Thursday, March 14, 2013

Let's Get Healthy! - Weight Loss Support Group Info & Sign Ups

I have been running a weight loss group on another site since 2007. That site has some server issues and randomly goes down for days at a time so I would like to move my group elsewhere. Also, because of the nature of the site, it's hard to get a lot of participants and I'm hoping to expand the group greatly. This phase is my attempt to move the blog over to this site... I think I finally have all of the information figured out, so here you go... Let me know if you have any questions and I really hope you'll consider participating!!!

LET'S GET HEALTHY! - 2013: PHASE 2
March 31st to June 15th
(12 weeks)

PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS: 
  1. If you're interested in participating, please fill out the sign up form posted below in full.
  2. If you wish to sign up for the Monetary Motives (MM) portion of the phase (which is NOT mandatory), please send your $10 MM participation entry fee to me via PayPal to crystal@crysrochelle.com. Please make sure this entry fee is marked as Personal/Gift so that no fees are taken out. Your participation fee is due no later than March 30th at 11:59 pm CDT. (If you do not have a PayPal account, please contact me at the email address listed above and we can work something out.)
  3. An email will be sent out to all participants on March 23rd which will give one week for a response. This email will request your starting weight for the phase. If you are participating in the MM portion, it will also request a picture of your feet on a scale taken no earlier than March 23rd and no later than March 30th. This photo will not be shared. I will be the only one who sees it.
  4. An email will be sent on Saturday nights or Sunday mornings to all participants. This email will include the challenges for the week along with a request for a weigh in. No pictures are needed for these emails.
  5. An email will be sent out to all participants on June 15th which will give one week for a response. This email will request your final weight for the phase. If you are participating in the MM portion, it will also request a picture of your feet on a scale taken no earlier than June 8th and no later than June 15th. This photo will not be shared. I will be the only one who sees it.
  6. Winners will be announced on my blog on June 22nd.
MONETARY MOTIVES: 
For some people, the option of winning some money motivates them. I know money always motivates me. This phase of Let's Get Healthy!, we're going to have monetary prizes. If you decide to participate, you must send in a $10 participation entry fee. The size of the overall "pot" depends on the number of people participating. There will be six prizes and they will be awarded like this:
  1. The participant with the highest percentage of weight loss will win 30% of the pot. 
  2. Each weekly challenge that a participant completes and has documented proof (blog entry or photo, if needed) will give him/her one entry in a drawing to win 15% of the pot. 
  3. Every participant that weighs in each week of the phase without missing any weeks will be entered in a drawing to win 15% of the pot.
  4. Each participant whose final weight is lower than their beginning weight for the phase will be entered in a drawing to win 15% of the pot.
  5. Everyone who submits a personal phase challenge at the beginning of the phase and completes his/her personal challenge by the end of the phase will be entered in a drawing to win 15% of the pot.
  6. For every new participant to the challenge, one entry will be given to the participant who referred the new person. This drawing will be for 10% of the pot.
    PHASE BUDDIES: 
    For the first phase of 2013, I introduced Phase Buddies. When you sign up, you have the option of requesting a buddy. During the twelve week phase, you will be assigned two buddies: one for the first six weeks and one for the last six weeks. If you are so inclined, you can continue communicating with your first phase buddy throughout the entire phase.

    PHASE 2 CHALLENGES:
    For each week in the phase, there are two challenges – one for mental health and one for physical health. At the beginning of each week, I will send out an email with the challenges for that week. You don’t have to complete the challenge, but if you’re participating in MM each completed challenge is worth one point towards the final drawing. There will be a link to a web form where you can provide proof that the challenge has been completed. Examples of types of proof can be a blog entry written about the challenge, or a photo of you completing the challenge, or even just typing out a description of your completion of the challenge. Each challenge is worth one point towards the final challenge drawing.

