; I’ve learned to believe in myself and trust my abilities. I like that can run alone when I need time to think and decompress, or I can run with a friend and get in a good chat session.

I prefer to run outside, when weather and daylight allows. I will run on a treadmill, but I generally like to keep it at or under 4 miles. Anything more than that makes me crazy! If I’m running alone, I usually stay in a 2-mile radius of my house, but if I’m with a friend we’ll go anywhere around town that suits our fancy. I’m able to fit running into my life because I have a fantastic husband who supports my hobby and shares in the household/childcare duties. I usually run in the evenings and on weekends, so I try to let him know a few days in advance and keep my running days the same each week so we can each plan accordingly. My daughter has adapted well also and knows that sometimes in the evenings Mommy goes to the gym or goes on a run.

7. Any favorite healthy foods? Great recipes, tasty snacks, or any other tricks that help you keep the food part under control?

It’s cliche, but “Write before you bite.” The first thing I do when I get to work is use my LoseIt! app to track my all my meals for the day. (We meal-plan our dinners a week at a time, so usually know what’s for dinner that night.) Planning ahead makes me much less likely to resort to fast food once I’m home and I know exactly how much of dinner I can have in order to stay within my calorie budget. Committing to it “on paper” ahead of time makes me much less likely to stray from my plan.

Congratulations to our Biggest Loser of the week, Amy F! And rocking the exercise minutes was Christina Y. Nicely done, ladies!

This week’s profile is Pam S! Hey, Pam!

1. Intro

I live in Denver, Colorado with my husband and boy/girl twins who turn 4 in 3 weeks. I am 43 and work full-time as a federal attorney. Surviving is my hobby although I hope to start playing tennis again this year. My blog is http://wikitwinmom.wordpress.com

2. What are your fitness and/or weight-related goals, both for this competition and longer-term?

My fitness/weight-related goals are to run a 5K before summer and complete a sprint triathlon this year. I would love to do a half-marathon too and am always searching for one at sea-level to compete in (might as well benefit from my “high altitude” training). I would also like to lose 25-30 pounds.

3. What is your least favorite part about getting fit / losing weight? Or, what is the hardest part or biggest obstacle? Have you figured out any ways to deal with those challenges?

The hardest part of getting fit is finding the time to do it. I try to escape work at lunchtime and head to the wonderful gym across the street from my office or simply out for a walk but work often gets in the way or exhaustion. Trying to work through this. Another difficulty is that I’ve had shoulder issues for the past 14 months–first pain followed by a frozen shoulder which resolved to reveal the underlying pain followed by shoulder surgery last month to reveal a labral tear and loose cartilage from a fall while running in the snow back in 2003. I was officially out of my sling on January 24th.

4. What part do you like the most? What comes the easiest for you, what do you enjoy, what do you find the most rewarding?

Once I develop the habit of working out and eating better, then I’m good to go. I love how much more energy I have and how much better I feel in every facet of my life.

5. Where do you find motivation, how do you keep yourself on track? Competition? Routine? Keeping things fresh? Comparing yourself to all of the pretty girls from high school on Facebook?

My motivation stems from simply wanting to be the best person I can be for myself and my family. As an older mom, I need to stay healthy so that I can be there for my kiddos.

6. What is your favorite type of exercise, and why?

Playing outdoor soccer or anything else with a ball in it. Sadly, I’ve all but given up outdoor soccer but will likely replace it with tennis once I rehab my shoulder. For now, I’m trying to fall for running or the elliptical or anything else with lots of movement.

7. Any favorite healthy foods? Great recipes, tasty snacks, or any other tricks that help you keep the food part under control?

Fruit, roasted veggies, nonfat greek yogurt, grilled meats, steel cut oats.

Friends, we are more than halfway through this challenge! A few people have dropped out, which only means you have better odds if you’re still here.

Our biggest loser for the week is Jen W, and once again kicking ass on the exercise front is Heidi O. Way to go, ladies!

Today’s challenger spotlight is shining on Amy F, a friend and fellow local twin mom!

1. Intro

I live in Wakefield, MA with my husband of 5 years and my almost 4 year old son and almost 3 year old g/b twins. I’m currently a SAHM, but am a social worker by profession. I am 38 years old. I love any kind of craft, but scrapbooking, knitting, gardening, and sewing are my favorites. I also love to try to make bath and body products.

2. What are your fitness and/or weight-related goals, both for this competition and longer-term?

I hope to lose about 15 pounds and get on a regular exercise routine by the end of this challenge. I want to eat healthier and enjoy it. Ultimately I’d like to lose more like 30 pounds in the long term and maintain healthy eating and a good exercise regime.

3. What is your least favorite part about getting fit / losing weight? Or, what is the hardest part or biggest obstacle? Have you figured out any ways to deal with those challenges?

Eating healthy and maintaining exercise is hard, but the hardest is maintaining everything that I have worked on.

4. What part do you like the most? What comes the easiest for you, what do you enjoy, what do you find the most rewarding?

I like how I feel when I start losing weight and eating healthy.

5. Where do you find motivation, how do you keep yourself on track? Competition? Routine? Keeping things fresh? Comparing yourself to all of the pretty girls from high school on Facebook?

I need all the help with motivation I can get. My biggest motivation is when I see and feel changes in my body and others make comments as well.

6. What is your favorite type of exercise, and why?

Walking is probably my favorite. I try to fit it in when I can, but I am going to try to get it done and over with early in the morning this time.

7. Any favorite healthy foods? Great recipes, tasty snacks, or any other tricks that help you keep the food part under control?

I am really liking my green smoothies in the morning. Hopefully I can eat more fruits and veggies into my day.

Sorry to have fallen off the face of the earth last week. You can blame a certain British country manor around the time of World War I. Indeed, I have been COMPLETELY sucked in by Downton Abbey, and you should, too. Soooooo good.

