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Last week concluded the first Embody Fitness Cleanse Challenge. Here is an amazing testimonial from a client who embarked on the 28 day program with her husband and two children.
Dear Kendra,
I want to take a moment to thank you for leading Jason and I through the Embody Fitness Cleanse Challenge. I was really dreading the dietary restrictions, but you helped so much with recipes and suggestions that it was a breeze. The conference calls were great for the support from the other participants. You have structured the program well and set your clients up to succeed.
As for my experience with the program itself, it was not at all what I had expected. I had expected to be hungry and disappointed by my food options. I expected to feel alienated while dining with friends and honestly wasn’t sure if I could follow the program for the entire 28 days. I was wrong on all fronts.
The first few days were the adjustment period. It took a little time to find a routine and to figure out what on the program I enjoyed eating and when, but really by day five, I felt confident and comfortable. I had some caffeine withdrawals, but they only lasted three days.
The benefits of the cleanse were overwhelming, so much more than I ever expected. I lost a total of 11 pounds, putting me at the lowest weight I have been in the past 8 or 10 years. I, for once am completely satisfied with the way my body looks and that is a GREAT feeling. I also found that I felt 100% better and this was shocking to me because I really didn’t feel bad to begin with. On the cleanse I had zero digestive issues. No bloating, heartburn, etc. Another benefit is that I have a ton more energy. I have been running 5 days a week since last spring and felt like I had reached a plateau. Speed and endurance were no longer improving. Beginning week three of the cleanse, this all changed. Both speed and endurance picked up noticeably – in fact my running partner now wants to do the cleanse as well so he can keep up!
We were surprised by the number of food options we really did have and thoroughly enjoyed our meals. My kids were introduced to foods they had never tried and definitely expanded their palates. I felt so good not feeding them drive-through dinners. Our plan is to keep up with the majority of the diet recommendations now even though we are done cleansing. Of course we will allow ourselves some cheats each week, but the 80/20 rule of good eating to bad eating seems very reasonable to maintain. We also plan to repeat the cleanse three times a year. We’ve chosen January, May and September.
I want to thank you again so much for introducing my family and me to this healthy eating lifestyle. It has made a big difference in our lives. I have dieted before, but always alone and with varying success. My husband has made attempts to lose weight, but he always gets discouraged by the lack of results and quits before any meaningful progress. The cleanse was perfect for him. He stuck to it, had amazing results and is now truly involved in our eating habits. We shop and cook as a family often now which is a lot of fun.
If you ever need a live person testimonial for any of your clients, feel free to give them my phone number or e-mail address. I am so excited from all of this and willing to share my experiences with anyone. In fact I already have referred several people to your website. I hope that you will continue to inspire change in people through this process. There are so many more people out there who would benefit from your help.
Your Friend,
Amber TIllery
Woohoo! Our Challengers made it through the 8 weeks of staying focused on their individual goals and habits. Our top three point earners are:
1st Place: Dona Lisa
2nd Place: Tony
3rd Place: Leona
“I didn’t make a perfect 20- but stil have been really happy with my progress” — Julie (Who joined us half-way in.)
“I actually got my saddle on the horse by myself!! All 45 – 50 pounds of it!! Couldn’t believe it. Am doing these yoga upper arm exercises and they are working!!! yippee. I win for me.” – Amy
” Now for the biggest bonus…following my example, my husband has started to exercise & become more aware of what he’s eating & drinking. He’s already lost 15lbs. 
” — Dona Lisa
Awesome work everyone!
Although the season doesn’t actually change until June 21st, the spirit of summer is here with the passing of the Memorial Day weekend. I encourage everyone to take a deep breath and re-align themselves with the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the Lifestyle Challenge. Ready? Breath in . . . . . . . . Breath out . . . . . .
Here are your point totals from the last 6 weeks:
I appreciate all the participants who kept the healthy ship afloat! I got rid of my sea legs and am happy to find people are still rising the to the Lifestyle Challenge.
Here is some feedback from last week’s Challenge:
“Lousy week for personal goal, but great for cruising.” — Bob
“The good news is that I did a kick-ass run last night that was way faster than what I’ve done before.” — Leona
“Got my exercise in 6 of 7 days. Some days, like last night, I was exercising at the very end of the day but I got it in!” — Dona Lisa
“When things get busy, I’ll accept to eat a pile of junk as long as it’s convenient and cheap. And I often hear myself say (to myself) tomorrow, I’ll do better. And that will compensate for this… But it really doesn’t.” — Jason
Congratulations Dona Lisa, Tony and Marty! You are the top three point earners for the first half of the Challenge. Keep up the good work.
Most of the participants have increased the difficulty of their goals for the last half of the Challenge. Re-commit yourself to make healthier choices in your life.
I am currently living the high life in the Caribbean right now so I expect you all to maintain balance in the universe and stay on the straight and narrow until I return. Ha!
The novelty has waned a bit and we are now in the heart of the Challenge. Life has thrown some of our participants some big curve balls but I am proud to say that they have all remained committed.
