Congratulations to Katy and Neal, who completed the challenge with a whopping 859 points!

Katy lost 10 pounds, said her clothes fit a lot better, her skin looks and feels healthier from drinking so much water, and she feels more rested and has more energy throughout the day! Katy also experienced performance gains like linking double sunders, and a stronger kip swing! Katy contributes her success to having a partner (her husband) to hold her accountable, and not keeping any temptations in the house such as (sugar, bread, alcohol, chips/crackers, high fat foods.) Katy also said that her and Neal significantly increased plant based meals and replaced snacks with tons of fresh veggies. On days she couldn’t get to daybreak she made an effort to go for a bike ride or long walk.  Listening to audiobooks or a sleep meditation helped her fall asleep early enough to get 7 + hours of sleep a night, and using a Yeti with a straw and taking it everywhere ensured she drank enough water.

Neal lost 15 pounds, which made him feel lighter on handstand push ups and allowed him to run faster. He also was able to do a more-than-bodyweight thruster! Neal contributes his success to sleeping more, not drinking alcohol, no caffeine after noon, going to the 5:30a class everyday (and lifting lighter on days he felt fatigued), and having his challenge partner at home!

Both Neal and Katy plan to continue their lifestyle changes!

Some things I want to try and continue: keep up with the water intake; maintain the no processed foods for 5 of the 7 days per week; have fun with the creative baking.

What Dusty had to say:
Here’s a pro tip on how to succeed at a nutrition challenge, find an awesome partner. My partner and I were a machine, I mean, he would make awesome tasting food…and I would eat it! We both put in the work and it paid it off…..Ha,

In all seriousness I didn’t realize that eating healthy food all the time could taste so good. I mean, I eat healthy most of the time but it’s just random stuff and very boring. My partner exceeded all expectations with what he put together for us to eat. He also had a daily check in to make sure it was enough.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how things improved. Quality of sleep increased, during some of those long Rise N Grind workouts I felt pretty strong all the way through. My wife would disagree with this, but I do think I’ve had a little better mental clarity.

What else can I say, I got lucky when I happened to be near Pancho when he was looking for a partner. I wouldn’t have kept at it as long as we did without that accountability…..and of course all the yummy food & snacks prepared in little containers ready to go every day. Thank you Pancho!

THANKS to my badass super-inspiring partner Robyn, to Andy who helped me when I was really lost at the beginning, to Michelle who still helps me when I’m still lost, to the 5:30am crew, and everyone in this community!

What Robyn had to say:
This challenge was awesome and really helped me dial in my nutrition in a way my body was ready for. Six cups of veggies and working out are pretty easy for me to be consistent with, since I’m a vegetarian and because I absolutely adore coming to Daybreak (it has quickly become my happy place since joining this summer) and getting out on my bike regularly. However, I’m usually TERRIBLE with sleep. If I get 5-6 hours a night on average, it’s a miracle, so 7 hours seemed out of this world. At first, it was really tough to have strict bedtimes each night. I even told my amazing and inspiring partner, Natalie, that I was sorry in advance – there was no way I’d earn the sleep points. But in the end, I only missed a couple of nights! The results are real: I’m not crashing anymore at 4PM or taking long naps on the weekends, and generally have a more even, steady level of energy throughout the day.

Next hardest was processed foods. This challenge made me think about everything I put in my body. The hardest to omit was sugar, fake sugar (Splenda in my coffee, I’m looking at you!) and some processed foods like my go-to pretzels that I’d mindlessly reach for all the time. I worked to find healthier substitutes – fruit instead of cookies, homemade bread or crackers instead of the processed stuff, and more veggies as snacks. I immediately felt less bloated cutting out sugar, which in itself is a win, and six weeks later, I don’t really miss any of those things at all.

All in all, this helped me start some new healthy habits that I will keep going! Special thanks to Natalie and Andy, who both helped keep me accountable and motivated, and also helped talk me off the ledge during times of desperate sugar cravings 🙂