Weight Loss Challenge Winner - Odile Blanchet

Posted 12 January 2009

Back in October last year we launched the first ever Fitbug Weight Loss Challenge. Over 500 of you signed up for the 10-week competition which took us right up to Christmas Eve 2008. We had some fantastic results over the course of the competition, and Odile was no exception,losing a fantastic 8kg over the 10 weeks. Here she tells us just how she did it.

Congratulations on your weight loss Odile!- How do you feel?

I am very pleased with myself. I thought that 8 kg might be hard to achieve but in fact it was the perfect target.

What did you do over the 10 weeks to achieve such great results?

Walking, walking, walking and more walking and logging my food! I built up my steps in line with Fitbug's recommendations and did more when I could. I aimed for hundred per cent pink days and achieved around 90%. As my steps target went up I increased my walking time by taking a slightly longer way to and from work and going out at lunch. The days I was not working I would go walking for at least a couple of hours taking Toby, my next door neighbour's dog, with me. We explored all the parks around us and enjoyed walking in the fresh air. Blackheath and Greenwich park are great on clear bright winter days and are our firm favourites.

I also joined an outdoor exercising class http://www.opengym.co.uk but unfortunately strained my ankle and was not able to carry on. This happened on the second Saturday of the challenge and I was gutted! Luckily I could still walk, slowly at first but to a good pace within a few days. Steady walking was an excellent re-education exercise.

I logged all my food and kept to the calorie target set by Fitbug. Giving up drinking was fairly easy early on in the challenge but much more testing closer to Christmas.

Why did the challenge work for you?

It gave me the motivation to focus on getting fitter and watching what I eat and drink. Ten weeks was long enough to make a noticeable difference in my progress but not so long that it appeared unachievable. Doing it up to Christmas was a fantastic way for me to keep all the pre-festive dos under control. And, once I had achieved my new weight I did not want to blow it all up by over indulging at Christmas.

The weekly step target increases pushed me beyond what I thought I could do. It was difficult at times to manage but I concentrated all my energy on achieving it. There were days when I was very tired and had to go to bed to recover. I froze my steps targets to 14600 and kept to it nearly every day over the Christmas holidays. Success! I am no longer exhausted after a long walk. That is great progress and I am very happy.

Although I relaxed and stopped logging my food over Christmas I was glad to notice that I still had a good idea of how much and what to eat. Ten weeks of tracking everything that went in my mouth might have made a permanent impression in my brain!

What changes have you noticed in your body?

I am a size down in my clothes and on my way to the next one down. Shopping has not been my forte for a while but it is so great to buy smaller clothes. I can cross my legs when I sit down! It might sound silly, but I love it and every so often crossed them just for the pleasure of it. I am more supple, have more energy and can achieve so much more in Yoga too. I am also less stressed and sleeping better. Oh, and I smile more! Just check the before and after pictures!

How have people responded to your weight loss?

I think that people are polite and that in the same way they don't comment when you are putting on weight they don't do it either when you lose it. But lately, I'm often being told that I look well.

One person spotted me in the street and mentioned to someone else that he had to do a double take before recognising me as I looked that much thinner. An other couple of people have asked me how much I had lost and wanted to know how I did it - I heartily recommended Fitbug to them!Toby also gets complimented too on how he looks trimmer too!

How do you plan to keep this going?

I have kept my weight down but as I don't want to push my luck too much I am back tracking my food. I am keeping up with my steps target which I have reset to a more manageable 13500 during those short winter days. I will still do more at every opportunity, of course, but having a target less challenging makes me feel more positive. I also want to introduce power walking and it just would be too tiring on a higher target.

I am also going back to Opengym on Saturdays. I think that, thanks to all the walking, I am now much stronger and will benefit more from the outdoor circuit training. I do want to improve my cardiovascular fitness.

I've joined a few Fantasy Footfall teams and was amazed how high up I was. This has ignited my dormant competitive instinct. I aiming to be in the top 10 of the UK league and don't want to see any down arrows.

I have a week of Yoga by the sea in Egypt coming up at the end of the month and would love to be another 2 kg lighter by then.

Finally, I have some size 12 clothes that I used to really like and have kept for a few years in hope. They are unpacked now, just waiting to be worn again. I am so looking forward to it!

Before

After