LWC: More Than Just Group Weight Loss

"This was my first Lifetime Wellness Challenge, and I thought I should write to share how it went.

The goals I shared with my team during Week 1 of this challenge included learning the points system of LWC and trying to shed 10 lbs. I have been battling my weight since having two babies and nursing them both, a span of about four years of either being pregnant or lactating in total. My body was a mess from the second pregnancy and I really didn't think I'd ever have what it takes to battle back into being fit.

I was the most excited about having to make time to exercise. I used to be a runner, and I wanted that ability back. On my own I had experienced several false starts with returning to running and this challenge was what I needed to get me to commit. I had to exercise five times a week or I would let my team and myself down: Why not restart a running program and see it through? This became my unwritten goal: To train for a 10K race.

Now it's Week 8 of the challenge and I have some progress to report. My original goals were only partially met: I am a pro at the point counting system, but I lost 8 lbs instead of 10 lbs. I am very proud of this because I know that a loss of about 1 lb per week is healthy. As for the unwritten goal: I am halfway through the training program for a 10K race that will take place on June 9. Even better, the training program had me running 10K for the first time today for my long run and I finished this training run in 1:17, only ten minutes slower than my pre-baby 10K race time from 2008!

I wouldn't have gotten back into running and stuck with it so easily without the support of my challenge group and the design of the LWC program. Thank you for helping to put me back on a course of fitness! I know the rest will come with time."

This was Leslie's first "Share Your Success" submission in March 2013.  She has continued participating in challenges, and shared the following success in November 2013.

"I first started with LWC back in March '13.  A group of friends and colleagues got me into it, and though the group disbanded for the summer, I stuck with it.  Currently, I am in my fourth LWC challenge, three of them solo.  I have gone from being miserable and feeling helpless about the state of my physical fitness to having just completed my first 21K since having children.  The race was today.  My time was very near to the finish time of my pre-baby half marathons.

My inches have dropped so that I am close to a size eight again, when I had been wearing plus size and maternity clothing long after my last baby was born.  My weight has dropped such that I am now within a healthy range for my age and height, which had always been my goal in the first place.  I am at the high end of the range, but ecstatic to be finally back in it after almost being convinced it was impossible.  I am less worried about the scale, and more focused on healthy habits and how I feel.

Lifetime Wellness Challenge has empowered me in ways that no other program has, though I have tried many.  When you already know what to do and what the benefits could be, yet you are stuck for some reason, LWC can definitely be exactly what you need to finally follow through on what you know to be healthy habits, and then the body shape follows.  At least that's what it has been for me, and for that, I am truly grateful.  Thanks, ladies!"

-Leslie F.

Valerie and I continue to watch Leslie's success and we're so glad to have her be a part of our LWC family!  It's always wonderful to hear the progress that our participants make physically, but even more so when they begin to feel better and recognize the benefits of just living better!  We've always wanted Lifetime Wellness Challenge to be more than just group weight loss.  We're all about helping others focus on reclaiming their LIVES by developing healthy habits through support and accountability.