Join the Fall Fitness Challenge!!!

If you would like to get a bit healthier and lose a little weight, this challenge is for you! It will be joined by people just like you -- ordinary people who want to shed a few pounds. Last challenge we lost more than 100 pounds! The top three competitors lost 20 pounds each. (The winner isn’t determined by who loses the most weight, but it’s sure a nice bonus! :)

Each person pays $20 to enter, and the entire pot goes to the winners.

Here are the rules: There are 10 possible points per day:

• 1 point for keeping a food journal
• 1 point for drinking 8+ cups of water (1 c = 8 oz)
• 1 point for not eating any treats (use your own judgment on what is a treat, and yes, even one little M&M counts – the point is to start thinking before we eat!)
• 1 point for not eating after 8 p.m.
• 1 point for exercising 30+ minutes
• 1 point for taking a multi-vitamin and/or calcium
• 1 point for not skipping any meals
• 1 point for not overeating during any meals or snacks (again, use your own honest judgment)
• 1 point for reading the Book of Mormon for 20+ minutes per day (spiritual health)*
• 1 point for writing 2 to 3 items you’re grateful for (mental health – but no repeating any items on your gratitude list :)

Also, there will be 1 bonus point every week that you lose weight (1 point for losing weight, not 1 point per pound); and there will be 1 bonus point every week that you post on the blog how you did. Five bonus points will be available for sending your money ($20) during the first two weeks of the challenge. (If you don't send your money by the end of week 4, you are no longer eligible for the pot at the end, so get your $ in soon!)

Winner takes 75 percent of the pot ($15 for each competitor). Second-place winner gets 25 percent of the pot ($5 for each competitor). Last winner earned $120 for her 20-pound weight loss. Awesome!!!

This challenge begins Aug. 30, 2010 – just in time to get into a good routine with your kids going back to school. It will go for 12 weeks and end on Nov. 22, 2010. Round up your friends and let's make this challenge bigger and better than ever!

If you're interested in joining, just post a comment with your e-mail (feel free to use at instead of @) and I'll add you to the list of people who can post comments.

* If you’re not LDS you can read in the Bible for 20+ minutes – or give the Book of Mormon a try. :) Every person I know who has lost weight has had a spiritual experience as well. In any case, since they seem to go hand in hand, I figured I’d add it to this challenge. Just in case you wanted to know how it fit in with fitness …

You really like details? Here are a few more details about how this works …

- Scores are kept from Monday through Sunday. Every Monday (starting Sept. 6) you will report the number of points you have earned by doing a post on this blog. (You will all receive invites to be authors for the blog. Let me know if you don’t.)

- You get one extra point for posting on the blog every Monday.

- You get one extra point if you lost any weight (not a point per pound, but a point total for any weight loss.)

- These extra points should be added to the next week's score since points end on Sunday. (It doesn't really matter too much which week you add it to, as long as you only add it once. :)

- Treats are going to be personally defined. You all know what you consider treats. And any little bit counts.

- You're all on your honor -- it's the only way this challenge can work.

- Don't forget to send me your money in by the end of week 4 so you're eligible for the pot. (And if you get it in by the end of week 2 you get 5 bonus points.)

- You are responsible to keep track of your own points throughout the challenge. This is why posting on the blog is a good idea -- then at the end you can just go back to your posts and add up the total.

- Total points must be posted by Nov. 25, 2010 (Thanksgiving) so the definite winner can be announced by Nov. 29, 2010.

Good luck!!!