The Blog

In the latest post from the It’s Time Texas blog, two-time Community Challenge participant Norma of Pasadena, TX, shares what motivated her to get involved in the Challenge, her biggest obstacle along the way, and the attitude that keeps her going strong.

A year ago, Norma was looking for a little motivation to get back on track with eating healthy and staying active. One of her greatest obstacles was figuring out how to maintain her diet at family gatherings, where all of her favorite foods were served in abundance. She signed on to the Community Challenge and started working out and keeping track of what she ate. She soon started seeing results – clothes that fit better and a noticeable decrease in stress. Rather than pursuing short-term weight loss, Norma’s goal was to make a lifelong change. A big part of what kept her motivated was seeing the posts from others who were participating in the Challenge.

“It felt good knowing that I was not the only one who was trying.”

Today, Norma is back for the 2019 Community Challenge. She’s continuing to work toward her goals. Inspired by her progress in last year’s Challenge, she joined Camp Gladiator to help her stay accountable and gradually upped her workouts to five times per week. She couples exercise with watching her carb intake. She also drinks citrus, mint, and ginger infused water to help her stay hydrated throughout the day.

We asked Norma how it feels to make all of these healthy changes.

“I feel more confident and energized,” she told us. “I feel good about myself again.”

Her advice to new Challenge participants? “Don’t think of this as a diet or a quick weight loss scheme. This can be a life-changing program if we want it to be. But we have to make this a new lifestyle, not just something we do for 8 weeks before going back to our old habits. And keep in mind that it’s not just about eating healthy. It’s also about staying active. We can’t reach our goals by just doing one or the other. The two go hand in hand.” 

Have your own inspiring story to share about the Community Challenge? We’d love to hear it! 

Start your story here.