41-Year Old Mom Of 5 Achieves “Holy Grail” Of Fitness

My name is Laura Wilson. I’m 41 years old, and I completed the Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle New Years Challenge 2023. I found Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle all the way back in 2008 and have participated in a couple of Burn the Fat challenges before. I completed my last challenge 10 years ago! Since then, I’ve had another baby, who is now 6. We’ve also moved overseas to run a Sports Ministry in Guatemala. In the busyness of life with five children ages 18, 15, 13, 10, and 6, and running a ministry, I had not taken the time to take care of my health.

Days and years passed by while I made excuses. But then my husband, Ryan, completed a Burn the Fat Summer Challenge and he placed 2nd which gave me a new ambition to change. I knew then it was time to for me to get off the bench and get on the field!

This is my Burn the Fat challenge essay.

THE ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS

The 5 elements of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (BFFM) proved to be solid and true; and that helped me succeed:

1. Nutrition
2. Resistance Training
3. Cardio Training
4. Mental Training (mindset)
5. Community

There are also 7 more words that explain my path during the 12 weeks of the challenge weeks and have contributed to my success.

Motivated

I was motivated by my desire to change my appearance, but also change my mindset of laziness and complacency.

I had not taken care of my body. I was not a good role model of living a healthy lifestyle for my children. I wanted to be a better role model for the children we serve in Guatemala. I wanted to be able to run and play soccer with all of the children, but I would get easily exhausted and couldn’t breathe well living at an altitude of 7,000 feet in my condition.

At times throughout the challenge when I would feel tired and unmotivated to workout or eat healthy, I would read over my goals and picture myself having accomplished them. I now have the energy and endurance to play soccer with the kids at the academy. I sleep better at night. My resting heart rate went from the mid 70s to 60.

Equipped

I was equipped because I used the trusted system of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (BFFM) to guide me. BFFM provided me with the information to make wise food choices with appropriate macros.

I also had a killer workout plan of Tom Venuto’s 3-Day Classic Muscle SPEED. (Available to Inner Circle Members)

I trusted the process, but needed the discipline to follow through.

Discipline

Discipline was my driving force. I had to put into practice what I knew and put in the work of eating clean and training.

Encouraged

I was encouraged by my husband, children, and people in the Burn the Fat Inner Circle. My husband completed the summer challenge and continued with me on this journey. We ate clean together and lifted at times together. His encouragement and advice was invaluable. This encouragement and accountability pushed me to work even harder and persevere.

Perseverance

I had perseverance to push through and make adjustments to my workouts despite starting the challenge with an elbow injury and hurting my knee around week 10.

Resolved

I had resolved to finish strong and complete what I had started. I believed that my goals were attainable and I would meet them.

Confidence

My confidence increased when I grew stronger each week by increasing my reps or increasing my weights. The healthy food I was putting in my body made a change. My body changed drastically. I met my goals of losing 20 pounds of fat and gaining over 5 pounds of muscle. I now feel confident in my clothes and in the swimsuit that I’m going to wear on our family trip to the beach in May.

NUTRITION

Nutrition was key. Eating clean every three hours and cycling my calories helped boost my metabolism and give me the energy I needed to get through my day. Staying hydrated was important to me as well.

I made sure I ate something pre and post resistance training. My post training was always a protein shake with unsweetened almond milk and fruit. I looked forward to refueling my body with a nutritious smoothie after training hard.

I cycled my calories and planned my high days on Wednesdays and Sundays and my low days on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Monday.

My low days were between 1250-1550 calories with ratios aimed at 40% Proteins, 30% Carbs, and 30% Fats.

My high days ranged from 1950-2200 with ratios of 50% Carbs, 30% Proteins, 20% Fats.

After trying it, I found that the 1250 range was too low and I had to adjust and add more calories.

Cooking in bulk and making sure I had leftovers for lunch the next day was valuable. My favorite meal on high days is French Toast made with whole wheat bread and egg whites with honey drizzled on top and peanut butter on the side.

CARDIO TRAINING

I typically focused on 12-15 mins of HIIT after my resistance training. During my resistance training, I would jump rope for 30 seconds after a set and then rest an additional minute and half before the next set. I feel like the HIIT sessions are quick and effective. I occasionally had longer cardio sessions mixed in as well.

RESISTANCE TRAINING

I have grown to love resistance training! After about 10 days in, the weight training program I started using was Tom’s 3-Day Classic Muscle SPEED (Available to Inner Circle members).

I printed out the training log sheets sheets to keep me organized and keep a record of the weights and reps I used.

I did the schedule that was 5 resistance training days with a fixed 3 days on 1 off, 2 on 1 off. The cycle was Back, Chest, & Abs, followed by Quads Hams, & Calves, followed by Shoulders, Triceps, and Biceps. Tuesday and Friday were typically my rest days.

I did this schedule for 7.5 weeks. I then switched to 8 x 8 sets for the last few weeks. My measurements said I gained 12 lbs of muscle, which I don’t believe is quite accurate (because skin fold testing has so much margin for error), but overall I am happy because I’m sure I gained some muscle and I am happy with my transformation!

Thank you Tom Venuto and all your staff for making it possible to achieve my transformation!

-Laura

My 12 Week Burn The Fat Challenge Stats:

Starting weight: 138.6
Ending Weight: 128 (-10.6 lbs)

Starting Body Fat: 30.8%
Ending Body Fat: 15.6% (-15.2 %)

Starting lean mass: 95.9 lbs
Ending Lean Mass: 108.03 lbs (+12.12 lbs)

Starting Waist: 31 inches
Ending Waist: 27 inches

2024 Burn the Fat 12-week body transformation challenge:
For details about the 2024 New Year Body Transformation Challenge CLICK HERE

The support community for all-natural, No-BS body transformation:
For details about Burn the Fat Inner circle membership, CLICK HERE