Congratulations to our 2022 Fall 8 Week #1uptransformationchallenge Female 1st place \\$10,000 cash prize winner Joel Rodriguez @fitlikenic This is her story “ This was my 4th 1UP Transformation Challenge that I’ve fully participated in. I found this group on Facebook and I was in awe of the positivity, motivation, and determination the members in the group shared with one another. I connected with like-minded individuals from my very first challenge. These connections helped me step out of my comfort zone and encourage others on their own fitness journey. It also increased my ambition to be an official 1UP ambassador one day!\xa0 I recently got married In May of 2022 and ALL sense of working out and eating healthy went out the window. I gained 30 pounds and oversized t-shirts and sweaters became a norm again. Health issues run in my family and I said to myself I want to be in the best shape of my life for myself, my family and my future children one day God-willing. I must say competing during the holiday season was NOT easy at all. It took extreme discipline and determination!\xa0 Throughout my fitness journey I learned that it’s YOU vs. YOU! It’s all about the small goals you set and achieve to get to the bigger ones. It also takes a positive change in mindset and attitude, limiting excuses, and most importantly looking at food and nutrition differently. Ask yourself, how is my body going to respond to a cheat meal once in a while versus cheat meals daily? What can I do today to #becomebetter tomorrow?\xa0 It’s a marathon, not a sprint! As I mentioned earlier, this was my 4th 1UP Transformation Challenge. Giving up was not an option for me. Be consistent. Stay focused. Stay persistent. I believe in you!” Three words that I think are key for anyone starting a fitness journey would be consistency, patience, and perseverance. There will be numerous obstacles to overcome and the easy route for many (myself often) is to give up and use those mishaps, whatever they are, as an excuse. This challenge I had covid and a flare up of gout but instead of giving up this time I used those down days I had as motivation to double down once my health was back. As Rocky Balboa once famously said, "lt's not about how hard you hit. lt's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward." |