When Glen and I participated in the fitness challenge in 2010, we took the competition very seriously and ended making some serious long-term life style changes from our participation. We didn't end up winning the money, but felt like winners anyway because we'd improved our daily habits so much. When the contest was over, we did loosen up a bit, but ended up maintaining many of those habits long-term. It's been 2-1/2 years since our participation and while I'd like to say that we've stayed on the bandwagon, alas life has caught up with us and we are now fully entrenched in our bad habits (mostly eating too many sweets) again.
We are excited about participating in this new challenge, but worried that we wouldn't catch the competitive bug unless we added in the incentive ($20 entrance fee per person to be used toward the prize money) and we got a few more people to join in. So, we hereby invite anyone who is interested in making some healthy lifestyle changes for this upcoming holiday season....to join our challenge, which starts this Wednesday! Read below for details.
FITNESS CHALLENGE 2012
The contest duration will be 12 weeks (with a little mercy built in for the holidays).
Daily challenges will be tracked for 5 days per week (to allow for a holiday party indulgence here and there):
*Daily challenges:
* Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve will be FREE days (meaning that you'll get three days off those weeks).
and
Still have questions?
Here's a list of FAQ's:
What kind of exercise should I do?
It doesn't really matter...it could be a fast walk, jogging, biking, swimming, an exercise video, a spinning class, etc. The main point is that it should be somewhat challenging for you and should raise your heart rate for the 30 minutes.
What if I don't have any weight to lose?
No problem! There will be two adult winners of this contest...one for who loses the highest percentage of weight and the other with the highest point total. This is all about establishing healthy habits!
What if it's my birthday that week (or a holiday party)?
We've created this challenge with the a little leniency built in, so that you don't have to be the prude turning their nose up at the food spread at every party. You have two "off-days" per week, so just plan them accordingly to coincide with your birthdays and holiday parties. Off-days, of course, shouldn't mean all-out indulgence....but that it's okay to have a dessert or two. Additionally, we've made Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve FREE days, meaning that you'll get three days off those weeks instead of the two.
What about syrup on my pancakes? Or a muffin for breakfast?
This not meant to be a NO sugar challenge, but a no dessert challenge. In my opinion, it's okay to have a whole-grain muffin as part of a healthy breakfast, but you should be careful where you go with it. I think that that as soon as those "gray foods" (like muffins) turn into mid-afternoon pick-me-up snacks and/or an after dinner almost-treat, then you're getting into the dessert zone. We're trying to wean ourselves of bad habits, so these "gray foods" should be eaten sparingly (or forbidden altogether if that's easier for you).
Do my two days off per week have to be the weekend?
In general, we like to make the days off on the weekend, only because it's easier for us to stay in the routine that way, however it does not matter. We gave this contest two days off per week, so that you can plan them around holiday festivities that you may have.
What are the weekly challenges?
The weekly challenges are meant to introduce a little element of the unknown into the contest. Participants in the fitness challenge will take turns choosing from some pre-selected weekly challenges that will be worth one bonus point weekly. These challenges will be made known to everyone in advance, although it will not be known until the end of the week which one will be in effect.
What are the ages for the kids' contest?
The kids contest is open to anyone 18 and younger who wants to participate with the lower entrance fee and lower prize money. The rules will be the same, but the entrance fee is only $5, therefore making the potential prize money much less as well. Kids are NOT required to enter the kids' portion of the contest. Two of my kids are serious and want to put up their own $20 and will be participating with the adults. Kids will not have to weigh themselves at all.
Please feel free to ask me any more questions you have.
HOW DO I JOIN? It's as simple as emailing me ASAP (goolds@verizon.net) with your intention to join. I will send you the info of how to pay (in person or via PayPal), keeping in mind that you won't be an official point accumulating participant until your entry fee is received. We will send you a spreadsheet to track your points. Contest starts this Wednesday!
We are excited about participating in this new challenge, but worried that we wouldn't catch the competitive bug unless we added in the incentive ($20 entrance fee per person to be used toward the prize money) and we got a few more people to join in. So, we hereby invite anyone who is interested in making some healthy lifestyle changes for this upcoming holiday season....to join our challenge, which starts this Wednesday! Read below for details.
FITNESS CHALLENGE 2012
The contest duration will be 12 weeks (with a little mercy built in for the holidays).
These will be the rules for the challenge:
$20 participation fee for adults / $5 for kids (100% goes toward the prize money) and must be received by my sister (via PayPal) by Wednesday 10:00am EST (email me at goolds@verizon.net for her contact info).
$20 participation fee for adults / $5 for kids (100% goes toward the prize money) and must be received by my sister (via PayPal) by Wednesday 10:00am EST (email me at goolds@verizon.net for her contact info).
