It's all over

Ok, so it has been over for a week now, but we finally have all of the points in! I don't think this will be a huge surprise to anyone, but our Grand Champions are THE MILLERS! So congratulations to them. And here is what I noticed about their "strategy". They were consistently in the mid 200's. The Smedleys were a little more yo-yo like, with some great weeks, and some less great weeks. I hope that we all remember how great those good weeks felt!!! The millers rarely went under 200 points as individuals. So they just did a great job at incorporating healthy things into their lifestyle on a regular basis. It looks like that is the key.

Also, I have added up the points for each individual, and would like to announce the high scorers for the whole challenge.

The Smedley Team:

• 1st Place: Mark P. with an average of 257 points per week.
• 2nd Place: Teresia with an average of 251 points per week.
• 3rd Place: Shelley with an average of 229 points per week.

The Miller Team:

• 1st Place: Christina with an average of 242 points per week.
• 2nd Place: Yvonne with an average of 236 points per week.
• 3rd Place: Mary with an average of 233 points per week.

So again, congratulations to all you healthy people.

Thank you all for participating! It was fun to run, and we will be crunching the numbers on your winnings this coming week!

Week #7 Winners

I'm so sorry that it took me so long to get this week's points up. We had some on vacation that weren't able to get their points to me until yesterday. But here are the results from last week.

• 1st Place: Millers (1529 points)
• 2nd Place: Smedleys (1469 points)

So, congrats again to the Millers!!

This week was awesome, because we had 3 people with perfect points! Yea! They were the following: Yvonne, Shelley, and Kim. So that was pretty rad. Good job.

And, this challenge is almost over. I will report the final totals as soon as all the points are reported!

Week #6 Winners

My apologies for the delay on winners from Week #6. I think the holidays threw us all off and I got the last of the points on Friday. Since I'm not on my computer too much on the weekends, it has had to wait until today. I hope you all can forgive me. With that said, here are the winners from this week!

• 1st Place: Millers (1,293 pts)
• 2nd Place: Smedleys (1254 pts)

Congratulations to the Millers again! The highest scorers from each team were Mark P (258 pts) from the Smedley team, and Jared (244 pts) from the Miller team. Way to go both of you. Mark P also got perfect points AGAIN this week! He has just been on fire for this challenge. Both of them should really be proud at doing so well so late in this challenge. It gets harder the longer you do it and they have really risen to the challenge. Nice work.

Week #8 Bonus Points

The bonus challenge for this last week can be done at any time during the week before midnight on Sunday. It has four parts to it to get all 35 points:

1. Take an "after" picture.  You can compare it to your "before" picture and see if you are pleased with your results. 5 points
2. Evaluate how you did on the goals you set at week #1.  Part of your bonus at the beginning of the challenge was to set specific goals and non-food rewards for meeting those goals.  If you have reached the goals you set at the beginning now is the time to reward yourself! 10 points
3. Determine what you are going to do to continue being healthy.  For example....you could join another challenge, you could decide to continue only having one sweet day a week, you could decide to prepare for a 5k or 10k, you could decide a number of things, these are just a few suggestions.  It's ok if you need/want to take a week or two off of even thinking about your health, but I'd strongly encourage you to not just give up on your healthy lifestyle all together. 10 points
4. Report to a teammate about how you did with your goals and what you are going to do in the future for your health. 10 points

Week #7 Bonus

We are almost done. I hope we have all made the most of this challenge, and I REALLY hope we can make the most of this week. So, the bonus for this week is this.

Each day that you get perfect points, you get 5 bonus points. If, at the end of the week, you have perfect points, including treats, etc, then you get an additional 20 points on top of that, which means that there are 55 total bonus points this week. It would be awesome if I had to put EVERYONE'S name on the high scoring list because we all do so awesome. Good luck.

Week #5 Winners

Sorry for the lateness this week. There were some points that didn't quite get submitted on time. I didn't subtract any points for that this week, because there were people from both sides, and it all evened out in the end. But I'm sure this week we will all submit on time. :) Only 2 weeks left! It has gone by fast. Anyway, the winners this week:

• 1st Place: Millers (1080 points)
• 2nd Place: Smedleys (1057 points)

So, for all of our trash-talking, Millers have a significant lead. Nice work all of you! Having said that, I hope that the Smedley's will pick it up this week. :)

Our top scorers for the week are Yvonne on the Miller Team and Teresia for the Smedley Team. (We are really glad that the Pantelakis family has joined our team for this challenge.) Both scored 254 points! So congratulations to both of you on being near perfect. That is even more of an accomplishment considering how far into the challenge we are.

