Hey there, SU’ers!
Just like that, here we are ringing in August! July was a month that involved a major holiday in the US, vacations for many, and reasons to celebrate for others. Along with everything happening within our community this month, July was also full of great blogs, some truly inspiring podcasts, and Facebook Lives that taught us valuable skills like how to prep snacks and stay on track during difficult times. Let’s check out some of the incredible things that went on this month!
Community Highlights
We kicked off the month off by picking the winner of the #SUrunsJune challenge. So many of you were logging at least a mile of walking or running every single day, and it was awesome seeing everyone push and lift one another up. While picking a winner wasn’t an easy task, we were so happy to award Julie Altomari $1,000 as the winner of the #SUrunsJune challenge! Congrats, Julie!
We were also all inspired by Patricia Weir, who has been working with Coach Denise Schumann, to lose 70lbs. For the Weir family, Stronger U is truly a family affair. Patricia found Stronger U through her daughter, and then her son Jeffery followed her lead after he saw her progress. But don’t just take our word for it. Patricia’s pictures speak for themselves! It’s no wonder why we were all blown away and inspired by Patricia’s story!
In other news, SU Member’s Normailed and Nick Heitjan celebrated five years of running races together. The coolest part? They now race a combined 200lbs lighter thanks to the hard work they’ve consistently put in!
July also brought victory for SU Members Michelle Versace Bartels and Lucie Greco, who made up half of the team that took third in the Master’s Division at the Belmar Beatdown. They were able to accomplish this on a brutally hot day in large part because of how consistent they have been with their nutrition, and partially in thanks to some of the hydration tips that they’d learned from the Stronger U podcast with Coaches Ariana Scalfo and Tanner Baze! Congrats on an awesome showing, you two!
To round out the month, we want to remind the Community that sometimes gaining weight can be just what the doctor ordered. Please join us in congratulating SU member Charles Schembri on the arrival of his twin boys, Andrew and Jack, on July 10th. Charles is down 21 pounds after working with Jessica Bachman for 12 weeks, but only a net loss of 8 pounds since the boys joined his family.
The above are just a few of the many highlights from our members this month. But we also have two exciting announcements for our members too! First, we have heard from so many of you that like Built Bars so we worked with them to get a discount for our community. All SU members will receive 10% off when you use the code “STRONGER” at check out. They are also doing a fun giveaway if you follow them on IG and Facebook so check it out.
In addition, we are so excited to report that Stronger U Nutrition was voted 1st place in the 2019 Times Herald-Record Readers’ Choice Awards for the second year in a row. We are proud of this honor and want to thank everyone that took the time to vote for us.
And finally, a giveaway!
.If you’re not in the SU Member’s Group and would like what is happening in our community, you can find out more about what we do and how to become apart of the Stronger U world here.
Member Spotlights
We put the spotlight on two additional members this July, Samra Trask and Cheryl Swingle. Samra and Coach Jason Falcon worked together to help Samra lose 88lbs and 70 total inches off of her body! Along the way, she is confident she learned the skills necessary to keep the weight off for the rest of her life. Cheryl Swingle has worked with Therese Luna and has “released” (in her words) over 100lbs and 17 inches off of her waist. She’s accomplished all of this while eating her favorite foods and finally breaking the restrictive dieting cycle that she’s practiced for most of her adult life.
Samara and Cheryl both were special guests on the Stronger U podcast. We are so proud of both of them They serve as an inspiration to all of us, and we’re sure you’ll see why that is when you read their Member Spotlight interviews or when you listen to their words here.
Podcasts
Stronger U Radio was busy during the month of June with four new episodes for you to listen to. This month features include:
- 88lbs Lost and Maintained with Samra Trask and Coach Jason
- Mastering Hydration: What you MUST Know with Coach Ariana and Tanner
- Couples Strategies for Stronger U with Coaches Clark and Rachel Hibbs
- Cheryl Swingle, Coach Terri Luna, and How to “Release” Over 100lbs
July podcasts were on fire! We started the month off by talking with Coach Jason Falcon and SU Member Samra Trask about her journey with SU and how she managed to lose 88lbs, and she how gained an education for a lifetime. Then we switched gears so Coaches Ariana Scalfo and Tanner Baze could walk us through the most recent Stronger U Journal Club, detailing the nuances of hydration. After that, Tanner sat down with Coaches Clark and Rachel Hibbs to talk about some of the takeaways from when they both went through Stronger U together and how couples can help one another manage and succeed on the Stronger U journey together. Finally, Coach Terri Luna and her all-star SU Member Cheryl Swingle came on the show to talk about how Cheryl has “released” over 100lbs, all while eating some of her favorite foods, like peanut butter. And don’t worry, she also tells us why she likes to use the word “release” when talking about her weight loss! We think you’ll love her reasoning!
Listen to our podcasts by clicking right here!
Blogs
- 4 Ways to Get Back on Track After Going off Plan
- Sneaky Calories: 10 Reasons You’re Sabotaging Your Progress and What to Do About It
- How to Travel and Stay on Plan
On the blog front, we kept up the recent trend of providing actionable information that you can use to stay on track or get back on plan after some time off. Coach Tanner started the month off with a short and sweet piece about how we can manage to get ourselves back on plan after a long weekend or vacation of over-indulging. Then Coach Brit Rand made her debut on the SU blog with a useful piece detailing some of the ways that calories can sneak their way back into our diet, along with how we can fix that and get ourselves heading in the right direction. Finally, Coach Robbie Farlow did us all a huge favor and put together an excellent blog that details how we can travel and stay on plan, no matter the reason we’re traveling.
