January 7 marked the beginning of a six-week challenge at my CrossFit gym. For a $20 buy-in, gym members could challenge themselves in the areas important for overall health–nutrition, rest/hydration, and exercise.

I decided to toss my $20 into the hat knowing full well that I had just donated $20 to the winner, but that I had certainly spent $20 in worse ways. I started rather doggedly by minding my nutrition and trying to make it to the gym more regularly. A couple weeks in, however, and I was already allowing my work and other garbage to pull me off track.

I did, however, choose to do a couple of things that ended up working in my favor. First, I signed up for a four-week introduction to a different type of exercise than I am used to doing. I spent an hour each Wednesday from January 16 to February 13 learning the ways of the Rinse Cycle. Before the end of those four weeks, I was hooked.

The second thing I did was apply for and gain acceptance to a program that my insurance through my employer would allow us to try. Betr Health is a plan to systematically repair your gut and assist you in “releasing” your body fat as energy. Between the app, the personally assigned coach, and the easy-to-follow food lists and recipes, I was able to re-engage in my gym’s challenge around the end of January. At that time, I had only lost four pounds. Well…I had lost more, but when I gained it back, I ended up four pounds from my original starting weight.

Because I was cooking so much more than I had in a super long time, I became reacquainted with my cast iron skillet.

My poor skillet had been neglected and had lost some of its glossiness and non-stick qualities. Thankfully, cast iron is monumentally forgiving and I was making eggs without leaving residue in no time.

Nothing says love like a nice, cast iron skillet. I made my compliant food in it as well as things for the family. Funnily enough, even my picky husband liked some of the food from my Betr Health plan. The Sweet & Spicy chicken wings were especially popular.

Fast forward to the end of the six weeks. I knew, because I had to enter my weight daily, that I had lost about 13 pounds. Given that I had heard and at the weigh-in/measurement workout that people were losing 30 pounds plus, I was more than a little despondent. Sure, I had not been able to leave work in time to make it to the gym, but I had been eating like I should and I had even started hitting the cycling classes on a regular basis because of the availability of classes at 7 pm. I went into the bathroom with my coach, she measured me, did the fat pinching thing (Ow!), and weighed me.

Last night, my CrossFit box held their Friday Night Lights workout to coincide with the CrossFit Open. I had previously signed up for a cycling class (they had a live DJ!), so I didn’t make it to the box. However, when my coach made the announcements of Challenge finishers on Facebook Live, I was shocked to hear I had come in fifth! I had lost 3.15% of my body fat during the past six weeks. I guess that’s a lot from what everyone said. Those results drive home that the Betr Health plan IS helping me turn my body fat into energy.

As of this morning, I am 14 pounds down and I am especially loving the compliments from my youngest daughter. I’m also loving the pair of jeans from Stitch Fix and they way they make my backside look. Go ahead…zoom in on that–not too shabby.

On Monday, I start Level 2 of the Betr Health protocol where we start to reintroduce foods on a schedule to see what sensitivities, if any, I have.