Weight-Loss Plateaus, Spaghetti-less Spaghetti, Sister Power

Have you been keeping up with our Be Well Philly Office Challenge? Today marks the halfway point of the eight-week health and fitness challenge, which is pitting local companies against each other to see which 10-person squad can lose the most weight.

Earlier in the contest, we found out what our contestants’ biggest food vices are (M&Ms, anyone?), and we’ve been posting weekly recipes for our contestants (and readers!) to try at home. This week, nutrition expert Maura Manzo, who designs the recipes, really threw down the culinary gauntlet: She created a spaghetti-less spaghetti dish—no, really. Some of our contestants were wary, but turns out the stuff’s pretty darn good.

As part of our Contestant Spotlight series, we heard from sister team members Erin and Jamie Jaskiewicz from Campus Apartments, the purple team, and found out how they get each other motivated to sweat. And our contestants learned how to bust through weight-loss plateaus, too, as we hosted our first (of two) nutrition webinars with UnitedHealthcare wellness director Andie Rowe. We recapped the session—complete with takeaway tips and advice—over on the Office Challenge blog.

Catch up on all the contest action right over here.