I am thrilled to have two international participants but communication time lags a bit so their scores haven’t been posted. Don’t be surprised by a sneak attack from behind from them!
Next week marks the first round of prizes AND the time to re-evaluate goals and make them either more challenging or more realistic depending on individual experience.
Here’s some feedback from the Challengers this week
“This challenge makes me focus more on the things which are a benefit to me whether part of my goal set or not. These habits are infectious and begin to permeate other areas of my daily life and are habit forming to those as well.” — Marty
“These last couple of weeks have been crazy but I am back on track starting today!!” — Amy
“This challenge has been great for me. It is just what I needed to jump start myself back into healthy habits.” — Dona
It seems like most people are settling in. Getting in a routine is the most difficult part. Many of the participants have mentioned time as an issue. It may be a struggle at first but time can always be carved out for the things that you hold most important to you. Where does health fall on your priority list?
Here is some of the feedback from our Challengers:
“The good news is that I did great in Chico. I got lost of exercise, resisted all temptation at the going-away party for Mandy’s husband, and felt SO good about my lifestyle. I felt like the healthiest person in town!” — Leona
“Getting BIG satisfaction from getting my office organizing points each week! It feels great to “de-clutter.” — Krisanne
“The good news is my puppy is so happy to be walked everyday of the week! And I must say, eating more fruits and veggies has been really nice too!” — Laurie
“Bad Boy! Bad Boy! Bad Boy!” — Bob
I always love the enthusiasm in the first week of the Lifestyle Challenge! Everyone has been anxious for an excuse to start making these positive changes in their lives and the first week starts out with a bang. Here’s how the points stacked up in the first week:
Here is some feedback from a few participants on the week:
“My biggest challenge this week was reading 1 hr. I missed two of the five days. I think having the 1 hr goal instead of 1/2 hour is scaring me off. Definitely need to get in earlier in the day too!” — Krisanne
“Getting to bed on time is the biggest challenge. The first night was easy, but then as the week went on it was more challenging. I think it was Thursday night that I looked at the clock & saw it was 5 minutes to bedtime. I flew downstairs, brushed my teeth & washed my face then slipped under the covers with just a minute to spare. (It was kind of fun beating the clock). Without your Lifestyle Challenge, I would have probably been working on stuff for another two hours.” — Dona
“The good news is that my binge (on chocolate) consisted of a tiny portion each time. The bad news is that I lose the same number of points for a tiny slip as I do for a big one. The other good news is that the bad news didn’t lead to me justifying a bigger slip!” — Leona
“PS: I drank lots of water this weekend. Soda water, that is, with a touch of Cran & Kettle One. Does that count?” — Tony
(And the answer was, NO! Ha!)
Stay strong this week everyone!
Congratulations to our Challengers for finishing out the entire 8 week program!
We had a turn of events in the last week. Our point leader fell ill and out of the top scores. Here are the prize earners for the first 2010 Challenge:
1st Place: Ellie
2nd Place: Laurie
3rd Place: Krisanne
“I didn’t accomplish all I wanted but WILL continue (with re-set goals) to try to improve on a few things. AND…I lost 6 lbs…not all bad.” —- Ellie
“TWEEEEEEN – TEE ! Two in a row!” —- Penny
“20 POINTS for me!!!!! Hip, hip!! Goin out on top!!” — Krisanne
“0 points for me…I’ve plummeted from my Rocky Mountain high and my Mogul Mama and Powder Princess status to the couch where I have been laying all week with a serious head cold and the flu. As usual the challenge was fun while it lasted. Congrats to the winner.” — Jan
I encourage everyone to continue the healthy habits you have been working on. Get ready for the next Lifestyle Challenge starting on April 5th, 2010. Those 8 weeks will lead us up to Memorial Day so you’ll be in tip top shape for the start of summer. There will NOT be a summer challenge so get your friends and family on board to get motivated for April.
You’ve been anxiously awaiting the results . . . well here they are. We are down to the final week. Keep up the good work everyone. It ain’t over yet!
I’m so glad I did this challenge! I’m signing up for the next one too! Send me that email when you get it done and I will send it out to my friends! — Laurie
Still is (a rough week), but I just really want to get it together, and the challenge was a great way to rally. — Worth
20..much better…no real issues…I just got “focused”! I can do this! — Ellie
22…I am giving myself a bonus of two points for surviving 6 days of skiing with my kids on steep and deep terrain, miles of moguls and tree runs, the longest cruisers and cat tracks in world and getting rescued out of a not so flattering leg arrangement with a very pointy branched spruce tree. Although my knees took the brunt of the impact and not my head I am certain that I would not have been able to maintain that splayed chicken position for very long without being in pretty good physical condition. The knees are scraped, bruised and swollen, the new ski pants survived, and, once I have recovered from the over stretching of all my muscles I will attack the last week with renewed enthusiasm. — Jan **Don’t worry challengers, no bonus points were awarded but I LOVE this story Ha!
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