“You can’t out train a bad diet.” Oh yeah?? Watch me!!
For as long as I can remember, this was my fitness philosophy.
I was not afraid of a hard work out. In fact, I worked out hard so I could eat whatever I felt like without being concerned with scales, or mirrors or clothes fitting.
I was healthy and trim and it worked for me. Did I have Stephanie Keenan’s arms or abs? No, but I was relatively thin, athletic and I loved my chips and queso. (insert screeching wheels here)….But then came the babies! 
I married the love of my life at 35 and welcomed our first child at 36 years old. I worked out during the entire pregnancy but, you guessed it, ate whatever I felt like, you know, for the baby. I gained 52 pounds with my first pregnancy. The little game of out training a bad diet took a major loss as it was just not that easy to lose the last 10 pounds and baby pooch. I only thought I was busy before, but having a child, working full-time from home and adjusting to not sleeping made me wonder what the heck I did with all my time prior to the baby.
Fortunately, I found Stephanie’s SK Challenge when my baby was a year old. Within five weeks, I had lost 8 pounds and felt fantastic. The Fitlife family was amazing. I found myself excited to check into the facebook group. I really appreciated the honesty, advice and comedy of the group.
I had energy, my family was eating better, my husband had joined the men’s challenge and we were both looking and feeling like younger versions of ourselves.
So what did we do? Well, we got pregnant again of course….
So I stopped six weeks into the challenge. I was convinced I would still eat clean and work out. Unfortunately, clean eating took a back seat to what the “baby” really wanted to eat. My work amped up so time became very limited and, for the first time in my life, I only worked out minimally.
I had my second child at 38 years old via C-section, and this time, I had gained 45 pounds. I knew I needed the challenge. I was so excited to get started because I wanted that energy back, I wanted to feel good and I wanted to get back into eating clean. I knew it worked and wanted everyone I knew to join in the fun.
My sister had also done the first challenge with me and she promised she would join with me after the baby was born. My husband joined back up again, and this time around, I talked my mom, dad, neighbor and two best friends from Charleston into joining.
So I put aside the comfort food, bought a treadmill and some weights and began the journey again. 
These 12 weeks have been everything I remembered and more. The encouragement, support and accountability I received through this challenge are irreplaceable. I absolutely love the Facebook page community and being surrounded by amazing women who are all on the same journey to be healthy. Everyone has different challenges, struggles and triumphs but we were all in it together. I feel like this feature is a major key for fitness success. It’s like being back in a locker room with your sports team and all your sisters. It is so much more than a physical transformation.
This challenge is almost as much of a mental transformation as it is a physical change. It allows you to adjust your mind set. Through this challenge, I finally learned that you CAN NOT, in fact, out train a bad diet.
My biggest challenge has always been not wanting to “diet” or eat “diet foods”, I wanted to eat real foods and enjoy life. What I now realize is that what I was eating was FAR from real food and now I actually enjoy real food and REALLY enjoy life.
Do I have treat meals? Absolutely, and I enjoy every bite of those chips and queso.
But now I crave the good foods, the real foods. And, the best part of this whole experience, is that my amazing husband has been there every step of the way. He looks and feels fantastic and we have been able to support each other in every aspect of the challenge. We enjoy eating clean and our precious daughters do too! 
I have lost 17 pounds on this journey.
I still have the baby pooch, but I realize that two pregnancies in two years with a collective 97 pound weight gain does not disappear in just 12 weeks. That’s why I am very excited to continue my journey with the SKFitgurls. I have learned how important it is to be surrounded by positive people, people that are always pushing to be a better version of themselves each and every day. I love the challenge of making the next day better than the last. Thank you Stephanie Keenan for being a light for so many.
Alexa
