The 50 Million Pound Blog

Take a moment and imagine something.

There’s a crowd of one million people standing together in unity for something they believe in.  That would be like 12 or more football stadiums seated to capacity.  Think about the magnitude of their collective voice.  Think about how history will remember their collective efforts.

Now, picture yourself.  You are among the 1 million.

Well, it’s not something to imagine.  It’s true.

Today you stand alongside those you love and those you’ve never met—all for the sake of our cause.  Together we speak out loudly and proudly against the detrimental effects of weight-related illnesses.  History has no choice but to mark this moment and our movement.

Too many headlines and health reports focus on the limitations and unfortunately, the fatal outcomes of being overweight or obese.

But that’s why we are re-writing the headlines and the stories with The 50 Million Pound Challenge.

One million Americans have said and continue to say, “enough is enough!”  We are now making the necessary changes to get control of how we live our lives.

Many of you have used 50millionpounds.com as a resource to help you reach your health and life goal. But there are still many of you who keep saying you’re going to do something different, but you haven’t done it yet.

I’d like to gently remind you today of the promise you once made to yourself. Forget any failures from the past.  This is a NEW day.  Reject the obstacles and excuses that hinder your progress. And, recommit today.

You have the support to accomplish your goals.  And that support is 1 million strong!

No weight-loss campaign has ever registered and tracked 1 million people who decided they wanted to change their lives for the better….until now.

Take a moment to enjoy this.  This is OUR time.  This is OUR history.

Yours in The Challenge,
Dr. Ian

You've done it again--your hard work, healthy decisions, and commitment to the cause has made us 3 million pounds lighter!

Take a moment to soak this in... we're moving at a pace faster than any other weight-loss movement. We've dropped 3 million pounds in just 20 months, and our momentum is picking up as we head towards 2009!

Each of you are playing a role in America's most successful and compelling weight-loss story. Each pound you lose contributes to the story of The Challenge. Thank you for joining us.

Congratulations, and keep up the fight!

As part of our celebration, Dr. Ian and Craig Nash (one of our Challengers of the year) posted the following video on youtube. Please share this moment with your friends and family!

What an amazing year we've shared!

The 50 Million Pound Challenge launched 365 days ago, right in our nation's capital.

Since that day, we've grown into a community of over 440,000 individuals who've joined hands to live healthier lives and lose weight -- just about 1.9 million pounds at that!

Dr. Ian and his team are in NYC today to celebrate our one-year anniversary. He will meet up with Steve Harvey and the rest of the morning show crew live at the Apollo.

Also, Deborah Wright, one of our current Featured Challengers, will represent Challengers from across the nation by joining Dr. Ian and Steve for the show! Please come back to the site for a recap of our time together.  

Did you read about our new promotion in Dr. Ian's latest email? In case you missed it, here it is again:

To celebrate the great efforts you and hundreds of thousands of others have put forth this past year, we have decided to give away an iPhone every week in April. All you have to do is go to our website at www.50millionpounds.com to find out the details of how you can win.

We'll announce the offical rules shortly. For now, login to update your weight or account and tell as many people as you can to join us!

Thank you for an amazing first year!

Never forget -- We are making history and changing lives... together!

Congratulations Challenge family... we're 1,000,000 pounds lighter!

Take a moment to reflect how far we've come, and commit to where we're going. We're making smart decisions, getting healthier and changing lives together. And, it just feels good to hit our goals!

Thank you for your hard work and commitment. Now let's get ready for the next million!

Dr. Ian and The Challenge team are ready to party in NYC on Thursday... are you ready?

We want you to be part of this memorable moment in our community's history. So please think of all the ways you can join us in the celebration. And, share your celebration story with us on the blog by commenting or send us your story and photos!

Celebration ideas:

• Host a party at your home, dorm room, church, etc.
• Invite your friends, family and Challenge teammates to join you in celebrating our remarkable accomplishment. You can even download and use our flyers to help you spread the word!
• Light a candle, at any time that day, to celebrate and renew our commitment to the greater goal of becoming a healthier community.

And, don't forget that our sweepstakes are in effect through midnight on Wednesday (Nov 14). Keep updating your profile to increase your chances to WIN an iPhone or $1,000 VISA gift card!  

Please take a moment to stop, think about, and celebrate what we've accomplished as a community who's lost 900k pounds!

Hitting a milestone gives us all a reason to celebrate, because many of you are hitting your goals, or you're getting that much closer. You're in the fight and you're doing great!

Please continue to keep your profile updated, and remember this community is with you every step of the way.

Congratulations Challenge Family!

You all responded quickly! We’ve passed the half-million mark and we have a prize winner. Please stay posted to the site and we’ll announce our winner with their story shortly.

Also, we had a great time in Milwaukee this past weekend. Thank you to those who came out to jam with us in the park!

Don't forget, you’re in the family now, WI!.  Remember to keep coming back to the site to update your profile and share The Challenge with your friends and family. We need each of you to commit and strive towards healthier lifestyles.

Milwaukee!

112 signing up for The Challenge

Biz Markie in Milwaukee

We’ve nearly lost half-a-million pounds and we’ve got something special to announce to you. We will present a unique Challenge Prize package, including a $100 State Farm Bank^® VISA^® Gift Card, to the person who registers the pound that puts us at the half-million! You can spend the money anywhere VISA is accepted, please check out the details.

Also, the winner and their story will be highlighted on the site as encouragement to the thousands of us taking on The Challenge. So, now is the time to update your weight, and be the one to reach this important milestone for all of us to celebrate!

Wait 'til you see what we're planning to celebrate a million…

We topped the 350,000 pounds lost milestone today!  

Keep up the fight and keep inviting people to join us on our journey to 50 million pounds.  And also, don't forget to log back in and register your own weight loss... every pound counts! 

Momentum keeps building!  We topped the 300,000 pounds lost milestone July 5.  And, it has only been three weeks since we passed the 200,000 pounds milestone!

Keep up the fight and keep inviting people to join us on our journey to 50 million pounds.  And also, don't forget to log back in and register your own weight loss... every pound counts! 

Momentum is building!  We topped the 200,000 pounds lost milestone over this weekend.  And, we made it in less than a month after passing the 100,000 pounds milestone!

Keep up the fight and keep inviting people to join us on our journey to 50 million pounds.  And also, don't forget to log back in and register your own weight loss... every pound counts! 

The Challenge has reached 100,000 pounds lost!

While we have quite a bit to go to reach our goal, it is great to see us reach this first milestone on our journey to 50 million pounds.