Transformation Challenge - The Wrap Up

I have really missed you, blog-reader, and I am so happy that I get to share this last blog with you. I realize how far I have come in the last couple weeks, with the Transformation Challenge being over. I am the only one that can stop myself from eating badly, although I didn’t really find it to be a problem. I was afraid that as soon as I didn’t have to journal everything that I would eat things that I shouldn’t. You will be proud to know that I haven’t. I also go into the gym and still kick my own butt as often as I can. So there you go, sometimes you learn things that stick. I know this experience will stick with me forever. The Transformation Challenge has really changed my life. I feel better about myself inside and out.

The winner of the Transformation Challenge overall was our lovely, Courtney McFarland. She is absolutely amazing, and inspiring. Courtney lost 27.5 lbs and 18.25 inches! She is my hero! I was so happy that I had the opportunity to have a little photo shoot with Courtney. Check out our photo shoot here http://cdyphotography.blogspot.com/. Keep up the good work!

I am also so happy to share that I lost 16lbs and 15.5 inches from my waist, hips, thighs and chest over the past 3 months. That is only the beginning! And because I know several of you have been waiting for me to post my “before” and “after” pictures, here they are! ::Click on them to view them larger::

Thank you to everyone that had a part of this transformation in my life.

To all the trainers and EQ staff, you are amazing and so motivating. I appreciate everything that you have done for me. I will be seeing you in the gym!

To all the TC ladies, I could not have done this without you. You both inspire and motivate me to work harder. I look forward to seeing you in the gym as well!

To my family and friends, thank you for supporting me in this journey. I hope that you will join me for the rest of it!

Love you all!

I will be continuing to blog my new fitness lifestyle here http://careyfitnessandhealth.blogspot.com/ if you would like to keep following!

Transformation Challenge - Week Twelve

Woooohooo! This is where I wish I could insert a sound bite into my blog so you could hear me yelling that. I feel amazing and accomplished right now. 12 weeks ago I finished my first day of bootcamp and thought “oh my gosh, I’m not going to make it”. I kept going for a couple reasons (in no particular order): I did it for you blog-reader, so that you could see a documented journey, I did it for my teammates, so they could stay motivated, but most of all I DID IT FOR ME! I am not going to lie to you and tell you that I felt great every day, if you have been reading this blog, you know that isn’t true. I am not going to tell you that there were not a handful of times that I wanted to cry about working out or eating well. I am not going to tell you that I didn’t have my weak moments where I indulged in something I should have. This is ALL part of the journey. I am only human, and in realizing that I know that I can’t be perfect all the time. Those stressful moments where all you want to do is shove 17 candy bars in your mouth are still going to happen….but don’t do it!

This long bumpy road to success has made me realize that you are always going to have obstacles. There are always going to be things standing in the way from your goals. You are better than to let things stand in your way. I am better than that.

So the question on everyone’s minds is “What now?” Just because we have finished these 12 weeks does not mean we’re done. It just means that we are strong enough to stand on our own two feet. You get exactly as much back as you put into something. You can’t expect to work out one day a week and lose 20 pounds in a month. Or eat fast food every day, and feel good about your body. This is just common sense. It’s easier to give in and do the bad things, so be stronger and do what’s good for you. Do this for yourself, but also think about all those people in your life that will be able to enjoy more time with you because you made an effort to be healthy. One day in a bootcamp workout I yelled “I feel like I’m going to die!” (because I did), and Lauren told me “you are actually adding years onto your life”. So now every time I “feel like I’m going to die” I think about that. I think about how I want to share my knowledge with my family, and make sure that my kids (that I don’t have yet) will know how important it is to take care of yourself. You only get one body, take care of it!

I feel like sometimes I am starting to sound like a broken record, but I know that if I can do this…you CAN do this! It takes 21 days to form a habit. Make it over that three week hump and you will figure out how strong you are. Stop thinking of excuses why you can’t do it. Really there is no good excuse! Buddy up. Find the strength in numbers. Find your support system. It’s not going to be easy, but you CAN do it. Okay, I have run out of motivational one-liners for now. But I think you see the point.

June 6^th we will be finished with everything (including “after” pictures). That is when I will write my final blog to share with you how many pounds and inches I have lost and even post my “before” and “after” pictures. I am excited to share that with you!

