The 75 Day Holiday Transformation Challenge started Monday, October 7, 2013 and ended December 20, 2013.
This was not a weight loss contest, but a fat loss and lifestyle challenge.
Winners were chosen based on greatest body fat loss and body composition improvement and a transformation essay (each component counts for 33% of the score).
14 Boot Campers took on the challenge during the toughest time of the year.
There were two campers that stood out above the rest… Sherry Lipson and Amy Truong.
Both Sherry and Amy had such great results the judges could not decide a winner, so they both won!
Given there were 14 registrants for the challenge the prize was officially $500 to the winner. Since they are sharing the prize, I decided to give them each $325.
Great job ladies!
Each registrant had to complete an essay. Here are some of the take aways from both winners, so you can learn what it takes to transform like they did in only 75 Days:
Lessons from Sherry:
She had a specific goal- “I had a family trip to Mexico leaving on Dec 20, so this was an incentive to buy a new bikini and feel great going into the new year.”
She ate small meals throughout the day- “I ate 3 delicious, filling and healthy meals each day, and a Dales bar in between lunch and dinner. I ate when I was hungry. I really listened to my body and didn’t deprive myself of nutrition.”
Drank a lot of water- ” If I thought I was hungry for a snack, I would drink 2 glasses of water first. I realized more often than not that I was actually thirsty, not hungry, and would be satisfied after drinking.”
Planned for success- “I cooked a lot of extra food for dinner, and ate leftovers for lunch the next day.”
Eliminated the 3 white devils- “I cut out bread, sugar, dairy.”
Consumed good fats- ” I ate a lot of sun butter, Dale’s Bars and avocados. Yummy and kept my hunger down.
Lessons from Amy:
She had a specific goal- “I wanted to end the year strong.”
She became aware of her situation and changed her plan of attack- “In the first month of the challenge, I continued to do what I had been doing – going to boot camp classes, running a couple of days a week, eating salads for lunch but not paying much attention to my snacks or diet otherwise. At the end of the first month, I had lost a couple of pounds and 1.5% of my body fat. While I was happy with the progress, I also felt like it wasn’t as much as I would have liked – I thought that perhaps I was plateauing, and there really wasn’t much room for improvement.
At that point, I read a book on the Paleo diet, and I decided to try it out for a month. Initially, I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to stick to it. The idea of no grains, dairy, legumes, or refined sugar seemed challenging to me – I have always loved bread, crackers with cheese, ice cream, lentils, quinoa, chickpeas, and had a huge sweet tooth. These were food items that made up a large part of my diet. I had to really shop and plan out my meals and snacks. While I initially focused on all the things that were off limits, this change opened me up to many new foods that I now love. My snacks became green bananas with almond butter, carrots, nuts, whole fruit, and avocado. My meals incorporated a lot more protein and veggies – I discovered I love brussel sprouts and cooked spinach. I was more full and less tired after eating. I actually had a lot more energy throughout the day – I no longer woke up tired and I wasn’t even tired when I would go to bed. The one indulgence I allowed myself was dark chocolate, but it was 85% dark and I slowly finished one bar throughout the month – I learned what “sparingly” means.
It was also at this time that I really made a commitment to push myself with my workouts. I always thought I couldn’t do regular push-ups, but I challenged myself to stop doing them on my knees. I started out barely able to do one and am now up to about 20. Whenever possible, I increased the intensity of my workouts with more weight. My goal is to eventually do a pull-up.”
Good things happen to those that stay committed: “In the end, I was really surprised by the results that I could both visibly see and feel. Over the 75 days, with much of it occurring in the latter half, I lost 6.2 lbs, 13.7 total inches, and 5.5% body fat (8 lbs). While I had made progress in improving my health and fitness throughout the year, the biggest changes really occurred in the past 5 weeks. In reading an article by Brien on 5 steps to transform your body, I realized I had essentially incorporated these 5 things during the course of the challenge – going bread-free, working out 6 instead of 5 times a week, getting rid of refined sugars, focusing on protein and veggies, and committing to being fit – and they do, indeed, work. My biggest learning from the challenge is that being healthy and fit does take a lot of commitment and work – there is no easy way.
In looking back over this year, I recognize my achievements and I am proud. I started the year not having exercised in over a year, was stressed and overworked in my job, and was not sleeping or eating that well. Over the past year, I have made fitness a regular part of my daily routine, I am eating better than I have ever eaten, I completed 2 half marathons after 5 years of not running, I am in better shape now than at any point in my life, I have a new job that is offering me better work-life balance, and I am feeling great about myself. Most importantly, I feel that the changes I have made are lifestyle changes that I will continue to commit to. They say that as you start to focus on improving one area in your life, other areas will start to improve as well. My first step started with signing up for Brien’s boot camp in February, and that has made all the difference.”
For more inspiration and tips check out the 2012 Holiday Transformation Winners here–> 2012
Will you be the next transformation?
It is not too late to join the 2014- 6 Week New Year Revolution Challenge. Let me know if you still want in.
You can join the NEW San Carlos Boot Camp or any of the other 4 Bay Area locations seen here: Boot Camps
Your friend & coach,
Brien
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Thank you for allowing me to help you.
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Brien Shamp BS CSCS CMT CHEK NLC II
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