Results - Week 2

Rosalie 52

Carolyn 35

Holly 32

Julie 24

Audrey 13

Stacey

Lynne

Back on the wagon tomorrow

I feel stressed.  I am so tired.  Jonathan flies out tomorrow.  Spencer is sleeping, but Jason just woke up and is crying.  David will be home in a few minutes, and then I need to get them all ready to go shopping.  It's been a hard day, but hopefully it will get better.  Tomorrow, I think I will be able to be more on track.  Right now the stress (and lack of time) is driving me to eat quick fast bad things.

Results - Week 1

Drum roll...or perhaps a decrescendo horn sound?

Rosalie 55

Audrey 43

Stacey 36

Carolyn 35

Julie 28

Holly

Lynne 34

After Four Days of the Challenge

This challenge is having exactly the effect on me that I imagined it would. It is keeping me on track, and motivating me to live a more healthy lifestyle than I have been able to do on my own.

I have exercised 30 minutes all four days (walked three days and did 30 minutes of stairclimbing and hand weights one day). I have gotten seven hours of sleep all but the first day. I have gotten most of the food points, and am definitely eating in a more nutricious way--although I will give up my "no sweets" point today so I can help celebrate Darin's 40th birthday this evening! I have drunk around 48 oz of water every day. My weight has started to go down, and I feel great!

Thanks for starting this challenge, Audrey, and thanks to all of you who have joined, even if you aren't interested in making all the changes that the challenge proposes. :)

Update on Fruits/Vegetable Serving Sizes

It can be a challenge to get all of the healthy stuff in, so Rosalie found the following friendlier serving size information from the American Cancer Society and government sites using the the USDA Food Pyramid:

1/2 cup of fruit

1 medium piece of fruit
1/4 cup of dried fruit
3/4 cup (6 ounces) of 100% fruit or vegetable juice
1 cup of leafy vegetables
1/2 cup of cooked or raw vegetables

Trying to visualize the serving sizes? This may help:

1 medium apple or orange: the size of a tennis ball
1 cup vegetables or fruit: the size of a baseball
1 medium potato: the size of a computer mouse
1 cup of lettuce: 4 leaves

My Goals

3 Goals for me:
1. Add more healthy food habits to my every day life
2. Become more consistent with exercise
3. Lose 10 lbs

Rosalie's Goals

My identity on this blog will appear as RoAnn (a contraction of my given names, Rosalie Ann) because that is the name I have used to protect my privacy when posting or commenting on public blogs, and it is attached to my Blogger account.

I'm excited about participating in this challenge because I have become lazy in my exercising and eating habits, and have gained weight that makes me feel tired and sluggish. I have been fortunate to enjoy relatively good health for most of my adult life, even though I have rarely been really physically fit.

As I grow older, I think I can remain healthy only if I am more careful about what I eat, and exercise to become more fit. Osteoporisis is a real danger for women of my body type, and unless I do strength exercises and eat properly, I could end up with a deformed spine, or broken bones.

I hope to return to exercising regularly, eat in a more healthy way, drink more water regularly, and lose at least 10 of the 12 pounds I need to lose to be at what I consider my optimum weight. I have more energy and generally feel better when I am more flexible, have better muscle tone, and have a lower percentage of body fat.

Thanks for all your efforts to set up this challenge, complete with tracking sheets and this blog, Audrey! I know that the encouragement we give each other will really help us to reach our goals!

Audrey's Goal

My reason for this challenge is to try to really develop habits for weight loss besides exercise.  I can't really do any exercise besides walking for another couple of months so I wanted to do something to focus on everything else that I can be doing (healthy diet).

So, my personal goal (hope and desire!) is to lose 15 lbs by the end of this challenge.  I have an ultimate goal of losing a total of 40 lbs, but that will be completed farther down the road.

Official Rules and Guidelines

Daily Points System

• 40 oz of water
• 30 minutes of exercise*
• 7 hours of sleep minimum*
• 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit**
• No sugary treats or desserts
• No unhealthy snacks or soda
• Healthy meal choices
• No eating after dinner or 8:30pm

*may be non-consecutive

**serving size is 1 cup, 1/2 cup for dried fruit, 2 cups for raw 

      leafy greens

Free Points

• 3 Free points each week - these can be used for any missed points, anytime.*
• 3 "Sick Days" during the 10-weeks - on this day all points are free, you get the full 8 points.
• Weekly Exercise point - once a week you will have a free exercise point, but it can only be used to substitute exercise.*
• Weekly Email submission point - you will earn one point if you email your weekly total (Sunday to Saturday) each Sunday by midnight Central time.  I will add this point to your emailed total, so don't add it yourself before you email it.*

*The total number of points cannot exceed 56 per week, these are 

"use 'em or lose 'em" points and cannot be used to raise your 

score beyond 56 points.

Clarification Examples:

• If you have M&M's you only lose your point for Sugary Treats.
• If you have Cheetos you only lose your point for No Unhealthy Snacks.
• If you have Fried Chicken you only lose your point for Healthy Meal Choices

The intent of these points is not to be a double or triple whammy.  The intent of the Sugary Treats point is to replace the candy, desserts, and sugary foods we consume.  The intent of the unhealthy snacks/soda is to eliminate junk food snacks.  The intent of the Healthy Meal Choices point is to get rid of eating McDonalds/Meatlovers Pizza/fried-food, etc at home or in restaurants and to make healthier meal choices.  Just make sensible mealtime choices.  This will be different for everyone.

If you have questions as to what is or is not "legal" for food or drink, first ask yourself if it leads to a healthier lifestyle and if it is within the principle of the habit.  Remember, this is to help you establish healthier living habits and it's all "on your honor".  Also, you may want to have your own personal goal, such as "Lose __ weight" or "More energy" or "Better health".  This will give you a reason to keep you going and remind you of why you are doing this.

Reward

Well, I would like for there to be at least a 1st place prize for motivation, but I'm not quite sure how to do it without wholly funding it myself.  Requiring everyone to pay an entrance fee is considered by some to be gambling.  So, I would like to ask for anonymous donations toward a prize: it can be monetary (no more than $20) or some creative object that someone might want as a prize (like a custom painting).