FAQs
caradae
Posts: 743 Member
1. Do I have to lose weight in order to win The Ultimate Accountablity Challenge?
No. You just need to exercise every day, eat within your calorie budget every day, and track everything you consume every day for a month.
Occasionally, when you're trying to lose weight, you'll hit "plateaus," scientifically proven temporary stalls in weight loss wherein, no matter what you do, the scale simply won't budge downward. Plateaus don't last forever, but they can last for weeks or even months. It's especially difficult to stay on track when you know you're doing everything right, but you're not getting any praise from the scale or from the people around you because you've stopped getting smaller. The Ultimate Accountablity Challenge is for everyone, but it's especially for those who, when they're doing everything right but have hit a plateau and aren't seeing any results, need motivation to stay on track.
2. If I'm trying to maintain or gain weight, can I join The Ultimate Accountablity Challenge?
Yes. I figure most people who join this challenge will be aiming to lose weight, so the wording of the rules is geared toward them. But if you want to use this challenge to gain weight or to maintain, you're welcome to do that. You will still need to exercise, you'll need a calorie goal, you'll need to track everything you eat, and you'll need report for every day of the month.
3. What counts as exercise?
Anything, pretty much. Walking. Cleaning the house. Playing tag with the kids. This doesn't mean you should do the bare minimum every day if you're capable of much more. If you want results, you have to challenge yourself. But for the purposes of The Ultimate Accountablity Challenge, 20+ minutes of any kind of exercise will do.
4. What if I only go 5 calories overbudget? Or 1 calorie overbudget?
You've lost the challenge.
5. What if I forget to track something I've consumed, but I remember later and update my food diary?
Tracking, or keeping a food diary, is the most important part of your fitness plan. You should diligently keep track of absolutely *everything* you consume. If you're not near a computer after you've had a meal or a snack, then you should write down your caloric intake on a piece of paper and keep it with you until you can update your MFP food diary. If, for whatever reason, you forget to include something in your food diary, but you later remember, you should add the item to your food diary. If the remembered item puts you overbudget for the day, then you've lost the challenge.
6. How long will The Ultimate Accountablity Challenge be around?
I'm going to host this challenge every month until I meet my goal, which is to lose 100 pounds, and possibly longer. So, this challenge will probably run for at least two years, beginning June 2013.
7. Will you be mad at me if I "slip up" and have to be removed from the group?
No. I understand mistakes happen. The challenge is to work your fitness plan perfectly every day for a month. If you slip up for one day, you've lost the challenge. Removing you from the group isn't a punitive measure; it just helps me more easily keep track of who's still eligible to win the challenge. There's no hard feelings if you slip up. I will respect your honesty and will welcome you back with open arms if you choose to participate in future rounds of The Ultimate Accountablity Challenge.
8. What if you, caradae, slip up?
If I slip up, then I will admit my slip-up and continue to moderate the challenge without participating in it.
9. What do I get if I win the challenge?
You get the satisfaction of knowing you worked your fitness plan for a solid month. You also get your username posted in the "Winners' Circle" thread (to be posted on July 1st, when we have our first group of winners). The more months you win the challenge, the higher your username will be in the Winners' Circle.
10. What if I get sick?
If you get sick, you need to follow your doctor's orders. To remain in the challenge, you must continue to keep track of your consumed calories and check-in every day. When recovering from physcial illness, we can't always stick to our calorie goals or exercise. When you check in, state that the reason you didn't exercise or stick to your calorie goal was because of illness. If you're sick for more than 5 days during the challenge month, you're out. As much as I would like The Ultimate Accountablity Challenge to accomodate everyone, if you're frequently sick you should find a more specialized challenge.
11. Don't you think it's cruel to remove people from your group when they slip up? Isn't that when they need the group's support the most?
The Ultimate Accountablity Challenge isn't a support group; it's a challenge. There are many support groups on MFP and I encourage all participants of The Ultimate Accountablity Challenge to become members of one or two of those support groups. If The Ultimate Accountablity Challenge becomes an intregal part of your support system, 'friend' some other participants so that you can message them for support if you're ever removed from the group.
