Day 18 - Maintenance

Our 12 week $25 contest ends Monday. It has been so great! I have loved these new habits in my life. I have had moments when I wanted to cry because I wanted treats so bad. But I've learned that the cravings lessen the more you resist. They don't go away, but they aren't as strong. I've also learned that if I am around treats and hungry, it pretty much sucks. If I'm around treats and not hungry, I'm fine saying no. I'll write more about what I've learned when the contest is officially over.

Now that this contest is close to the end, there are two options for a new contest. One is a support group and one is a contest. I am running the maintenance support group and my awesome friend Julie (she's in the $25 contest) is going to run a "Healthy Habits Meet Real Life" contest. I'm joining both and they both start Monday, May 11. You're all invited! If anyone is interested in this, leave a comment and you're in. The maintenance group will follow the same rules as the original contest but we will only count 25 points a week instead of 29. That way you have 4 points to use as you please during the week. Before I tell you more, here's a refresher on the rules:

The Rules
1. You get 1 point (maximum of 4 points a day) for every day that you:

a. Have a good eating day. You can define what this is for yourself. It needs to be measurable and be a challenge for you. Although this is a personal thing, I think we need a base rule:

1 point = good eating day = no treats (I read recently that if you eat treats every day they are not treats, they are habits.)

0 points = okay eating day = 1 treat small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.

-1 points = garbaged out = More than that 1 treat that will fit in the palm of your hand

In review, you get 1 point for a good eating day, 0 points for an okay day, and -1 if you garbage out. Also, a treat is not just cookies and candy, it's also chips, fries, sugary soda, buttery garlic bread, and anything you just know is not good for you.

b. Exercise for at least 30 minutes (on Sundays I think a leisurely walk counts for this).

c. Sleep 7 hours per night

d. Keep your personal daily goal. Again, I think this should be measurable and declared to all participants as a way to motivate each other and keep track of each other. For this maintenance group my personal goal will be to continue keeping a food journal and I am adding an 8:00 pm curfew on eating.

3. You get 1 bonus point per week for posting your point total on the blog by Monday at 5 pm.

4. You are honest with your competitors. At the end of twelve weeks we will evaluate and see what we want to do next.

And here's more information on each group:

Maintenance Support Group: Just contributing on the private blog has been a huge support, it's made me accountable for my habits. I want to continue this but a lot of our contest gals aren't interested in a money prize again. They just want the good vibes we get from each other. So this group will be all about cheering each other on and getting that little extra motivation from the group support. Love it!

"Healthy Habits Meet Real Life"
* Contest runs May 11 to August 16 (14 weeks)

* Follow the point rules from the original contest (above). However, although there are 29 points possible each week, we will only count up to 25.

* 2 weeks off any time you choose. At the end of the 14 week contest, I will drop your two lowest scores. [total points possible=300=25x12]

* You pay $60 up front

* Each week that you earn 25 points you get $5 back (paid at end of contest)

* Each week that you get less than 25 points, your weekly $5 goes into the winner’s pot

* At the end of the 14 weeks the winner's pot will be split: 50% to 1st place, 30% to 2nd, 20% to 3rd.

With this, there is something on the line: $60. There is competition. There is accountability. There is a good reason to keep at it every week no matter how you did the week before. At first I thought it sounded too complicated, but now I'm totally loving this idea! Thanks, Julie!

So are you in or out? We start May 11. Do it!!! You know you want to!

If you're intersted in our results, check out this link to our end of contest party!