The Ms.Fits crossed the finish line of the Live Healthy Iowa 100-day challenge in style, tallying up 44 hours and 45 minutes of physical activity in their final week. Overall, the team compiled a whopping 735 hours of activity and lost an average of a little more than 3 percent of their body weight. That number is all the more impressive since only about half of the Ms.Fits set out to lose weight. As is true in almost any program or study, weight loss varied considerably among participants. But even those who lost only modest amounts of weight, or ended at the same weight, crossed the finish line healthier and fitter than they were before. PDQhealth thanks the Ms.Fits for letting us follow their progress. Go Ms.Fits!

The Ms.Fits added another 52 hours 50 minutes of activity this week and the team lost another two pounds, as the Live Healthy Iowa Challenge begins the final lap. Bravo! Some of the team members have walked, some have cycled, some have done workouts at the gym, and others have exercised with Wii Fit–proving that there are many ways to become more active. The Ms.Fits have proved something just as important: forming a group can be a powerful motivator for almost any healthy lifestyle change.

With the finish line of the Live Healthy Iowa Challenge firmly in sight, the Ms.Fits added another 48 hours and 40 minutes of activity this week. The team also dropped another three pounds. With spring arriving in the great state of Iowa, opportunities for getting out and exercising are growing week by week, so the Ms.Fits should have lots of new inspiration and motivation in the closing weeks of the challenge. We’re there on the sidelines to cheer our favorite team on. As far as we’re concerned, they’re already big winners. Go Ms.Fits!

With just three weeks of the 100-day LIve Healthy Iowa challenge left, the Ms.Fits are definitely in their groove, tallying up 60.5 hours of activity this week. The team dropped one pound in all–two members were up, two members were down in weight. The fact that the Ms.Fits have been averaging about 6 hours of extra physical activity every week for each team member is reason to cheer. And their success is being duplicated throughout the state and around the country. Teams competing at the University of Iowa, for instance, have tallied almost 35,482 hours of activity since the competition began and lost a whopping 3,015 pounds!

My name is Sue and this is my dog Skippy, who represents my major form of exercise. Both of us are used to getting up very early in the morning, since the easiest time to fit a dog walk into my schedule is at 4:45am, before I start the rest of my day. I live in a very safe neighborhood, and Skippy and I usually have the roads to ourselves. There are only a handful of months in the summer when it’s at all light when we walk, and for most of the winter getting up so early and going out in the dark and cold isn’t the easiest thing to do. But once I get out there, it’s really not bad and I enjoy watching the phases of the moon, the stars, the deer running past, and the hooting of the owls. We walk for about 40 minutes, and since the wellness challenge started, I’ve been walking a route that incorporates more hills and gives me a pretty strenuous workout. Skippy and I really move along at a brisk pace — no strolling for us! On some days he’s almost pulling me up the hills, and on others I’m pulling him. So in the end, it evens out and we manage to keep each other going.

Okay, so life isn’t always fair. This week, our home team, the Ms.Fits, outdid themselves, racking up 61 hours and 10 minutes of activity–more than six hours per team member. Bravo! Unfortunately, the team also gained seven pounds. Ouch. A couple of things worth noting. Exercise builds muscle. So even when weight remains the same (or edges up) the ratio of muscle to fat may be improving. You may not weigh less, but you look and feel better. What’s more, exercise has big health benefits whether or not your lose weight. Okay, so that’s scant consolation to people determined to slim down. We encourage them to remember: weight loss is a slow, unsteady process. There are ups and downs along the way. Continue making healthy food choices and being as active as you can be, and chances are you’ll start to see progress again. Good luck!

Spring is making its first tentative appearance in Iowa, greeted with a hearty welcome from the Ms.Fits. “I’m hoping that the weather change will encourage us to move our walk outdoors,” says Kim, the team leader. She is definitely enjoying being more active even if she’s frustrated by her own on-again, off-again attempts at losing weight. Every little bit helps, we say.PDQhealth offers a hearty congratulations to the team for another great week: they racked up a total of 40 hours, 10 minutes of activity and lost another 4 pounds–even before the weather turned warm.

The Ms.Fits logged in this week with 44 hours and 35 minutes of activity this week, for an average of more than four hours for each team member. As a team they shed an impressive seven pounds. Their experience shows that there are plenty of ways to become more active, from walking and climbing stairs during work breaks to going to the gym or working out with WiiFit. Another lesson they’ve learned: weight loss occurs in fits and starts. When you’re working toward slimming down and becoming fitter, it’s important to keep your eyes on the long-term goal and not get discouraged.

In their seventh week competing in Live Healthy Iowa, the Ms.Fits added up 55 hours and 10 minutes of activity–more than 5 hours for each of the 10 members. The team lost 5 pounds. As impressive as those numbers are, consider these: together, the teams competing at the University of Iowa, including the Ms.Fits, have amassed 17,480 hours and 35 minutes of activity. Across all the U of I campuses, competitors have shed 2,290 pounds. They now lead the University Challenge by 10,000 hours and 900 pounds. The results prove the power of friendly competition. Let’s hope they inspire similar groups around the country to take up the challenge of being more active and making smarter food choices. Go Ms. Fits!

The ten members of the Ms.Fits, competing in Live Healthy Iowa, clocked in 62 hours of activity this week, their best results so far. Four of the members lost a pound each during the week (one gained two, a reminder of how tough losing weight can be for some people). If it’s any consolation, physical activity offers plenty of benefits even if you don’t drop any weight. Teams representing the University of Iowa, including the Ms.Fits, now lead the State University Challenge. In all, the U of I team members have …