Transformation Success Stories! 24.5 pounds! 18 inches!

SUZANNE CRAWFORD

The WLG Fall 2015 Challenge was the second WLG challenge in which I participated.  My first challenge (Summer Strong 2015) was quite overwhelming at first.  The all-day meal prepping on the weekend and the a$$ whoppin’ WLG Fit Camp (omg the pain/muscle soreness) class was a lot to take on.  I remember thinking my first meal prep weekend, OMG, all this time wasted cooking diet food and it is not even going to be good because it is diet food.  I think the first recipe I made was Lasagna Soup and boy was I wrong the soup was….DELICIOUS!!!!  I had made a meal that was clean, healthy and tasted amazing!  I couldn’t believe that just happened!  

Lucky for me, I have the BEST friend/neighbor (Katie Hunt) who gets up extra early to run a 4 miles with me at 4:45 a.m. and she did the WLG challenge, too!  Having a workout buddy is the greatest thing!  I could not/can not do this without her!  You hold each other accountable, and she motivated me to get out of bed early in the morning to get my workout on. Why do we get up so early to run?!  To avoid the mommy guilt.  We run while they are sleeping so we don’t lose our limited time with them in the evenings.   Katie and I would also split up the meal plan so we didn’t both have to make everything.  Some of the recipes made more servings than what you needed for the week anyway, so it really helped us both out. 

My takeaways from the first challenge were the importance of a workout buddy, strength training in addition to cardio (running) and learning how to cook GOOD food (thank you Kendra!). I didn’t do so great with the first challenge as far as weight loss.  I was still breastfeeding my little one and sleep deprivation is an understatement.  I work full time and commute to Baltimore City, so I have very limited time to workout between work, being a mom and a wifey.  Prior to my first challenge, all I did was run for exercise and needed to add something more to my workout routine. 

After goofing off all summer and gaining a few lbs after my first challenge, I was ready to take on another WLG challenge.  My head was in it this time.  I was going to commit and even try to do the bonus each week.  Meal prepping was a lot easier, I had kind of gotten the hang of it and found a few short cuts (thank you Trader Joe’s and Healthy Measures).  Katie signed up too and her head was in it as well, so we committed to doing the weekly running bonus.  We would run most work week mornings we didn’t go to WLG or C3 (our Perk was C3, which was an awesome addition to our regular workouts) and we would do a really long run on Sunday mornings, followed by 45 minutes of strength training, abs and/or stretching, so most of the long run miles counted toward the bonus.  Then we would add a mile here and there throughout the week to get the bonus miles in.  It sounds like a lot, but when the lbs start coming off, it is so rewarding and it motivates you beyond measure.  There were definitely times when I would be so over the challenge.  I remember one morning while Katie and I were running we were complaining about it and we were like if we were pregnant, we wouldn’t have to do this anymore, we could eat and not have to run.  For about 3 seconds we contemplated in the thought of how great it would be…and then busted out laughing. 

The clean eating and gallons of water make you feel better physically and mentally, and again, the food/recipes are delicious!  I did order some Healthy Measures food this round of challenge if we had something going on during the weekend and I would have limited time to meal prep.  The Healthy Measures food was awesome too!  They are Italian and know how to make delicious food!  For me, having all my meals ready for the week kept me from going astray and eating out or ordering carryout.  Now don’t get me wrong, I did “cheat” a few times for some special occasions (neighborhood bike bar crawl, date night, birthday cake), but I was certain to get the bonus miles in those weeks.  I also did the 4 day nutrition workshop with Billie Walton, which was awesome!  I knew nothing about nutrition and she really shed some light on it for me and gave me some great ideas, like sprinkling cinnamon on apple slices, oh so good!  I lost 24.5 lbs during the challenge and 18 inches.  I couldn’t believe it on the final weigh in day!  It felt so good to see all of that hard work and dedication pay off!  And I felt amazing!

The next challenge is coming up and I can’t wait!  Bring it!  I have some more lbs I want to lose (including a few gained over the holidays) and I want to get stronger.  So, I hope to focus on building more muscle.  I think this go around I will also do the one-on-one sessions with Billie Walton to get a better understanding of nutrition as it pertains to my goals for myself and getting my family to eat “clean” as well. 

The WLG team is an amazing group of athletes, who are always willing to help, whether it be reminding what the next station is during a workout or giving you a shout our or extra push to get your through the workout. 

This is not just a 12 week diet, it is a life style change and it is completely doable!  My advice, find a workout buddy and keep each other motivated.  Kendra has added some awesome extras to the WLG Challenge to help you succeed, like the nutrition counseling, meal prep services, and a variety of perk options.  They are available at your fingertips.  Take advantage of them, you won’t be sorry!!  They totally help.
 
See you 02/27/16.  Let’s do this!

- Suzanne Crawford, WLG Athlete