Scenes from the Challenge

Last week seven people participated in and completed my inaugural 5-day Shakeology/clean eating/exercise challenge. From the comments I received and the results the participants experienced, I would qualify the challenge as a resounding success.

On the private Facebook group I set up, the participants shared their grievances reflections on the challenge, including frustrations with the exercise entry portion of MyFitnessPal and praise for how good the food tasted.

Dinner on night one: Supreme Veggie Burritos. One of my favorite meals!

I really enjoyed hearing from the participants about why they chose to participate in the challenge and what they got out of it. Here's a little bit of what they said:

Why did you want to do this challenge?

"...need to get my eating on track and lose those last few pesky pounds."

"I have high blood pressure and don't want to be on medication like my dad."

I want to "redesign the weight I have to a healthier fat:muscle ratio..."

How was day one?

"I had a great day! It will take some adjustment, but staying in control of what I eat is THE answer to avoiding cravings, binges etc. We are thrilled that we love the recommended foods and did not have to do a special shop. Add proper balance of protein, carbs etc. and exercise and bingo! Results!

Thanks for your help organizing what we were attempting but had no structure for."

What have you missed during the challenge?

"...frozen yogurt."

"...peanut butter."

"I miss dessert."

"Cheese. I like cheese."

What was the easiest/hardest thing about the challenge?

"...the easiest was having the whole week of meals planned out and the grocery list provided. The hardest was turning down dinner invitations..."

My winner lost 3.6 pounds and 1.5 inches off of her waist. Several people in the challenge lost a pound (or very close to it) and 1/2 and inch off their waist, hips, or neck. In only 5 days!

Here's what the winner had to say:

"I'm so happy I did the challenge! Although I feel like I'm somewhat healthy, it was nice to completly eliminate all of the junk food out of my diet! It's amazing the results I saw in myself in one week of eliminating the empty calories in my diet. I can honestly say I had more energy as well this past week. I'm excited to see the results in the next month of clean eating and hard workouts! Thanks Susan for doing this... You have opened my eyes to see how completely eliminating junk out of your diet can produce such great results! Thank you! I can't wait for the next challenge!"

I will be running another challenge in a few weeks, so start thinking about if you, or someone you know, would like to participate. You'll be surprised what a difference just five days can make!

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Workout of the Day

One on One P90X: MC2: Shoulders and Arms

I am so sore this week! Getting back to the regular P90X grind is reminding me just how good this program is. Zach and I are coming up on three years of Beachbody workout programs, and they are still working for us. We are improving and growing and challenging ourselves every day. If you're not moving forward, you're moving backward!