With some apprehension, I agreed to commit myself to the 35 day challenge – why was I hesitant? It wasn’t the extra strength and conditioning classes I had pledged to attend throughout the duration of the challenge, it was the eating plan! As I scanned the list of foods I was to avoid, my heart sank – no dairy and no bread, not to mention no sugar! I was given the encouragement that it was not that difficult to avoid these foods, I just needed to be savvy with my choices and habits. Within the first week of the challenge I emptied my cupboards and removed any junk or indulgent food temptation (well, most of it, I’m only human right??).
I joined the closed 35 day challenge group on Facebook to gain moral support from my other brethren who had also taken on the challenge. We swapped recipes, healthy eating ideas and tips, mini workouts, anything to facilitate the progress of challenge. In the studio I felt the full support of the FS team to achieve results and not give up. I found out through participating in other strength and conditioning workouts, that I’m not such a wimp after all! Activities I was scared of or embarrassed to perform (in high school gym class for example) were now achievable! Handstands and monkey bars were no longer so intimidating! This was no doubt thanks to the encouragement and support of my FS trainers and fellow classmates.
Soon eating right and attending extra classes became part of my daily routine, and by halfway through the challenge, the days practically flew by. Admittedly I was a bit disappointed when the challenge came to an end, I was sad because it had become such a way of life! I couldn’t bear to give up strength and conditioning classes I had come to love, so I signed up for full membership
By the end of the 35 day challenge, I saw some significant results in my mental and physical health. I felt (and still do feel) positive emotionally and proud that I had been able to stick to the challenge. Most obviously I had lost weight and body fat – almost every part of my body had become more toned, clothes were feeling much looser, friends and family started to notice! And looking back, it wasn’t really that hard to achieve the results. The key to my success was consistency and not giving up.
Whilst the 35 day challenge is over now, the good eating habits I picked up along the way and the enthusiasm for Kettlebells will stay with me for a long time…a huge THANK YOU to Joanna and Leszek and everyone in the Fitness Soul team for kickstarting all of this in my life! I would recommend anyone to take on the challenge, you will certainly feel supported and empowered to achieve results
XD
