Challenge leads to change
Group members seeing health benefits from clean eating
ALBERTON – It was on the Saturday night before New Year’s that Brandy Foley issued a Facebook challenge.
She invited people to sign up for a 21-day clean eating contest. It would cost $20 per person to join, and all the money collected would go to the individual with the highest percentage weight loss.
“I thought, ‘I’ll get about 20 people, there will be a $400 prize for them. It will be fun; it will give people a little bit of motivation to clean up their eating,’” said Foley, a personal trainer and a cleaneating advocate.
The first people to sign up were at her door within two hours, and the anticipated 20 people soon snowballed to 214 and the prize payout shot to $4,280, not the $400 she’d anticipated.
Foley recently awarded the top prize to Nathan Lynde of Alberton. Although the 36-year-old, who is also a personal trainer, did not wish to reveal either his weight loss or percentage weight loss to the Journal Pioneer, he confirmed he tipped the scales at the end of the challenge at 186.6 pounds, the lightest he’s been in adulthood.
Participants started the challenge anywhere from Jan. 1 to 7 and Foley said 84 per cent of them reported their weight changes, a total loss of 1,951.8 pounds, or an average of nearly 11 pounds per participant.
Many participants lost more than 20 pounds and many of them shared with the group how they’ve experienced significant health improvements.
“Unreal. I’ve cried so many times in the last few weeks,” Foley said in recalling the testimonials. “They’re saying, ‘I have so much energy, I feel so good.’”
“People’s blood pressure is down. People tell me the health effects are just crazy in as little as three weeks. It’s unbelievable.”
And she’s witnessed some attitudinal shifts.
“At first, some were like, ‘I can’t wait to finish this so that I can cheat,’ and now I’m getting messages: ‘I’m done of my 21 days and I don’t want to eat anything bad,
because I feel so good.”
Lynde and Foley acknowledge whole families have benefited from the challenge. Foley said one group member’s husband lost 20 pounds just by sticking with her new meal plan.
She provided all participants with a meal plan of healthy fats, clean protein and complex carbs for three meals and three snacks a day. It was a guideline, she said, and while some shifted things up, they stuck to healthy eating options, and many shared recipes and tips to the group.
Terry Adams, owner of Iron Haven Gym in Alberton, provided interested participants with free access during their 21 days, and many took him up on the offer. Not everyone could, though, as Foley had participants from across P.E.I. and Atlantic Canada and as far away as Massachusetts. Many found ways to incorporate exercise into the challenge.
The timing of the challenge was right, Lynde said.
“Even though I know how to eat properly, I don’t always eat properly, and I don’t always eat clean and healthy. It’s a struggle, right?”
His advice for anyone wishing to make life-changing goals is to write their goals down.
“Any time I wanted to stray off my path, I would just look back at my goals and say, ‘hey, this is what I need to do in order to get there.’ ”
He admitted the prize at the end was extra motivation.
He’s not keeping the prize for himself, though. He plans to use the money to purchase jiujitsu training mats for grappling and core training for use at Iron Haven Gym.
Second prize-winner is Connie Ramsay, who receives a complete spa day at Tangerine Spa.
Foley said tracking the 214 participants’ progress and responding to questions pretty well consumed her past four weeks, but she’s certainly not complaining.
“It’s really the most rewarding experience of my life. To see all these people so happy and so successful, it just blows my mind.”
She plans to keep the Facebook group active and is considering offering a 10-week follow-up program for the group members.