Thursday, October 15, 2009

Transformation Challenge Grand Finale - Results Matter

The twelve-weeks of the Transformation Challenge have come to and end; however it’s really just the beginning. Many emotions were expressed and felt throughout the program including fear, excitement, motivation, frustration, fear, hope and confidence. I would argue that many of the above emotions also presented themselves in the same order. When the opportunity arose for the candidates to finally start the Transformation Challenge, many were overwhelmed by the length of the program and were afraid of failing. Once they started however, a feeling of excitement and motivation replaced the fear. As many of us would expect, the honeymoon was quickly over and the realty of making exercise and balanced nutrition a lifestyle set in after a few weeks. I’m a believer in the thought that motivation is an action, not a feeling. Motivation comes and goes much as ocean tides ebb and flow. Often times we feel an overwhelming sense of motivation and other times we can’t seem to grasp it. It’s during these times that dedication and commitment get us through. It’s also a time when we start to feel frustrated and perhaps question our strength. If we can endure, and move beyond the need for the feeling of motivation, we ultimately push through and find hope and inevitably, rediscover our internal sense of motivation. These cycles are quite normal but ultimately lead to improving our overall sense of confidence once the cycle is complete. All of the participants have proved beyond a doubt that they have the dedication and commitment level to permanently make the healthy habits they acquired a part of their lifestyle.

So how did the Transformation Challenge participants fare? I’m excited to say that over the course of the program, the combined body-weight lost was 348 pounds; the weight of three petite women. The total combined inches lost (chest, waist, hip, and thigh) totaled 274 inches or almost 23 feet! The best part of the results is that it was done in a healthy and balanced manner. As much as many of the participants wanted to lose as much as the Biggest Loser’s, they also understood that most of those participants gained much if not all of the weight back. The realty is that programs such as the Biggest Loser are not close to realty at all. The fact that they are so far removed from realty is what makes it interesting. Seriously, if the contestants lost the recommended 1-2 pounds per week, would we really want to watch? I doubt it.

Congratulations to all the participants of the Transformation Challenge! Each participant reflected what it really takes to obtain long lasting and permanent results; dedication, commitment, hard-work, continuing education and a lot of patients!
Julian Varela, M.S., CSCS
Co-Owner
Equilibrium Fitness for Women
Equilibrium Fitness Inc.



And the winner is…Courtney McFarland!

Congratulations to Courtney McFarland for demonstrating the attitude, hard work and consistency resulting in her amazing progress over the course of the last twelve weeks! Courtney lost 27.5 dropping from 216.5 to 189 pounds! Additionally Courtney lost 18.25 inches throughout her chest, waist, hips and thigh and is still going strong! Go Courtney!