Hey there, SU’ers!
And just like that, here we are bringing 2019 and the month of December to a close. 2019 has been an amazing year for so many of us here in the Stronger U Community. In just about every way, it’s been our greatest year yet. From the incredible success stories that you shared with us to the invaluable additions we’ve made to our coaching ranks this year. This year was truly a banner year here at Stronger U, and December held true to that ever-growing standard. So let’s check out some of the major highlights from inside SU this month!
Community Highlights
Every single year we dive into the holiday’s full swing through an SU toy drive and our own Secret Santa gift exchange. It’s always been an outstanding way to show one another just how giving and thoughtful the members of this community are, and this year was no different. Between SU members giving back to those less fortunate in their communities through toy donations and nearly 300 of you exchanging Secret Santa gifts, the season of giving was something we all took to heart. You all inspire us with your selflessness and desire to spread joy in this world through your actions. Thank you all for making this community truly special.
This year was another incredibly strong showing by the SU Community in the 100,000 meter challenge. A group challenge where each member of the group sets out to row, run, or walk 100,000 meters between Black Friday and Christmas, all to support the military and first responder charity, Carry The Load. We’ve long been proud of how many of you show up, and this year was our best year yet! You, the members of SU, totaled 11,574,942 total meters rowed, and 64 of you passed that 100,000 meter mark — placing us well ahead of the other groups that took part in the challenge! Incredible job, SU’ers!
One of our favorite threads from December was started up on December 13th, when one of our members asked for success stories from the women who were 45 or over and following the program. The response was flat out INCREDIBLE. Over 580 stories and pictures shared later, it’s a thread that is sure to serve as a source of inspiration for all of us, for years to come. But just in case you don’t believe us, just look at this awesome transformation shared on this thread from our very own Pam Condino, who has lost over 70lbs and kept it off for over two years now!
SU Member Jesse Close hit another milestone in his weight loss journey, needing to go down another notch on his belt. But as we all know, some pieces of clothing and accessories hold near and dear places in our hearts. We’re not sure how important Jesse’s belt is to him, but we’re sure of the fact that we love how he’s adding a new and much-needed notch to his belt. Congrats on the next step down, Jesse!
To round out the month of December we have a very special transformation shared by Coach Katie Leahy. Katie’s client, Cathy, celebrated her one year anniversary with Stronger U. For Cathy’s family, SU is a true family affair. Both her son and daughter-in-law are on the program, and all of them have been working together to support and help one another along every step of the way. It’s clear that Cathy has bought-in to this process and has been the very model of consistency. Not just for her family, but for all of us. Which is why we all banded together to celebrate Cathy officially losing 150lbs during her first year with Stronger U! What an absolutely incredible transformation, Cathy! Just look at those pictures that document her journey!
Member Spotlights
This December we highlighted a couple of very special members to share their stories with the world. First, we highlighted Elizabeth Martin, who has been working with Coach DeeDee Ballesteros. Elizabeth and DeeDee teamed up to help Elizabeth drop over 36lbs (and counting!), over 10 inches off of her waist, set countless new physical standards, and a whole new level of confidence in herself. After that, Kelly Steffen, who worked with Coach Maggie Watson, stepped into the spotlight. Kelly has lost over 70lbs, 13 inches off of her waist, and has masterfully shown that she’ll be keeping that weight off for the rest of her life thanks to the new skills she’s learned with SU and under Maggie’s guidance.
Both of these are outstanding interviews, full of insights that we can all learn from, no matter where we might be in our journey. So head over to the blog and give their interviews a read! You can do so by clicking here.
Podcasts
The month of December was a special month over on Stronger U Radio, as we got to bring our new Coach of The Year, Winnie Abramson, on the show. In this episode Winnie and Tanner talked plenty about the art of coaching, how we as coaches can be there for the members we work with, and how we as coaches can walk the walk. After that, Tanner sat down with Jack Purdom, our new Rockstar Rookie. Jack and Tanner talked all about how Jack first started with Stronger U (hint: it all started by being a client first!), his philosophy for making sure he does everything he can to take care of those he works with, and how he is consistently seeking out ways to improve his coaching craft.
