Alright everyone it is time to be selfish this year and take care of ourselves. We have created an empowering plan to work for you, no matter what stage of health you are in. We want it to be a lifestyle change so this plan will last until Dec. 1st with periodic rewards along the way. The rules are simple and few. It is up to you to decide the desired outcome you want to have and tailor your exercise and nutrition goals accordingly. Here it is:
· Everyone who joins will be required to do 100 minutes of exercise a week for the months of January and February (Each session will increase slightly because we will be getting stronger). I know that may seem like a lot but really it is only 33.3 minutes 3 times a week. We need to get our hearts working to get them healthy. The great thing about this plan is that it is so flexible. If you can only exercise for 10 minutes at a time, that will be just fine, just exercise 10 different times that week and you will reach the goal of 100 minutes for the week.
· You also get to choose the exercise. Any exercise that gets your heart rate up counts (walking, running, biking, hiking, swimming, aerobics, videos, strenuous house cleaning, etc.). The intensity of the exercise will benefit you. So make your exercise choice count and push yourself.
· We wanted to leave the nutrition goals up to you. We are all at different stages. The goal is to eat healthier. Therefore, our only requirement is that you eat only up to three to five “treats” per week depending on the session. Here you also have some choice. We are not going to send out a list of foods that we feel should be on the treat list. You know what foods are not good for you, these are the foods that would most likely make the list. A few obvious examples: cookies, brownies, cakes, pastry, donuts, soda (diet, regular, and caffeine free), chips in all varieties, candy, hot chocolate, wine or other high calorie drinks, crackers, etc. Remember the goal is to be healthier.
Here is how it works.
· Everyone who wants to get healthier gives $5 per month that they wish to participate. You must participate for a full session. So Session 1 would be $10.
· Everyone will record the number of minutes exercised and the number of treats eaten during the week on Mondays via this blog.
· Beth will keep a spreadsheet of everyone’s numbers.
At the end of the session, everyone who has met the exercise and nutrition goal will be entered into a drawing for 50% of that sessions enrollment money.
- The other 50% of the money will be saved and added to the other sessions money until the end of our challenge. On Dec. 2nd everyone who has met the exercise goal of 6,900 minutes of exercise and who have not gone over the treats per week goal will be entered into a drawing for the jackpot, the rest of the money 50% from each of the four sessions. If no one has been able to be “perfect” every single month, we will subtract 100 points for every treat over the allotted amount and then the person with the most points will win.
We know it can be difficult to always keep to a plan. We would like you to try your best to stay on track, however, if you are going on vacation or have something come up that makes it difficult for you to exercise, you can “bank” minutes to be used during that session and still be in the drawing. You get all major holidays and your birthday off for treats. You can eat as much as you want and not count it against you. Really we just want all of us to take care of ourselves so let’s work on this together. The more people who join, the more fun and encouraging it will be for all of us. Let’s do this together and empower ourselves.
Session 1: January 7-March 3 Max points=800
100 minutes of exercise a week , no more than 5 treats per week
Session 2: March 4-April 28 Max points=1000
125 minutes of exercise a week, no more than 4 treats per week
Session 3: April 29-July 28 Max points 1950
150 minutes of exercise a week, no more than 3 treats per week
Session 4: July 29-December 2 Max points 3150
175 minutes of exercise a week, no more than 3 treats per week
Everyone who commits to the plan for the year will get 3 weeks “paid” vacation in which you will receive your exercise points and not be penalized for extra treats. You choose which weeks you take. You can use it for sickness, vacation, whatever; but you only get 3 for the whole year.
If you are a soda drinker, we definitely want you to join. Just for you, we will not count soda in January. Use January to wean yourself off and then we will start in February with counting soda (all kinds) as treats. Soda provides no benefit to us, it is time to get rid of it for good. Water is a much better choice. If you worry about having energy, just see how much energy you get from eating healthy and exercising. It may surprise you.
We love you and want to spend as much time as we can with you. So be selfish this year. Take care of your health so we can all be a little healthier.