To ALL of the Transformation Challenge ladies…

I could not have done this without you girls. You have been so supportive and inspiring to me. You are amazing! Look at all that you have accomplished. You should be proud. I know I am proud of you! I hope to see you all at the gym. J

Transformation Challenge - Week Eleven

I want to inspire you, blog-reader. I want you to finish reading this blog and believe that you can do anything you want to do. I want to tell you that you should eat better, workout more, and just feel good about yourself. I can’t tell you to do these things; you have to want to do them. I think that has become something really hard for me. It’s just like telling someone with low self-esteem that they are amazing, unless they believe it, it doesn’t mean as much. A couple weeks ago I was out to dinner and suddenly had this realization of how horribly people eat. I watched as a nearby table stuffed their faces full of ribs, steak, mashed potatoes, and breadsticks. As I watched in horror, I thought to myself “I can never eat out again…I can’t watch people do this to themselves”. I wanted to walk up to every table and tell them that they didn’t have to live like this, and that I, myself was the reason they could believe this. I then realized that I focus too much of my attention on what other people do. I rarely think about the things that I really want. I am consumed with trying to run other peoples’ lives, whether I say it out loud or not. I think the reason is that it’s so much easier to imagine how to fix someone else, then focus on anything that is wrong with you.

Jean Steel gave an amazing and truly inspirational presentation last weekend. I felt like I had a big slap in the face (the good kind), where you realize what you’ve been doing to yourself. Yes, I feel good about working out now. And yes, I eat 100 times better than I used to. The weird thing is that I still feel stressed and overwhelmed by myself pretty much all the time. I made goals for myself last weekend, things that I want to do in life, things I want to have. I have a really clear vision of what it is I want to do. I never want to work at a job I hate again. I only want to say ‘yes’ to things that I really want to do. I want to say what’s on my mind in a constructive way. I want to change my life. I feel so empowered now. I imagine it’s like being a hurdle jumper before a big race. I see all the hurdles ahead of me, and I am ready. I felt strangely contented this week, more so than I have ever felt before. I am on my way, and this is not the last you will see from me! Just remember that it’s never too late to do the things you want to do. Start today!

Now feeling good on the inside made my week go by really quickly. When I woke up in the morning it wasn’t a question of IF I was going to go to the gym it was WHEN. It wasn’t a question of IF I can eat healthy today, it was HOW. As the 11^th week came to a close I felt really good. Not because I am ready for it to be over, but because I now know that I have a solid foundation for the rest of my life.

11 weeks down ladies, it’s our final week! I am so proud of each one of you, and I feel really inspired and blessed by having you in my life!

Transformation Challenge - Week Ten

I had an amazing week. With only three weeks of the Transformation Challenge left I knew that it was time to pick it up, and really work hard. And I did! I set a goal for myself to workout ten hours this week. I think ten hours is more then I would have worked out in an entire year before, but I did it, and it wasn’t that hard. I felt sore every day, and every day I pushed myself to go back to the gym.

Also some amazing news…we did our two month measurements this week and I am happy to report that I have lost 9 pounds and 11.5 inches! 11.5 half inches is practically a foot that is gone from my body, never to return again. I would have never imagined that I would lose that much. And at that moment I felt like it was all worth it, every healthy food option, every push up, every inch lower on squats. ALL worth it. I think I would have really been satisfied with any number though. I am a different person then I was ten weeks ago.

I thought I would try something a little different in this blog. I asked some of my Transformation Challenge teammates to answer some questions. I think we all have different motivations for doing what we’re doing, and challenges and I wanted you, blog-reader, to know that no matter what the obstacles are, that you can do it! I hope their answers and stories will inspire you as much as they have inspired me.

Here are some of their answers:

1. What motivated you to join the Transformation Challenge?

- I am getting married this year and really wanted to look and feel amazing.

2. What have you found the most challenging part of the challenge? (Yes, sorry it says "challenging part of the challenge")

-There have been lots of challenging parts at different times in the challenge. In the beginning it was food, then as food got easier it was motivation to go to the gym. It’s a really big time commitment, but totally worth it.

3. What kind of lifestyle changes have you made from 10 weeks ago?

-I eat completely different then I used to. I knew NOTHING about nutrition before, and now I am always checking the nutrition facts on everything. You would be surprised how bad things are for you. I workout five days a week now, before I didn’t do anything. I always had an excuse why I couldn’t do it.

4. How do you feel about the challenge almost being over?

-It’s bittersweet. Part of me is SO excited that I have come this far, but I will miss working out with all the wonderful women in the challenge. Hopefully I will be able to work out with them even after the challenge is over.