Anyways, back to the big competition! Round of applause to our Week 3 Biggest Loser, Darrah! Heidi once again topped the charts for exercise.

Today’s challenger profile is rockin’ fellow mom-of-twins, Sarah.

1. Intro

My name is Sarah. I live in the D.C. suburbs with my husband and 7 year old twins. I work from home as a freelance writer, working on social media projects and selling swag. You can always find me complaining or waxing poetic about football or hair metal on Sarah and the Goon Squad, Draft Day Suit, That’s Right. You Heard Me, Aiming Low or on twitter as @goonsquadsarah.

2. What are your fitness and/or weight-related goals, both for this competition and longer-term?

Honestly I just need to lose some of this belly. I am tired of hating my body. I turn 40 in December and I want to be 160 or under on my 40th birthday.

3. What is your least favorite part about getting fit / losing weight? Or, what is the hardest part or biggest obstacle? Have you figured out any ways to deal with those challenges?

I have issues with beer. And wine. And food. I am usually pretty good during the day, but the afternoon kills me. At about 3:30 I want to eat salty things. I am starving until dinner, where I over eat. Working from home it is hard to not accidentally eat an entire box of crackers.

4. What part do you like the most? What comes the easiest for you, what do you enjoy, what do you find the most rewarding?

Once I get rolling on the exercise part I feel better in general and then it is easy to keep going. Plus, I can watch live streaming “Friday Night Lights” on Netflix from my elliptical. I find motivation in looking better.

5. Where do you find motivation, how do you keep yourself on track? Competition? Routine? Keeping things fresh? Comparing yourself to all of the pretty girls from high school on Facebook?

I am bad at this part. Really my best motivator is self-disgust. Charming, I know.

6. What is your favorite type of exercise, and why?

I love my elliptical, mostly because I can watch tv and play monopoly on my phone for 45 minutes without anyone pestering me. I do it at home, whenever I can. I am really trying to do it at least four times a week.

Oh, and I hired a personal trainer. She is awesome, but she can’t stop me from eating.

7. Any favorite healthy foods? Great recipes, tasty snacks, or any other tricks that help you keep the food part under control?

Um… water?

Today marks the first official day of our weight loss and exercise competition! Which, of course, means that it is taking every ounce of my willpower not to eat my way through my kitchen cabinets.  It’s totally mental, of course – mouth-hungry, not stomach-hungry.  But still. OMG ALL I WANT IS A COOKIE. MAKE THAT A BOX OF COOKIES.  It will pass, I know it will. But in the meantime…

There are 24 of us signed up right now, and I am so excited about this response. If there are any last-minute stragglers, I’d be happy to let you in if you email me a starting weight and $10 through Paypal by the end of the day today (Monday). For the rest of you, LET’S GET IT ON!

[Also? This thing needs a name. Any ideas? All I've got is "get your fat ass off the couch, Liz," but GYFAOTC,L is a terrible acronym.]

I’ll be profiling a bunch of our competitors during our 8 weeks, and I figured I’d kick it off with my own answers. Hope you don’t mind. (And yes, there will be “normal” programming on this here blog over the next two months, too. Don’t go away!)

1. Brief Bio

Um, I’m pretty sure you guys know me. I’m Liz. I live here. 33 years old, SAHM, 4.5-year-old twins, almost-1-year-old Ellie. When I find a few free minutes, or am trying to avoid laundry, exercise, or something else more important, I like to make quilts.

2. Fitness/weight goals, for the competition and longer-term

I’ve decided not to hide the details and just tell you my real numbers. Today, I am 215 pounds. GROSS, I HATE IT, ETC.  My goal for the eight weeks of the competition is to lose about 10 pounds. A little ambitious, but totally do-able if I stay on track. Longer-term, I would like to be down 30 pounds by my step-sister’s wedding in July, and a total of about 50 pounds. But I can’t think about the big number, I have to break it up. So for now, my focus is this 10.

3. Least favorite part about losing weight / getting fit

That first week or two of changing eating habits SUCKS SO HARD. All I can think about is eating. Specifically, eating complete junk. Stuffing my face with it.  After a week or so, I remember the tricks and recipes, and it gets a little easier… until I lose track, again.

4. Favorite / easiest / most enjoyable part of the process

Once I get into a groove with exercising, I really do enjoy it. I feel good doing it, I feel even better after I’m done. I feel stronger, more productive, and generally like a better version of myself.

And as much as I wish the weight would come off of my belly first, it’s kind of nice that my face tends to show the differences relatively quickly. Makes me hate photos a lot less.

5. Where do you find motivation?

Obviously, competition is an extra kick in the pants for me. I also do best with structure and routine, so I stop having to convince myself to exercise every time – it’s simply what I do on that day, no thought required.  And a deadline really helps (like the bridesmaid dress for my stepsister’s wedding, ahem).  I’m also such an extrovert, I have to have buddies. I need people I can talk to or compare notes with.

6. Favorite type of exercise

I really like Spinning. It’s a really hard workout, and it’s a group class, which I really like (nice to have an “appointment” to exercise, knowing I have to show up at a particular time). But I love that I can go at my own speed if I need to, without being terribly noticeable or getting in anyone else’s way.

7. Food tips and tricks

The more water I drink, the better I feel. Fewer headaches, fewer cravings, less hungry overall.  I also have a rule that I do not eat after 8PM. We have dinner at about 6:30. If I’m still eating after the kids go to bed, then it means I’m mindlessly grazing for sweets. It’s never because I’m *actually* hungry. So, after 8PM, nothing but water until breakfast. It’s hard the first few days, but I get used to it quickly and I can only imagine how many completely unnecessary calories it removes from my day.