I am so inspired by each of you who sent in submissions for this challenge! Thank you to everyone who entered, I took time to read each email and your inner transformations were AMAZING. I am SO proud of you all! I wanted to take time to announce the winners here and celebrate their victories by sharing a little bit more about their journeys…
1st place winner:
(Who will receive a prize of $500)
Breanne Stuckey
Here is her story: “I have tried SO MANY different diets, programs, challenges, and supplements in the past to help lose weight or enhance my workouts! Every single one of them worked… for the short term. My weight would come off quickly, but I always lost muscle mass as well. None of them were sustainable as most involved a meal replacement with a shake or bar and I CRAVED real food! This plan has been a lifesaver for me!!! Instead of losing 10lbs in 2 weeks, it took 60 days but those 60 days were so enjoyable instead of stressful and unfulfilling!! I NEVER once felt deprived and truly enjoyed every snack and meal. I use to hold off eating till mid afternoon thinking if I ate something I would gain weight. Then I would over eat because I was starving. Now instead of feeling guilty for eating, I finally learned what it means to fuel my body properly and consistently! I also love that it isn’t about perfection, but more about persistence! Cheat meals and wine are ok, what a new concept for me!! I don’t feel bad for indulging after a long day with the kids or missing a workout, because it is so easy to get right back to it! For the first time I am truly able to listen to what my body needs. My husband even joined in after the first week because he saw what I was getting to eat and how my mood had shifted! That bugger lost 22 lbs!!!! And raves about how easy and sustainable it is because he gets to EAT REAL FOOD! We feel so blessed to have found this program and can’t wait to continue as it truly is a lifestyle for us now!”
Breanne! You inspire us all and I loved everything you said. It really is all about nourishing your body and not feeling deprived. I am SO proud of you! Way to go!
2nd place winner:
(Who will receive a prize of $200)
Angie Newton
Here is her story:
“In the last 8 weeks I have lost 8 pounds and 10 1/2 inches, I reached my physical goal, and I thought that was my ultimate goal. But what I realized in 8 weeks is that the transformation in my attitude toward myself and how I view food and exercise was the ultimate goal. I used to be stuck in a cycle of eating healthy for a few days and then binging and eating all the “bad” stuff for a few days which kept me from making any real physical progress despite my efforts to workout consistently. More than that it kept me feeling negative about myself and constantly defeated. However in the last 8 weeks I proved to myself that I could do it, I stuck to it like I set out to do but during that time I realized I love this new lifestyle. I have more energy and I am happier, I crave vegetables and foods that nourish my body and ultimately am a better mom and wife as a result. ”
You’re one amazing Mom, wife and person Angie! Way to kill it!
3rd place winner:
(Who will receive a prize of $100)
Kristi Celaya
Here is her story:
“This is my second challenge with fitnesscarli. My first one was a huge success physically. I lost 11+ pounds and looked exactly how I wanted to look. However, I felt my inner transformation was not where I wanted to be yet. I still feared food, social events, and my biggest nemesis binging when my anxiety would overcome me. I had big fitness goals ahead of me, too. I had always wanted to run a half-marathon in under 2 hours. The closest I had ever come was 2:11:45.
This challenge was all about one thing for me…nourishing my body and mind in order to achieve my dream of running a sub 2 half-marathon. I felt my absolute best when I did the fitnesscarli meal plan because I was eating all the right things. My body performed like no other and I was able to get my mile down from a 10:15 to a 9:30! In order to achieve my goal though, I had to get my mile down to 9:05. I knew over the course of the next 8 weeks, I was going to put my body through heck in order beat my time. I knew I would be tired and achey, sore and HANGRY. But in order to perform like I wanted, I needed to eat the right kind of food to restore and replenish. I chose to do the fitnesscarli food charts. I had hit my weight and size goals, but that was through a very scripted method of eating (sticking only to the menu). This was my chance to see if I could do it on my own, incorporating all that I had learned the previous eight weeks. I really had to clue into my body’s needs and trust that if I needed more food in order to run the distances for my training, then it was ok to give it more. This was the transformation I was looking for last time, but didn’t get yet. I wanted to trust my body and intuition again. Life is easy when someone hands you the amount, the brand, and the exact caloric amount to eat. You just do it. BUT, I was entering uncharted territory. I burned 2,000 calories some days and I needed to trust myself to make the right choices and even sometimes exceed my caloric balance in order to fuel my muscle growth and body demands. This wasn’t easy for me at first, but over time, it became natural and intuitive. If I was hungry, I reached for cheese sticks, apples, spinach eggs, bananas and PB. All the lessons and habits I had learned the first go…were MY NEW NORMAL.
