We're pleased to announce our 2005 First Place Winner of the GHF Fitness Challenge: Kate Shoup. Throughout the last 12 weeks of our contest, by following our Online Fitness Program, she lost 32 pounds of fat and gained 10 pounds of lean muscle! Please take a moment to read her essay and take a look at her very impressive Before and After photos below. We're confident that you'll find them as inspiring as we did and we hope they motivate you take action and enter our next contest!

"I played competitive sports growing up and in college. But at 36, after graduate schools, unhappy jobs, one successful pregnancy (daughter is now 4) and 4 physically and emotionally traumatizing miscarriages, my body and mind were a mess. I had serious self-image problems, was 30 lbs overweight, and often depressed. I was stuck in a vicious cycle of overindulging, negative self-talk, fad-dieting, and binging. I attempted various weight-loss programs unsuccessfully. This obviously affected my whole outlook on life: withdrawn, unmotivated, unhappy and tired. Not to mention the physical problems of being overweight; I had crippling pain in my feet from bone spurs and tendonitis, back pain, and shortness of breath.

After much sole-searching, I realized what a terrible role model I was for my daughter. I wanted her to have a confident, cheerful, healthy and fit person to look up to so I decided to do something about it. But how? I needed something to re-awaken that competitive athlete hibernating inside me. As soon as I found the GHF website, my competitive juices started flowing. I was determined to give it everything I had to win the GHF 12-week Fitness Challenge. This contest really helped me stay motivated and focused on my goals of losing over 20 lbs in 12 weeks and feeling fit and energetic again.

But just having the drive wasn’t enough. Once I read deeper into the GHF website I realized that I had always approached weight loss the wrong way. No other program explained daily meal planning as well as the GHF Customized Diet Plan Online Book and their consultants did. They helped me customize my own diet plan and determine my daily caloric amount and nutrient ratio directly on the website. The nutrition experts were a great help in modifying the sample meal plans to suit my needs and tastes. Now my whole family eats healthy foods we never thought we would enjoy and I have totally changed how I arrange meals during the day.

Even though I used to be an athlete, I don't have the benefit of having a coach anymore to plan workouts and force me to do them. Joining GHF provided all the information and motivation I needed to reach my goals. With constant help and support from Chad Tackett and Dani Myers, two of GHF's consultants, I followed workouts that were challenging but varied enough to prevent boredom. About half way through the 12-week program I was so excited when people in the gym started commenting on how well I looked and how defined my muscles were getting. That only motivated me more to keep following the workouts that they customized for me. I also like using Protrack, their fitness tracking software, to keep records of my meals, workouts and weight loss progress. It is fun for a scientist like me to be able to graph my progress with this software.

Besides learning how to eat and exercise properly, it really is the GHF motivational resources that make this program far better than any other for me. The Get Motivated For Life program they offer with membership taught me SO MUCH; not only about setting goals, but handling temptations and overcoming obstacles for fitness as well as for life. Now I set aside time to work on mental challenges that affect my success by constantly monitoring progresses, insights, set-backs, negative self-talk, and gratitude. I wholeheartedly believe that this is really where I have made the biggest strides in re-creating my life. Understanding the underlying causes of my behavior has not only helped me achieve incredible fitness success, but also totally changed my daily life from a negative to a positive one. I never expected to gain that from any fitness website.

The last 3 months have been an incredible journey of mind, body and soul. Not only am I now in control of what, when and how much goes in my mouth and what goes on in my head, I love going to the gym and feeling fit and strong. Even better, my neck, back and feet don't hurt at all anymore. I have new-found confidence, which comes from knowing that I'll always have the tools and support from GHF to continue to lead this positive, self-assured, athletic lifestyle no matter what future challenges life throws my way.

I am extremely proud of my accomplishments: losing 32 lbs of fat and gaining 10 lbs of toned muscle. I have the GHF Fitness Challenge and website to thank for helping redirect my life. Thank you to all the GHF staff for providing such an incredibly comprehensive resource to help me and others achieve our goals. My family and I are forever grateful!"

Kate Shoup
Prince Frederick, MD
kateshoup@comcast.net

Congratulations, Kate! We're very proud to have you as a GHF member; it's been a real pleasure helping you achieve your fitness goals. We really look forward to celebrating with you and your husband on the vacation of a lifetime!

GHF members, want to take a look at the Before and After photos and essay of our previous winners? Click here! And if you're interested in seeing our vacation photos from past winners, click here! We really hope these photos and essay provide the motivation and inspiration you need to know that you too can make amazing improvements in how you look, feel, and perform. If you're ready to make a change, we'd love the opportunity to personally help you reach your full potential.

In the words of Abraham Lincoln, "You can have anything you want - if you want it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose." Ready to take the challenge? Click here to get started.