5. What do you think has been the most rewarding part of this experience?

-My team! Honestly, support has been my number 1 problem my whole life. I was always telling myself that I couldn’t do it, and so were other people. My team has shown me that I can totally do it. The other part of it is how much I have learned about myself and nutrition.

6. Have your views on food and exercising changed since you started this challenge?

-My views on life are so much different. It’s weird, because I now feel weird when I don’t go to the gym. It’s just become part of my daily routine like waking up or showering. As far as food goes, I don’t really eat anything I used to. I used to be a really bad stress eater and soda drinker, but I was able to overcome it!

7. What do you think will be the hardest part about continuing this lifestyle on your own (if any)?

-I think accountability is HUGE. One of the girls from the challenge told me that most successful weight loss stories include journaling. I have to admit that even though I don’t enjoy writing down everything I eat, it makes me really think about everything I stick in my mouth.

8. What goals did you set for yourself before the challenge, and have those goals changed?

-I didn’t have any specific goals. I just knew that I wanted to feel and look better. I am constantly surprised when I step on the scale each week. I try to set small goals for myself. Even daily goals. This keeps me motivated.

1. What motivated you to join the Transformation Challenge?

- I had just joined EQ when they started promoting the challenge. I heard about it and thought, this is what I need. I need something to force me to be accountable for making these changes in my life. I need something or someone to make me focus on myself for a change, not on everyone else around me.

2. What have you found the most challenging part of the challenge? (Yes, sorry it says "challenging part of the challenge")

-The time commitment; being gone when the kids wake up and getting home just in time to rush them through bath and bedtime. They miss me and I miss them, but I want to be around for them long term so being gone a bit extra now will pay off.

3. What kind of lifestyle changes have you made from 10 weeks ago?

-I think more about what and when and why I am eating. Packing my gym bag and going to gym is just a habit now; not something I just squeeze in when I think of it and when I can. It has become a priority. I'm not snacking on the couch at night any more. I'm sure there are lots more, I just can't think of them right now.

4. How do you feel about the challenge almost being over?

- I am a bit sad. I don't want it to end. First, and most importantly, because it has been an amazing and seriously life-changing experience. Second, I'm not ready. I'm not ready for it to be over...I'm not where I wanted to be, I feel like I have so much further to go. I feel like one of those contestants on the Biggest Loser who say they're not ready to go home yet. I'm not ready to leave the comfort of the "nest," to leave the Transformation Challenge.

But....

I also know that it will never be over for me. My Transformation Challenge might have started 10 weeks ago, but my transformation will continue for the rest of my life. Each day, I will be striving to be better than I was the day before. One day at a time. Just one day better at a time. That's all we can ever ask of ourselves. It will probably take me over a year to get to my goal. It's not a short-term commitment and not for the faint of heart. But you can bet that I will keep the faith. I have made huge changes to my eating habits, my workout habits, my LIFE and I will never go back to those old ways again. I have made friends in my teammates, friends in the other women on the other teams, friends in my trainers. And those relationships and those friendships will keep me going long after the challenge is officially over. I will see them at the gym, I will train with them still, we will email and call and facebook and still connect. And still support and encourage each other and cheer each other on. I will see the trainers and take their classes and maybe even schedule some training sessions with them as well. And I know that they will be watching me, encouraging me, happy to see my face around the gym, happy to watch me succeed, happy to help me succeed.

5. What do you think has been the most rewarding part of this experience?

- I've learned a lot about myself as well. I've learned that I can do new things, try new things on my own or with friends and no one is going to laugh at me.

I've learned that even though my life has a lot of challenges right now with work, the kids, going to school, etc, so does everyone else's. We all struggle in different ways. It's about making tough choices and prioritizing. Making the priorities in your head match the priorities in your life. If you say your health is important to you, then don't go home and eat ice cream on the couch every night after dinner. Don't say that family is important to you if you aren't taking care of yourself enough to be there for them in 10 years.

6. Have your views on food and exercising changed since you started this challenge?

- I have realized that if I work out as hard as I want to, eating like I used to is not going to work. When I've had a "bad" day and not eaten well during the challenge, I can so feel it in my following workouts. My body needs the proper fuel to be an athlete. And I want to be an athlete, so I have to fuel it well. If I don't, then just like a car, it's going to run like crap, break down frequently, become expensive to maintain, etc. I enjoy exercise more every day and I enjoy eating healthy more every day.

