Left to right: Jessy, Julie, Tammy, Mike, Kelly and Aubrey.
After three months, dozens of intense workouts and hundreds of nutritional meals, the winners of our annual Fitness Challenge are – drum roll please – Aubrey and Kelly!
Aubrey and Kelly each win a personalized three-month nutrition plan from Simply For Life, plus one-month free membership and lots of cool swag from Orange Theory Fitness. In reality, however, leading a healthier long-term lifestyle is the biggest win of all!
Three teams of two took on our Challenge, starting January 1 and finishing on March 31, committing to at least three months of a rigorous personal training program and specific meal plans – all while working, raising families and tackling various personal health issues.
“This year’s Fit for Life Challenge saw six people all transform in their own way throughout the 12 weeks,” says Tricia McDonald of Orangetheory Fitness Airdrie. “Some made awesome changes with nutrition and paired with Orangetheory workouts at least three times a week, saw amazing weight loss. Others showed up to every challenge ready to take it on, overcoming underlying stresses to just show up. Everyone made great strides towards #morelife for themselves, their families and became an inspiration for our Orangetheory community.
“Aubrey and Kelly came into the studio quiet and I would say a little hesitant on the first day, so I knew that we would be challenged as coaches to motivate them. It only took about a week or two for them to both settle in and we knew that they would be really committed to this challenge.
“I chose Kelly and Aubrey based on their full commitment to every challenge put it front of them. From Kelly stating she wanted to make it to one mile in our 12 minute tread for distance, at the end of the challenge (which she did!) to Aubrey and Kelly signing up for our annual “Dri Tri” in which both of them finished with amazing smiles on their faces.
“They have proven to themselves, their families and to other Orangetheory members that with commitment and courage to step outside of their comfort zone, you can achieve great things! I see now that this was not just a fitness challenge for them, but a transformative wellness journey, one that they now have the tools to continue on and inspire others. We are so proud of them and all of the challengers that chose #morelife for themselves.”
Special thanks go out to our partners, Orangetheory Fitness and Simply For Life for providing expert advice, access to their services, and motivation. Our competitors have been raving about what a positive experience it’s been right from the beginning, and we couldn’t have done it without you!
While only one team is named the official ‘winner’, all the challengers are winners just for undertaking and completing the challenge. Hopefully everyone will carry the knowledge and habits they’ve gained forward with them beyond the Challenge into their everyday lifestyles.
If you know any of our challengers, or see them in the grocery store or on the street, give them a big thumbs-up and a “Way to go!”, they’ve definitely earned it. And, if you’re looking to make a change to a healthier lifestyle, watch for our call for participants in the fall.
Or, better yet, start on your own – now. You can do it. Just ask Mike, Tammy, Aubrey, Kelly, Jessy or Julie!
Best friends Aubrey and Kelly
Aubrey
What were your goals going into the challenge and do you feel you achieved them? My main goal of the challenge was to develop healthy, long-lasting habits. I believe that I achieved this and more!
What skill, technique or lesson is your best takeaway from the challenge? What will you continue to do moving forward? The biggest lesson that I took away from this challenge was that I can do hard things! In the past, I would tell myself that it was too difficult, which would slow me down. Now, I am confident that these challenges just make me stronger, and it sure feels great when I have accomplished them!
What did you find the most challenging and why? The most challenging was the food at first, until I got into a routine. Once that became a habit, it was much easier.
Do you have any inspirational moments or funny stories to share about the challenge? My Challenge partner, Kelly, encouraged me to sign up for the Dry Triathlon. I thought there was no way I could run a 5k, row 2,000m and do 300 body weight exercises in the time allotted. With the encouragement from the coaches, Kelly, and my new found confidence, I rocked that triathlon!
Kelly
What were your goals going into the challenge and do you feel you achieved them? My goal was to kick start weight loss and create healthy eating habits. The first half of the challenge, although the work was being put in, the scales were not showing any results. However, with a few tweaks, more to do with water consumption and eating pattern than the actual food, it happened.
What skill, technique or lesson is your best takeaway from the challenge? What will you continue to do moving forward? I don’t think I learned anything new, but my biggest takeaway was learning to use all the things I know about diet and exercise and combining them at the same time. Going forward, I will continue this approach, if something isn’t working, you need to tweak the plan not – fall off the wagon.
What did you find the most challenging and why? Keeping optimistic in the first half, when I was eating right, exercising often and the effort wasn’t materialising on the scales.
Do you have any inspirational moments or funny stories to share about the challenge? I don’t have any stories, but what I found inspirational were the teams. Hearing their stories, challenges and motivations was truly inspiring, and I am looking forward to supporting them and being supported by them as we all continue to live in a healthier and more active way going forward.
Mother and daughter-in-law Julie and Jessy Crawford
Jessy
What were your goals going into the challenge and do you feel you achieved them? My goals were to kick start a healthier overall lifestyle, and to gain some confidence back after having kiddos. I met a lot of amazing inspirational people throughout the challenge along with amazing coaches! So, I would definitely say it helped bring me some motivation to continue a healthier lifestyle moving forward.
What skill, technique or lesson is your best takeaway from the challenge? What will you continue to do moving forward? To keep pushing forward even when it’s tough or feels impossible. I struggled with finding balance while maintaining my family, and work life but I managed to do my best given my situation. I will continue to incorporate activities to keep my body moving, and healthier eating habits long-term.