Facebook Lives in the group.
We had a really active month of lives in the group. Several of our coaches, along with Mike, got on FB and gave us the straight truth on everything from how to navigate summer parties, to finding ways to snack and stay on track, and promoting healthy habits within the family. The lives included:
- Dr. Jessica Bachman and Karina Verespy shared some wisdom on how to handle summer parties, cookouts, and navigate the Fourth of July, doing us all a favor by giving some quick hitting and actionable tips that we could all follow!
- Mike kept up the holiday theme by going live on the Fourth of July for a special Q&A to answer questions about how to keep a holiday from turning into a full week off plan, Intermittent Fasting, fluctuations on the scale, and why protein is so important for maintaining muscle mass.
- Coach Tracie Haines Landram was busy this month, going live in the group five different times to deliver some helpful examples of the foods she loves to make that help her stay on track. She gave us examples on how to make things like an easy breakfast sandwich, Greek yogurt dots, honey mustard and balsamic dressing, a bulk snack prep, and protein cookies!
- Coaches Josh Citron and Ariana Scalfo went live to talk about how to get the most out of your coaching experience, eating with a purpose that’s in line with your values, hydration tips, and how to navigate environments that make us want to endlessly snack.
- Coaches Josette Curtis and Denise Schumann put on a special live where they talked about how to prioritize yourself and your journey while still taking care of your family, how we can talk to our kids about our choices and try to promote healthy habits, and finding small ways to get back on track through visual aides.
- Coach Kenny Barber explained why so many of us feel so full whenever we first start Stronger U, what that means, and some tips on how we can get through that.
If you’re not in the SU Member’s Group and would like what is happening in our community, you can find out more about what we do and how to become apart of the Stronger U world here.
Events
This past weekend, Mike Doehla and Coach Derek Stanley went to Carrboro/Chapel Hill, North Carolina to talk about dietary strategies and solutions to situations that trip up most dieters. We had an excellent turnout, including a guest appearance by coach Chuck Gross, and this was just another reminder of why this entire community is so special. Thank you all so much for coming out!
If you’d like to bring a seminar to your area, you can start that process by emailing our admin team here: info@strongerufit.com
The Stronger U Staff
Amidst everything else going on in the Stronger U universe, you may have also noticed that this month was also full of excitement for many of the Stronger U staff. It was a month of moving, marriages and growing families, so let’s celebrate some of our staff milestones as well!
First off, we want to congratulate our very own CEO, Founder and Fooddad, Mike Doehla and his beautiful wife (now Foodmom), Crista Minicozzi, on their beautiful wedding! The entire Stronger U community celebrated alongside them in spirit, all while doing our best to stay on track.
We also want to congratulate our Happiness Fairy, Patty Blancaflor, on her move from California to San Antonio, Texas with her husband and SU Celebrity, Herm Blancaflor. This move is just another example of how you all have made the Stronger U Community such a wonderful place, as Patty and Herm were welcomed home with several incredible gifts from members, including this from Melissa Kale!
July wasn’t just a month of moves and marriages. We also welcomed two little trainees to the mix as two of our coaches welcomed little ones into their families. We’d like to congratulate Coach Karina Verespy on welcoming her beautiful daughter Ryla into her family.
And we would also like to congratulate Coach Katie Leahy, who welcomed her beautiful daughter Maci into her family as well! We are so unbelievably happy for the both of you and wish you health, love and of course, macros!
A Quick Note from Mike
My goal here is to at least give you hope that you can make a change. It does not matter who you are, where you are, or what you want to do. I promise you, there is someone here that is exactly like you who did the thing you want to do. Let’s meet them…
A 400+lb man who wanted to change so he didn’t die by 50 who made it past 50
A mother of 3 who wanted to feel good again and did
An endurance athlete who wanted to kick it up a notch who won a race
A grandma who was trying to live out the best years of her life and is
A person who bought exercise equipment that didn’t do what they thought it would until they got here
An injured man/woman who was worried they would go backwards but didn’t
A gym owner who wanted to be a great example then inspired 30 of their members to join
A single parent who wanted to feel good enough to get out there who met their future husband
A person who has been on a diet their whole life who finally learned what truly mattered
A business traveler who can’t plan a meal but still eats well enough to see results
A person who wanted to make it to the CrossFit games and did
A person who has allergic reactions to almost everything who found out what works for them
A pregnant woman who wanted a healthy pregnancy and did
A member who loved this so much they took the steps needed to work here and are now your coach
A cancer survivor who came here to regain their health and did
A lady who told her hormones she would still get results and did
A person who signed up for SU in 2016 who ran away and came back 2 years later and flipped their life around
A vegetarian who was so weak and frail who learned the value of protein and weights and is now the healthiest they’ve ever been
A person who lost the weight and finally kept it off
A person who disliked their job so much they were inspired to find a new career
A coach who knew how to help people but couldn’t until you gave them a chance at SU
A person who worked in a corporate setting who wasn’t happy and now makes decisions to help you
A 30 something dude that had no idea what to do with this life until you showed him
I hope this hits you with the “feels” because that is the purpose. I want you to feel this. I want you to think about and understand what is at stake here. You have the opportunity for a better life if you want it. What will you do with that opportunity?
Love, #fooddad
