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.