Before & After the 100 Day Challenge of 2009

Below are some great stories and photos of 10 people’s experiences during the 100 Day Challenge that began September 22nd and ended on Dec 31st, 2009. The winner of the "Challenger’s Choice" and an 8GB iPod nano, as voted by her peers, was JANE SMITH. Her challenge story is lower on this page so read on.

Before you read their "high’s and low’s" I’d like to thank a few people who made this event work! Before this event began, Laurel Terlesky of Studio Blanc helped design some of the marketing material for the event. Along came Cinci Csere who posted "tweets" on Twitter and on Facebook so we could get "socially connected". Thanks! Early on in the event, Erica Otto from Violet Quartz Wellness, personal trainer, kinesiologist, Reiki Master, yogi and generally amazing chick, did measurements and weigh-ins to take some baseline measurements.  A number of you visited my (then empty) townhouse for a "kick-off/meet and greet" evening to start things off. Then, off we went, with a daily does of "Conversations with Jeff & Sue"- what varied and thought-provoking moments this provided! Thank-you Jeff Thompson- what a huge amount of work you put in! Then life coach Lara Williams offered 7 lucky ladies a 6 week group coaching program for people who wanted a framework to work with. In November, Erica conduction a stretch class with "yoga-inspired" stretches for a small group of us in the comfort of my living room! Now, we’ve survived another Christmas/New Years season and the stories are in! Thank-you to all of, I am indebted to you for a successful event!

As I reflect on my own journey since September 22nd, here are my before and after profiles:

Sue on Sept 22nd, 2009

• 2 clinics at either end of town, 1 office in my dining room in Brackendale, 1 assistant, 4 physios
• eating 14-15 meals OUT every week
• drinking 10-12 alcoholic beverages per week…
• no strength training
• lots of running to manage my stress
• 5 hours of rather restless sleep per night

Sue on Dec 31st, 2009

• 1 NEW clinic, 1 assistant, 1 receptionist, 5 physios, 2 massage therapists, one office in my home (across the street), sooo streamlined!
• eating out ONCE a week, loving cooking at home, a full freezer of yummy foods, very organized!
• ZERO drinks a week for 2 months (minus New Years eve )
• Strength training twice a week with Erica (someone noticed my "pipes" the other day Erica!)
• still running to manage my stress
• getting 6 hours of decent-enough sleep- I can handle that!
• BOOKED A VACATION in FEBRUARY 2010!!!

Overall, an absolutely AMAZING 100 Days. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" but I don’t regret a minute of it!

Thank-you to everyone who participated. You are inspiring to me!!!

Sue Shalanski

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Top 10 lessons from the 100 Day Challenge

by Sue Emerick

Top ten things I have learned:

• Better health and wellness comes from making daily decisions

• Think small when getting started on the path toward fitness and lifestyle changes. A short bike ride is better than no bike ride.

• I have never regretted getting out and doing something no matter what the challenge was to getting started. Fending off magpies while riding a bike is      a very big and unusual challenge.

• Friends and family make the whole thing a lot easier.

• Stretching and fascia rolling are essential

• The 100 day challenge helped broaden my thinking to include things like art and literature for a more healthier living.

• Having a regular exercise class that you can easily attend and enjoy helps a lot.

• Think creatively and change things up a bit. It is fun to try new and different sports.

• Think young.

• The Fitness journal has helped me keep track of what I have done in a day.

and for continued success

• It is up to ME to make it continue to work

• Take on new challenges. For me it is an appointment with a nutritionist.

Thank you once again

Sue Emerick

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Nancy’s Photo Journey

Hi Sue!

Here’s a photo documentary of my ’100 Day Challenge’.

I can’t believe how fast these 100 days went by!  I had a lot of fun participating in the challenge, and more importantly I have made some big (and hopefully permanent) changes in my life.  I have always loved being outdoors, but this challenge took my love of nature to a whole new level.  Hiking, walking, yoga, dancing, skating, and snowshoeing all played a huge part in my success.

My goals were: to lose at least ten pounds, attend yoga classes regularly, and to be active three times a week.  I am happy to say I met all three of my goals.

Here are a few photos of my fitness journey….

I measured myself 4 times throughout the 100 days.  My waist measured 44 inches on Day 1.  Good Lord!  That’s bigger than most women’s hips!

I weighed 205 pounds on Day 1.  (I forgot to take a photo of the scale at the beginning of the challenge, so I took this photo a week later.)

My husband and I did a lot of hiking with friends this autumn.  Here’s a photo of the first of three stunning Joffre Lakes.  This hike was 11 kilometres long.

Next we hiked to Rainbow Lake.  This hike was 14 kilometres long.

The Elfin Lakes were our next destination.  This hike was a whopping 22 kilometres through snow!

We ended our 2009 hiking season with an ascent to the Stawamus Chief’s second peak.  It involved all manner of getting to the top.

But what a reward when we got to the top of the Chief’s second peak!

I had never participated in a yoga class before.  Here I am with Christy, the most loving and caring instructor on the planet!  Restorative yoga is where it’s at people!  Please try it!

I went skating at Robson Square….something I hadn’t done in decades!  (I’ve kinda forgotten how to skate though.  But no matter.  I had lots of laughs at my own expense.)

As a regular part of my fitness regime, I went to Shopper’s Drug Mart to take my blood pressure on a weekly basis.

At the end of the 100 days, I had lost 10 pounds!

But even more exciting than losing weight, was losing INCHES!  I lost 3 and a half inches off of my waist!  I now have the beginnings of an hourglass figure!  Woo hoo!

Another exciting development was that I can now shop in the regular women’s clothing departments!  No more buying my clothes in the ‘Large Marge’ section of stores!  The tag is XL, but that is music to my ears!  I almost want to wear my clothes with the size tag sticking out.  (Oh wait, I already do that…..)

To kick off the New Year, my husband Joe and I have recently registered for the ‘Edge to Edge Half-Marathon’ in Ucluelet in June.  I figure if I can walk 22 kilometres through mountainous snow-covered trails, I can certainly train to run/walk a 20 km half-marathon.

In closing, I want to thank you Sue for inspiring me to get out and get active!  It has been a LOT of fun and I am looking forward to kicking it up a notch in the New Year.  I’ll keep you posted regarding my marathon training.

Love,

Nancy

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Colleen’s 100 Days

Well, I wasn’t as successful as I had hoped, but life gave me other, bigger challenges than I was anticipating. My dad’s death, which really knocked me harder than I thought possible and a strange bowel abscess that took a long time to figure out. Through that I managed to keep moving and trying to stretch, laugh and reorient myself to what is important- family, friends and lightening my load.

I weigh exactly what I did when I started, which I guess all things considered isn’t the worst.  My inches are less, not by a lot( 2 inches off my hips), but what I have come to realize that our bodies need care and love, and mine can  take me to the top of the Chief, or to Joffre lakes, and laugh the whole way (well, when I am not cursing about the elevation!)

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Shuna bikes, skis, snowshoes & skates through the Challenge

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