A SPECIAL Thank You from Cristina

Cristina is VERY thankful and really doesn't know how to repay everyone for their thoughtfulness. Well, she does know, and it's through song, of course! So check it out. And if she left you out, she really, really, really, is thankful!



P.S. You should see how hard Cristina is working these days. She has a new Ironman watch with a heart rate monitor that keeps track of heart rate and calories burned and is just giddy watching the calories burned go up and up... I can't keep her from the gym! Luckily, our kids LOVE the gym and the staff there is SOOO great! And WE love the FREE day care. Can't beat that!

-- Drew

Thank You from Cristina

Wow!! You all kept me in the Biggest Loser Contest! I am in your debt! I was overwhelmed with love and support by everyone! I am amazed at the lengths friends and family were willing to go to get me through this! And it was soo close! My dear friend Linda had the the whole YMCA staff and some of its members voting for me as well. The Y had some of their employees go home to enter more votes! For me! Diane, my sweet mother-in-law got up early this morning and made sure she made her vote! My friend came with me to a library so we could enter more votes! Everyone blogging and emailing their friends, myspace, facebook ... everyone made a difference, every vote counted!! I feel deeply loved! I am so appreciative of all that everyone did for me! And so many of you do not know me! I am in your debt! I needed everybody and you were so extremely helpful!

So this week I am going to step it up big time! Friday, after the show, Drew and I got a babysitter and went to the gym at 6:30, we did an hour of cardio then I worked with a personal trainer who worked it big time! She had me doing football runs, sit ups on an inclined bench, jump squats, bench press and much more! I am going to boot camp Saturday, then I'll do 2 miles, I will also be going to a 2-hour Zumba-thon! I need to lose 2 more lbs than the two girls left to avoid the bottom 2 in two weeks, so I will step it up big time!

I met two people at the Y Friday night who had lost major lbs! One man lost 56 lbs and I met a woman who had lost 90 lbs!! Wow! What an inspiration! I can do this! You have lifted my spirits and encouraged me so much! I am so blessed to have you all in my life!

Cristina Needs YOUR Help!

Well, Cristina lost two pounds last week, which makes a total of 17 pounds in just over a month!

BUT, it wasn't enough and she's on the block this week.

What does that mean? She needs YOUR help and it's so EASY to vote.

1. Just go to http://atlbiggestloser.com and on the right side will be a poll.
2. Choose CRISTINA to stay (you are voting for who STAYS)!
3. Enter the six-digit verification code and you're done. (until the next day!)
   

You can vote once a day on each computer from now until Friday at 10 a.m. EASTERN TIME. So you West Coast people will need to get up early that day (or vote late on Thursday!)

And PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE have everyone you know vote or post something on their blog, too.

This is such a small-scale contest in reality, so your vote WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Both times Penny has been on the block there were 3000+ votes, but the other two votes had 500 and 900 votes. So, we're thinking Penny has some great connections.

Cristina is NOT done and is so motivated to win this thing!

HERE's Cristina's message to everybody!




Here is a clip from today's show. You can tell how badly Cristina wants this. Her emotional plea comes near the end. Had me in tears!

It's Weigh-In Day: Send Positive Vibes

OK, it's weigh-in day for Cristina and the Brown team!

Cristina's doing awesome, shedding inches, and looking great. Cristina's feeling a little nervous today so any positive vibes sent her way would be much appreciated!

Thanks for the support!!

Pink Team's Elimination Week!

"Don't ask me who to vote for, they're both dolls!"

That's what Cristina says about Arlissa and Gabbie,up for elimination on the pink team this week. To vote follow this link...
Click HERE to VOTE!





Also, I started a group on Facebook to support Cristina, so join up if you're on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=57378639940&ref=nf

And here's another video from this week's show with Cristina's trainers (and a couple short clips of Cristina working out).

Enjoy!

The truth behind the scenes ...

