I want to start giving you real life examples of what my clients do to achieve success. My hope is that you will find something in there that will help you with your fitness program.
We will start with Meg Nester, who won our Transformation Contest a few weeks ago. In 4 weeks Meg lost:
-12.5 pounds
-10 inches (including 3 off her waist)
-6% body fat
And as a bonus, she managed to knock out a couple of triathlons. Let's learn a little more about Meg and what she does to excel.
1. Tell us a little about yourself (single, married, kids, work, business owner, hobbies)?
I'm married with two kids. My boys are 7 & 4. I quit working when my oldest was born. My background is in molecular biology, and I randomly worked as a horticulturist for a few years since I'm a plant junkie.
I have about 8 zillion hobbies, but the top few are: glass enameling onto copper, cooking, gardening, woodworking/building, writing, and sewing.
My passion amongst all the hobbies is "upcycling" anything...making something beautiful or useful out of things that are no longer being used/appreciated.
2. How long have you been a member of ABC?
I started in January 2013. BEST Christmas present EVER!
3. What do you enjoy most about working with ABC?
The variety of exercises keeps me interested and makes me feel like I'm getting a consistent full-body workout. The people are amazing and supportive. If I have to drag my arse out of bed that early I want to be with people who can make me laugh and who will encourage me when I'm having a slacker day.
4. Tell us your top success strategy, what has worked best for you?
Consistency. I know I have to show up every day and be diligent about keeping my diet in check. It doesn't mean I always do it...but I've seen what happens when I backslide, and I've seen how I can kick ass when I'm on top of it. So like you've said in the past, I just need to own it.
5. A) What goals do you have for your health and fitness in the next 12 months?
I'd like to lose 5-10 more pounds, and continue to increase my strength. I want to maintain a "healthy" level of running, which for me is just enough to keep me doing 5K's and TRI's, but not enough to cause me more knee problems.
B) What goals have you reached over the last 12 months?
I have lost around 15 pounds (solid pounds that I've kept off...not all of the weight from the challenge stayed off...but I'm working on that).
I've gotten a lot stronger. I have re-balanced the strength in my leg muscles enough to really help with my knee troubles.
My blood pressure has come down a good bit, and I feel less stressed overall.
C) Did you do anything different during the Transformation Contest?
I did a modified version of Fix Fat Forever. I usually do an additional 3-4 workouts per week on top of bootcamp, and I definitely upped that a bit...tons of 2-a-days and extra running to get ready for my TRI.
6. What is your...
A) Favorite breakfast?
Ummm...favorite? Or healthy favorite? I can put some Eggs Benedict down! But my usual breakfast is plain greek yogurt with raspberries and sprinkle of Kashi Go Lean for a little crunch.
B) Your favorite post workout meal?
Ugh, I'm terrible about this. I'm not usually hungry right after I workout. Mornings are easy because I come home and have breakfast after bootcamp, but other workouts I just want water...or pretty much every edible thing in sight if I've done a TRI.
C) Favorite exercise
Nothing makes me feel as centered and focused as core work. It sticks with me all day and I notice the payoff more that anything else.
7. If you could give one tip or piece of advice to a brand new member, what would it be?
You've got to get your diet in line with your goals. And find something to reward yourself with besides food. Get a pedicure, curl up with a great book, do something other than snarf down a big bowl of your favorite snack. You just can't out-exercise a bad diet.
Meg's secret to having muscular arms. 5,000 ginger curls a day.