Member highlights from our latest Wellness Kick Start!
After a month of eating six cups of veggies, half of your bodyweight in ounces of water, getting 7+ hours of sleep, moving your body, and a few bonus challenges in between, what were the results?? Daybreakers share their mental, physical and emotional changes, and what contributed to their success!
About Brian
Gain: I lost a total of 13.1 pounds from beginning to end of the challenge and multiple inches across my chest, waist, neck etc. I’m sleeping significantly better both in quantity and quality. I was previously getting about 5-5.5 hours/night. My clothes are fitting so much better now and am able to wear clothes that I had put away b/c they didn’t fit well and had a direct impact on my confidence. And, I added double unders back into my workouts and my rowing splits have increased in speed and consistency
Mentally: I felt calmer and more patient.
What worked: Well, going to bed early saved me thousands of calories per week. I gave up coffee throughout the entire month and did not feel a drop off of energy b/c of how hydrated I was. Although drinking water initially resulted in more bathroom trips, after the first 7-10 days my body adjusted to the water intake. I was fortunate to have most meals ready to eat b/c I was doing Pete’s Paleo meals, however, I enjoyed trying new recipes, seeing fellow daybreakers’ meals and looking for healthier ways to eat! And, even when I wanted a snack, reaching for veggies allowed me to satisfy a craving and do it in a healthy way
Moving Forward: I will be keeping up with most aspects of the challenge. I plan to eat 6 cups worth of veggies, drink 1/2 my body weight in water, eat protein at each meal and I have a goal to sleep 7+ hours at least 5 days/week.
About Erin
Gain: Over the course of the challenge, I lost 5 pounds, about 3.5 inches (stomach, hips and thighs) and clothes just fit better! I’ve been on a GF/DF, limited processed food diet for a few years now going back to my first January wellness challenge at Daybreak. I’ve managed to keep most of the weight off and in general know how to reign it in by counting macros (thanks to the awesome nutrition coach Mel…highly recommend occasional updates with her every once in a while), but some bad habits have definitely crept up being home all the time!
What Worked: My biggest downfall is not really food related….it’s alcohol, which over the course of a pandemic, has been a hard habit to kick. The beauty of this challenge for me was not “losing” points for indulging in things that I wanted. It took the negativity out of decisions. I also know that for me personally, if I don’t let myself indulge every once in a while, I will give up. So I stuck to the plan all week, but allowed myself to drink on Friday and Saturday nights. I also gave myself 2 cheat Saturdays during the challenge (birthday celebrations for family members). I prefaced that with eating all my veggies & protein however, which actually limited the “bad” food choices I made because I was eating filling, healthy food first! The other thing I didn’t do for the month was count a single macro! I was skeptical that I wouldn’t see results without tracking, but I did! Not only did I lose the holiday weight, I definitely noticed an energy level difference during the day as well as in workouts.
Moving Forward: I plan to continue the February maintenance challenge with a continued effort of staying “clean” all week, but allowing myself to drink on the weekends and an occasional cheat meal on Saturday!