RESULTS from the January Shred!

Let me start off by congratulating each and every person who completed the January Shred! I have to say that I am blown away by the results that our "Shredders" achieved in just 31 short days! I expected some of the most disciplined Shredders to lose about 5 lbs, which would equate to about 1 lb per week during the program. Me of little faith! We had 3 people lose double digits, and many others weren't far behind them at all. What was so great about this program was it didn't involve counting calories. Yes, to lose weight our Shredders moved into a caloric deficit, but they did so by keeping up with 10 simple rules each and every day, versus having to count and track everything they ate for an entire month. You think counting calories is easy? Try it for more than 2 weeks and tell me if you don't go crazy. The 10 rules were challenging, but easier mentally to wrap your head around. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, HERE is the initial January Shred post with the video and all of the rules. Now, onto the final points, the results, and a few comments from our Shredders.

The Points

The point system was more for accountability and competition than anything else. However, those who kept up with their points certainly fared well on the shred. Here is how our final point totals looked . I'm only going to include the top 10 for space:

NAME	WEEK#1	WEEK#2	WEEK#3	WEEK#4	WEEK#5	TOTALS
Lacresha Merkle	35	40	56	51	45	227
Nick Merkle	35	40	56	51	45	227
Jessica Drosyk	28	50	50	51	47	226
Vanessa Rogers	25	52	49	50	47	223
Matt Abele	31	50	49	48	43	221
Audra Laking	29	49	46	51	45	220
Leigh Abele	31	47	48	47	41	214
John Drosyk	26	47	47	46	42	208
Carole Nettles	20	39	42	42	38	181
Barry Jones	31	49	47	38	0	165

The Results

The results are what we are really after. Ultimately, burning fat was the goal of the program, but not everyone had the benefit of calculating their body fat % before and after. However, the scale is a pretty good indication of what kind of results people are achieving. Therefore, I'm going to sort this list by weight loss.

NAME	LBS LOST	MEASUREMENTS
Jessica Drosyk	12	Lost 3.5 inches in waist, 4 in chest, 2.5 in hips, 2 in thigh and 1.5 in arm.
Barry Jones	10	Lost 2 inches in waist.
Carole Nettles	10	Lost 2.5 inches in waist, lost 1.5 inches in waist.
Leigh Abele	8.8	Lost 2 inches in waist, 2% body fat, 1 inch in waist.
Bobby Brown	8	Lost 2 inches in waist.
Nathan McMullin	8	Lost 2 inches in waist. Starting to see ABS!
Audra Laking	7.5	Lost 3 inches.
Cindy Greer	7	Lost 5.5 inches.
Nick Merkle	6.5	Did not measure.
Matt Abele	6.4	Lost an inch in waist. Lost 1.52% body fat. Now at 10.15%.
Tracy Allgrove	6.2	List 2 inches in waist and 1.25 in hips.
Lacresha Merkle	5.5	Did not measure.
Vanessa Rogers	4.2	Lost 2 inches in waist and 2 inches in hips. Lost 7.5 overall.
John Drosyk	4	Lost 2 inches in waist, 2.5 in hips, gained 1/2 inch in biceps!
Julie Owens	4	Did not measure.
Natalie Ivy	4	Lost 1 inch in waist.
Daryl Greer	2.2	Did not measure.

Comments from a few Shredders

Jessica Drosyk (Lost 12 lbs, 3.5 inches in waist, 2.5 in hips)

"Matt, I really can't say thank you enough for your encouragement and support. This shred was the best idea ever!! Intermittent Fasting (IF): This was the biggest change for me. I have always been a breakfast person and would eat oatmeal or eggs within 30 minutes of waking up. The first week of IF was pretty tough. But, I did enjoy having extra time to get ready (or sleep late) since I wasn't preparing and eating breakfast AND eating more at lunch/dinner while still staying in my calorie goal was pretty nice too. The Rest of the Rules: The rest of the rules were easy to follow. Not that I didn't struggle with temptation but they weren't a big lifestyle change. I think most of the success (for me) with the shred is that it wasn't low carb everyday. Having only 3 LC days a week made it do-able. Accountability: FAVE!  Accountability works. I don't have to tell you that. It's just easier to have a community to celebrate and commiserate with. Positives: Increased energy, Positive outlook (overall happier), Great skin. I've had 4 people tell me this month that my skin looks amazing. (all that water and no junk... who knew :D), Closer to my goal and totally motivated to keep going!!

