Several years ago in Thailand, Shannon Veurink was bitten by a mosquito and that little bug almost ruined her life. She was stricken with a tropical disease called Dengue Hemorrhagic fever, which was utterly debilitating.

When she left the hospital after the acute phase of the illness, she was too weak to even support her own weight. "I lost virtually all of my muscle mass," Shannon told us in a recent interview, "I tried to carry on, but my body didn't want to cooperate."

The after-effects lingered for years. She was weak, lethargic and started gaining weight. She tried to motivate herself to get back in shape but was never her old self...

She tried hours of cardio, she tried cutting calories, and she tried popular point system diets, but nothing worked. "I never got stronger - it was just like more squish. I felt miserable."

Finally, thngs hit bottom for Shannon and the pain of staying the same become greater than the pain of change. "When I gave birth to my second daughter, my body was a total mess" she confessed. The scale said 252 pounds. She knew she had to do something and do it right then and there.

Then she remembered: She had bought the Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle ebook back in 2007. Back then, she was still recovering, but she wasn't 'horrified' by her appearance, so she didn't have the drive to start. In fact, she didn't even read the book...

She rummaged through an old closet, dug out her old laptop and retrieved the ebook. This time she read it cover to cover... immediately... and put the program right to use.

"It was phenomenal - the results!" She exclaimed...

"In July I weighed 252 pounds - it was the heaviest I'd ever weighed in my life. By November, I was down to 181.4, so I had already seen phenomenal results - 70 pounds gone in 4 months! I'd started feeling strong, feeling wonderful and feeling like myself again."

That's when she took it to the next level. Shannon received an invitation to the Burn the Fat Challenge 49 day body transformation contest - the same invitation that thousands upon thousands of burn the fat ebook owners receive every year. Only a special few say yes. Shannon was one of them.

Below you can see Shannon's breathtaking transformation photos and her challenge essay. The photos are only 49 days apart. She won the 1st runner up spot in the overall competition and she was voted "MOST INSPIRATIONAL" in the special awards contest. Well deserved, wouldn't you say?

LIES WITHIN ME: How what lies within me conquered the lies within me!

For years I blamed a mosquito for ruining my life.

In 2005 I visited a Thai refugee camp. A diseased mosquito infected me with Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever, nearly costing my life. When admitted to hospital, my platelet count was dangerously low. Any movement was prohibited – even brushing my teeth could cause a hemorrhage. The fever persisted for days, along with excruciating pain which earns Dengue the nickname, “breakbone fever”.

Inability to eat and immobility caused extreme atrophy. When I left the hospital, I couldn’t bear my own weight. It took days before I could walk, and months before I could complete daily activities without exhaustion. Until this summer I believed I would never recover; until this summer I didn’t realize the value of muscle. I was a track star, rugby player, Air Force officer and had run a ½ marathon weeks before getting sick. Much of my identity was in my strength, which was gone.

Over the years, my health spiralled downward and my weight, upward. I ate ‘reasonably’, strived to be active, but had no stamina. I dieted but got softer. In 2008 I was diagnosed with autoimmune thyroid disorder. Hypothyroidism was an excuse, a ball and chain dooming me to be heavy, a self-fulfilling prophesy. I was disillusioned that medication would fix things, but no magic pill existed. I suffered multiple miscarriages.

In 2010, our first daughter arrived after a difficult pregnancy and a c-section. Afterwards, I made some health gains, lost some pounds, but remained overweight when we got pregnant again. Our second daughter arrived six months ago today! Two babies, one major surgery within 14 months, and I was my heaviest (252lbs). I had never been happier than to be a mother, but had never been more ashamed of myself.

I purchased Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle (BFFM) in 2007 but never read it until this summer. What regret - this book changed everything!

A quote from Chapter One literally moved me: “The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it” (Michelangelo). I decided to do the 49-day challenge and set the most aggressive goal I could possibly achieve, since I’d been surpassing my original goals. My track coaches always told me to look OVER the bar, look BEYOND the pit, and PAST the finish line, so I aimed there. I decided I was 100% responsible for my results. I decided to win this challenge.

I lost weight steadily before the challenge without much tweaking, but a major oversight was not testing body fat from the start. I didn’t have callipers and did not learn the navy method until joining the Inner Circle. The challenge start coincided with a slow-down in my scale weight loss; this was a huge hurdle! I now had to interpret feedback.

I had intensified my training, lifting heavier each workout. I improved nutrition to better fuel my body. I had good fat loss and increased lean mass but was progressing slower. After weeks of this, I broke my steady deficit and began calorie cycling; I did not realize how much I feared food until then. It took a major shift in mindset to eat more. My instinct was to eat less. The input of other BFFMers gave me confidence to do this. Cycling worked, and my progress accelerated!

