A Truly Inspirational Woman!!

This post I am dedicating to a truly inspirational woman! I was introduced to this amazing, caring and loving woman in October of 2012 and her story at that time helped me make the decision to JOIN The Challenge. Kim Stueber is the absolute epitome of The Challenge, a lot like me her first 90 Day Challenge was to really test the system and "see" by following the system and changing nothing else (i.e. no exercise and still just hanging out on the couch channel surfing in her spare time) and see if she could lose 20 pounds.

Since the 5th grade Kim has struggled with her weight, she says "I remember my elementary school PE teacher creating a club called 'The Jolly Joggers'." Throughout her life she has been on a roller coaster ride loosing a few pounds here and gaining them plus some back and literally tried everything under the sun to help her lose and keep off the weight. After trying Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, Phen Phen diet pills, Jazzercise, dozens of infomercial exercise equipments and programs and even going as far as attending a seminar about gastric bypass surgery (which she didn't do) she pretty much gave up and accepted the fact that she would remain fat the rest of her life.

In October of 2011 exactly a year before I met Kim she was first introduced to The Challenge by seeing some friends of her's Tim & Julie Baca (some more amazing people by the way) losing weight with some "Challenge thing". This was a pivotal time for Kim because her daughter was pregnant with her first grandchild and helped to spark the fire inside her to want to get healthier. She jokes and says her first 90 Day Challenge was "Stalking the Baca's" and watching their transformations.

A few months later in January of 2012 Kim was blessed with her first granddaughter and this point was when some fuel got added to that fire to change her health. Kim and her daughter Chelsea decided to take the baby for a walk down the street that was about a 1/2 mile round trip. She says "My legs burned, my lungs burned and I thought I was literally going to DIE!" This is when she knew she had to so something so she could be a part of her grandchild's life and so she could have time with her future grand babies. 

She was still on her first Challenge of "Stalking the Baca's" and was watching all the stories of people transformations but was fearful of joining The Challenge because she was afraid of letting herself and her family down with another failed attempt. At this point she started watching a specific transformation of a gentleman named Adam. In her words "Adam had started his first 90 Day Challenge and was going full force, full speed! He was posting videos on Facebook, totally transparent, totally motivating and totally inspiring."  

On April 11, 2012 Kim finally mustered up the courage to go to Tim's Challenge Party and find out more about this "Challenge thing". She describes this as "The best decision I have made for ME!" After seeing what The Challenge was about she knew immediately that this was going to work for her, she didn't know what it was about it only that deep down she knew without a shadow of a doubt that it would. At this Challenge Party she was introduced to Adam who had been the big inspiration for her to attempt to lose weight one more time. Kim's first 90 Day Challenge was to lose 20 pounds while channel surfing on the couch, her results....... she lost 22 pounds with absolutely no exercise and proved to herself that the product worked! 

On her second 90 Day Challenge Kim decided that she would start exercising. On the first day of her Challenge she walked out her front door and walked around her neighborhood which is located in the foothills near the base of the mountains. She says "I could have walked longer, but needed to get home to prepare for our first Challenge Party!" Kim decided after seeing and feeling the results of The Challenge to start promoting it and sharing it with everyone, "It didn't seem fair to not share this with everyone we knew!", says Kim. Her entire family has also joined her on their own Challenges and have had their share of success as well!

 It is now one year since she originally JOINED The Challenge and she continues her journey. She has successfully lost 15 inches around her chest, 13 inches around her waistline and 13 inches from her hips. She now works out at 6 am every weekday morning and has lost (with no intention of finding it again) 72 pounds. Her husband Jeff, Daughter Chelsea, Sons Kyle and Connor and Mother Joyce and her have shed away 217 pounds total!!

 


In no way was Kim expecting a miracle but one found her in the form of The Challenge! She realizes that it took her decades to get to the point that she was at and that it will take time to reach her total weight loss goal (she has 50 more pounds to go, you'll get there in no time Kim!!!). She is dedicated to reaching her goal and has been a complete inspiration in my life and has helped transform many others by sharing her story.

One thing that is constantly on her mind is the phrase "A year from now you will wish you had started today." She is extremely happy to see what this next year of her and her families journey with The Challenge will look like. In her words "For the first time, EVER, I know that I can and will do this! I will get healthy and remain healthy. My Family will get healthy and remain healthy. We Will Share our story and this great product to help others get healthy and remain healthy! All the glory goes to God!"
  
Since meeting Kim and her family they have all become life long friends and I look forward to seeing their continued transformation and sharing mine with them. I am also proud to be part of their mission to transform as many lives as possible and work to get our friends and family healthy! Thank You Kim Stueber for being a constant inspiration and Thank You to her son Kyle Stueber for constantly bugging me to find out about The Challenge! 

 

Fast Food and Your Growing Waist

 

Most Americans are short on time as well as money and in turn rely “heavily” on fast food. Fast food companies make it extremely easy and cheap to pull up yell a number out to a speaker drive up and grab a bag and proceed to shove a 1500+ calorie meal into your body. 

Fast food restaurants are ever-present in the United States. On every corner there is a new one popping up each week it seems like. This is a good reason why so many people turn to them so willingly. But studies have shown that “fast food” can easily put you on the “fast track” to fat. 