12. If I exercise a lot, can I eat more calories than what MFP budgets for me?
MFP factors your level of activity into your suggested calorie budget. If you become more active, change your MFP settings to see how many calories you should be consuming. Once you've updated your settings, inputting your new level of activity, you should consume the number of calories suggested by MFP.
If you add activities to the "exercise" tab above, MFP will increase your recommended calorie intake. You should aim to consume this new amount.
REVISED ANSWER: It's come to my attention that, when you log your exercise on MFP, the number of calories MFP says you burn is often inaccurate--that you don't burn nearly as many calories as MFP says you do. A good rule of thumb, members have found, is to report only half of the exercise you do to MFP.
No. You just need to exercise every day, eat within your calorie budget every day, and track everything you consume every day for a month.
Occasionally, when you're trying to lose weight, you'll hit "plateaus," scientifically proven temporary stalls in weight loss wherein, no matter what you do, the scale simply won't budge downward. Plateaus don't last forever, but they can last for weeks or even months. It's especially difficult to stay on track when you know you're doing everything right, but you're not getting any praise from the scale or from the people around you because you've stopped getting smaller. The Ultimate Accountablity Challenge is for everyone, but it's especially for those who, when they're doing everything right but have hit a plateau and aren't seeing any results, need motivation to stay on track.
2. If I'm trying to maintain or gain weight, can I join The Ultimate Accountablity Challenge?
Yes. I figure most people who join this challenge will be aiming to lose weight, so the wording of the rules is geared toward them. But if you want to use this challenge to gain weight or to maintain, you're welcome to do that. You will still need to exercise, you'll need a calorie goal, you'll need to track everything you eat, and you'll need report for every day of the month.
3. What counts as exercise?
Anything, pretty much. Walking. Cleaning the house. Playing tag with the kids. This doesn't mean you should do the bare minimum every day if you're capable of much more. If you want results, you have to challenge yourself. But for the purposes of The Ultimate Accountablity Challenge, 20+ minutes of any kind of exercise will do.
4. What if I only go 5 calories overbudget? Or 1 calorie overbudget?
You've lost the challenge.
5. What if I forget to track something I've consumed, but I remember later and update my food diary?
Tracking, or keeping a food diary, is the most important part of your fitness plan. You should diligently keep track of absolutely *everything* you consume. If you're not near a computer after you've had a meal or a snack, then you should write down your caloric intake on a piece of paper and keep it with you until you can update your MFP food diary. If, for whatever reason, you forget to include something in your food diary, but you later remember, you should add the item to your food diary. If the remembered item puts you overbudget for the day, then you've lost the challenge.
6. How long will The Ultimate Accountablity Challenge be around?
I'm going to host this challenge every month until I meet my goal, which is to lose 100 pounds, and possibly longer. So, this challenge will probably run for at least two years, beginning June 2013.
7. Will you be mad at me if I "slip up" and have to be removed from the group?
No. I understand mistakes happen. The challenge is to work your fitness plan perfectly every day for a month. If you slip up for one day, you've lost the challenge. Removing you from the group isn't a punitive measure; it just helps me more easily keep track of who's still eligible to win the challenge. There's no hard feelings if you slip up. I will respect your honesty and will welcome you back with open arms if you choose to participate in future rounds of The Ultimate Accountablity Challenge.
8. What if you, caradae, slip up?
If I slip up, then I will admit my slip-up and continue to moderate the challenge without participating in it.
9. What do I get if I win the challenge?
You get the satisfaction of knowing you worked your fitness plan for a solid month. You also get your username posted in the "Winners' Circle" thread (to be posted on July 1st, when we have our first group of winners). The more months you win the challenge, the higher your username will be in the Winners' Circle.
10. What if I get sick?
If you get sick, you need to follow your doctor's orders. To remain in the challenge, you must continue to keep track of your consumed calories and check-in every day. When recovering from physcial illness, we can't always stick to our calorie goals or exercise. When you check in, state that the reason you didn't exercise or stick to your calorie goal was because of illness. If you're sick for more than 5 days during the challenge month, you're out. As much as I would like The Ultimate Accountablity Challenge to accomodate everyone, if you're frequently sick you should find a more specialized challenge.
