Why join a challenge group?

So every month I post about a new challenge group I’m running. I realize it’s not for everyone. If it's not your thing, I take no offense, just keep scrolling. If you do stop and read my posts though, you may find yourself wondering what the heck this whole accountability group thing is.

So what the heck is a challenge group? Why would someone consider joining a group like this? I’ll tell you from experience, there’s a handful of reasons that people join.

Speaking for myself, I was in the place where I felt like I had nothing to lose. I’d been trying to lose the baby weight on my own for 2 years and had made some progress on my own but just couldn’t quite get there. I’d hit a plateau in my weight loss and couldn’t figure out what to do to break through that.

The even bigger push for me in considering a group though was that I needed to try something new. As someone who flourished in a team atmosphere as an athlete, it was always a struggle to workout alone. I was doing it but it wasn’t fun. I tried the YMCA but it just didn’t work for me – it was too stressful trying to cram in a workout while the kids plastered themselves against the kid-watch window counting down the minutes until I returned to rescue them. I knew I’d be more motivated and have more fun in classes but the class times usually didn’t work for mine or the kids’ schedules and getting called out mid-class to change a diaper or soothe a sad child wasn’t my idea of an ideal workout environment. So I tried the home workout. I bought myself some Jillian Michaels DVDs and tried those out. After I finished Jillian I moved on to Insanity, then Chalene Extreme and T25. The dvds were definitely better than my gym experience. After years of rowing and doing stairs and HIIT exercises in the off-season, who wants to hang out on an elliptical for 45 minutes? Not this girl! It was certainly easier to fit a workout in at home than it was at the gym and it was also way more friendly on the budget since it was a one time cost rather than a monthly membership fee.

So why then did I still feel like I needed to join an accountability group? Well, I was working out to lose the weight, to get strong and to feel good in my skin again. I KNOW that when I exercise, I feel strong and confident. I know that when I am fit, I’m happier and an overall better person to be around. I KNEW this and I am stubborn enough that I kept trying to make it happen so that I could get myself back to that happy place. But I kept slipping. I couldn’t sustain the healthy habits for longer than a few months before slipping again. If it wasn’t was a sick kid or stress at work, it was boredom with my workout program and a lack of desire/motivation to finish a program. I WANTED to live a healthier life for me and for my family yet I just couldn’t figure out HOW to do it long term. I love food. I love sleep. I tolerate exercise. I hate diets. I’m stubborn but I’m also an all or nothing personality. These attributes can all work in my favor if I’m doing something I am committed to, however, they can also work against me. I saw eating healthier as unsustainable – it felt like a diet. Exercise was work I could do but when I didn’t do it consistently or fell off the habit, it was too easy to talk myself out of starting back up. I mean if you slip up on a Tuesday the week is shot. You can only start on a Monday, right? I realize now that this was a ridiculous, self-defeatist way of thinking but it was where I was at and all that I knew.

So enter the accountability group. I stumbled across my now coach, Melanie’s blog and read about this 60 day survive the holidays clean eating and fitness accountability group. I knew that I could have kept going it alone but I didn’t want to. I was sick of the pattern I was in and wanted more for myself.

Yes, I still have slip ups. I still I still some days just don’t feel like working out. The difference? I have a support network in place now that I couldn’t have imagined existed. I have my challengers cheering each other on every day, picking each other up when they fall, sharing healthy recipes that they’ve found or tips that have worked for them. We join in group workouts too - it may not be a group fitness class at the gym but it functions the same way and we can do it from the comfort of our own homes, over our computers and that can happen rain or shine.

What do my challengers have to say about why they like these groups?

“It's a space to make changes happen! We support each other with healthy decisions and encourage each other to never give up. It's a great place to be accountable for your exercise and food choices (good and bad).”

“It’s a support group of like-minded and committed people seeking a change to a healthier life. We are not perfect but are trying the best that we can be to live a consistently healthy life.”

“Anyone who decides to take the challenge can benefit. Whether you've eaten healthy your whole life or never been much of a healthy eater, you'll learn something ... To eat better, cleaner, work out more efficiently, plan better... It's a win-win. Those who think that they need to eat minimum calories, follow points, skip meals will learn that portion control is the key. Those that think cardio is best will learn that weights, etc. can help shape their bodies and make them stronger. But best of all, they'll learn how to make this plan a part of their lives in the long-run.”

“The routines are helpful - workouts, facebook check-ins, etc.”

“It really helped me identify where the empty calories were coming from. I thought that I was a healthy eater, but could not figure out why I was not losing the weight that I wanted to. I never really realized how much I was snacking. I also thought that I could do it on my own, working out on an elliptical. I think that the results are going to come a lot quicker with the accountability group. Even though I don't personally know the others in the group, I feel a responsibility to be present and to be doing the work. It is also helpful/inspiring to see them making progress.”

“I know that if I had ordered the 21DFX online on my own, I would have only done the videos. I would not have done the meal planning/portion control, and now I see the benefit that is part of the total program.”

“What I love is that it provides both accountability and support, but even more than that is the structure. If you take the time the make the plan, and I found that it took me about 3 hours to do the first meal plan, then the rest of the week is just following the plan and it's fairly easy. Even though it's a time commitment on the front end, you end up spending less time during the week since you already did the work when making the plan.”

“I do gain a lot from being a part of this group... Ideas, inspiration, and knowing that others are right there on the same path that I am is comforting.”

“The accountability is really great, and for this, a longer challenge group, the support of people going through the daily struggles to change habits, get in workouts in the midst of all life's craziness, meal plan, etc. is so helpful. Sharing successes and failures, ups and downs, and maintaining motivation.”

“We are a support group of like-minded and committed people seeking a change to a healthier life. We are not perfect but are trying the best that we can be to live a consistently healthy life.”

So there you have it. It may not have been my shortest post ever but it’s honest and it’s a view into my world. I realize my way is not for everyone. Maybe you see my workout selfies, my posts about my journey to get healthy or my reminders to eat healthy and keep scrolling. That is totally your prerogative. Why do I keep it up then? I do it because it’s my life and I want to share that with others in the hope that I can inspire someone else to take steps to take care of themselves. It’s taken me nearly 30 years to get here. It was hard, there were bumps and setbacks and there still are but the difference today is that I’m better equipped to deal with them than ever before thanks to the support and community I’m now fortunate to be a part of. If I can be that support for someone else who is struggling to make a change in their life, I want to be.

If you’re interested in learning more about my next accountability group or simply want to talk and bounce ideas off of someone, I’m all ears. My hope is to be a support for people in whatever way I can be. If you are interested in talking please reach out over email/Facebook or fill out the application below for more info and I’ll be in touch.

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