With the fast paced American way of life it is very easy to fall into the evil traps of fast food. But have you given much consideration to what exactly that fast food is doing to your health and figure?

The stats show that Fast Food sales have seen a ridiculous increase of almost 1000% over the past 35 years. They have gone from $16.1 billion in 1975 to a “whopping” $160 billion in 2009. Their growth in profits is very easily seen just by simply going to the mall and looking at the many overgrown waist lines and every year Americans keep growing. 

 

Increasing Sickness

Reports from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that the obesity epidemic in the United States is growing at a frightening rate. In 2010 not a single state had an occurrence of obesity less than 20% and 12 states had an occurrence greater than 30%. The CDC also reports that 2/3rds of the American population is overweight or obese and an alarming 1/3 of our youth are overweight or obese.

 

 

Fast Fried Facts

·        Obesity has become one of the most expensive health problems in the United States today, surpassing smoking, according to a study in Health Affairs- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention      

 

     As a nation, we spend #137 billion a year on fast food and $60 billion a year on weight-loss solutions.- CNBC, “One Nation, Overweight” 

 

·        According to researchers from the University of Oxford and Columbia University, if current obesity trends continue half of people in the U.S. will be obese by 2030.- The Lancet Medical Journal 

 

·        The U.S. fast food industry spends approximately $1.6 billion each year on marketing aimed at children.- Federal Trade Commission

 

·        A recent study compared laboratory measurements of calories in 269 food items with the restaurants’ stated calories. Researchers found that 19% of food items had at least 100 calories more than listed and only 7% of the 269 foods tested were within 10 calories of what the restaurants stated.- Journal of the American Medical Association

 

·        According to the Nurses’ Health Study, Nurses’ Health Study 2 and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, the foods that contributed the most to weight gain are French fries, potato chips, sugar-sweetened drinks, red meats and processed meats, sweets and desserts, refined grains, fried foods, 100% fruit juice and butter.- New England Journal of Medicine

 

·        The medical costs associated with obesity are staggering, totaling about $147 billion in 2008.- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

 

·        Today’s youth could be the first generation EVER to have a shorter lifespan than their parents.- New England Journal of Medicine

The Solution

ViSalus is passionate about taking weight off the world. That’s why the company is leading the charge to counter the global obesity epidemic and nutrition deficits with the one-two punch off the Body By Vi Challenge and Vi-Shape Nutritional Shake Mix. ViSalus knows that whether you’re male or female, young or ole, healthy or trying to get there, a fitness buff or an extreme sports athlete, building a solid, sustaining nutritional foundation is key for your health, vitality and longevity so you can achieve your personal victories.

Those personal victories are even sweeter this year with the launch of Project 10. “To be able to potentially win $1,000 just for losing 10 lbs. is powerful and profound,” says Blake Mallen, ViSalus Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer. “We know that every victory has meaning, and we want to make sure we make anybody with a result on The Challenge feel like a hero.”

On top of potentially winning $1,000 for losing 10 pounds ViSalus also donates a bag of Vi-Shape NutritionalShake Mix to an at risk child to help get them proper nutrition. ViSalus strongly believes in changing the health of our future generations and truly is committed to the elimination of obesity.

Taking Weight Off The World!!

Since launching in 2009, the Body By VI Challenge has enjoyed remarkable growth for a simple reason- it WORKS! With more than 500 million shakes served and over $47 million in free products, prizes and vacations, Challengers are changing their lives in 90 days with the world's #1 90-Day Challenge platform for weight loss and fitness results.

Nearly 1.5 million new people joined The Challenge in 2012 and the momentum continues in 2013 as more and more people take on The NEW Body By Vi Challenge in record numbers. ViSalus, the #1 engaged community in the industry, saw triple the engagement with the launch of The NEW Challenge.

It began in December 2012 when 43,000 people set a New Year's Health Resolution with The Challenge. Next, 418 Resolution Rally parties were thrown in one day to celebrate the launch of The NEW Challenge video in the first week alone. It's definitely working. Challengers are reaping the rewards and discovering all they can gain from losing weight.

ViSalus is passionate about Taking Weight off the World. That's why the company is leading the charge to counter the global obesity epidemic and nutrition deficits with the one-two punch of the Body By Vi Challenge and Vi-Shape Nutritional Shake Mix. ViSalus knows that whether you're male or female, young or old, healthy or trying to get there, a fitness buff or an extreme sports athlete, building a solid, sustaining nutritional foundation is key for your health, vitality and longevity-so you can achieve your personal victories.

Those personal victories are even sweeter this year with the launch of Project 10.

"To be able to potentially win $1,000 just for losing 10 lbs. is a powerful and profound shift, and in addition to Project 10 there is the Project 10/kids program which provides a months worth of shake meals to children in need when a challenger loses their first 10 pounds." Says Blake Mallen, ViSalus Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer. "We know that every victory has meaning, and we want to make sure we make anybody with a result on The Challenge Feel like a hero."

Challengers are loving it. Over 4,000 Project 10 videos were submitted in the first three weeks alone, and over 600 "I LOST IT" videos were uploaded. Project 10 experience, "This is an awesome way to kick off my 90-Day Challenge. Now I am even more motivated!"

Mallen is pumped, too. "We get to wake up every day and help people achieve the kinds of goals they never thought possible."

 

Source: Vi-Life Magazine