Not that long ago, about twenty-five women (and a few men) got together to shed some unwanted weight and get in shape for the summer, I mean, life.
We had a goal to see who could lose the most amount of weight in eight weeks. We called ourselves, “The Ultimate Losers”.
Though it was a short time, it was time we could use to examine our eating and exercise patterns and hopefully make new, healthier ones to with which we could face the holidays (and the temptation to laze about and eat a lot of junk). To make it a little more interesting, each person contributed 100 yuan to the pot which the top two winners and the top team divided as the winning prize. We also had some fabulous prizes donated from various companies who wanted to show their support to Shanghai Mamas.
One week,
Diva Life gave three prizes that made me want to shun sugar and do an exercise dvd in hopes of winning the
facial,
manicure, or
massage. But alas, there were other contenders much more determined than I was and I could only congratulate them while I vowed to work harder.
Another week,
Finch clothing company (one of my favorites here in Shanghai) gave two generous gift cards for their shops. I had planned to work extra hard those next two weeks but my father-in-law passed away and my weightloss efforts consisted in eating one piece of chocolate a day rather than drowning my sorrows in it. Even though I didn’t win the prize, I did manage to go to the outdoor fair at Ambassey Court and purchase the most adorable rain poncho EVER with cute little airplanes flying all over it for my son from the Finch line. Up next, one for me with the Shanghai skylike on a striking splash of beautiful color (not the local garish ones).
And who was the generous and supportive organization that made all this possible by providing a sparkling new vacinity and top notch staff to organize our weigh-ins every two weeks? It was Global Health Care (located both in Pudong and Puxi). I was very impressed by their professionalism and their willingness to work with our changing schedules. In fact, after stopping in every two weeks as they were just finishing up their renovations and seeing the shiny new end result, I was very interested to check out their dental clinic as I noticed they had something new opening. After asking for some information they gave me the info I was looking for and thought I would pass along some of it below:
“GHC is pleased to announce the development of their new American Medical Specialists team which includes a U.S. Board Certified Urologist, U.S. Board Certified Cardiologist, three U.S. Board Certified internists, U.S. Board Certified Neurologist, and U.S. trained obstetrician/gynecologist, dietitian, and clinical psychologist. In addition, this summer GHC is offering a FREE consultation with their new orthodontist, Dr. David Austin, as well as 10% off Invisalign braces. Contact www.ghcchina.com for clinic location info.”
Actually, it was their 50% off sale for the summer on home teeth bleaching kits that caught my eye as I am quite fond of smiling and sometimes wonder if I should brighten up the pearly whites.
All of that to say that we were all super grateful to the staff who let us know what we all wanted to know, “Who was the ultimate loser?”
Well, after some really informative health seminars from Mithi and Tennelle and the donated services of some awesome personal trainers (Phil Lowes, Fernanda Titze at : cocada@hotmail.de , Cida Tams at: astams@hotmail.de, Chris Chinn, bootcamp instructor, at: crchinn@gmail.com , Tammy Doran at: chinagirl418@yahoo.com,
Ewa Burkland at: enossowi@yahoo.com, and
ANDYSPORT bodycombat classes at:
majbrith@andysport.net ) we lost had a tight race. But, in the end the winner, Magdalena Curic, lost 12 kg and the runner up lost 8kg (Halima). Of all the other participants they lost the most percentage of body fat as well. I would tell you exactly how much but it is on my other computer that was stolen last month. Sigh.
I’m so proud of them and all those who really gave it their best effort. And a final thanks to our amazing photographer who offered her free before and after photos for those who wanted them,
Larissa (who was also my prenatal and newborn photographer- so cute, you must check out her work!).
If any of you would like more information about any of our generous sponsors, just write in the comments or google them. Show your support to the businesses that show support to the Shanghai Mamas!
Whaoh! Really cool everyone really did there best. Congratulations!!
Hopefully a next challenge will come soon, or can Magdalena share her secret how she lost so much??
Unfortunately I was pregnant at the time ‘The Ultimate Losers’ started, so I really need some advice from you Ultimate Losers!!
Hope to hear more from you.
Cheers,
Suzanne
An awesome effort from so many people and the courage to kick-start into a healthier and more active lifestyle…brilliant job everyone!! 🙂