7. What do you think will be the hardest part about continuing this lifestyle on your own (if any)?

- Not having the accountability to the trainers and the team to be there for boot three times a week and for cardio five times a week. But I know that most of the trainers know me now and if I don't show up for a week, I'll get a rash of grief from them, so that will help. :) But in the end, I'm accountable to one person and one person only and that's myself. I have to be able to look myself in the mirror each day and I know that I am doing everything I can to live a happy, healthy and long life. For me, for my kids, for my husband. They deserve to have me around for a long time and I think I'm finally realizing that I deserve to BE around for a long time.

8. What goals did you set for yourself before the challenge, and have those goals changed?

- I really and truly tried not to set scale-based goals. Yes, I wanted to lose 100 pounds in 12 weeks. Kidding. I did hope to lose 25 lbs and I might still get there. Really, my initial goals were to come out of this challenge with better eating habits and better workout habits. The key word being HABIT. I need to make some permanent changes to my life that will make eating right and exercising every day not even a choice anymore, but just a habit. I think I'm pretty much there.

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1. What motivated you to join the Transformation Challenge?

- I was tired of looking in the mirror and hating what I saw.

2. What have you found the most challenging part of the challenge? (Yes, sorry it says "challenging part of the challenge")

-The most challenging has been the waking up so early. I am so far from a morning person.

3. What kind of lifestyle changes have you made from 10 weeks ago?

-I make more time for myself. I am not eating out as much.

4. How do you feel about the challenge almost being over?

-I am really sad that it’s almost over. I have not lost anywhere near what I wanted to. And I have not gained the strength in my upper body I wanted either. I need more time.

5. What do you think has been the most rewarding part of this experience?

-The people I have met. I LOVE my team; I think they are 5 of the most motivating women out there.

6. Have your views on food and exercising changed since you started this challenge?

-I have always known what I needed to do, I just always had excuses as to why I wasn’t doing them.

7. What do you think will be the hardest part about continuing this lifestyle on your own (if any)?

-I don’t think it will be hard at all to continue, I already have a routine going, although I will not miss having to get up before dawn to make it to boot camp.

8. What goals did you set for yourself before the challenge, and have those goals changed?

-I wanted to eat better, lay off the fast food and lose 20 pounds before the end of the challenge. I am eating better, not eating fast food as much but I didn’t lose as much weight. I have tried to focus on inches lost but its hard when the scales don’t change.

10 weeks down, only 2 weeks to go! Ladies keep up the A-M-A-Z-I-N-G job that you are doing. I also wanted to say thank you so much for supporting and reading this blog! :)

Transformation Challenge - Week Nine

I wish I had a time machine. Wait, before you start thinking that all the working out and eating healthy has turned me a little crazy, listen to why… I really wish that I could go back in time and tell my “then me” that this isn’t as hard as it looks. I always told myself that I was already fat, why care? I don’t think I’m alone in this feeling. Or how about, I’m too out of shape to start working out? I know, when I write that now, I don’t even know how that made sense to me. I could have been spending all these years forming good habits, eating well, exercising. Not that I am kicking myself for back then, because I am doing it now. The longer you wait, the harder it is. Trust me, I have been there. It’s as if you are waiting for someone to do it for you. Well, folks, it’s not going to happen. You are the only one who can make you do it! I don’t know how much I emphasize that. No matter how supportive my team or the trainers at the gym are, I am the one who is pushing me to succeed. I am doing this for me! Me.

I did not lose any weight this week, and I am okay with that. Really! I didn’t even flinch when I stepped on the scale and it read the same as it did last week. I feel amazing! I feel strong, and a little bit wiser. I feel like I could do anything. I have really been trying to embrace what I said last week. “No excuses.” I didn’t make any excuses why I couldn’t work out this week, I just did it. I woke up early and got myself to the gym. I worked through the pain. I pushed myself to get one inch lower, or run a little further.
As the end of the challenge nears I am starting to feel sad. I will really miss my Transformation Challenge mates (no matter how grumpy they sometimes look at 6:30am). I have created life-long bonds with some of these women, and I’m so happy that I did. I am a different, better person for it. You ladies really give me strength, and inspiration. I hope that I can be that for you too!

Nine weeks down, only 3 weeks to go (can you believe it!).

