Success Story #7

Name: C. Brown
Location: JFK Medical Center. Atlantis, FL
Outcome: 3% Reduction of Body Fat
Program: 2014 Total Transformation Challenge

What was your biggest challenge / obstacle (s)?
My biggest obstacle was self-doubt. I put myself in a box saying “this is what I can and can’t do” instead of trying to test my limits. I went into each challenge thinking of what I couldn’t do, basically psyching myself out before I even tried.  Once I started focusing on what I could do and how I could challenge myself, I started to do things I never thought possible.

What motivated you to stay on the course?
Other contestants. I love the support other contestants gave when doing challenges.  Their encouragement helped me to try harder.  I also like that it’s a 12 week challenge. I can stick with anything for a few weeks, but this has changed my habits for so long that they are just natural to me now.

Did your diet change? If so, How? Please be detailed!
I ate pretty healthy to begin with. I used to eat a light breakfast, a healthy lunch and dinner was my biggest meal of the day.  During this challenge, I started making lunch my biggest meal of the day and tried to cut most starch and sugar out of my diet after 2pm.  I never noticed how much mindless snacking I did after dinner!  By cutting out the starch and sugar after 2pm, I basically stopped snacking after dinner. I noticed that I sleep so much better now, too, and wake up feeling energized instead of sluggish. I allowed myself a cheat day each weekend (sometimes it became a cheat weekend, but baby steps!)

What advice could you give to others that want the same results? 
Just try! I can’t even count how many times I said “there’s no way I can do THAT”.  But each time I tried, I surprised myself. And the goal of achieving the next level of difficulty motivated me to practice. If you told me that by the end of this challenge, I could do 75 pushups, 100 leg raises, a 4 minute plank or a 5 minute wall plank, I’d think you were crazy!  But I’m able to do all that and MORE!

How is this experience going to affect you going forward?
I’m one of those people that has “gone to the gym” my entire adult life, without seeing a lot of results. This experience made me realize that I’ve never really challenged myself.  I would exercise till it got hard, then stop.  Now I have goals in mind and I want to do better than the last time. I don’t just go to the gym to “check the box” and say I went anymore!