I hope everyone's week is going well! 

Week #6 Bonus

Create a menu for one day this week. Include meals, snacks, everything you would eat that day. You get 15 points for creating the menu, and 15 points for sticking to it.

Week #4 Winners

My deepest apologies for the lateness of last week's winners. I had some complications with the points due to the sickness exception. BUT, the winners this week are as follows:

• 1st Place: Millers (860 points)
• 2nd Place: Smedleys (855 points)

I love that this competition has just been neck and neck the whole way. So keep working hard everyone!

The two highest point scorers for this week are Mark P. (228 points) for the Smedley's, and Yvonne (222 points) for the Miller's. So congratulations to both of them. Mark P. also has received perfect points again this week, and that means he has received perfect points almost every week. Quite an accomplishment.

I also want to recognize everyone who earned over 200 points this week. (it was particularly impressive this week, because there were only 228 points possible, instead of the usual 263) Those who managed to accomplish it are YVONNE and MARY from the Miller Team, and MARK P., TERESIA, MIKE, and DANE from the Smedley Team. You guys are really doing awesome. And many of us were not far behind them. So, everyone keep up the good work!

Week #5 Bonus

This weeks bonus is more of a social bonus. It has 2 parts.

1. Call/write/email/facebook an old friend/coworker/mission companion/roommate you haven't talked to in at least 6 months. It doesn't have to be long. Just reconnect. (15 points)
2. Write a letter/email/whatever of appreciation to someone this week. Again, it doesn't have to be long, but it does need to be sincere. (15 points)

Week #3 Winners

Wow, it is a close game:

• 1st Place: Smedley Team (673 points)
• 2nd Place: Miller Team (672 points)

So, what can I say? 1 point apart; it is anyone's game.

This week, the top scorers are Christina from the Miller team with 254 points and Mark P. from the Smedley Team with 263 AGAIN! So, Mark has now gotten perfect points twice. Way to go. Keep working hard everyone!

Week #2 Winners

• 1st Place: Millers (225 for the week, 451 running total)
• 2nd Place: Smedley's (206 for the week, 441 running total)

Recognitions for this week go to Mark P. with 261 points on the Smedley Team, and to Yvonne with PERFECT points (263) for the Miller team. Wahoo!!! It takes a lot of commitment to score perfect points, so way to go, Yvonne.

So, a lot of us are improving as the challenge goes on, and a few of us, are not improving quite so much. :) For those of you that improved, that is seriously legit (as Kirk would say). The good news is for the Miller's this week, as they are now DOMINATING this challenge. So, I hope us Smedleys have been sufficiently humbled and can come back with flying colors this week. (I know, I'm not an un-biased wellness challenge leader :) The competition is still young, and it is anyone's game. Keep working hard!

Week #3 Bonus

The bonus for this week is simple. Each day you do one intentional act of service for someone else, you get 5 points.

Treats Exception

Hey everyone. Christina made a comment on one of the posts asking about saving up treats from one week to use the next (as in her case, for a vacation). Since I happen to know that many people from the Smedley team are also going on a trip soon, I wanted to make it fair.

SO, one time during the challenge, you can eat no treats one week, and then eat 4 treats the next and still get perfect treat points for both of those weeks. You have to withhold from treats the week before, not the week after (or in other words, this has to be a pre-planned thing). And you can do this only once, so use it wisely. :) Christina, I hope you have a great anniversary, and Smedley's, I hope you have a great time in California.

My deepest apologies if someone would have benefitted from that in the last 2 weeks, and wasn't able to. If you would have used done this previously, but didn't because this rule wasn't in place, let me know, and we can work something out.

Week 1 results are in!

You made it through your first week, and the results are in!

1st place: SMEDLEY'S (230 points)

2nd place: MILLER'S (226 points)

We will also recognize the high point scorers each week. This week, the high point scorer from the Miller Team is CHRISTINA with 249 points and the high point scorer from the Smedley Team is MARK P. with 263 points. He actually deserves a double recognition as being the only person that achieved PERFECT points this week. So nice work Mark.

As you can see, it's a pretty close game so far. The team scores are calculated by taking the average points from all the members of each team. You can sort of see where you fall in relation to your team by looking at whether you are below or above the team average. This also means that it takes everyone raising their score to get the team's average up. You are all doing awesome. Keep up the good work for week 2!