Daily challenges will be tracked for 5 days per week (to allow for a holiday party indulgence here and there):
*Daily challenges:
1. Exercise (30+ minutes)= 5 pts per week
2. No Dessert= 5 pts per week
3. No Eating after 8:30 pm= 5 pts per week
4. No Soda= 5 pts per week
5. Read at least 1 Chapter of Scriptures= 5 pts per week (Non-religious people could change this to reading a chapter of a philosophy or self-help book instead)
Weekly Challenges
Weekly Challenges
6. Holding family night weekly (could be a formal night with a lesson, lunch out with your mom, or just a game night. It's just meant to be 1/2 hour of uninterrupted family time (no cellphones))= 1 pt per week
7. Mystery Point= 1 pt per week
8. Lose one pound or maintain your weight if you are already at an ideal weight.= 1 pt per week
You are expected to do items 1-5 five times per week and each day will
be worth 1 point in each category. Items 6-8 are worth 1 point each per
week as you are only expected to do them once.
* Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve will be FREE days (meaning that you'll get three days off those weeks).
At the end of each week, you will be required to send my sister your total points for the week by Sunday at 9:00pm PST. We will send you a spreadsheet which will make keeping track of your points very easy. (o:
The winners of this contest will be determined by the person(s):
a. Having earned the most points at the end of the 12 week period
and
b.Having the highest percentage of weight loss.
and
c. the child with the highest number of points
and
c. the child with the highest number of points
Meaning
we will have three winners (two adults and a child), unless of course the person with the greatest
weight loss also has the highest points, in which case there would only
be one adult and one child winner. The prize amounts will be determined once we receive all
of our entries and know how much money we have.
Still have questions?
Here's a list of FAQ's:
What kind of exercise should I do?
It doesn't really matter...it could be a fast walk, jogging, biking, swimming, an exercise video, a spinning class, etc. The main point is that it should be somewhat challenging for you and should raise your heart rate for the 30 minutes.
What if I don't have any weight to lose?
No problem! There will be two adult winners of this contest...one for who loses the highest percentage of weight and the other with the highest point total. This is all about establishing healthy habits!
What if it's my birthday that week (or a holiday party)?
We've created this challenge with the a little leniency built in, so that you don't have to be the prude turning their nose up at the food spread at every party. You have two "off-days" per week, so just plan them accordingly to coincide with your birthdays and holiday parties. Off-days, of course, shouldn't mean all-out indulgence....but that it's okay to have a dessert or two. Additionally, we've made Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve FREE days, meaning that you'll get three days off those weeks instead of the two.
What about syrup on my pancakes? Or a muffin for breakfast?
This not meant to be a NO sugar challenge, but a no dessert challenge. In my opinion, it's okay to have a whole-grain muffin as part of a healthy breakfast, but you should be careful where you go with it. I think that that as soon as those "gray foods" (like muffins) turn into mid-afternoon pick-me-up snacks and/or an after dinner almost-treat, then you're getting into the dessert zone. We're trying to wean ourselves of bad habits, so these "gray foods" should be eaten sparingly (or forbidden altogether if that's easier for you).
Do my two days off per week have to be the weekend?
In general, we like to make the days off on the weekend, only because it's easier for us to stay in the routine that way, however it does not matter. We gave this contest two days off per week, so that you can plan them around holiday festivities that you may have.
What are the weekly challenges?
The weekly challenges are meant to introduce a little element of the unknown into the contest. Participants in the fitness challenge will take turns choosing from some pre-selected weekly challenges that will be worth one bonus point weekly. These challenges will be made known to everyone in advance, although it will not be known until the end of the week which one will be in effect.
What are the ages for the kids' contest?
The kids contest is open to anyone 18 and younger who wants to participate with the lower entrance fee and lower prize money. The rules will be the same, but the entrance fee is only $5, therefore making the potential prize money much less as well. Kids are NOT required to enter the kids' portion of the contest. Two of my kids are serious and want to put up their own $20 and will be participating with the adults. Kids will not have to weigh themselves at all.
Please feel free to ask me any more questions you have.
HOW DO I JOIN? It's as simple as emailing me ASAP (goolds@verizon.net) with your intention to join. I will send you the info of how to pay (in person or via PayPal), keeping in mind that you won't be an official point accumulating participant until your entry fee is received. We will send you a spreadsheet to track your points. Contest starts this Wednesday!
1 comment:
Thank you for these detailed instructions and general rules and regulations. It is obvious that you have invested a lot of time and effort into this concept.
Mom and I really appreciate this opportunity to organize ourselves and look forward to the challenge.
We are "not in it to win it" ;o) , but expect to win just by participating.
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