A few months back, one of my always cool, clever, and gorgeous friends, Kim…
(you may remember her from last Sunday’s post on ways to free up your hands) started a super fun health competition. I loved it so much that I was sad when it was over! So, I just had to start my own. It is currently in it’s second week and once again, I’m loving it! It totally has helped me shed a few pounds, be more mindful of what I eat, feel responsible, and get some support from friends to be healthier.
Here’s how it works (at least how MINE works, anyway):
So, since I’m in charge I set up a blog for our health competition, “Chunks for Change” (name courtesy of Dan Jacobs). I sent out emails to my friends and allowed them to send it to their friends. Everyone pays $20 bucks to enter, that money is sent to me and goes in the “pot”. They all had to have their money turned in by a certain date and the competition is for 10 weeks. They all became authors on the blog so everyone could post to it…tips, ideas, introduce themselves, suggestions, complaints, recipes, etc.
I sent them all a chart to keep track of their points. Each person tries to earn 10 points a day. A total of 60 a week (Sunday is a free day). The points go like this:
Healthy/Portioned Breakfast – 1 point
Healthy/Portioned Lunch – 1 point
Healthy/Portioned Dinner – 1 point
No Sweets With Sugar – 1 point
No Junky Snacks – 1 point
45 Minutes of Exercise – 2 points
Take Multi-Vitamin – 1 point
64 Ounces of Fluid (no sugar, no more than 1 can of diet-pop) – 1 point
No Food After 8:30 p.m. – 1 point
They keep track of their points everyday and email/call/text them to me on Sunday. For every day late they turn them in, they will be docked a point. I post their scores on the blog every Monday.
Sunday is a free day! So, it’s time to eat everything you have craved during the week and time to gear up for another week of being healthy.
Everyone is allowed 10 bonus points to use throughout the competition. Any unused points will be added to their final score. If they are used, it must be reported to me but nobody else will know…it keeps the winner of the competition a bit of a mystery! Whoever wins will receive 50% of the pot, 2nd place gets 30%, and 3rd gets 20%. If there are multiple winners who receive their full 60 points for all 10 weeks, the pot will just be divided amongst them.
The reason this has been so great is because not only can you try to win money, but you are motivated by having your score posted every week for everyone to see! Nobody wants to look like a bum! Also, it’s fun to have everyone be involved in the blog and post their thoughts and ideas. Obviously, this is all based on honesty so I kept the competition to people I knew well and people they knew well. However, even if someone else cheated and won all the money…you still feel like a winner because at the end of 10 weeks you have a better body and a healthier lifestyle!
If your interested in seeing better how it works, you’re welcome to spy on our health competition blog… www.chunksforchange.blogspot.com.
“Rule your mind or it will rule you.” – Horace –
Three of my best friends and I started our own fitness challenge last fall with a similar idea to yours. However, rather than points, we deposit cash into a joint savings account and we’re planning a girls only vacation the end of the year with the money. Check it out for ideas on planning your own:
http://butterflygirlsinparadise.blogspot.com/
Feel free to leave comments and/or ideas and link back to us if you start your own. We’d love to hear about it!
That is such an awesome idea!
Ok, now…THAT is simple enough and competitive enough to be fun!
This is a great website! Thanks for visiting my blog. And for the comment.
This is a great idea!
I wish I could be in your competition! I really would love to participate. You will have to keep me in mind if you start another one. I am positively addicted to carbs. I really loved your snack ideas. Thanks!
I LOVE this idea. I just ate an inappropriate number of chocolate raisins. I need an intervention.
http://damselindisdress.wordpress.com