We love both of these episodes because there is always something special about getting to bring our coaches onto the show to learn from them, as well as highlight what makes them special. So no matter if you’re a member, a coach, or just interested in learning more about how coaches view the art of coaching, you’ll love these. You can listen to our podcasts by clicking right here!
Blogs
December just might have been the month of Coach Winnie Abramson. Winnie took to the blog for the most read article of the month of December, and she did it by taking on one of the most complicated and controversial topics familiar to all of us who have attempted to change our life: the wagon.
Coach Winnie does an excellent job of explaining why she isn’t a big fan of the proverbial “wagon”, and that includes being “on or off” that wagon. Winnie’s thoughts around this are as wise as they are practical and might be the very message you need to hear as you dive into the New Year. So head over to the blog, give her piece a read, and say goodbye to the wagon in 2020.
You can read our blogs by clicking right here!
Facebook Lives in the group.
Being in the full swing of the holiday season didn’t slow down our coaches from taking to Facebook to share important messages for all of us. December was a busy month for plenty of us, which is why we’re grateful to have so many smart coaches who shared their wisdom with us this past month:
- Coach Anthony Harder, leader of the Stronger U Fitness program, wrapped up his 30 days of low-back pain fixes. Each and every day Anthony was sharing new (and old) exercises that we could all try out on our own time to help out with achy lower backs so that we can feel our best in 2020.
- Coach Tracie Landram stayed busy in the kitchen again this month, and we’ve all learned so much because of it. This December she was talking specifically about mocktails, for those of us who want to enjoy holiday parties but didn’t plan on imbibing. The recipe she shared with all of us was a Cranberry Ginger Moscow Mule Mocktail, and judging by the reaction of those of you who tried it, this one was a hit!
- Finally, Mike Doehla himself took to Facebook Live for a special holiday-themed Q&A. For over an hour, Mike answered questions ranging from the famous Mikenugget to why we need to find the things we can actually control to how we can manage stress eating in order to better stay on track.
You can watch the Facebook Lives here!
The Stronger U Staff
After the SU Staff Summit in November and Thanksgiving here in the United States, it’s safe to say that plenty of our coaches were looking forward to life regaining a sense of normalcy. Life always finds a way of throwing us curve balls or dropping a busy season on us when we’re least expecting it. It’s no different for the coaches. The important thing when things get busy though isn’t that we fight and scratch our way through every bit of it. It’s that we roll with the punches, accept where we’re at in life, and shift our expectations based upon that. That’s a lesson that each and every single coach has learned, and will learn over and over again. Just like you.
As we talk about with you, our members, so often — anchor behaviors like routine and consistency become deeply important for all of us. They allow us as coaches to not only feel like we’re taking care of ourselves, but those basic anchor behaviors help us set the standard that we hope you can follow.
So while it might have been a quiet month on the coaching front with less work-related travel, fewer gym sessions for some of us, and no staff summit, that doesn’t mean the staff-at-large wasn’t finding ways to improve their craft. Sometimes that improvement process just looks a little different than others.
But, just so you know, it’s not like all of our coaches were off the month of December! They were still working and still leading by example. For some, that was through their actions. For others, it was in sharing much-needed wisdom for all of us over on Facebook. Case in point: this outstanding message from Coach Derek Stanley!
A quick note from Mike
As we close out 2019 I want everyone to reflect back and think of the progress they made. Remember, this isn’t just about weight loss or being more fit. It’s about being a bit better inside and out. If you’re thinking of coming back on board, please let us know because you’re always welcome here.
2019 was a fun year for SU as a company as well. We added more jobs, we improved a lot of processes, and our app is almost ready. I want to thank everyone for being a part of this and can’t wait to watch you crush 2020 as well. Everything I do as CEO is trying to make our little nutritional world a better place for all of you.
Interested in learning more about Stronger U or working with us? We’d love to hear from you! You can reach out to us by clicking here.
