The Weight Loss Challenge for 2021!
First place winner is: Sherri Noonan
Weight Loss Challenge winner 2021, losing 12.8% in 8 weeks. Sherri was dedicated and has been a great member and teammate through this challenge. She recovered from a knee injury last year, and her motivation was her daughter’s wedding. Her consistency and hard Werk has paid off! We interviewed Sherri and wanted to share her experience with you: 
What was the hardest thing about the challenge?
- The hardest part of the challenge was working through the sore muscles at the beginning.
What was your favorite part about the challenge?
-My favorite part of the challenge was the support we received from our instructors and teammates. The Slack app provided resources for healthy eating and a platform to communicate with one another.
What did you learn from the challenge?
- I learned that having a team approach provided the support needed to achieve one’s individual goal.
What did you learn about yourself during the challenge?
- I learned that I could achieve my goal If I stuck with the program that I set for myself.
What changes in your lifestyle are you going to keep permanent?
-Coming to Spenga!
Thank you, Sherri and Congratulations!
First place for the men is Don Nucerino. 8.96%
Don and his wife Allison both placed in the challenge this year! They are great members and we have been lucky to have them at SPENGA! We asked Don to review his experience with the challenge, here is his response:
What was the hardest thing about the challenge?
-- Getting my eating on track and sticking to it the first couple of weeks.
What was your favorite part about the challenge?
-- Having the Green Team\Black Team competitions to help hold me accountable for the full challenge. But just having the defined time (8 weeks) is great for me. Nothing like having a deadline to get me to bear down.
What did you learn from the challenge?
-- This is not new info of course...but I need to be reminded and I need to put it into action... That no matter how hard you work out, or how consistent your workouts are you can't out-pedal or out-lift a poor diet.
What did you learn about yourself during the challenge?
-- For me, I need to be very diligent about logging everything I eat (macros) and about weighing myself each morning (same time every day).
What changes in your lifestyle are you going to keep permanent?
-- Keeping track of my activity, to make sure I am hitting certain numbers on a weekly basis...i.e., number or workouts, time spent working out, hours of sleep each night, etc... Doing this helps me stay motivated and helps me to make adjustments so hopefully it is sustainable for more than just a few months.
Second place is Allison Nucerino. 9.83%
Allison is back at it again, placing this year, she won last years challenge! She is the wife of Don who won first place in the men’s category, what a duo! There was a private group for separate teams to interact. We asked everyone their experience as the last weeks challenge and Allison’s response was:
“Lesson learned, relearned, and I’m sure I will continue to relearn. I feel better if I take care of myself. The weight loss is great, but the overall benefit is just feeling good. Portion control and daily activity have been key for me. And daily activity does not mean hard activity. Not all days are Sweet Spot days and that’s ok!”
Third place winner is Kathy Argabright. 9.30%
Kathy was excited to hear she placed in the challenge. She looks amazing and we are so happy for her! When we asked Kathy about her experience with the challenge, here’s what she had to say:
What was the hardest thing about the challenge?
Not eating processed food. I had to prepare my own meals 3x a day, every day for 8 weeks.
What was your favorite part about the challenge?
I looked forward to the weekly challenges to motivate me to do more. I liked reading the posts from everyone in the Slack app.
What did you learn from the challenge?
It’s worth the hard work to feel stronger & healthier. It’s easier to lose weight & exercise more often when you’re part of a great team. The energy from the staff is super.
What did you learn about yourself during the challenge?
I’ve never had a regular exercise routine until I joined Spenga last year. I’ve seen my body change over the last year. It’s a great feeling. I can ride bikes with my younger nephews & keep up. I enjoy outdoor activities more now that I’m in shape.
What changes in your lifestyle are you going to keep permanent?
I’m going to continue to eat healthy, take vitamins & workout at Spenga 4-5 days a week!
Jaccard Welch – MVP of the Weight Loss Challenge. 5.36%
Jaccard went above and behind for himself and his team. He was consistently posting his healthy meals. Also making sure he finished his weekly challenges. He would come to class and push himself so hard. He definitely deserves this MVP title! After winning we asked Jaccard to review the challenge, and this was his response:
What was the hardest thing about the challenge?
The hardest thing about participating in the challenge was increasing my number of weekly sessions. After several weeks of increased sessions, paired with weekly challenges to increase my sweet spot, intentionally doubling my max power, it was challenging to keep going. Eventually I felt as if I hit a wall and was not taking adequate rest.
What was your favorite part about the challenge?
My favorite part of the challenge was the week we all worked to increase our sweet spot numbers. It showed me that I still have more room to push, though sessions after are going to be more challenging.
What did you learn from the challenge?
That I am often dehydrated or not hydrated enough to push during an hour long Spenga session. It is rare to not be a sweaty mess after completing a Spenga session. It is better to be well hydrated during the day. It is near impossible for me to truly hydrate after an evening session and before bed.
What did you learn about yourself during the challenge?
After completing the challenge, I learned that I just need to be challenged to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Everything that we did during the weekly challenges. Increase water intake, Plan & Cook healthy meals, be active outside of Spenga as well.
What changes in your lifestyle are you going to keep permanent?
I’m reducing sugar consumption by not adding sugar and buying products that do not have added sugar; drinking my morning coffee has become preferred with just half/half. I will continue that. It’s the little things.
In addition, continue to reduce alcohol consumption and meal planning and cooking at home, while pivoting to more meal prep for multiple days instead of cooking each day.
Team numbers:
Team Black total weight loss – 150
Team Green total weight loss – 127
Team Black wins the challenge
Team Black Cycling Stats:
1041 sessions attended, 6166.25 miles
Team Green Cycling Stats:
1009 sessions attended, 5917.79 miles
Thank you to everyone who participated, you guys rocked this challenge! The Black team pulled out a win overall. The inspiration, motivation and healthy recipes helped everyone reach the finish line. Again, thank you and CONGRATULATIONS everyone. RIDE REP REVIVE
