I was always so tired. Working in the bakery means waking up at 3:20 a.m. each day, and for a long time all I’d want to do when I got home was take a bath and go to sleep. I was too tired to exercise, too tired to cook, and even too tired to spend much time with my daughter. Then I heard about the Challenge. Some of my co-workers were doing it and were changing their lives, and they inspired me to try and change mine.
“The first thing I did was tell my daughter.”
The first thing I did was tell my daughter I was going to change my lifestyle. She’s only 8 years old, but it was so important for me to share this with her. She told me how happy she was, and that she’d help me however she could, and that motivated me to start making small changes right away. I try to get to bed at the same time each night so I can sleep eight hours and stay up when I get home from work. Now, when I get home, I eat dinner with my husband and daughter. We bake together. I use that time to help her with her homework and read to her at night, which is helping her at school.
“My co-workers help to hold me accountable.”
Instead of feeling tired all the time, I’m energetic. I work out for one hour a day, six days a week, using Chloe Ting workout videos on YouTube. I quit drinking soda, and now I drink green juices with celery, lemon, broccoli, cucumber, apple, pineapple, and carrots. I have worked hard to stop eating bread and sugar. It was difficult at first — at the bakery I’m always around the smell of sweets — but my co-workers help to hold me accountable, and I don’t bring any bread or baked goods home with me. I bought a reusable one-gallon water bottle that reminds me how much water I should be drinking at each hour of the day. Instead of cooking with oils, I’m using oil spray that is zero calories. Since starting the Challenge I’ve lost 12 pounds and saved $500.
“I want my daughter to know that we can do everything we put our minds to.”
I’m getting closer to my daughter, too. I want her to know that we can do everything we put our minds to. We just have to say, “We can do it.” We just have to keep going.
– Erlennys Ibarra Cabrera, Neighborhood Market #5255; Tampa, FL; $3K Winner
Through the Thrive Challenge, our community is making Better Choices, seeing big results, and winning big.
Stories from past winners, such as Erlennys Ibarra Cabrera,, prove that every individual has the power to transform their life every day through a combination of small, sustainable changes and peer-to-peer inspiration.