What did you find the most challenging and why? The intense workouts were definitely the most challenging, alongside trying to balance my schedule. Lots of strength endurance, but always felt so proud and accomplished after. I am so grateful for the opportunity and all the awesome people I met along the way!
Do you have any inspirational moments or funny stories to share about the challenge? My inspiration would be those around me working hard to be happy and strong. Watching everyone work hard and keep pushing was my inspiration.
Julie
What were your goals going into the challenge and do you feel you achieved them? My goal was to try to regularly exercise and see what changes might come from that. I found that consistency does lead to positive changes.
What skill, technique or lesson is your best takeaway from the challenge? What will you continue to do moving forward? The best lesson that I will take away is that consistency has compounding effects on your health, both for the positive and negative. So, choosing positive consistency, even if it is small, will have positive compounding effects in the future.
What did you find the most challenging and why? I always thought that if I just did more exercise and lost weight that all my health issues would go away. During this challenge, the exercise actually brought out more health issues that were just lying beneath the surface and the more I worked out, the worse my symptoms became. It has been a challenge to be diagnosed with new diseases, be put on medication that causes weight gain and undergo additional medical treatments during this, but I am thankful for the opportunity to be part of this challenge. I know that no one else will fight for my health and that I need to be my best advocate.
Do you have any inspirational moments or funny stories to share about the challenge? I asked my husband to join me for a workout at Orangetheory. He came for a “Sink or Swim” class and had a hard time keeping up with me and the rest of the class – and also struggled to go up and down stairs for several days afterwards.
Husband and wife team Tammy Murden and Mike Hughes
Tammy
What were your goals going into the challenge and do you feel you achieved them? My goal going into this was to change my lifestyle. I wasn’t going into this thinking I would lose a ton of weight, but I wanted to lose enough that I could be physical and exercise without pain. When we started, I had back pain and knee pain which made things difficult but the longer we went, the stronger I felt and although the pain is still there a little, it has improved dramatically.
What skill, technique or lesson is your best takeaway from the challenge? What will you continue to do moving forward? My biggest takeaway from this project is that nothing is easy. There is no fast way to lose weight and get healthy. It takes planning and routine. Plan your meals so you don’t eat something unhealthy out of convenience. Plan your workout so you don’t talk yourself out of going. Make time for yourself!
What did you find the most challenging and why? Staying away from the sweet treats. I love my chocolate and candy, but the longer we did the program the more those cravings went away. The team at Simply for Life were fantastic at getting us some yummy options and even encouraging us to treat ourselves here and there without guilt.
Do you have any inspirational moments or funny stories to share about the challenge? I would have to say completing all the specialized workouts at Orangetherory. Although we didn’t come in first, or complete things faster than the other participants in the gym, we finished them. They were always challenging, and we had to push each other. During one of the specialized workouts, I was using the rower beside a previous year airdrielife Fit Challenge competitor and it was inspirational hearing her story and how she kept going and is living a much healthier lifestyle now.
Mike
What were your goals going into the challenge and do you feel you achieved them? I would like to start off with a huge thank you to Airdrie Life Magazine for making all this possible. I was very hesitant at first when I received the news that I was going to be competing in a lifestyle change challenge. Over the years I have been very complacent in my daily routines and I kind of let things go. The thoughts of the unknown really scared me as I am overweight and not a very active person.
For me, my personal goal was not to lose a lot of weight and fast. My goal was to sustain a weight loss, eat heathier, become active and change my lifestyle. I can feel the difference and I am going to continue this journey. Thank you again for this wonderful opportunity! I never thought I could lose this much weight in a short period of time.
What skill, technique or lesson is your best takeaway from the challenge? What will you continue to do moving forward? Thank you, Simply for Life! The meal plans along with the recipes were fantastic! There wasn’t one thing on the plan that I wouldn’t eat. The ability to change my plan or make a substitution to mix things up was done with ease. The coaching on what I was eating and how it affects my body was very informative and it is something that I will always keep in mind when grocery shopping. Mixing a portion-controlled meal plan with a timely routine was the key to a successful lifestyle change. I have so much to say about Orangetheory Fitness, I will keep it short. Thank you, thank you, and thank you! What a fantastic atmosphere, I really got that family, team building feeling every time I walked through the doors. So many people giving fist bumps, high fives, and providing encouraging comments, it makes you feel comfortable trying to achieve your own personal goals no matter what they may be.
What did you find the most challenging and why? What happens if I don’t change? What happens if the picture in the magazine doesn’t show any signs of success? What are the signs of success? What if I let my team mate down? These were the thoughts racing through my mind. Then it was like a lightbulb clicked on, thinking about the possibilities to improve on everything in my life and bestow the potential to make it even better!
Do you have any inspirational moments or funny stories to share about the challenge? One Orangetheory trainer even plays a really mean air guitar! Congratulations to all the teams, we are all winners here. Let us all not end this ride here, but continue the next block at a push pace, 8% incline!
Lastly, I want to thank my teammate and soulmate Tammy. It was her positive attitude that kept me in check and made me want to better our lifestyle. She did so well, and I am very proud of her accomplishments.