I visualized a race with my goal: I was behind, but sprinting after it in full stride! BFFM taught me that my body wasn’t broken – I just hadn’t been using it properly! Before the challenge I brainstormed what people, places, things etc. could sabotage my mission, and planned ahead. Yet, I discovered that my mind was my greatest enemy; I had to get out of my way.

This challenge has been a journey of learning and balance. With hypothyroidism, I had to listen to my body; too few calories compromises the nutrition needed for optimal hormones. I learned what foods make me feel good and lose fat. I learned to discern between hunger, boredom or needing food. I learned that as a mother, “self-sacrifice” is a fallacy. Taking care of two babies (with a farmer husband during harvest) and winning this challenge sounds ridiculous, but I made time for myself. By putting myself first I had more to give to everyone. I balanced my need/want for sleep with early morning workouts; I seized concurrent naptimes to exercise and refocus myself; I changed diapers in between exercise sets.

I did not stop having fun; in fact, I had more! I socialized, ate out, and enjoyed treats. In these ways, I’ve made changes that are sustainable. I paid extra attention to my husband, not selflessly, but because it served no one’s interest to make him feel 2nd fiddle to a contest. He was involved in this challenge as much as me. This week I asked him whether he’d noticed any changes in me since starting. His first response is too private to share. He also said I had muscles, was slimmer, energetic and happier. I agree with him on all accounts! My mom and dad said I look like 'me' again. I feel like me again!

The Inner Circle has been invaluable. Here I found mentors, cheerleaders, teammates and competitors without whom I would not have succeeded.

Now I KNOW that mosquito changed my life! Success isn’t what’s achieved, but what is overcome during the journey. Adversity gave me the chance to grow stronger. BFFM and this challenge gave me the knowledge and arena to refine my body and mind and use what’s in me to conquer the lies I’d been telling myself for years. I put my full effort into this challenge. As of this morning I reached my challenge goal. Since starting BFFM I have lost 87lbs. You will look at my photos and agree - I have won!

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Shannon's advice to people who are on the fence about getting started or accepting a transformation challenge:

"I would tell them, take a good hard look at your life and ask yourself if you’re happy with your life the way it is. If you’re not happy with it, you have to decide that you’re going to change. And I would encourage everyone to realize that there is no quick fix for it. People might look at my results and beg to differ, because in all honesty, my appearance and my vitality, everything, did change quickly, but it wasn’t an easy thing to do. So I’d say if you have the ebook, you can apply “Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle” and you will see results. I worked so well for me and I’ve met so many other people in the Burn the Fat Inner Circle and it worked so well for them, that I would just say, open the book, read Chapter One, set a goal for yourself and start making the changes one at a time. It has changed my life in so many ways, I would encourage anyone who’s thinking about it just to really open that book, write out some goals and start somewhere. And join the Inner Circle and you’ll meet people who will share their experience and people who will encourage you and they’ll give you tips and answer your questions, so you don't have to do it alone."

Yes - YOU could be the next Burn the Fat Success story. If you follow the same success strategies that our Burn the Fat Challenge champions did....

Each of our award winners had their own unique challenges and their own unique approach, but there are 5 success strategies they ALL had in common, and we can give you 4 of them:

1. Proven Program. All of our champions used Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle - most importantly, they were using strategies for improving body composition - that means fat loss, not just weight loss.

2. Positive Association/ Support. All of our champions participated in a private ("inner circle") support forum using the power of association with like minded people.

3. Accountability System. All of our champions used an accountability system - "keeping score" by tracking results weekly, and posting the results for others to see.

4. Rewards/External Motivation. All of our champions achieved their transformation during one of our official Burn the Fat body transformation challenge competitions and the prizes/rewards were pretty "juicy." Held twice a year - starting in May (summer/ "BIG BURN" challenge) and again in November (winter / "holiday" challenge)

And What's Number 5?

5. Hard Work. All of our champions worked their butts off. No "magic pills" here. As Thomas Edison once said, "There is no substitute for hard work." None.

If you'll provide the hard work, we'll provide the rest. If you're not a current member of the Burn The Fat Inner Circle family yet, we invite you to join our growing international community, now with members in 152 countries: www.BurnTheFatInnerCircle.com.

If you're new to the Burn the Fat community, downloading Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle (e-book) ) is the best place to start. It's been called, the Fat Loss Bible, and it's available on the home page at the link below:

START HERE ===> Get the Burn The Fat Program!

Your friend and coach,

Tom Venuto
Fat Loss Coach
www.BurnTheFat.com
www.BurnTheFatInnerCircle.com

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