It is so exciting for us at X-Weighted to see how much interest has been generated about the National Challenge already. If you haven't already accepted our Facebook invitation, click here to do it (it's a fun way of seeing some of the folks that are planning to join the Challenge) and feel free to send the invite to your friends. Building a community of supportive people will be a big part of the National Challenge, and ultimately help everyone reach their goals - so make sure as many of your friends as possible are aware that this is happening.

We are thrilled to see that people are blogging about the Challenge:

Tiffany, on her blog From 12 to 6, says "I love me a good challenge. Throw in some Paul Plakas and chances to win prizes and you've got me, hook line and sinker. "

Erin, on her blog Glam, Glitz & Gut, says "I mean, I have nothing to lose. I’ve always been afraid. Afraid of losing weight, afraid of reaching out to people, afraid of change…and where has it gotten me? I really need to stop getting in my own way."

Jenny, in her blog Diary of a fat Girl, and Her Drive to be a Thin Girl, says "You even have an opportunity to go, face-to-face, with the x-weighted team to do an official weigh-in and fitness test (if you’re living in or near one of the cities that’s offering this, I’m not:( ). Seriously, what could be better than that? Well, working for a prize at the end, is what!  That’s right, not only has x-weighted.com put together this fantastic challenge for us Canadians, they have also put together some pretty amazing prizes." 

There are lots of X-Weighted fans poised and ready to sign-up. We interviewed a few, and asked them their motivation for joining the National Challenge...

April, who is 24 years old and hails from Halifax, NS, says: "I've been trying to lose weight for the past year but not got anywhere. Since moving to Halifax I've eating too much poutine and fried food! At the start of last year I bought a gym membership but only went for the first 3 months. I think that doing the challenge will be the motivation I need to lose weight. I'm aiming to lose around 40 pounds in total."

Amy, who is 28 years old and lives in Ottawa, says: "I've already lost 100 pounds and want to use the Challenge to get down to my goal weight and stay there forever. I've set a fitness goal of running a half-marathon with a group of blogger friends, we're a group that met through blogging and have been supporting each other for a long time, and we'll use the groups function of X-Weighted's National Challenge to set up a group based on that goal. I'm looking to lose between 25 and 30 pounds."

Lola, who is 33 and lives in Halifax, NS, works as part of the XWeighted.com team (if you've been following the blog over the past few months, or keeping up with us on Twitter, Lola writes the majority of the posts). "I'm joining the challenge because I need something to motivate me to getting to a healthier weight. I'm only 19 pounds away from being at a 'normal' BMI, but am terrible at motivating myself. I think that the accountability that My X-Weighted provides will really motivate me," she says.

Michelle, who is 44 and lives in Nanaimo, BC, is excited to join the challenge for a couple of reasons: She has been a fan since day 1, and has applied to be a participant before. "I really like the support team, and I would love to meet Paul. I lost 100 pounds previously, through being part of a contest at my local gym, so I know that the competitive aspect of the Challenge will work for me. I'll be going over to Vancouver on January 9th to attend the event, as I think it will help make me more accountable. Joining up makes me feel like I'm going to take this seriously this time, and I'm hoping to lose 70 pounds," she says.

Ria, who is 41 and lives in Ayr, ON, is joining the challenge for several reasons. "I want to lose some weight of course, and I want to have more energy, but I'm really hoping to beat my family history of heart disease and diabetes by getting healthy. I am a fan of the show, and I love the idea that it is more about making healthy permanent changes to your lifestyle instead of offering quick fixes," she says. Ria is looking to lose between 10 and 15 pounds.