Holiday Challenge Update

Since it has been 2 1/2 weeks since I started the Get F.I.T. Holiday Challenge, I figured it was time to give everyone an update and come clean (more on this later!)

The Get F.I.T. (Forever In Training) Holiday Challenge is hosted by a wonderful coach. She runs a personal training business, has countless exercises classes every week, and is truly dedicated to helping men and women achieve their healthy living goals. My cousin Kristin has participated in her challenges before, and when she mentioned she would be doing the holiday one, I wanted in! I've had weight loss success before when doing a challenge, so I figured this would be great for me!

A quick overview of the challenge: we get workout "homework" every week we must complete, we text or email her everything we eat, and report weekly weigh ins. There are also a few tel-conferences where we discuss some healthy living articles she has provided. At the end of 11 weeks, we are retested and complete final weigh ins and measurements. Simple and straight forward.

I, unfortunately, had to miss the informational meeting at the beginning of the challenge, but Kristin filled me in on the details. I honestly don't know what I was expecting when I went into this commitment. The fit test (on Oct 22nd) wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I assumed she would talk to us for a little bit about the whole deal, but we were weighed, measured, and tested lickty split. (She must have been tired after doing this about a billion more times before me!)

I am going to be straight forward and say that I expected to learn something new. Most of the articles in our packet I have read, or didn't have any information that I hadn't already come across in my research. Since I started my weight loss/ healthy living journey, I have done a TON of research. I am always looking for new info, tips and tricks, as well as motivating information. I didn't feel as if I was learning anything new.

The other hang up I had was with the texting of our food log. I have always felt like I was making healthy choices: unprocessed food, low sugar, healthy fats. But the responses I was getting from her felt extremely judgmental. Always being told you could make healthier choices didn't feel good. I know both Tonya and Kristin say that people who text her have more success, but I can't bring myself to do it. I am working to change my mindset and how I feel about her feedback on my food.

She isn't judging me, that's just how I feel. She is providing me with constructive criticism, and I need to learn to take it as such. I've decided not to text her right now because I struggle so much with balance in my food choices. If the BF and I go out for pizza, I don't want to hear how bad that choice is. It's not the healthiest thing I could have chosen, but I want to strive for balance, not perfection.

I'm happy to report that I have very close to a weight loss milestone! To say I'm excited is an understatement. I am also down about 5 lbs since my initial Get F.I.T. weigh in. I consider this a success with the move, school, and life in general. As my friend Emily would say "Onward and Downward!"


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This post has been edited. 

As of this evening, I will no longer be participating in this challenge at the request of the coach.