    Week One (March 31st to April 6th): 
    • Mental/Emotion: Get enough rest. Most people need at least seven or eight hours of sleep per night for optimal functionality. Getting enough sleep also aids in weight loss. 
    • Physical/Nutrition: Drink enough water. Most people don’t drink enough water. Water is very important to your physical self. Use this calculator to determine how much water you should drink each day. 
    Week Two (April 7th to April 13th): 
    • Mental/Emotion: Do a good deed. Whether this be paying for the coffee for the person behind you at Starbucks or just opening doors for people. Do something kind for someone else.
    • Physical/Nutrition: Count your calories. Use a paper and pen. Use MyFitnessPal.com or SparkPeople.com. Count your calories all week and decide where you could cut some (if necessary). 
    Week Three (April 14th to April 20th): 
    • Mental/Emotion: Make leisure time a priority. Take one day this week and make it be all about you. Do your favorite things. Read a book. Take a bath. Limit your duties and try your best to relax.
    • Physical/Nutrition: Try a new healthy recipe. Find a new recipe online, in a cookbook, or from a friend. Make it. Did your family like it? Would you make it again? Could you alter it to make it even better or healthier? 
    Week Four (April 21st to April 27th): 
    • Mental/Emotion: Complete a puzzle. Whether it is Sudoku, a crossword, or an actual puzzle, working your mind helps improve mental health. 
    • Physical/Nutrition: Try a new exercise. We usually find an exercise we like doing and stick with it. Once your body is used to doing the same exercises all the time, you may hit a plateau. Switch it up. Try something new. Never done yoga before? Try it. Never taken a Zumba class before? Do it.
    Week Five (April 28th to May 4th): 
    • Mental/Emotion: Meditate. Meditation has been proven to help your mental health. Sit in a quiet place and relax. Take a bath and get lost in deep calming thoughts. Lie in your bed and concentrate on your breathing. 
    • Physical/Nutrition: Eat in. Do not eat out at all this week. Cook at home. Restaurants have been known to have “portion distortion” which means that serving sizes have gotten too large. Foods that are found in fast food joints or sit-down restaurants can be healthy, but eating at home is usually healthier. 
    Week Six (May 5th to May 11th): 
    • Mental/Emotion: Do something crafty. Being creative is good for your mind. Use your brain and make something. Whether this is a scrapbook page, a do-it-yourself project, something with your children, or taking photographs, just use your mind to create something awesome.
    • Physical/Nutrition: Participate in a group sport. This doesn’t mean you have to join a team. Just do something that requires other people. Play a game of basketball with your friends or children. Get out a soccer ball and kick it around with some friends. Play a game of catch with someone. Do some type of sport-related exercise with someone else. 
    Week Seven (May 12th to May 18th): 
    • Mental/Emotion: Organize something. Organization can greatly help to reduce stress. Choose something in your home that needs organized and then organize it.
    • Physical/Nutrition: Follow nutritional guidelines. Check out the most recent dietary guidelines and try to follow along with them. 
    Week Eight (May 19th to May 25th): 
    • Mental/Emotion: Love yourself. Having good self-esteem is great for your mind and your emotions. Think about yourself and choose your five favorite things about you. Try to have a positive self-esteem the entire week. Don’t put yourself down. 
    • Physical/Nutrition: Dance. Dancing is good for both physical and mental health. Blare some music and dance around your house. Take a dance class or a dance lesson. Do something relating to dance this week. 
    Week Nine (May 26th to June 1st): 
    • Mental/Emotion: Go outside. Pick one day this week and go outside. Just spend some time outside. Garden. Relax in a hammock. Sit on your porch and watch people as they go by. Lie on a blanket in the grass and read a book. Play with your children.
    • Physical/Nutrition: Cut unnecessary calories. Pick one thing in your diet that is causing you to consume unnecessary calories (soda, chocolate, condiments, etc) and cut it out of your diet this week. 
    Week Ten (June 2nd to June 8th): 
    • Mental/Emotion: Create a list. Make a detailed list for the following week. Choose what workouts you will do on what days. Lay out a meal plan for each of your meals. Give your brain a break next week, and think about these things a week early. 
    • Physical/Nutrition: Try as many different workouts as you can. For each different workout you complete this week, you will get one point into the drawing. You have to complete at least 20 minutes of each workout. You cannot duplicate any workout. 
    Week Eleven (June 9th to June 15th): 
    • Mental/Emotion: Spend time with others. Being with loved ones helps improve both your mental and your emotional well-being. Spend some time with those you love. Go on a date night with your significant other. Take a child in your life to a children’s movie or event. Have a girl’s/guy’s night with your pals.
    • Physical/Nutrition: Think outside the box. Try a type or ethnicity of food that you would normally never eat. Never eaten sushi? Try it. Thinking about eating Thai? Do it. Have a recipe for something you’ve never eaten? Make it. 
    Week Twelve (June 16th to June 22nd): 
    • Mental/Emotion: Stay away from technology for 24 hours. Choose a day and unplug from technology for a full 24 hours; no Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, blogging, etc. Try to avoid television, movies, and music as well. Spend quality time with your family or friends. 
    • Physical/Nutrition: Participate in the Let’s Get Healthy – 2013: Phase 2 Virtual 5K. This will be a 5K that can be ran or walked however and wherever you like. I am working on some possible prizes for those who participate. A sign up form will be available soon.
    PLEASE ADD CRYSTAL@CRYSROCHELLE.COM TO YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS BOOK OTHERWISE IT'S HIGHLY LIKELY MY EMAILS WILL GO TO YOUR JUNK FOLDER. THANK YOU!

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