“It’s hard to put into words what this challenge means to me. In one word this challenge means life. Before I started this challenge I was a terribly unhealthy 320 pounds, the heaviest I have ever been in my entire life. I couldn’t run around with my kids for more than five seconds before I was winded, I couldn’t tie my shoes without a struggle, I couldn’t enjoy Busch Gardens thoroughly with my family because I couldn’t fit on the rides, I couldn’t stand for longer than 20 minutes before needing to sit back down, and the list goes on and on. This challenge has given me my life back!! I’m now able to run around with my kids, we can all jump on the trampoline together, I go jogging with my husband regularly, I can actually fit on roller coasters now, I can tie my shoes so much easier, and I COMPLETED A 5K!!!! I never could have completed a 5k before this challenge. I’m finding out new things I can do that I couldn’t do before every single day. In the beginning of this challenge I could barely do any squats or lift any weights, now I’m doing squats all the time and lifting 5 times what I could. This challenge has been life changing. I have learned how to eat properly and the importance of exercise. I will take these lessons with me for the rest of my life. My quality of life has improved tenfold. You can’t put a price tag on that. My goals for the challenge have be reached and passed. I gave myself a goal of losing 55lbs during this challenge and I lost 57, more than I ever thought possible. This challenge has given me the motivation to keep going and continue to meet even more goals. My next goal is to lose 50 lbs by my birthday in August. I have signed up for two more 5k’s this year and have started training with my best friend to complete a tough mudder challenge in 2014. I feel like I can do things now that I never dreamed of and it’s all because of this life changing challenge. Seeing my children’s excited faces that I can play with them more actively now, and my husband’s proud smiles, and my parents and friends telling me I’m inspiring them, are the sweetest rewards in all of this and mean the world to me. So I say thank you to everyone in the challenge and all of the amazing trainers. This has been the best group of people, the amount of support has been astonishing, and the results from everyone’s hard work have been amazing to witness. While I still have a long way to go, this challenge has transformed me completely. I am forever changed because of these last 12 weeks.”