MEDICINE FREE, THANKS TO THE RISE CHALLENGE
It may not technically be time to declare your New Year’s Resolutions, but RISE Fitness Glen Ellyn is sharing some inspiration for you planners out there! If you’re looking to kick off 2018 with a focus on being your best self through a renewed commitment to your personal health and wellness, then the RISE Fitness + RISE Cycle 2018 RISE-olution Challenge may be exactly what you're looking for.
But, hey, don’t take our word for it! One challenge participant testified how the RISE-olution Challenge made a profound impact on her health, and we are honored to share her story with you.
THIS STORY HAS BEEN SHARED WITH PERMISSION.
There are so many reasons why I love RISE Fitness Glen Ellyn’s RISE Challenges. For starters, my clothes fit better. I have more energy. I’ve made new friends. And yes, I can even almost do a military-style push up (not quite ready for the Naval Academy, but I’m making progress)!
But I also feel compelled to share how the RISE-olution Challenge has changed my life in a very profound way. The RISE Challenge and community helped me conquer a health issue that has ruled my life for the past 10 years.
First, the ugly background: Shortly after the birth of my daughter, I began to experience profound stomach pain; let’s call it “intestinal distress.” After two surgeries, I was left with “the good kind of colitis” and my doctor told me that I was going to have to learn how to live “chronically ill.” I found another doctor who helped me with medicines. A prescription medicine for “intestinal distress” (TMI, I know) was my crutch and key to functioning in daily life. With that, I moved on and did the best I could – as a busy mom, focus group moderator, and wannabe runner. I never knew when the next “episode” was going to strike, leaving me on the bathroom floor or the side of the prairie path.
Now, the good part: Last fall, I was inspired to shed some pounds, improve my strength, and shake things up, so I signed up for the RISE Challenge in Fall 2016. And it forever changed my life. During the course of the challenge, I said adios to Diet Coke and processed foods. I learned what “clean eating” really means. I experimented with vegan eating, green juice and smoothie concoctions. It was outside my comfort zone, but I loved it.
"This journey has had a profound impact
on my quality of life, and I will always be grateful
to RISE Fitness for equipping me
with the tools for healthy living!"
About halfway through the RISE Challenge, I realized that I didn’t reach for my medicine first thing in the morning. And this became my new challenge – to see how long I could go until I was forced to take it. Amazingly, I made it all the way to Thanksgiving time and then fell off the wagon. Presto! I needed my medicine again.
When the RISE-olution Challenge began in January 2017, I jumped at the chance to continue my health experiment. The change in my health was almost instantaneous with the no sugar, eat the rainbow life-style. I now look forward to eating and drinking fresh squeezed juice, smoothies, black rice, kale, and even seaweed salad. And, again, I no longer needed my medicine.
The RISE Challenge team and its leaders preach that this challenge is so much more than weight and inches lost. And I can attest to this. This fitness and lifestyle challenge has illustrated that this is the way I need to live each and every day in order to stay healthy, fit, and medicine-free.
This journey has had a profound impact on my quality of life, and I will always be grateful to RISE Fitness for equipping me with the tools for healthy living!