Transformation Challenge - Week Eight

I am happy. My body is happy. After the last eight weeks I feel like I can do anything that I set my mind to. My beautiful friend and Transformation Challenge mate, Melissa, was wearing a shirt on Wednesday that made me think. She wore a Nike shirt that said “Just do it”. On the drive home from the gym I started to think about what a good slogan for me would be, in life. I decided that my slogan is “No excuses”. My whole life I have always come up with reasons why I couldn’t do things. A little over eight weeks ago I was thinking a lot about the reasons I couldn’t do this challenge. “I don’t know anyone.” “I haven’t done any kind of physical activity since high school; I probably won’t be able to keep up.” “Twelve weeks is a long time, and I’m not sure I can commit myself to that.” “I am too fat to work out.” And so on, and so forth. Honestly, I can convince myself not to do anything I don’t want to do. I know I am not alone in this. I think it’s very common especially when your body is telling you that you need to get back in shape, or in shape in general. “I’m too busy.” “Work is too stressful right now.” “I have too many responsibilities with my family.” Do any of these excuses sound like you? I think the most important thing I have learned is I am the only one who can push myself to do this. I am the only one there at 5:30am pushing myself to get out of bed in the morning, or having a delicious wheat burrito while everyone else is having deep fried burritos. I am also that person that “will start on Monday”. Today. Today my friends, is the day to start. Make good food decisions. Get on that treadmill and walk a little. It won’t be easy at first, but after a couple weeks it will become second nature to you. I even find myself trying not to make excuses why I can’t do other things besides eat well, and exercise. After all, I’ve come this far already. I can do anything!

I stepped on the scale on Monday to find that I had lost the four pounds I had gained last week. After being emotionally kicked down by that number last week I was not going to let it happen again. Eight weeks ago my body had NO muscle. None. Zero. Now, I can feel muscles (and I make everyone else feel them too). Be proud Transformation Challenge ladies of how far you’ve come, and share your successes with your family and friends. Inspire people to start today. I even become more inspired by women at the gym. I am always floored by the amount of work people put in to keep themselves fit. Skinny women (the ones I would always secretly hate for having the body I wanted) are in the gym ALL the time, working their little butts off. It’s not easy for anyone. Once a week I see a woman come into the gym that is overweight enough to have trouble walking. She gets on a bike and goes at her own pace for about 20-30 minutes. I am totally inspired by her. If she can do that, I can certainly do this. And so can you!

Eight weeks down ladies, only 4 short weeks to go!

Transformation Challenge - Week Seven

The scale: a woman’s worst enemy. Okay, maybe not every woman, but mine for sure. I had another week of weight gain after working so hard last week that I thought my arms, legs and abs were going to fall off. I even bypassed all those delicious chocolate bunnies at Easter. Yup, that’s right…gained four pounds! Up, down, up, down, this is killing me emotionally. I can handle one week of weight gain, but really?!?! Okay, now that I have come back to my senses. Now that I am beyond “the evil number” I feel really good. I know that I say this every week now, but really, I do! Workouts continue to be more challenging every week. I feel like I start every week saying, “I’m getting the hang of this”, and then there are sprints in the parking lot when it feels like its three degrees outside. I’m glad that it continues to challenge me though, because without that feeling I could probably talk myself into giving up. I also have been taking new classes to find something that I really enjoy doing. Seven weeks ago, I thought that I would never enjoy working out, and I mean NEVER! I took Body Combat, Rock Bottom and Body Jam this week. Body Combat made me feel strong like I could go and beat someone up, and the following day I could lift my arms up, let alone punch and kick. I thought my butt was going to fall off in Rock Bottom. I was convinced that when I got up from my mat, I would find a chunk of it laying there. Body Jam was fun and upbeat, didn’t feel like working out, but more like a dance party. The conclusion of all my class taking this week is that there is something for everyone. If you are having a hard time finding motivation, email me and I will be happy to go with you! Really.

I want to talk about something else very near and dear to my heart. My team, the “6 Pack” girls. My teammates are constantly inspiring me to push a little further, and not solve my stress with food. They are a phenomenal support system. Although we are currently in last place on the Transformation Challenge board, we have lots of heart, and I think that counts for a lot. I can’t even tell you, blog-reader, how many times I have thought that I could just not eat another scoop of brown rice, or lift one more dumbbell, I hear them cheering me on (whether they are with me or not!). If you are looking for something to help you make the decision to get off your couch and lose weight, or just feel better about yourself, I hope that I can be part of your inspiration. Now that I know what I know about nutrition and fitness, my life is changed forever. I know that is a little cheesy, but I am so grateful for this Transformation Challenge.

Keep going strong ladies! 7 weeks down, 5 to go!