John Drosyk (Lost 4 lbs, 2 inches in waist)

"I am glad I did the January shred. I originally did it to help motivate Jessica, but toward the end I could see how much I benefited from it as well. The toughest part for me was the IF as well as the low carb/empty calorie rules. I am a cereal and chocolate milk junkie. I would usually eat a large bowl of cereal after dinner right before I went to bed as well a couple of bowls in the morning. I would drink several glasses of chocolate milk all though the day. Cutting out those items as well as fasting at night and into the morning was a challenge. It eventually became easier and now feels normal. I plan on continuing many of the shred rules going forward so I can get my six pack. I know that abs aren't made in the gym but in the kitchen. Glad I did the shred. It made my heart-shaped cookie dough filled doughnut this morning that much better. :)"

Cindy Greer (Lost 7 lbs and 5.5 inches overall)      

"Drum roll.............................I lost exactly 7 pounds and 5.5 inches!  And if we were on Biggest Loser that would be a 4.7% loss.  I have no pictures.  I am thrilled with my results.  I started cutting back on December 26 and had lost 1 pound before we began the shred -- so just personally, I have lost 8 pounds.  I have been at this weight and even lower, but I lost my focus and let myself gain a pound here and there. My point totals probably don't lead you to believe that I would have good results, but I was trying to be totally honest with them.  If I forgot to plan my meals for the next day or if plans changed, I didn't get a point.  That doesn't mean that I ate poorly, though.  If I had a few grams too low on protein, I didn't get a point, but I still had a large amount of protein.  The one thing I didn't do very much were the low carb days. I love to cook and I love to eat.  I would love to visit most every restaurant in Montgomery just to experience it.  Dining is my recreation.  This month, though, I tried to look at food more as fuel and less as entertainment.  I stayed hungry much of the time, but it wasn't stomach hunger, it was emotional.  So, it took me about 2 1/2 weeks to break that 'addiction'.  Since then, though, I have not felt hungry.  I have eaten the right foods in the right amounts."

Vanessa Rogers (Lost 4.2 lbs and 1.52% body fat)

"Following the 10 "simple" rules isn't too far from my normal clean eating regimen. Tracking with the points held me accountable for my problem areas--eating out (although I try to eat clean even then....it's still not as good as eating at home) and ensuring I squeeze in some type of strength or HIIT workout.  What was different from my normal routine was tracking carb and protein intake. I found it much more difficult to get the protein in than it was to cut back on the carbs. But after a few days, you tend to learn what you can and cannot eat and what you need to eat more of. I didn't have any problems with the I/F, not in waiting 14+ hours to eat. My struggle was trying to get all of my necessary foods in before I started fasting each night. I always went to bed full (content, not stuffed). My absolute favorite part....going to bed full but waking up with a flat tummy! It made getting dressed each morning much easier. Most women will probably agree, but what we usually choose to wear depends on how we feel physically when we wake up. As in....'where is the bloating this morning? What area do I need to conceal? A baggy, blousy shirt to cover the tummy? Loose slacks to avoid the muffin tops?' and so on...During the shred, I didn't have those concerns because I woke up each morning feeling leaner and leaner."

Matt Abele (Lost 6.4 lbs and 1 inch in waist)

I have to say, I'm really excited about the way the shred turned out! I had planned on doing something like this just for myself to cut back after the ridiculous feeding frenzy I had over the holidays, but I'm so glad that nearly 40 other people joined me. As Jessica said, accountability is HUGE! I wouldn't have had nearly the success that I did had I been doing this on my own. We all banded together to console each other on low carb days, and many of us held strong on our goals because we didn't want to let down the other Shredders who were counting on us to be right there with them. Could I personally have done better? Sure...but overall I stuck to the plan much more often than not. I was hoping to get down into the single digit body fat % again...it didn't happen, but I'm awful close. I definitely think all of us learned more about healthy eating. I am so proud of what everyone accomplished, and I hope that the success continues! I know it will!