Many of our Office Challenge competitors were initially intimidated by last week’s spaghetti squash recipe. Once they tried it, though, they realized it was both simple to make and delicious to eat.

This week’s recipe couldn’t be less nerve-wracking. It’s a simple spinach salad with goat cheese and figs. I’d love this for lunch (I might add some grilled chicken) or as a side with dinner.

Want to give it a whirl? Check it out over here on our Office Challenge blog.

If you’ve ever set a goal to shed a few pounds, you know it’s all about the victories along they way. If you don’t count ‘em, you end up losing sight of your goal all together—and oftentimes, throwing in the towel.

I figured many of our Office Challenge contestants were in that boat. They’re now more than halfway through the eight-week contest, just about the time the initial excitement finally wears off. So I wanted them to remember why they signed up for the challenge to begin with, and take stock of the victories they’ve already experienced in just four weeks’ time.

Boy, did they fill my inbox with inspiring victories: learning to eat healthier, running two miles—no stopping—for the first time, dropping a dress size. Check out all their victories over here, and help cheer them on to the finish.

Four weeks to go, contestants. You can do it!

We hosted our first of two nutrition webinars for the Office Challenge teams earlier today. The lovely Andie Rowe from UnitedHealthcare provided our teams with tons of great tips and advice for how to break through weight-loss plateaus.

Her talk couldn’t have come at a better time: We’ve reached the halfway mark in the contest, the point at which weight loss, for some, starts to slow down.

The trick, says Andie, is to actually eat more food to coax your body into greater weight loss. Neat, right?

Find out why—and learn lots more—in our recap over here on the Office Challenge blog.

I’m so psyched for this week’s Office Challenge recipe. It’s a dish I’ve been wanting to make for ages, but one that I’ve always shied away from, convincing myself it’d be too difficult for my meager kitchen skills.

Turns out, spaghetti squash is super easy to handle. You just roast it, then scoop out the guts, and voila—you’ve got a pretty nifty faux-spaghetti. Our nutrition expert and recipe creator, Maura Manzo, insists you can’t tell the difference between the veggie version and the real stuff.

Our Office Challenge contestants will be busy making this recipe this week, but you should take the challenge, too! Get the recipe over here.

One of the hardest parts of losing weight is undoing bad habits when it comes to what you eat and drink. Our Office Challenge contestants are dealing with some demons this week: overcoming some pretty sweet (and salty) food vices. Go here to see what their biggest weaknesses are, and read how they’re trying to deal with them (or not).

Have some advice? They could really use it.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret: Blood sugar is super important. If you’re feeling a serious 3 p.m. lag right now, you’re probably not eating right and your blood sugar has tanked.

I talked to local health counselor Ali Shapiro about how to stay energized all day. The secret? Learn how to better control your blood-sugar levels. You might even shed a few pounds in the process.

I shared all of Shapiro’s tips over here on our Office Challenge blog. I think our contestants will find her advice super useful. But so will you—go here for the low down.