Week #2 Bonus

This week we are going to look at our eating habits. This bonus has 3 parts:

1. Visit MyPyramid.gov (5 pts)
   Read one article or informational factsheet from the links on the left hand side
2. Create Account (10 pts)
   Go to http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/planner/launchPage.aspx and create an account. Make sure you use this link. There are other parts of this site that allow you to "analyse your diet" but they are really clunky and confusing. This part is technically for planning ahead, but it also seems to work the best for analyzing as well. So create your account here.
3. Keep track of what you eat for 2 days using the menu planner (20 pts)
   Sign in at http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/planner/launchPage.aspx (the same page you created your account on) and record what you have eaten for 2 days (they do not have to be consecutive). If you do the 2 days, you get the full 20 points. If you just record 1 day, you get 10 points.

Good luck!

Entering Points

Hello Everyone. I hope your first week is going well. Because we will be entering points soon, I will briefly go over how to enter them. First off, the week goes from Monday to Sunday. That being said, you weigh in Monday. (after the week is over). Hopefully that makes sense. But if you fill out your spreadsheet and just enter the points as they show up in the blue boxes, you should be fine.

Next, go the one of the links on the right. Obviously, if you are on the Smedley Team, you go to the "Smedley Team" link. If you are on the Miller Team, go to the "Miller Team" link. Pretty easy. There, you will fill out the form and hit submit at the bottom. And that's it. After you have filled it out, it will take you back to the blog homepage, so if you end up on the homepage, you did everything correctly.

I hope there are no bugs, but if there are, please let me know. Also, if you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me. Thanks, and good luck finishing off this week!

Week #1 Bonus Points

This week's bonus challenge has four parts:

1. Take a "before" picture—5 points
   You don't have to show anyone, so put on something that shows your body. Take a couple shots from different angles, and you may be surprised when you look back at how far you've come. This is not just for those trying to lose weight.
2. Make goal(s) and determine reward(s)—10 points
   Decide what you want to achieve in the short or long term: run a race, lose "x" pounds, fit into those pants you bought six years ago, dunk a basketball, etc. Then decide on your NON-FOOD reward when you reach your goal: tickets to a game or show, new jeans, a manicure, a trip, etc.
3. Get ready for your healthy lifestyle—10 points
   Think of at least two things you need to do to successfully live a sensible lifestyle: throw away your stash of junk food, stock the kitchen with healthy snacks, put the treadmill where you can use it, dig the exercise videos out of the box in the basement, get some shoes that support your feet, schedule a time with your exercise buddy or babysitter, etc. Then put into action the things that come to mind.
4. Report to a teammate—10 points
   Report your goal(s), reward(s) and at least two preparations you made for your healthy lifestyle to one or more members of your team.

You get the points for each part of the bonus challenge you complete before midnight on Sunday, April 17 (end on week1).

Rules and Stuff

This is a competition to motivate participants to live a healthier lifestyle. It is open to anyone age 14 or older who sincerely wants to establish habits that promote overall wellness.

DATES:

This will be an 8-week challenge starting May 23, 2011 (my anniversary :) ) and ending on July 18, 2011. You must commit to the full eight weeks.

COST:

Each participant will pay $15 upfront to do the challenge.

Although it costs $15, you may earn back more than half of your money. For each week that you get at least 195 points (not including bonuses) you will get back $1, for a possible refund of $8.

POINTS:

There are a few ways you earn points, so read thoroughly:

WEEKLY POINTS:

Each week you will report your points in ten categories totaling 208 possible points.

