Hey there!
My name is Mariah Yu. I was named Female Grand Master Champion in the 2004 Body-for-LIFE Challenge. While most of you may not know me personally, I think I know what you might be going through!
By this time, some of you may be seeing more results than others, while some of you might be a bit frustrated by a lack of progress. The last month is when you should see the most dramatic changes in your body. Why? I'm not exactly sure, but I think it's because by this time, you should have worked out all the kinks in your schedule, figured out how to hit your 10s and you are hopefully more motivated than ever to see the end of the challenge all the way through!
It can be really hard to balance everyday life with a change in lifestyle—here are some useful things to think about that helped me through my 12 weeks.
Stop each day and think. Think about what excites you. Use it to inspire what you do for the rest of this challenge and the rest of your life. It is the only way each of us can really reach our goals in life and find what makes us truly happy. If you are slowly drifting back to bad habits, put a stop to them before you feel like you can't turn back.
Become aware of yourself. Sounds silly, I know! But I have found that many people I talk to don't pay attention to the things that will make them succeed. If you know you are not being as strict on your eating or your exercise—figure out why. I have found that if I skip a meal in the morning, it can create a snowball effect that makes me super hungry all day! Also, I know the people at my workplace that can tempt me with fast food, Girl Scout cookies and other things I love and I know I need to make them aware of how they need to support my lifestyle or I will have to stay away from them! Being aware of your weaknesses allows you to take steps to avoid them.
Be a detective. If you are not seeing the results you expect to see, ask someone who is! Call the EAS hotline at 1-800-297-9776 and make little changes each week to see what makes the most impact on your results. If you are bored with doing the HIIT cardio on the bike, try the treadmill or use a heart rate monitor to see if you can be working out a little harder than you might think. Learning how your body works is a lifelong process; don't expect it to come without a little detective work! Body-for-LIFE can work for everyone if you know how to apply it to your own body.
Plan ahead. I know, we are all super busy! A simple thing as buying portable plastic food containers can be the obstacle that prevents you from bringing healthy food to work! Go buy them. Plan your meals in advance as much as possible, because it puts you in control. Wthout proper planning, you are leaving many things up to chance—why not take control of where you're going instead of letting life control you!
Well, that's it for now. Stay focused and start to figure out what you're going to wear for your after photos! I can't wait to see what you all have accomplished!
Your Body-for-LIFE buddy,
Mariah Yu
