Fit Family Challenge

Fit Family Challenge Wrapup: Results Are In

By John Lynch

It takes courage to attempt self-improvement in public, so congratulations to our FFC families. Good for them for trying.

The results were both dramatic (weight loss) and predictable (busy schedules). Fitness is an elusive goal in a car-friendly, fast-food-laden culture like ours that conspires to keep us sedentary and overweight.

In many ways, parenthood works against fitness. Take my example. I met my goal – lost 15 pounds to mark the magazine’s 15th anniversary.

I attribute much of my success to my son’s age – Jack is 21. Free of the day-to-day toil of parenting, I had time to devote to my fitness program.

Still, when families pull together and make fitness a priority, impressive things can happen.

Good luck to all of us as we strive to stick to our goals.

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FFC-13---Holly-ackerman-familyThe Ackerman Family

Name: Holly, 36, & Wilson Ackerman, 36
Children: Sarah, 10, Emily, 4

Situation: We have a family of four, and three of us have struggled with weight for years.
Dilemma: How in the world was I going to expect my girls to move more if I didn’t? We made all sorts of excuses.“It is a school night.” “It will be dark soon.” “I have to cook dinner.” “I just don’t have time.”
Goal: We wanted to learn to be healthier, lose a few pounds and be a better example for our girls. We walked away with so much more.

The Help: Susan and Morgan from Flex Fitness have shown us that diet is only one part of a healthy lifestyle. Exercise is equally as important. They have also helped us to understand that fancy equipment and a big gym is not required for results. I could not say enough about what they have done for us.

The Results: My husband and I have lost about 25 pounds each since January. Our greatest success is leaving this experience focused on what can be with the right tools in our hands.

The Takeaway: We had a great “cheerleader” in Lisa Wheat of KC WELLNESS. She gave us the needed tools for healthier recipe substitutions, portion sizes and even making better choices when you go out to eat. Morgan and Susan of Flex Fitness have met with us twice a week since January and cheered all of us on to push ourselves. Our true takeaway… a better life. – Holly Ackerman

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FFC----Shelley-Hopps-familyThe Hopps Family

Name: Shelley, 43, & Matthew Hopps, 41. Children: Jacquelyn 19, Katie 16, Connor 11, and Faith 10

Situation: With a busy schedule, we had no time to fit in anything like physical activity. I also came from a long-line of Southern-style cooks so I didn’t know how to fix anything without a stick of butter and a small salt lick.
Dilemma: How do I change the eating habits of my entire family on a budget? How do I find more time to fix healthy things and exercise?
Goal: We needed to change what we ate and fit it into our budget. We needed to become more active and fit it into our time frame.

The Help: Susan and Morgan from Flex Fitness have shown us that diet is only one part of a healthy lifestyle. Exercise is equally as important. They have also helped us to understand that fancy equipment and a big gym is not required for results. I could not say enough about what they have done for us.

The Results: My husband and I have lost about 25 pounds each since January. Our greatest success is leaving this experience focused on what can be with the right tools in our hands.

The Takeaway: At work, I have been asked to be in charge of our division’s American Heart Association’s University Moving for Healthy Hearts Challenge. Our social committee thought I would be a “motivating factor” to get others involved. It was good to hear. I am also working toward running my first 5K with my daughter in August. – Shelley Hopps

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FFC-13----beth-purdy-and-daughterBeth & Colleen Purdy

Name: Beth Purdy, 35
Children: Colleen, 4

Situation: I am a single mother with a 4-year-old who will eat just about nothing. Our dinners often become nothing more than eating cereal.
Goal: Lose 10-15 pounds. Tone up. Help daughter eat healthier and enjoy more family meals
Dilemma: Although I am an active person who jogs regularly and uses a treadmill desk at work, our eating habits are poor.

Frustrations: Unable to have consistent schedule, affecting exercise. DASH diet did not rid me of bad eating habits. No weight loss.
Successes: Daughter eating healthier (less junk food in house). Clothes fit slightly differently. We’ve become more active as a family.
The Results: Not much change in many ways.

The Takeaway: Be more realistic with goal setting (it’s going to take a long time to get this weight off). Need to work on setting up more consistent schedule that includes exercise and family time as major priorities. – Beth Purdy

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FFC-13----Geneva-thomas-familyThe Thomas Family

Name: Geneva Thomas, 36
Children: Dontaz, 17, Saraya, 13. Not pictured:
Chris Henderson Jr., 3

Situation: My daughter and I have many challenges – weight and high blood pressure. We have tried a nutritionist, exercise videos and walking but haven’t had much success.
Dilemma: My daughter had a broken foot when the Fit Family Challenge started and then I broke my foot. But we hung in there and worked a lot on the upper body. We also had the challenges of meal planning and finding the time to cook good healthy meals.

Goal: I want our family to be healthy and to eat better so that we can live longer lives.
The Help: Kat of Body Slam Boot Camp was a wonderful personal trainer and taught us exercises we could do at home like the Russian Twist and Wall Squats.
The Results: We are doing very good and even lost some weight. I am growing parsley, cilantro and wheat grass to put in smoothies along with other veggies and fruits.

The Takeaway: This process has been fun for us. We learned about food and health, and about pushing ourselves and overcoming obstacles. We are super excited to make this the beginning of a new life.  – Geneva Thomas