Fall 2018 Transformation Challenge...Initial weigh-in

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     So today it begins. My next goal. The next leg of this journey I am on. The Muscles Inc. Fall Transformation Challenge 2018. Brandon and I have been talking about this since last month when I heard about it. We've talked about how we will step it up and go hard, work with a specific meal plan and do high intensity interval training (HIIT) cardio. Today when I got to the gym I was anxious. Partially because I didn't know what to expect for the challenge but knowing I really wanted to do it and partially because I wanted to get the before weigh-in and pictures over with. I had a feeling I would weigh-in somewhere just above 200 lbs because that is where I have been hovering. Last night I went and had a cheat meal since I won't be doing that for 10 weeks. We got Chinese food and I had shrimp and broccoli with rice. I felt like crap after eating it too. More motivation to stay on program with this challenge. When they did the before pictures I asked  Bobby to take pics with my phone too so I had a frame of reference. Just looking at the pictures is motivation enough to take this challenge seriously. I told Brandon I was not liking my before pics and he said, 'good. you're not supposed to like them.'

     Bobby started the challenge with a meeting where he went over how the challenge will work, how often to check in with him, how to follow the meal plan and workout recommendations and he answered any questions. Because I have been working with Brandon, Bobby told me he was going to leave my challenge programming up to Brandon and I could check-in with Brandon as well. As we sat in the meeting I looked around the room at all the competitors and there were A LOT. Probably 20+ So many that it took over an hour to do weigh-ins, measurements and pictures. I was one of the last in line too. I weighed in at 204 lbs. My goal? to lose 25 lbs in the 10 weeks of this challenge. So at the final weigh-in on November 17 I should be 179 lbs or less.

     Thinking about this challenge I am getting psyched. Psyched mainly because I've never done something like this before with this kind of commitment and accountability. I mean, years ago when I did Weight Watchers I stayed accountable by going to meetings and checking in with my sisters each week. But it was a very private thing for me. How much I lost was my business. Any pictures were ones I took (and honestly I didn't take any pictures to document my progress). With this challenge it was a reality check (and a little intimidating) to stand in front of photography lights in sports bra and leggings to have pictures taken. I mean, Bobby said to wear what you feel most comfortable in and I could have been less uncomfortable having my picture taken with my shirt on. But to see the real difference the shirt had to come off in my mind. So I swallowed my pride and thought we are all here for the same reason, to transform our bodies and be a better version of ourselves in the end. As silly as it sounds, taking my shirt off to be photographed shows how much Muscles Inc really is a judgement free zone and the trainers really are interested in helping their clients improve.

    Another reason I am psyched is for the end result. I know this challenge is not the end of my transformation. I know I will still have more to do even after the 10 weeks. But I am excited to see the side by side pics of my transformation. Even if I don't win I can't wait to see how much I change. I've lost weight before. But this is my first time training to lose weight. So not only will my transformation be weight loss. It will also be building muscle and toning. I have thought about what I will look like once I reach my goal and its hard for me to imagine. But this challenge is a great way to slingshot me a little closer to that goal. Between training with Brandon, following the meal plan and doing cardio I plan to crush my goals for this challenge. I cannot wait!