Day one of the EA Sports Active Challenge Kickoff weekend was an absolutely amazing day! I got to meet some amazing people yesterday at dinner, and I tell you, we are the perfect bunch for this program. Everyone has such different reasons and motivations for doing this challenge…

Friday, we had breakfast overlooking the beach. It was the most breathtaking view. The sound of the surf behind the murmur of our chatter was relaxing. I knew right then, the reason the EA SPORTS Active team chose this location for the retreat. That morning, we learned a little bit about the product itself, and how to create our profiles, and journal our daily food and exercise. We had camera crews following our every move as we looked at the product, and when we worked out to the EA SPORTS Active with the Wii. At first it was a little bit overwhelming having cameras in our faces, and all around us, but eventually it felt like they weren’t even there. I really got into working out with the EA SPORTS Active. It it truly a personal trainer in a box on a disc! One of the staff noticed I was still working out after most of the group had gone outside for snack and rest. She told me I didn’t have to keep going if I didn’t want to, but I was so into this workout that I couldn’t stop! and I burned almost 200 calories in less than 25 minutes! I don’t do that at the gym! I usually walk for an hour and burn 300-ish calories, which is proving to be less effective than the EA Sports Active!

Later on in the afternoon, we were given another chance to try a workout while being filmed, and this time, I created a custom workout to mix it up a little bit. I was hooked, and by the end of the day, I had done my 7 days worth of workouts in just one. No, that didn’t mean that I didn’t have to work out for the next 7 days… it just meant that I worked my butt off this one day. Yes, everyone was impressed. 🙂

Dinner Friday night was at the resort fancy restaurant called Tydes. It was pretty cool. The food at this restaurant, as was every other thing we ate, was delish! Honestly… i don’t want to eat my own cooking anymore! I, unfortunately wasn’t feeling very well.. I think after working myself out like crazy earlier, my body was telling me I was crazy. I ate a delicious salad, and headed back to my room to get some rest. I knew I’d need it for the next day’s activities! Besides… I wanted to be at my best performance for Bob Greene!!

Saturday morning was absolutely beautiful! I got up and out to breakfast at the terrace. I was then treated to a massage at the spa. I so wish I had more time at that spa. It was absolutely awesome, but alas… I had to run back to makeup and get ready for my One-on-One Q&A time with Mr. Bob Greene! I was so nervous. I had so many questions I had wanted to ask him, and they all flew out of my brain when I walked into that room. I was able to answer a couple of his questions, and he was very encouraging. I told him that I knew that my weight gain was all my fault. I got lazy, plain and simple. He liked that I accepted the responsibility, and that I wasn’t trying to push the blame on anyone else. There were a few other things that he told me about the emotional side behind the weight gain, that I’m still working out in my own mind.. but I’m sure that with a little time and determination, I’ll work through a lot and be able to accomplish my goals I’ve set forth.

We had lunch after everyone had their time to talk with Bob.. and he sat right next to Reneé and I!! WOOHOO! Of course, we hid our dessert plates… sorta.. 🙂 Alison Sweeney, host of the Biggest Loser joined us as well! She is also one of the 12 challengers in this 30 Day Challenge!

After lunch, we headed out to the grassy area and sat out on our cool green yoga mats for a little lesson on Exercise and Nutrition. The exercise part was cool… but the nutrition part was where it got funny. He told us the top 6 things we needed to give up to jump start our weight loss… and can you guess what was number one???  Alcohol! That got a few “boo’s” from the crowd… but, all in good jest. Bob was serious though. He said we needed to give up alcohol for the first 30 days- 60 days if possible. Not a big deal.  He also said we had to give up soft drinks, trans fats, fried foods, white bread, and simple sugars and we needed to use skim milk instead of whole milk. We’re almost there. We get 2% milk, and have for a long time now. Not too bad.

We all went back to our ballroom turned workout room to do some more EA SPORTS Active workouts, this time Bob Greene came in with us and took a look at our form to make sure we were getting the best workout for our movements. He only had one suggestion for me, and that was to bend my knees more. I have a tendency to lock my knees, and I know that’s not good. For some reason, I just always forget to relax a little.

We only had one more event and then it was time to say good bye. We met with Bob in a more intimate setting where he had us sit in a half circle as he talked to us more about the emotional aspect of our fitness issues. We drew a circle on a piece of paper and split it in 8 sections, writing down 8 things that would be a part of our life if everything was perfect and balanced. Then we marked each of the ones that were balanced right now. Not so good. I think I had one of those “lightbulb moments” and I realized that more things than I thought were “out of balance” right now. Wow.

After we toasted our weekend and said our goodbye and good luck for a great 30 Day Challenge, we all went back to our rooms to change over and get ready for a night out. We were met by a HUGE limo! How many EA SPORTS Active challengers and crew can you fit in a stretched Escalade??? Check out my photo gallery and you’ll see 🙂

I wish I had more time with these amazing people. I did enjoy dinner out with everyone, but just couldn’t go out afterwards for some dancing… I had to get back to my room to pack up and sleep! I had a 6am flight out so I could spend some time with my family before our big drive cross country.

It was an amazing weekend. One that I’m so glad I did not give up with everything else going on around me in such a short amount of time. Although I didn’t include any photos here in my post, please feel free to check out my photo gallery (linked above) and enjoy the photos I did take over the weekend.

The EA SPORTS Active 30 Day Challenge starts April 18th.. I just know it’s going to be a raving success!!! Follow my progress here on Mommy Brain Reports, and follow all of the Challengers on the EA SPORTS Active Challenge website!

You’re going to want to get this program for yourself! I pretty much guarantee you will love it! Oh, and if you pre-order the EA SPORTS Active through Gamestop, they are offering a “bonus”: Reserve EA Sports Active and receive a GameStop exclusive 30-day trial subscription to The Best Life website. The official website of legendary fitness trainer and EA Sports Active collaborator, Bob Greene. Available for online and in-store customers, while supplies last.