I was able to impress my boss and coworkers when I demonstrated my will power to pass on the ice cream or beers after work. The real life changes that have occurred to us are important to us

Besides the obvious, to get into better shape and lose weight, here are the personal reasons for me joining the L4L Challenge. Number 1: my wife. She had started at Fitmania about 5 weeks prior to the challenge and I saw an opportunity to start right before the challenge started. She enjoyed the workouts and I wanted something that we could do together. It was going to be easier if we were both on the same meal plan and exercise schedule. She could hold me accountable and I could do the same for her. It really helped us both out and we look forward to sticking with it to see more results in life after the Challenge. I am also looking for ways to become a better employee and working out has many benefits towards one’s professional life as well. I wanted to deal with stress better and find more energy throughout the day. Successful people workout regularly and I’ve been reading and following several “success professionals” such as Darren Hardy, Jim Rohn, and others. The best reason for joining the L4L Challenge was to find a lifestyle that we could live with as a household that was going to fit us better than what we were currently following. I can say that is what we have found and love the direction Fitmania has led us on our journey to our goals.

I had several successes in Challenge #9. In June I achieved my goal of a 2-minute side plank on each side, which I also won a drawing for that month for the goal board. The prize of a Bowl of Heaven gift card has led us to having a new favorite snack/dessert place! To achieve this goal I did 3 minutes of planks after the workout on most days during that month to help build my stamina and strength. I was able to develop an eating schedule that seemed to work for my and my work. I found that to be very beneficial and one that others seemed to struggle with. Also along with the drastic diet changes that I made, it also created opportunities for me to cave into temptations while on work trips. I was able to impress my boss and coworkers when I demonstrated my will power to pass on the ice cream or beers after work. I struggled through a low back injury that still bothers me today. It started about week 9 and I wasn’t able to workout as often or with the intensity that I wanted. We also had a major family matter come up during week 8 that created an enormous amount of stress that had us both not eating regularly, missing workouts, and losing a lot of sleep. But we were able to get back after a major setback like that and found some comfort and release in working out and relieving some of the stress. The real life changes that have occurred to us are important to us. We have eliminated most all refined sugars from our diets and find that those foods are not as enjoyable as they once seemed to be. We have also decreased our bread type carbs by roughly 95%, aside from the very rare occasional tortilla or slice of pizza the breads are gone as well. Those we are just much more aware of how much we have and try to limit those as much as possible, but I still love PIZZA! But also as a family we are much more mindful of what is in our foods and as a family we read and discuss labels and ingredients on a regular basis.

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