How are you being active this month?

Three teams have been selected by the City of Surrey to participate in the Be Active Challenge during the month of October, which is Healthy Living Month.

Each team has received a month of healthy lifestyle coaching, including healthy eating tips, and eight personal training sessions.

Each team has also received a one-year free facility pass for use at all city-operated recreation centres and facilities.

The teams' progress during October will be tracked online, in video and in a weekly update in the Now newspaper. Join us every week to hear how the teams are doing.

At the end of October, each team's story will be featured on the City of Surrey website and residents will be asked to vote for their favourites. The winning team will receive a $500 active getaway to Whistler.

Read our write-ups about each team to learn what they want to achieve and how they plan to "Be Active" this month.

And residents can get their fitness on for free this month, too. The City of Surrey is offering free fitness drop-in classes throughout the month of October.

For more information, visit www.surrey.ca/beactive.

JULIA AND LORI

We started off our week with a bike ride... with five kids! The kids loved the ride and we enjoyed the fresh air.

We have been working very hard with our trainer Rose, who keeps us moving and has been very inspirational.

Because we are both overweight, we have been looking at our diet and have made so many great changes.

First, we have stopped eating so late. Second, we have tried to lessen our portions (that has been really tough!).

We are looking forward to trying some swim aerobics and maybe get out of our comfort zone with some of the free classes offered at the recreation centres around town this month.

One thing that we have been thrilled about is the fact that we are inspiring others to get active too!

We are so excited about the challenge and the results we are already seeing.

Yeah!!!

MALA

The week that went by highlighted travel for me. I accompanied my husband Jay and son Sandy on a car trip to Banff and Jasper National parks. I had misgivings about the trip, and my ability to remain active as per my "promises."

I need not have worried. With all eyes on me, I managed really well.

Sandy is a fitness fanatic who exercises regularly during business trips, so he ensured I did too. And Jay was eager to document my activities.

We stayed at hotels with fitness rooms and kitchenettes, both of which I used faithfully. By fighting the battle on the fitness and food fronts, I was able to enjoy my trip without feeling guilty.

More importantly, the trails in these parks and around the lakes offered such beautiful trails that walking was a pleasure.

I now feel confident that wherever I am, I'll find a way to make fitness work for me.

NOEL, ROXANNE AND ASHANTI

We're feeling really good for the most part. We've turned around our eating habits almost entirely. We eat smaller amounts and more frequently throughout the day.

One of the problems we faced was balancing work, family time and healthy living. So our personal trainer Kerry put together a workout plan of both cardio and weight training in one lump that not only doesn't sacrifice the quality of exercise, it saves time.

As well, we have been attending aquafit classes and we are swimming laps, timing ourselves with the hopes of increasing the number of laps as the time progresses.

We've all learned a lot about various workout machines that we're now using. This week, we have our first spin class and yoga. We're all excited to try our first spin class. I've heard the stories of how intense it can be, but I think we're up for the challenge.