In July I made a decision that I truly believe changed my life. I registered for the Maxine’s Shape Up Challenge which is a 12 week body transformation competition free to enter for Australian residents run by Maxine’s Burn which is an Australian supplement company. There is a male version aswell called Max’s Muscle Up Challenge run by Max’s. There is an option to register with a public profile where your before photo is visible to the public or a private profile if you want to do the challenge but not join the competition. To have a chance at any prizes you just need to purchase at least one of their products and keep the receipt. I bought some of the protein bars to try them out and had just run out of my protein powder so I figured I would give Maxine’s Burn protein a go. I didn’t plan to keep buying these product for the whole challenge but I found that actually did like them, especially the choc caramel crunch burn bars!
Registering with a public profile was such a scary choice to make but I believe it made a difference in my commitment and motivation because it kept me accountable. I also started a public Instagram account for the challenge and that really helped keep me motivated and at ease with having a public profile.
The 12 week challenge has two programs to choose from dependent on your goals and provides a nutrition plan and training plan to help you reach your goals. The nutrition plan teaches you about healthy eating habits, portion sizes and the importance of meal timing, The training program provides a weights workout to follow and lists cardio options. The challenge is broken up into 3 phases where the intensity of workouts increase with each phase and the meal plans get a little tighter.
The best thing the challenge provides is the forum which is managed by the amazing coaches and ambassadors. They post great tips and advice about nutrition, training, motivation and there’s even tech support. They are also really quick to reply to postsfrom challengers who have questions about a particular food, a certain workout, a troublesome injury or anything at all that they are unsure about. The support from the team and the other challengers is just amazing and I know for me it really helped me when I was struggling around week 6 and again at week 10. The inspiring Janet Kane was a huge help to me. Not only did she post quick and helpful replies to my posts but she would also post tips and advice on the forum that addressed exactly what many of us where thinking or struggling with at exactly the right time!
I loved the training program but had to make a few tweaks. When I started the challenge I was training for my first half marathon. I was eager to stop the long distance steady state runs and get back into the gym but I had to stay focused for the first few weeks until the event finally came. Once I finally did stop the running the weightloss plateau was well and truly over and I could focus on trying to get a flat stomach in time for my 30th birthday where I was dressing up as Princess Jasmine. But I know it was the nutrition plan that made all the difference for me. It had taken me a long time to understand that you can’t out exercise a bad diet. And having this meal plan to follow did keep me focused and once the weight started falling off there was no denying it had been my nutrition that had been slowing my weight loss. I was so happy to be able to wear my costume on my birthday. I was still very self conscious at the beginning of the night but after a few drinks I was very comfortable in my own skin which never would have been possible without this challenge.
The meal plan did look boring at first but it’s simplicity was just what I needed. It helped me take my diet back to basics and helped me learn about fueling my body. I hardly even used the recipes available on the website or posted in the forum because I found it easier to just cook up big batches of the same meal and freeze them.
In 12 short weeks (it really feels like it flew by now!) I lost 8.6kg. I’ve always put too much emphasis on the scales and found it hard to stop weighing myself all the time. I still weighed myself every week though and always first thing in the morning after waking up and going to the toilet but before eating breakfast. I also took my measurements every week to track my progress.
But the best progress tracker was taking weekly photos. Every 4 weeks of the challenge required a ‘check-in’ to gain access to the the next phase. To check in you had to post a progress photo and your weight. I would then you photo collage apps to compare my progress. This is the last photo comparison I did.
There was also a fitness test to compare your progress in a different way. I made it very hard for myself by pushing myself in the first fitness test which made each subsequent fitness test really tough to beat.
After seeing the difference in just the first 4 weeks I began taking weekly progress shots and loved comparing photos to make sure I was still on track. My goal weight was 58kg which I had come up with after looking up my body mass index (BMI) online. My healthy range was probably closer to 55kg but at the time 55kg just seemed unrealistic and like it would make me too skinny. I do have an ‘goal weight’ but I don’t want to be skinny. I want to be fit and strong and feel comfortable in a bikini this summer.
When I made it under 60kg I did start getting a bit complacent because there was still a few weeks to go so I probably could have lost a couple more kilos but honestly I don’t think I have weighed under 60kg for at least 10 years and that is amazing! I still have some trouble areas of stubborn fat that I am working on but I am so proud of the way I look.
But the body transformation is really just a happy by-product for me. This challenge was really a journey of self discovery for me and has transformed my life. I am much more happier and more confident. I felt each week of the challenge had a different obstacle for me to get through, whether it be beating my sugar cravings, balancing challenge/work/social/family commitments, finding motivation, finding energy or even just dealing with hanger issues! Each obstacle gave me an opportunity to look into my self and figure out what the actual problem was. Was it just lack of sleep or was there something deeper going on? I found the more I continued with the challenge the more I learned about myself. I feel empowered and excited about the future!
The challenge is coming back in February 2015 and I can’t wait. I followed the ‘Tone and Shape’ program this year and next year I plan to ‘Get Strong’! I hope my review has inspired you and if you are interested in joining me in the challenge next year then go to http://www.maxineschallenge.com.au or http://www.maxchallenge.com.au and subscribe for updates. Let’s do this!!
findingNQ 
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