Since I have been away on my bike trip, I have struggled to stay in touch with both Teri Shaw who heads up the City Park Recreation Center and Philip Martin, general manager at Chick-fil-A.

My internet  connectivity in Canada was an ongoing challenge. I knew some things through text, got reports from others back home and couldn’t wait to see for myself how the summer had been for both of them. Each year, special challenges are faced during this time, especially when accountability has to come from within.

Teri said, “The past two months have been great! I didn’t lose my momentum. I tried some new classes and pushed to increase the intensity of my workouts. My foot started giving me problems again and I used the stationary bike more to keep the weight off it. Iced, rested and stretched it for about a week and figured out how to work through it.”

Philip added, “Some things have changed. I still run at least 30 minutes a day but really enjoy trying to reshape my body to where it once was through weight lifting and core training. I have also been able to change all of my workouts to better fit my schedule as it tends to change every day. Swimming in our pool more has helped too.”

I then asked what else has changed. Teri said, “My physical appearance! I’m still the same ol’ me, just less! I look forward to my workouts now, not dreading them. My workout time is my time and has become a priority every day. I don’t just eat the first thing I see. I want my intake to be useful for my body and not something that’s going to make me sluggish. And I have a few new workouts. The Forum has become another home away from home. I love the Kettlebell class and the challenge P90X offers, plus the stretch and relaxation of the Body Flow class.  Going for a walk or run is great when I want to move and let my mind rest or wonder.”

Philip has added basketball, playing in a basketball league. He said, “My favorite workouts are the ones I do every afternoon with my son, Jaxson, at home in preparation for his 6th grade basketball tryouts and my adult basketball league games that start this month.”

Some things need constant attention and aren’t working as well. Teri said, “What doesn’t work for me is not having a game plan. Planning my workouts, my rest days and food keeps me successful. When I don’t have a plan, I don’t do so well.  Holding myself accountable to complete five workouts a week and make sure they are meaningful is important.

Philip is working to clean up his diet and make better choices, hoping to involve his family in doing the same. Daily focus on myfitnesspal.com and inbound calorie are important to him.

Their goals for August are simple. Philip said, My goals for August are to get into playing shape and push myself during my season, plus clean up my diet. Teri said, “I recently started adding in some weights to my workout plan. I want to keep that up and see how it affects my body. I want to lose at least three pounds, tone up even more and keep drinking water, always an ongoing challenge for me.”

While two challenging months have just passed with a lot of success, there is still much work to do. There are five months left in the program and some much bigger goals are out there and reachable. The loss of inches, an improved BMI and body classification size could possibly exceed what both Philip and Teri realistically expected to begin the year.

Total weight loss for the year for Philip has been 33 pounds and Teri has achieved a loss of 44 pounds.

Let’s see what they can do in August!