Fall 2021 Clean Challenge Winner
We recently caught up with Chelsea Myntti who won this Fall’s Clean Health Challenge with a PERFECT SCORE of 1260. Chelsea squeezed every single possible point out of her scorecard and we just had to know how she did it, so we asked! Here’s what we found out…
Giancarlo: How many clean challenges have you done?
Chelsea: I've been a Sanitas member since 2019 but this was actually my first health challenge! I jumped at the opportunity to do this one because it was focused on building long-term, sustainable habits, rather than depriving myself of things that I love (like blueberry bagels and ice cream)! I would like to see this format continue, where it is focused on habit building, rather than restrictive eating. It was really awesome to hear personal victories from other members, whether that was starting to drink more water or hitting a PR in the gym.
Giancarlo: Yea, the test days had ton’s of energy! I loved hearing about my teams challenges and small wins. At times it was hard keeping participants and coaches engaged through 5 weeks. How did the conversations go with the 5 people you connected with? What was that like?
Chelsea: The conversations were my favorite part of the challenge and I looked forward to them the most each week. I finished my MBA in May and quickly lost touch with a lot of my classmates as we began to go our separate ways so it was a fun way to reconnect with them and see how they are doing in their new roles and cities! It was also great to have an excuse when I wanted to chat. They know that I enjoy exercising and have a competitive spirit - the fact that I was doing a challenge for CrossFit wasn't surprising.
Giancarlo: You competitive? No way.
Chelsea: (laughing) Ya I know, right?!
Giancarlo: What else do you track that you feel moves the needle for you?
Chelsea: I usually don't track anything other than miles! I spent years tracking every piece of food that went into my mouth and stepped away from it shortly after joining Sanitas. Tracking through the challenge, I realized that with my training volume I haven't been eating enough protein or enough calories overall. It was an awesome 5-week self check to see if I am doing what I need to be in order to perform optimally at the gym and on the trails. I've increased my caloric intake by almost 1,000 calories since the first week of the clean challenge and am feeling a lot better in all aspects of life. I think the biggest thing that has moved the needle for me is time. I've been doing CrossFit for nearly 7 years and have been an athlete for longer than that. It takes a lot of trial and error to figure out what works for your individual body. I'm incredibly thankful that I am healthy and privileged enough to learn and adapt with my body as its needs change.
Giancarlo: It sounds like you’re saying that consistency matters when you’re trying to figure out what works for you. A perfect scorecard is super impressive, what was your biggest challenge and what was the easiest part for you?
Chelsea: My biggest challenge was that dang salad every day! I suck at eating green things (ew) and have a limited selection of them to choose from because I've dealt with some pretty severe IBS issues in the last few years. The best solution I found was to keep a package of mixed greens in the fridge and throw several handfuls in whatever I was eating for lunch or dinner that day. If they wilted a bit that was the best because it made it easier to get down (and hey... there were no rules against warm salad)!
The easiest part for me was definitely the daily WODs. I run 5 days per week and usually cycle for cross-training 2 days. Since home-WODs counted, it was awesome! Getting to the gym to workout with my friends at the 5:30a class was really so much fun too! I was often doing 10-12 total workouts in a week. It’s been amazing to have my Monday’s back as a complete rest day. That wasn't going to be sustainable for too long, but why not go for broke?!
Giancarlo: It paid off, hope you love the swag and enjoy your massage!