11. Don't you think it's cruel to remove people from your group when they slip up? Isn't that when they need the group's support the most?
The Ultimate Accountablity Challenge isn't a support group; it's a challenge. There are many support groups on MFP and I encourage all participants of The Ultimate Accountablity Challenge to become members of one or two of those support groups. If The Ultimate Accountablity Challenge becomes an intregal part of your support system, 'friend' some other participants so that you can message them for support if you're ever removed from the group.
12. If I exercise a lot, can I eat more calories than what MFP budgets for me?
MFP factors your level of activity into your suggested calorie budget. If you become more active, change your MFP settings to see how many calories you should be consuming. Once you've updated your settings, inputting your new level of activity, you should consume the number of calories suggested by MFP.
If you add activities to the "exercise" tab above, MFP will increase your recommended calorie intake. You should aim to consume this new amount.
REVISED ANSWER: It's come to my attention that, when you log your exercise on MFP, the number of calories MFP says you burn is often inaccurate--that you don't burn nearly as many calories as MFP says you do. A good rule of thumb, members have found, is to report only half of the exercise you do to MFP.
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Replies
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I think you might want to have a sick clause put in, because we all know life happens. I.E. my friend right now is mad cos she can't do her hip hop abs because of her knee and is put on low impact workout while fighting a bad case of sinusitis.0
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That's a really good idea, armywf07. I hadn't thought of that.0
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I'm totally new to all this but it sounds like a good idea to keep people motivated ! will be hard getting to add on everything I eat every day for the month but I suppose it is the only way to do things0
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I'm totally new to all this but it sounds like a good idea to keep people motivated ! will be hard getting to add on everything I eat every day for the month but I suppose it is the only way to do things
you can down load the my fitness pal app for your phone to help track your food and work outs0 -
DO I have to eat back my earned calories0
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DO I have to eat back my earned calories
I'm not sure what you're asking. Are you asking: If you exercise and burn off a lot of calories, should you eat more calories?0 -
yes, sorry,0
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Margie,
Whatever calories MFP tells you to eat, your level of activity is factored into it.
When I first signed up for a MFP account, it asked me to declare my normal level of activity (I chose sedentary). From there, MFP determined how many calories I should be eating.
If you're more active on certain days than on others, play around with your MFP settings to see how much you should eat on more active days and how much you should eat on less active days.
So, short answer: Yes, you should eat calories you've earned from exercising. But make sure MFP hasn't already included those calories in the budget MFP gives you.0 -
thank you. want to get every thing right. so serious now.0
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I think we should have a recipe section for this challenge...what do you all think?0
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yes,0
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That's a great idea. Can you start a thread? I'm still new to MFP and figuring out what all I, and others, can do.0
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When you log in do you see my log in sheet? JUst wanted to know. still stuck at the the same place on the place on the scale.
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SD,
You've friended me, so I can see your updates.
The 15-pound mark is where a lot of people get stuck for a while. If it's a plateau, you'll push past it after a while.
Make sure you're eating healthy foods and eating within your calorie goal. And definitely, definitely exercise.
Until your weight loss kicks in again, celebrate. 15 pounds! New pant size!0 -
I read everthing...but I have a question (maybe it was written yet, but I didn't understand):
If my calories goal day is 1200...and I consume 200 calories trough exercise..Can I eat 1300 calories or I will be out?0 -
Cliente,
You can add your exercise to the "exercise" tab of MFP, and it's my understanding that the calories you "earn" by listing your exercise are automatically added to the amount of calories you should be eating.
For example:
Before adding any exercise, MFP says you should eat 1700 calories.
After adding your exercise, MFP says you should eat 2000 calories.
Eat the 2000 calories.
Eat whatever MFP says you should eat.0 -
Thank you! I didn't understand it..but now it's ok !
I can't wait the start tomorrow 0