Today was extremly frustrating! This was the Second saturday in a row that my trainer did not tell me that the boot camp time was changed. I came last week at 8 and it was moved to 8:30 due to paperwork (for newcomers) and it didn't start till 8:45 and I needed to leave at 9:00. So, I only got 15 min. of workout in. Today, I came at 8:30 and it was moved back to 8:00 again and then was over at 8:45. However, this was not the only time I have come and no one has been there. SO I was so frustrated! But I went to my YMCA, burned about 1000 calories, worked out my frustration and felt better! My hope is that this will not happen anymore, that we can move on in the competition and I will feel supported by my trainers equally.

The other crazy thing that happened ... Friday, sadly, when Sara Simmons was voted out of the competition one of my trainers jumped up for joy and hollered. Does that seem appropriate to you?

I did talk to the head trainer about all this and I think we will get it straightened out on Monday. I also talked to the person running the competition and told them about what was happening. She is going to have a meeting on Monday and will get back to me then. She also told me, as she understands it at the end it will all come down to a vote! When it gets down to two from our team there will be a vote. Then when it's down to one from each team there will be another vote to pick the final winner! (ME!!) I am going to need you to tell everyone you know to vote every day the voting is open!! Will you do that for me? I believe that I can get me to that point but then I will need you!!

If anyone has good pointers for eliminating fat and adding muscle let me know!

Cristina Packham
Atlanta's Biggest Loser Winner!

Workout Video No. 3!

OK, here is Cristina's third workout video. She hopes you enjoy it and that it will help in reaching your fitness goals. She is working hard and dealing with a lot of obstacles, but I'm sure you'll be able to tell from the video she's shedding the pounds and looking great!

Thanks everyone for the support!! ENJOY!

Watch HERE (embed wasn't working for me... hmmm): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsAv_CNbavY

Weigh in Results are in!!! And she's.......

This was a scary weigh in, not at first but turned out to be! First that time of the month came early. But either way I was going to be confident, I felt good,worked hard!

That morning on my scale (which I have calibrated) I weighed 5 lbs. less! I felt good, I was hopeful that would be enough but my goal was 8 lbs. So, when I got to the station I put on my heavy jacket and walked up and down that big hill a couple times. I figured that would help drop a pound possibly.

But when I weighed in at the station I only lost 3 lbs! I made them weigh me twice so I could believe it. I was blown away. After everyone was weighed in I got up on the scale and did it again. There was a 4 lb. discrepancy!! It said I lost 7 lbs. I got the WellStar girl to come over and she saw it, and did it and got the same results! I stepped off and got back on and the scale said something different!

SO, Sara and I eliminated 3 lbs. I was sure I was in the bottom 2. Then, there was a question of the percentage being cumulative or week-to-week. We weren't sure! I went home and my husband and I did both sets of numbers. Week-to-week I was up for elimination. Cumulative I was the biggest loser overall! So, then I had to bite my nails for a few hours until they called!

Finally, Sara Simmons called and told me that it would be her and Penny in the bottom %! Cumulative won out and I feel like by the grace of God or something I was saved for another 2 weeks!! Whoa! That was a close call! Guess I'm gonna have to up it a notch some how and still be careful! Officially safe for 2 more weeks!!

Here is the videos from today's show, showing the weigh-ins, etc.:



You can go to the Atlanta's Biggest Loser Web site to vote for either Sarah or Penny!

http://www.11alive.com/life/contests/moms_biggest_loser/default.aspx

Some people ask me who to vote for... so let's look at it. First, we all want to lose about 50-60 lbs, so we all have the same weight to lose, just different start and end points.

Penny lost her mom at 10 and has been through some rough times. You can read her blog here:
http://atlanta.momslikeme.com/members/groupabout.aspx?g=767788

Sara has a 10-year-old daughter who has been fighting a battle with Leukemia for a few years. Sara has put her needs aside to take care of her child but her child is now in remission and she is taking this opportunity to get healthy for herself and her family. You can read her blog here:
http://atlanta.momslikeme.com/members/groupabout.aspx?g=767778#

Go here to vote:
http://www.11alive.com/life/contests/moms_biggest_loser/default.aspx

Thank you for your support! I have needed every single comment or show of support!

