ABU DHABI // A group of women on Al Reem Island are competing to be the biggest losers in a homegrown community weight-loss challenge.
The annual competition was started by residents of the Sun and Sky Towers three years ago and expanded for the first time this year to allow any woman living on the island to join.
Rania Wreikat, one of the founders of the Abu Dhabi Ladies Weight Loss Challenge, said she was motivated to do something about her health when she put on weight following her marriage and the birth of her three children.
“Just to be healthier, you know?”
Mrs Wreikat said she had lost nine kilograms since taking part in the first weight-loss challenge by hiring a personal trainer and “eating cleaner”.
“I’m taking it one step at a time,” said Mrs Wreikat, 35, a Jordanian. “Before, I always failed because I always looked at the big number and said ‘I can’t do it’. I only gained all this weight after getting married and having three kids. I never had the time for me, you know, to lose it.”
Now she makes time to exercise with a personal trainer, plan healthy meals and organise the eight-week competition, which helps her to stay motivated, she said.
“I like doing it in a group where you have support and you have people who share ideas and pointers,” Mrs Wreikat said. “It’s more fun.”
To participate, each woman had to pay Dh100 into a pool of prize money.
Their first weigh-in was on Wednesday. At the end of eight weeks, whoever loses the most weight will take home 70 per cent of the prize money, with the remainder going to whoever finishes second.
“This way we have more happy losers,” Mrs Wreikat posted on the Facebook page she created for the 39 members.
To keep the participants motivated, Mrs Wreikat also posts inspirational messages and nutrition and exercise tips. It is also where members organise group exercise and walking sessions. Those taking part can also get support from each other on a WhatsApp group.
Past experience has taught Mrs Wreikat that participants have to be committed and engaged if they are to stand a chance of winning.
“Commit and come to the group exercises,” she said. “Try to make time for yourselves to be healthier and fitter.”
Taking the time to work out a weekly meal plan was also key, she said.
“They should do their shopping in advance because our problem with our lifestyles is we don’t have time to shop for healthy food,” she said.
Mrs Wreikat said she was also motivated by her children.
“I want to have a healthy lifestyle for my kids. I want them to be healthy,” she said.
rpennington@thenational.ae
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PROFILE BOX
Company name: Overwrite.ai
Founder: Ayman Alashkar
Started: Established in 2020
Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai
Sector: PropTech
Initial investment: Self-funded by founder
Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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Stage 5 results
1 Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 3:48:53
2 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team -
3 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott -
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:04
5 Ilnur Zakarin (RUS) CCC Team 0:00:07
General Classification:
1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 20:35:04
2 Tadej Pogacar (SlO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:01
3 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team 0:01:33
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:48
5 Rafał Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:02:11
The%20Specs
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
What: India v Afghanistan, first Test
When: Starts Thursday
Where: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengalaru