April 2022 Challenge Winner

This challenge was my second attempt and first successfully completed one of the year. The first attempt was in February and it got a bit derailed. I was a little frustrated with myself but knew I could fall back into line just as quickly as I fell out of line. I was motivated by a desire to get myself into excellent physical shape. I first got down from 275 to 255 when my first son was born, five years ago May 2nd. I then did an Mtn Ops challenge a few years later and got down below 230 for the first time since high school.

I recently had been hunting after a big snow storm and felt tremendous fatigue in my legs and hips from trudging through the snow. I decided it was a good time to not just be in better shape but to be in excellent shape. I have been very consistent all month with exercise and diet, weight training and or calisthenics 4x a week and jiu jitsu 3x a week. I have also been going through a lifeguarding course, playing basketball with my students at school (perks of being a p.e. teacher) and chasing around my two boys at home. The older one is a wrestler so we do bear crawl races around the house. I have yet to win but am gaining on him. I have always been active but my biggest obstacle is portion control on the diet side of things. Growing up with football and playing it through college conditioned me to over-eat and it was encouraged. My mother being an excellent cook did not help, neither did me founding a competition bbq team in 2012. I have never been a huge junk food guy or really had a sweet tooth. I simply eat too much at each meal.

I have really benefitted from the return of the mtnops protein bars, which I eat every day at work for breakfast. It is quite literally the only bar on the market which will keep me from getting hungry before lunch time, and I have tried them all. I partially blame their temporary hiatus for my fall weight gain. The other products I take daily are the mens multi, ignite, enduro and the bcaas. I use the ammo protein powder frequently as well as slumber, especially on nights before a big hunt when I am otherwise too excited to sleep.

I wear one of my many mtnops hats every day at work, even though some of my students threaten to take them from me. I have been very consistent with having better portion control which usually does pay dividends for my on the scale. my waist size is down to 36 from a 38, I am even fitting into some of my size 34 grappling shorts.

I only lost 12 pounds on the scale but all of my clothes fit better and my body feels significantly leaner, I think the cleaned up diet has me holding less water and has allowed me to put on a bit of muscle.

Overall I am extremely energetic and grateful for the experience and the whole MTN OPS community which adopts the values of hard work towards a wonderful cause. It has been fulfilling and rewarding. Today is not a finish line for me, just a mile marker. I am rolling into my next 30 day challenge immediately and look forward to more growth and better health.

Joe's Favorites: Performance Bars, Men's Multi-V, IGNITE, ENDURO, BCAA's, AMMO, SLUMBER