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“In 6 weeks, I ate all the veggies, I drank all the water and I lost more body fat then I expected!
I started to create sustainable habits in all areas of my life to help make this a lifestyle change and not just a quick reset where’d I’d go back to the way things were before. ”
Rise Up In 6 Weeks is a program I participate in and look forward to every January. For me, it’s the post holiday reset and overall, an opportunity to assess healthy habits, make changes, improve my health, and just feel better!
As I prepared for Rise Up 2021, no stranger to the program, my biggest fear was repeating what happened the year prior: I successfully completed Rise Up – lost body weight, gained muscle and incorporated healthier habits into my life – and in the end, felt better than ever before!
And then… COVID hit! The world shut down so instead of keeping up with the progress made and the healthy habits I created, I let all s%$* hit the fan!
I was determined not to let this happen again! Coming out of quarantine, my biggest fitness struggle had been investing all my time and energy solely into the exercise piece of creating a healthy lifestyle while neglecting my nutrition; a very important piece of the puzzle. After quarantine, it was time to reign in my nutrition and really be honest about how much I was eating and the foods choices I was making. Overall, I just needed to put the same energy being poured in into my workouts, increasing weights and bettering myself physically into the nutrition and food portion of my life.
Rise Up 2021 was all about mindset for me. I was laser focused on the results I wanted, listening to the Coaches and following the program. May seem silly but CONSISTENT execution is the hardest part. Life happens, special events happen, stress happens, and in these instances, we tend to go back to old habits or make choices that don’t match the results we want. With Rise Up, everything you need to do is laid out for you. It comes down to holding yourself accountable and sticking to the program.
If I was going to truly reset my current state, I needed to do some heavy lifting (literally) and follow the damn program! This included being honest with myself about what works best when it comes to sticking with healthy recipes and regular meal prep. As a mom, I need simple, easy to grab options and variety. Having this stuff available means I stick with what I say I’m going to do. The other piece was getting out of my own head as I tend to overthink things.
Mentally, I went into the 2021 Rise Up In 6 Weeks program fully prepared to commit to the total reset and making my progress and results a permanent lifestyle change, instead of a 6-week only type of change.
SO WHAT HAPPENED WITH RISE UP?
The 2021 Rise Up In 6 Weeks and Rise Up Plus (5-week bonus round) proved to be the exact reset needed for putting my mind and health first and creating sustainable lifestyle changes. Because of Rise Up and with the help of the coaches and fellow Rise Up Warriors, I’ve changed the way I talk about eating and the choices I make!
Rise Up isn’t a diet. Rise Up isn’t restrictive. This is about changing habits and creating a permanent lifestyle change. And, Rise Up works if you follow the program and are honest with yourself.
In 6 weeks, I ate all the veggies, I drank all the water and I lost more body fat then I expected! I started to create sustainable habits in all areas of my life to help make this a lifestyle change and not just a quick fix where I go back to the way things were before.
After the first 5 weeks, I felt so empowered by the changes made, I was ready to keep going and signed up for the 5 week extension, Rise Up Plus. As I shared, Rise Up 2021 was all about making my progress and results permanent so for me, there was no reason not to keep going with the 5-week extension.
At the end of 11 weeks, I lost a total of 26 lbs and 21 lbs of body fat.
In full disclosure, I really hate numbers. I get fixated, over think it all and let them dictate my progress. So, instead of focusing on the numbers (I actually asked Coach Josh not to show me any numbers/progress), I shifted my attention towards how I was feeling and non-scale victories. Unlike Rise Up the year before, I tracked everything (like our coaches told us to) and made better choices more times than not.
My biggest take-aways this time around?
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The realization you can achieve any goals you want from this program!
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Keep it simple! No need to over complicate anything. Meal prepping, cooking, recipes – keep it all simple!
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Just trust yourself, your coaches and follow the program!
HOW IS LIFE DIFFERENT NOW?
Mentally and physically I’m stronger than I’ve ever been!
The mindset of “I can’t” is no longer part of my vocabulary. Something might be more challenging, and I might need to make modifications, but I’m going to be 1% better every day then I was the day before- something Coach Josh has ben telling me for 10 years now.
I am part of this amazing community that supports me in all endeavors (in the gym, in the kitchen, in my life outside the gym), and I know I can always post something in our community Facebook group and someone else is or has experience the same and can offer suggestions, support or just listen.
If you find yourself always trying new diets or exercise programs, making changes, seeing results and then reverting back to old habits and gaining back what you lost, Rise up is exactly what you need!
There’s no time like the present. There is no reason to feel selfish, or guilty for putting yourself and your health first. If you’ve made it this far and identified that a gym and Rise Up is the start for you, just do it. Don’t overthink it and give yourself reasons why now isn’t the best time. Now is the perfect time.