1. Exercise: You can earn up to 35 points each week for exercise. You earn 5 points for doing 30 minutes of exercise and 7 points for doing 45 minutes of exercise up to 5 days per week. If you do more than 45 minutes of exercise or more than 5 days per week, WAY TO GO! But you do not get any additional points, and you can't carry the points or minutes over to future days or weeks of exercise. 7 points x 5 days = 35 points possible each week.
2. Sweets: You can earn up to 30 points each week for limiting sweets. You get 2 free treats per week. If you eat 3 treats, you earn 15 points for the week. If you eat more than 3 treats, you earn 0 points for the week. A treat = 1 serving of a treat, aka, one cookie, one donut, one piece of cake, etc. If you eat 3 donuts in one sitting, that counts as 3 treats. If you eat 1 square of a chocolate bar per day finish the 1 chocolate bar by the end of the week, that is 1 treat.
3. Fruits/Vegetables: Each day that you eat at least 5 fruits or vegetables, you get 3 points. Each day that 3 or more or those are vegetables, you get 5 points. Generally speaking, one serving is approximately 1/2 cup, although leafy greens are approximately double that and dried fruits are about half that much. 5 points x 7 days = 35 points possible each week.
4. Water: Each day that you drink at least 64 ounces of water, you get 2 points. Pop, juice, and milk do not count towards your 64 ounces. Flavored water is okay (basically anything that is 0 calories is fine as long as it is NOT carbonated) 2 points x 7 days = 14 points possible each week.
5. 9 p.m.: Each day that you stop eating before 9 p.m., you get 2 points. 2 points x 7 days = 14 points possible each week.
6. 7 hrs. of sleep per night 5 days/week (naps count).  I've had several people express concern about being able to get this much sleep, but sleep is important enough to include in a wellness challenge. 2 points x 5 days = 10 points possible each week.
7. Scripture/inspirational reading daily 7 days/week. There is no time requirement. Simply take the time daily to read something that uplifts your soul. Possible 3 points  x 7 days = 21 points possible each week.
8. Prayer/meditaion daily 7 days/week. Again no time requirement. Possible 3 points x 7 days = 21 possible points each week.
9. Journal Writing Daily 7 days/week. No minimum amount, just a few sentences is enough.  THIS MUST BE DONE DAILY, YOU MAY NOT BACK TRACK TO MAKE UP. Blogging/writing to missionaries and friends is okay as long as you copy or print the post somewhere that it can be preserved (a document on your computer, pasted in your journal, etc) BEFORE you report your points each week. Possible 3 points x 7 points possible each week.
10. Team: Each day that you are in contact with a team member by any method (email, phone, blog, text, voice mail, telegram, Facebook, U.S. Postal Service, etc.) you get 1 point. As we encourage, motivate, share experiences, and stay accountable, we are more successful as individuals and as teams. 1 point x 7 days = 7 points possible each week.

WEIGHT LOSS POINTS:

Each week you will report your weight loss points to me. Please do your initial and weekly weigh-ins at approximately the same time and under the same circumstances each week (empty/full stomach, before/after exercise, etc.) First you must decide which of the following two plans you want to do:

1. Weight Loss Plan: If you are trying to lose weight, you will choose the "Weight Loss Plan." Each week when you weigh in, you will get 5 points for maintaining your lowest previous weight and 15 points for losing 1 pound or more from your lowest weight. For instance, if you gained weight, you report 0 points, AND you don't get any weight loss or maintenance points in future weeks until you return to the lowest weight you had already achieved. If you maintained your previous lowest weight, you report 5 points. And if you lost a pound, you would get 5 points for maintaining plus 15 points for losing at least a pound and you would report 20 points. The maximum points you can earn per week is 20.
2. Weight Maintenance Plan: If you are trying to maintain a healthy weight which you have already achieved OR if you are pregnant, you will choose the "Weight Maintenance Plan." This challenge is for EVERYONE trying to be healthy, not just those trying to lose weight. So if you are maintaining your weight, you must decide what weight you are maintaining, and for each week that you are at or below that weight, you get 20 points. If you go over that weight, you get 0. If you are pregnant, please don't worry about the scale, but you must get at least 187 weekly points (90%) to get your 20 weight points per week.

Some may just want to lose a few pounds and then maintain for the rest of the challenge. This is fine as long as it is stated upfront. For example, you could say, “I am on the weight loss plan until I lose 3 pounds, at which point I will switch to the maintenance plan”

BONUS POINTS:

There will opportunities to earn bonus points through out the challenge, most likely on a weekly basis.

POINT REPORTING:

When I figure everything out on this blog, you will be able to report your points each Monday to me via the blog. Points must be reported by midnight on Monday night. I will deduct 15 points from your team's total for each person who reports late. If your points are not reported when I declare a weekly winner on Tuesday night, your points from that week will not count at all.  If you are struggling reporting points the first week, please email me and I can help you.

Each week, I will recognize the highest scorer from each team and their points will be posted so that everyone can know how awesome that person did. I will also post each team’s TOTAL points. Aside from the top scorers, I will not be posting individual points on the blog.

Everyone, please be honest in your point reporting. One team member not giving his or her very best can lead to the whole team losing because of that person's low points.

WINNERS:

Obviously, everyone wins when you implement these sensible lifestyle habits. But at the end of the competition, I will award money to the person who gets the highest point total and each member of the team with the highest point grand total.

ARE YOU READY TO PARTICIPATE?

Please email me the following information:

• Your first and last name
• The email address you want to use throughout this competition
• Your mailing address (to send your money at the end of the competition)
• Which weight plan you are doing

Then please get your money to either me or Shelley Smedley (mom). It needs to be postmarked by May 23, 2011 at the latest. Or you can just give it to her personally sometime before then. Once you have sent me your e-mail and paid, I will send you a spreadsheet (via e-mail) that will help you track your points each day.