I gained control and that’s something I’ve never felt I really had before. As for the binging…here’s the real miracle. My daughter got head lice and infected 75% of our household. I wanted to curl up in a ball with a gallon of ice cream and just die! I started to eat a piece of pizza and three cookies and I immediately stopped myself. I recognised what I was doing and just stopped to assess why I was doing it. I am telling you this, I have never stopped mid-binge to “assess”; it’s always been an after thought and guilt session. I FREAKING STOPPED before I lost control and honored my thoughts and feelings. I said some prayers, forgave myself immediately for burying my emotions in food, and then I went for my nightly training run (5 miles) and killed it.
A few weeks later, my daughter was diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder and ADHD. Now you know my son already has autism and so adding this to my plate was all too overwhelming. Last time this happened, I found myself in a dark room eating Oreos and gained 25 lbs before I came up for air! This time, I made myself a nice bowl of broccoli, chicken, and BBQ sauce and celebrated my daughter’s birthday. It wasn’t until the next day that I realised I hadn’t binged and the impulse to binge didn’t even happen. I have had a few more instances where my anxiety shook me and food wasn’t the answer. I stopped turning to food to numb my emotions, CARLI. Which means, food is no longer the enemy and I can enjoy it again. I am IN CONTROL.
Fast forward to week 6 of the challenge and it was go time. I ran my race and here is the other transformation: I did it! I ran that beast in 1:58:09 a new record! My body bounced back and I ran another one the weekend afterwards. I am now using your methods and training for a third race this Nov 17th in which I hope to make another dent in my time.
I gave up the scale during this challenge, because as I said, my focus was only on my inner transformation. I stepped on the scale this morning. I’m on my period and I still lost another 3 lbs on top of the 11 from my first challenge, which means I probably have another 2-3 lbs of water weight hanging out. I have continued to lean up and strengthen my body. I gained a significant amount of muscle in my legs and my arms have really started to pop. My abs continue to keep getting defined, and I have dropped two pants sizes since August! So even though it was only a 3 lb change, the gains are INSANE, the transformation is real! When we focus on loving our bodies, the physical pieces fall into place.
My pictures say it all, my spirit is radiating from my body. I have even started giving myself compliments. This is new for me and oh so exciting. I am practicing self-love for the first time in my life and it is real and it is wonderful. I just hope everyone can reach the same peace that I now have with food and myself. This is the only way to live.”
I had to share Kristi’s entire story as I found it SO inspiring! Way to go gorgeous!
I also chose 3 bonus winners that will receive a prize of $50!
Kaitlyn Miller
Here is a part of her story: “I bought the plan with the intent of doing something for myself. A kick start to trying to put myself back on the list of people to take is. I don’t think I am alone when I say doing something just for me is difficult. As a mother, wife, daughter, sister, etc., I find it very easy to help everyone else-but myself- I always put myself on the backburner. Two months ago, I NEVER would have imagined how this plan would transform me over the last eight weeks. This is more than just a “plan”; this is an attainable LIFESTYLE which affects much more than just your physical self. ” I am SO proud of you Kaitlyn!
Nicole March
Here is a part of her story: “As I started using your meal plans to track what I was eating, I felt like I was achieving small victories every day. Those victories, (even if it was just drinking more water than I normally do or actually eating a serving of vegetables) made me feel like I had finally gained a small amount of control in my life. As I started to make positive changes to my eating, and saw that I was actually making some progress, it gave me the courage to try and fix other areas of my life that had been put on hold due to my pain and sadness…” You are SO strong Nicole, you are an inspiration to us all, thank you for sharing your story and being a part of this community!
Meredith Wilbanks
Here is a part of her story:
“The worry I had surrounding body image literally melted away while I was following the plan. I know I still have work to do to meet some of my goals and I plan to do another challenge to tackle some of the problem areas that still linger, but I don’t dwell on them anymore because I am so amazed that my body created two tiny, perfect little humans that are truly a gift from the heavens…how can I not be content with that?! It was so easy to train myself to eat healthy on this plan, to stay on track, and the best part is that you don’t have to feel terrible when you eat something “off plan.” That was really key for me as I’m not into elimination dieting or being told I can’t eat something that I really enjoy. I was nowhere near perfect on this plan and still got great results.” You inspire me Meredith! Thank you for sharing with us all!
If you are ready to join in on a challenge, my next challenge is starting on October 29th! Click here to get started!
CONGRATS to all of my winners and thank you to everyone who entered, I am so grateful to have this amazing community!
XOXO
-Carli