Half way there

Leslie Bjorklund
As for my goals thus far, I've done well getting to the gym three times a week, my favorite jeans fit better, but not how I want them to yet. I've really limited the amount of soda I have consumed over the last several weeks. I've neglected my gratitude log and I should really focus on it again. I'm hoping to be close to my five mile goal by the end of Jan! I have lots of work to do, it's amazing how time has gone by so quickly. Here's to the next few weeks.

Sam Woods
The holidays wreaked havoc on the first half of the challenge but only strengthened my resolve for the back half. I'm on a good 'roll' with spinning and P90X workouts in the basement. Sugar intake is my nutritional focus for the second half. Also fueling my motivation is the fact that some really cool races are falling in my lap for 2011. Should be a really fun racing season.

Amanda Coltrin
woo hoo i have made it halfway! christmas break made it super hard to stay stong. But i did it! i have been eating better and i have noticed i have more energy and i am not hungry as often as i used to be! I have read 2 books this month, it was a little bit of a crunch to finish the last one but i did it. I am looking for my fist book of the month right now :) I have devoted half an hour every night to study. It is my least favorite time of night but i make sure i do it. and it has paid off!!! i have the highest test grades in my class and i feel totally comfortable with all the topics :) I have also been keeping up on my old goals with going to the gym at least 3 times a week! i am excited to kick it up a notch for the last 4 weeks!!!!

Hilary Thompson
I have really done pretty well with the liver cleansing diet and exercising, especially considering the serious hiccups in my life this month. First my Dad passed away at the first of the month and I had to go out of town for a few days which interrupted both diet and exercise. At Christmas I got the flu and a lung infection and was only able to exercise twice in two weeks!!! Even through my illness I maintained my diet, which mainly consists of no dairy, a lot of raw fruits and vegetables, lean meat and no refined sugar. Although my diet has significantly changed for the better, I have still had periods at holiday parties and family get-togethers where I didn't stick to the diet well at all, although I always have my raw fruit/veggie smoothie every morning. I am back on track exercising as of the 3rd of January so I hope to catch up to my training goals - unfortunately the long period of no exercise has detrained me a bit and I"m way behind. I plan on recommitting to a 6-days per week exercise program and am glad the holidays are over so I can get my diet back on track. I forgot to add that I fit in size 28 jeans, down from 30!!! But that's been over the last 3 months.

Elyssa Taylor
As a first timer of the 8 week challenge i can attest that the past 4 weeks have been just that, a CHALLENGE. It started off pretty rocky with my goals but i'm finally starting to get into a kind of flow with my schedule. My nutrition and fitness goals are pretty straight forward: EAT HEALTHY. I need to focus on eating quality food thats high in protein and low in fat. No more fast food, quality should always surpass convenience! I've also found that if i eat food that's more filling(food with substance!) i'll eat less of it, and smaller portions are something i need to really work hard for to achieve. I also need to exercise at least 5 days a week, alternate days with lifting and cardio and add yoga twice(or more)a week for flexibility and core strength. I love yoga, its like my treat when i stay vigilant with other goals. It's not only good for the body, but i found it really stimulates my mind and helps me focus on whatever i need to get done that day. I like to do it before homework or a cram study session. I've tried to stay away from weight goals, right now my main goal is just to feel healthy and happy:]

Meredith Gregory
The first half of the challenge has been...okay. Boy those holidays sure get you! But having the first half of the challenge not work out as well as I had planned (no pun intended) has motivated me for the second half! I am back on track this week and still aiming to achieve all of my goals. Making sure that I make time to workout is my biggest challenge. It is hard to get up in the morning and hard to get out to the gym at night after a long day, but I am doing it!!

Gretchen Cheney
So, here's my report on the 8 week challenge:
So far I haven't been doing as well with the challenge as I had hoped. Mostly because of the holidays. While we were traveling and celebrating Christmas it was so hard not to give into every treat that someone handed me (especially when they had slaved in the kitchen all morning making it). I didn't do horrible, but just not as well as I planned. I have still been doing well with my running. Even while we were traveling I ran most days. I am planning to do my ten mile run either this weekend or next, depending on Kirk's crazy work schedule. I have been working hard on my abdominals and I think I am seeing a bit of improvement, but I want to do even better on these next four weeks of the challenge. Now that we are done traveling and things are back to normal I am going to kick it into high gear, especially with my eating habits!

Amanda Hollist
My last four weeks have been crazy but I have followed through with atleast one of my goals. I have been reading a few spiritual books that I have really got alot of insight from. They talked alot about opportunities that are all around us and things we could do to help them come to us. One quote I liked said "I believe there are forces all around us but these forces must wait for our request because they are bound by the law of free agency and cannot intervene in our lives unless we exercies our will and ask them too." Otherwise pray for the opportunity and help. I also have been working hard to keep exercising in the morning which is something you can always work harder on, and I am definetley going to try and meet that goal as well. Thanks for the extra push Scott and Chandi to set goals.