I’m excited to share the results of our 2012 Challenge and some thoughts from the participants!  Last year, a group of our participants started out on a yearlong challenge.  They received 20 emails every month about a certain wellness topic, from healthy food choices to mindful eating to physical activities.  Each email contained a related “challenge” for them to complete – for example, if we were talking about running, the challenge might be to do a 1 mile time trial.  If we were talking about the health benefits of sweet potatoes, the participants might have to include a sweet potato in a meal that day.

And now, after a total of 240 challenges throughout last year, we are pleased to announce the winners!

Lisa was a star in the 2012 Challenge, typically completing 15 or more of the 20 challenges each month – and completing all of them in some months!  Lisa’s strength was putting in consistent effort and determination throughout the entire program.  She never let a large amount of time go by without completing the challenges, and even wrote them down in a notebook so she remembered which she still had to complete while on-the-go!  Her effort and work obviously paid off by earning her the most points and our 1st place prize!

Lisa's thoughts:  “I can honestly say, I am going to miss the challenges.  I love to learn about healthy lifestyles and work hard to implement them when I can.  I am even more aware of how healthy practices and exercising goes hand and hand.  I really want to become healthy in a whole manner. The challenges have kept me on my toes in a fun way--I am competitive but I also like to try new foods, enjoyed the recipes, loved being challenged by the quizzes and more!”

Nicole is naturally interested in nutrition and fitness from her background and jobs, so I knew she would do great in the challenge.  Nicole’s strength was completing a variety of types of challenges.  Whether it was trying a new food, a new exercise, or taking a quiz about her health, Nicole was always up for participating.  This earned her the 2nd place prize in our challenge!

Nicole's thoughts:  “I thought the program was awesome and really informative.  I learned a lot about new foods and exercises and about myself along the way. It was flexible and fun and no pressure and I really enjoyed it.”

Amy’s strength was participating in challenges that were most important or applicable for her - and doing so regularly throughout the program.  Even if a week or two went by when Amy didn’t get a chance to complete one, she didn’t beat herself up or quit – instead, she’d just jump back in.  That skill helped her to earn the 3rd highest number of points in our challenge!

Amy's thoughts:  “I found the challenge to be very unique.  It was an interesting way to entice us to try new foods, activities, etc.  Some I might never have tried otherwise. Early on one of the challenges to was to try grapefruit.  I gave it a whirl and discovered I really like grapefruit.  I eat it from time to time to mix up my fruit options.  I also liked learning about the nutritional value and ways to help implement the food or activity.  I'm glad I participated.”

We are SO proud of our winners, and everyone else who participated!  Congratulations!