RESULTS SO FAR:

CRISTINA
START: 188.0 lbs
NOW: 173.0 lbs
15 pounds lost
8% lost

KELLY (ELIMINATED)
START: 178.0 lbs
FINAL: 171.5 lbs
6.5 pounds lost
OUT: 2/27

NICOLE
START: 232.0 lbs
NOW: 215.5 lbs
16.5 pounds lost
7.1% lost

PENNY
START: 263.0 lbs
NOW: 247 lbs
16 pounds lost
6.1% lost

RASHIDA
START: 198.5 lbs
NOW: 184 lbs
14.5 pounds lost
7.5% lost

SARA
START: 219.0 lbs
NOW: 206.0 lbs
13 pounds lost
5.9% lost

Positive Vibes For Cristina!

OK, everyone. It's time to send out some positive vibes for Cristina today. She has her second weigh-in at 12:30 this afternoon (just over an hour from now) and she's not where she wants to be... She's gonna try to get one more quickie workout in and maybe sweat out just a little bit more, but let's put our positive thinking to work and hopefully she'll have the results she's hoping for!

She is doing great and feels so supported by everyone dropping her notes and giving her well wishes, so let's keep it up!

Cristina WILL be Atlanta's Biggest Loser WINNER.

Advice From Cristina!

I lost 12 lbs. in 2 weeks!! How did I do it? I think there are a few key things that have helped me to do this and I want to share them with you!

Drink plenty of water! Eight glasses a day are most likely not gonna cut it. In actuality you are supposed to drink half your body weight in ounces. Example: I weigh 176 lbs. so I drink 88 ounces a day.

No eating after 8. Eat your dinner beforehand and do not snack after that. Fill that need with water until your body adapts. This will also help you go to bed sooner, which your body needs anyway.

Watch your caloric intake. You may be eating more calories than you think! Check this site out and see what your caloric intake should be and how hard you need to work out to lose weight: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ Get yourself a cheap pedometer to monitor how many calories you burn and how much you have walked. Knowledge is power! There was a study done involving two sets of house cleaners. The first set of house cleaners did not change a thing in their patterns. The other group was given a CD about how many calories you burn when you do different chores around the house. The second set lost weight because they knew they were burning calories!

Eat more raw fruits and vegetables! They are so good for you and not only provide fiber and other nutrients, but they have enzymes that help reverse time from your body by providing the energy your body needs to regenerate cells.

Lastly, I have been working out 6 days a week and some days twice a week! Lots and lots of cardio! Choose more reps and lower weights. They will burn more calories, keep your muscles strong and won't add a lot more body weight. Our schedule has been: Mon., Wed., Fri. 1/2 hr of cardio with 45 min. of circuit training; Tue., Thur., 1 hour of cardio; Saturday has been a boot camp day. Our trainers tell us, Cardio, cardio, cardio!!

Hope this helps anyone out there needing to lose weight and trying to get healthy!

Cristina Packham
Brown Team, Atlanta's Biggest Loser
_________________________________________________________________ PS. I highly recommend THIS water bottle, which we bought at Target. It's got a nice spout to drink out of and has a ring that is labeled 1-6, so as you drink a bottle, you can turn the ring to keep track of how many ounces you've had!

Workout Video No. 2!

Cristina is sharing with everyone the workouts her trainers are putting them through on Atlanta's Biggest Loser. Her first workout video is here.

She is doing so good and is so motivated to get in shape. Just last night she took the kids to the YMCA, but found out when she got there they close the Daycare Center early on Saturdays. So, instead of just bagging her workout, she came home and did a workout in the kitchen, following a similar approach to this video.

Enjoy!