Alison H.
PROGRAM
2023 NEW YEAR TRANSFORMATION CHALLENGE: 1ST PLACE WINNER
I entered the New Year Transformation Challenge with modest expectations. Sure, I wanted to shed a little fat in my off-season, but mostly I saw it as an opportunity to invest in more coaching support for some big goals I’m chasing and get back to tracking macros for my upcoming training without being all bitchy/Type-A/perfectionist about it. I honestly wasn’t looking for anything dramatic or hoping to be a contender for the challenge prizes. But I’m absolutely floored by what changed along the way with Coach Amanda May’s support. I 100% got what I came for … AND THEN SOME.
I’ve done lots of fat loss cycles in the past and they were all pretty miserable. And it felt like they all hinged on how perfectly I executed everything — perfect macros, perfect workout volume, perfect intensity levels, perfect, perfect, perfect. It was sooooo much pressure. And sure, I got results but they felt so fleeting — because I thought I had to continue to be perfect to maintain them which totally stressed me out. Always wondering, “how could I possibly keep this up?”
Flash forward to today … Yes, the outer transformation is WILD. I shed just over 10lbs and a total of 14.75 inches in the 12 weeks and it shows. Those muscles I’ve worked so hard for are visible once again. And while I’m not the leanest or the most muscley I’ve ever been, I’ve honestly never been happier with how my body looks and feels. Because of how I got here … it was simple and it was imperfect. And to me, that’s the best part of this transformation — the part that will stick with me the most forever — I got here in a sustainable way. I was eating more calories per day than I had been for any previous cut and I was doing exactly as much working out (both volume + intensity) as my life would comfortably allow. It didn’t need to be miserable to be effective.
Don’t get me wrong — I don’t want to eat in a calorie deficit forever (very much looking forward to eating more now to fuel more performance in my training) but it was totally manageable. Coach Amanda was on top of everything — she monitored my mindset, hunger, and energy levels closely and always had a plan for either upping my macros, adding a refeed day or two, or something else to get my head right. No white-knuckling my way through it, waiting for the next “slip up”. No wondering if I can keep this up and dreading special occasions where there would be indulgent food options. No worrying that the occasional extra calories or missed workouts will send me spiraling out of control. No “perfection” required.
In the past 12 weeks:
-> I had ½ a dark chocolate toffee bar every single night.
-> I had birthday cake.
-> I had takeout for lunch every Saturday.
-> I missed workouts — even guiltlessly dropping from 4/week lifting sessions to 3/week when it was clear that was all my schedule could handle right now.
-> I snacked on things I actually enjoyed (thanks to Amanda’s coaching reminding me to not slip back into my perfectionist tendencies).
-> I did not become a cranky, macro-obsessed, hangry meanie to myself or others along the way.
And because it didn’t require perfect execution of everything all at once to arrive at this place where I’m happy with how my body looks and feels, I know I won’t have to do things perfectly to maintain it. I can just live my life. WHAT A GAME-CHANGER!
BONUS: along the way I also:
-> Learned a better system for getting more water in each day.
-> Shifted toward high food quality, lots of produce, fiber, and all the micros.
-> Focused on good sleep and stress management.
Because of that, I feel really, really good.
Now, the plan is to continue with Coach Amanda but on the Performance track as I gear up for 50-miler training. LFG!