Final Report August 100 Challenge

Posted on Posted in Fitness

I participated in the August 100 Challenge hosted by John Stone. The goal was to not lose points for missing workouts, having an unauthorized snack, or not updating on the challenge post. Each slip cost a point. Everyone started the month with 100 points. I ended my challenge with 94 points. I wanted to end with 100 but I feel OK ending with 94. Initially 92 people started. Very few finished the entire month month. That is pretty sad.

Did it work?

  • WEIGHT: 136.0 pounds —> 133.6 pounds (-2.4 pounds)
  • BODY FAT: 22.7% —> 22.5% (-0.2%; running programs really are not great for losing fat. back to weights after marathon)
  • ARMS: 10.5″ —> 10.5″ (no change)
  • CALVES: 14.0″ —> 13.8″ (-0.2)
  • SHOULDER: 40.5″ —> 40.25″ (-0.25)
  • CHEST: 35.0″ —> 34.6″ (-0.6)
  • BREAST: 37.0″ —> 37.0″ (no change; not sure how this is possible)
  • FOREARMS: 9.2″ —> 9.2″ (no change)
  • HIPS (WIDEST): 38.5″ –> 37.25″(-1.25)
  • HIPBONES: 35.5″ —> 35.0″ (-0.5)
  • THIGHS: 22.2″ —> 22.1″ (-0.1)
  • WAIST: 28.5″ —> 27.0″ (-1.5)
  • ABDOMEN: 32.0″ —> 31.0″ (-1.0)

What I learned from this month:

  • I’m great at getting the runs in as they are necessary for me to succeed in the September marathon.
  • I’m am less motivated about the lifting, missed one workout & some of the others were not optimal. This impaired my loss of body fat. Must get back to regular, heavy lifting post-marathon (Sept 24) so look for me in an October “100” challenge.
  • My husbands snacks in the house are a danger to me late at night when I am PMS/TOM. I lost most of my points over the last 10 days.
  • I lost at least one inch each from my waist, abdomen and bottom over this month. There were minimal changes elsewhere. Cleaning up my diet and getting all of the exercise in, even if my effort was subpar, helped a lot.
  • If I don’t do my workout first thing in the morning, it is easy for me to rationalize not doing it at all later in the evening.
  • I ran 20 miles; it was longest run of my life. Sticking to this challenge helped me stay with the marathon training program. Just 23 days until the big day.
  • I really wanted to keep my “A”. I had 94 points left at the end. However, I found that once I lost one point it was easier to rationalize losing more since I was no longer “perfect.” This is stupid, I know.
  • After tracking every gram of food and calculating macronutrient ratios in MS Excel every day for the last 2 years, I tracked NOTHING for this challenge outside of ensuring that I ate 6 clean meals (lean protein, + fruit or veggie, +/- rice or oats) and completed that day’s workout. I did not use my food scale. In spite of this decadence, the bathroom scale still moved in the correct direction.
  • I’m still not 100% where I want to be from an aesthetic point of view, but I am fit. Once the marathon is done, I’ll focus a bit more on the aesthetic of my form.