“The biggest lesson I’m taking away is how important it is to take responsibility and time out for my own wellness.  I’m eating better, I’m more active and, overall, I feel great. I want to continue my weight loss because my ultimate goal is 25 pounds—it means at least another 10 after this challenge—and better overall fitness. I seriously need to improve my upper body and core strength. I will continue to work out at least four days a week because that will be the only way to attain and maintain these goals!” — Patricia Holden, Blue Team, Zarwin Baum

“My biggest lesson is the importance of having support. I’ve been on ‘diets’ my entire life. As I got older, I would go on a diet but wouldn’t tell anyone, mostly out of fear of failure and hearing ‘I told you so’ or ‘I knew you couldn’t do it.’ But sharing and working with others trying to achieve healthy habits is marvelous and satisfying. My latest habit is keeping a journal of what I eat. I’ve tried many times before but never this long. It’s truly an eye opener. And it’s helped a lot with planning meals.” —Carol Kubacki, Yellow Team, Center City District

“It sounds so silly to say, but I learned that exercise is not a bad thing, and that I don’t need to eat the entire bag of cookies or chips. I guess I knew those things before the challenge started, but I never told myself those things and believed it. The one habit I hope to continue is the walks I take with my seven-year-old daughter (once spring rolls around). I learned more about her day in that 20 minutes we spent walking the neighborhood than I would when we were having dinner together. Since we are unable to take those walks now, she and I go swimming on Friday nights at the YMCA. Not only am I getting the exercise that I need, but I am getting special time with her.” — Maureen Gochenauer, Orange Team, Advanced AV

“I definitely have better eating habits, and amazed myself with the insane stamina I learned I have. I pushed my body just a bit more after a long day on my feet walking and still managed to go to the gym.” — Luis Vega, Yellow Team, Center City District

“Things learned with this challenge it’s not easy balancing work, studying, and family. But as my girlfriend and I did things together—eating better and cutting out certain foods—it has bought us closer together and that is what doing things together is all about.” — Terrance Keene, Yellow Team, Center City District

“Although my initial motivation at the beginning of this challenge was to win (obviously), I quickly realized that my team was at a disadvantage because our overall weight was much less than the combined weight of all of the other participating teams. With that in mind, I wanted to find a way to truly get something out of this challenge (even if it didn’t mean winning). I had no idea just how much this challenge was going to impact my life and what state of mind I would be in two months later. First, I lost over ten pounds from working hard and trying to eat better. It took me the full two months to lose that weight, but since I have lost that weight and have seen a tangible difference looking back at me on the scale, I am now motivated more than ever to continue working out, making healthy food choices, and losing weight. Ten to 15 more pounds to go!

“A week ago, I read the book Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin (catchy title, huh?). Since reading that book, I have applied everything I’ve learned through this contest, leveraged my newfound ability to lose weight in a healthy way, and am actually trying to adopt a vegan diet for a minimum of six months. Mind you, I have never, ever thought of giving up meat and dairy products, or thought of myself as a vegan or vegetarian, for that matter, but since reading this book and realizing through Be Well Philly that weight loss is obtainable through changing one’s lifestyle (versus just going on diet after diet), I now have the willpower to cut out all the fat from my diet and literally cleanse my body of all my previous unhealthy eating habits. One of my goals is to say no to the easy way out and eat a slice of pizza or get a cheesesteak, but to truly think about what I’m putting into my body. I hope to strut around in my bathing suit this summer and, for once, not be self-conscious but be self-confident. I am so happy I was a part of this challenge—it was exactly the motivation I needed to implement the healthy lifestyle my body deserves.” —Lauren Siliani, Green Team, Razorfish Health

When I got wind that some of our Office Challenge contestants are using smartphone apps to help them lose weight, I just had to find out what’s working for them; below are their favorites. But I also want to hear from readers: Are there any apps (or websites!) that are helping you get healthy? Tell us in the comments!

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“Most of my team is using Myfitnesspal.com. This is a great website to track your food and exercise; pretty much any food you can think of is already in their database. If not, you can plug in the particulars of your food and add it. A food diary is one thing every healthcare professional recommends for successful weight loss, and this app is as easy as it gets.” —Colleen Leskowich, Orange Team, Advanced AV

“I, too, use Myfitnesspal.com for weight-loss tracking. The site has definitely contributed to me losing the weight. Prior to using this tool, my weight was not moving. Myfitnesspal has become my new best friend!” —Bea Ryder, Yellow Team, Center City District

“I started out using Livestrong.com to record my daily food intake and calorie burning exercises. When I found out about their app, I downloaded it so I could record my activity via my iPhone. Even after this competition is over, I know I will continue to use this app; it really helps you to stay on point to ensure you don’t accidentally overeat. Basically, you enter your weight/height and what your goals are (i.e. lose two pounds per week), and the app tells you what your daily intake of calories should be. You enter what you’ve eaten or burned off throughout the day and the app gives you a summary of calories remaining as the day goes on. You can also track your weight on the app, and Livestrong.com emails you every few days with healthy tips and links to related articles.” —Stephanie Correll, Purple Team, Campus Apartments

“For fitness, I’ve been using Map My Run and Nike + GPS, which tell me the distance traveled during my workout, calories burned and average pace. These apps work especially well if you have an armband holder for your device.” —Erin Jaskiewicz, Purple Team, Campus Apartments

“I’m using Lose It, which is very easy to use. You put in your current weight and the weight you want to be, and it figures your caloric goal for each day. As you put in what you eat each day it calculates the calories and visually shows you exactly where you are for the day. It’s very easy to enter foods as it remembers ones you’ve had before. And you can look them up by brand names, too. It also calculates your calories burned by activities and takes those off as you go.” —John O’Brien, Black Team, Philly Mag

“Another vote for Lose It. It has been really helpful, as I’ve been able to keep track of what I eat and how much I exercise. I have found it to be indispensable, as well as educational. I had no idea a whole avocado had 365 calories; think about all the guacamole calories! I am pretty sure I couldn’t have gotten as far as I have without this little gadget. I keep it in my pocket all the time and even refer to it when I’m out.” —Kate Davis, Green Team, Razorfish Health

Healthy eating tops many of our contestants' lists. Image from Polka Dot Images

“I think the biggest accomplishment for me was learning to eat correctly. I always ate fairly healthy foods but I didn’t eat enough. With [our trainer] Justin’s help, I realized the importance of eating at least 1,200 calories; I had been eating about 600 to 700. I always felt fine and my health is good, but I didn’t realize all the other factors involved with not eating enough.” —Mary Anne, Orange Team, Advanced AV

“Overcoming the late night snacking. This was a behavior I picked up while in school because I was up until 2 and 3:00 a.m. I would make sure I had the snacks ready to get me through the stress. I became so accustomed to late-night snacking that even if I woke up to use the bathroom, I headed straight for the snacks before going back to bed. It was a bad habit that I desperately needed to break. Thanks to the Challenge, I have once again became cognizant of how much, what, and the time I eat.” — Bea Ryder, Yellow Team, Center City District

“My closet is a complete boutique, filled with many sizes. This past weekend, while going through my clothes deciding what I will wear for the work week, I came across a pair of pants, which are a size smaller than what I usually wear. I always shop at Lane Bryant, and I had mistakenly purchased these pants in the wrong size and didn’t try them on. I am excited to report that these pants now fit perfectly. Seeing this happen just gives me more incentive to continue.” —Carol Kubacki, Yellow Team, Center City District

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