Tuesday, September 2, 2014

The Five Factor Challenge

I've organized a fun health challenge based on various ones I've seen online. Here are the details for anyone who is interested or wants to join! It runs for six weeks, and we will do several rounds if the interest is there.

The Five Factor Challenge

Factor One: Exercise (20pts)
You have to do 20 minutes of exercise a day. It has to be intentional, nonstop exercise. Grocery shopping at Costco, while a marathon, cannot count. A 20 minute walk in the neighborhood in the evening does.

Factor Two: Nutrition (40pts)
Select any diet plan you choose. Then follow it. You can do weight watchers, calorie counting, my fitness pal, gluten-free, carb free-whatever. It just has to be a change for the healthier from the way you normally eat.

Factor Three: Hydration (10pts)
You must drink 3 L of water a day, this is six water bottles, for those who hate math. It's a lot, but it's amazing how much better your body feels and your skin looks!

Factor Four: Rest (10pts)
Try to get at least 7 hours of sleep per night. If you can't fall asleep, you can lay in bed and meditate. If you have to get up and tend a child in the middle of the night, this does not count against you, assuming you go back to bed when they do. If necessary, you can use naps to make up your seven hours. You just need to give your body at least seven hours of rest within a 24 hour period.

Factor Five: Healthy Habits (20pts)
Choose one bad habit to stop, or one good habit to start during the six weeks. Bad habits to stop could include eating late at night, or limiting TV. Good habits to start might include journal writing, scripture study, etc.

That's a total of 100pts per day. You get one free day for each of the categories, but can take each one on a different day. Every category except Nutrition is a total loss of points if not completed. For Nutrition, deduct 5 points every time you eat outside your nutrition plan. If calorie counting, that's 5pts per 100 calories over your goal.

In order to play I am asking that everyone toss $15 into the pot, so you have some skin in the game (but if you really want to play but can't come up with the cash, don't worry about it, just let me know). I will hold the cash 'in escrow' if you will, until the end of the game, when the entire total of the entry fees will be divided into three winners, or more if there are ties in any of the winning categories. The three ways to win are
1) Transformation (highest percent of body weight lost)
2) Dedication (highest overall score combining all the points from six weeks)
3) Fitness Guru (logged the most number of exercise minutes)

Every Monday use the link below to the game google doc to report your score by noon. There are separate tabs for the weight loss and exercise competitions, if you are competing in those by logging percent lost and exercise minutes.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PhUnZUvjs_x6Yaxn5apxeZ8slD0pgKakrTHWxMYeIU0/edit?usp=docslist_api

To start, record your plan in the google doc and give me the $15 bucks for the pot the next time you see me! You can also send it via paypal, message me for a PM with my paypal email address. Be aware that paypal has a 3% fee for non business transactions, so it would be like, $15.50. 

Letty