Lucky 13 Challenge
Anybody up for a challenge?
I talked about starting a challenge awhile ago but never got around to actually nailing down the proposal. That sort of procrastination helps keep me overweight. Truly. I'm in need of some forced (and maybe fun) structure. I think a number of us aren't where we want to be weight/health wise, so I'm proposing a 13-week challenge designed to build sustainable habits. To make it more fun/interesting, there will be a points system. Here's the proposal:
- Pick three goals that you commit to doing for three weeks. Your goals should improve your physical or mental well-being. Think about where you're struggling (food, activity, spirituality, sleep, community/family engagement, stress etc.)
- This Friday, post your three goals to this thread. You'll earn one point per week (up to three points) for successfully executing each goal.
- At the end of three weeks, you'll pick three new goals. You can repeat the same goals BUT YOU CANNOT DECREASE A PREVIOUSLY STATED GOAL. Example: If you've said you're going to get activity five days/week, you can't lower that to four days per week. (Illness/injury are exceptions.) This rule is in place to help us develop sustainable habits.
- You'll self report each Friday on this thread, and a running total for each participant will be posted.
- There will be bragging rights for the highest scorers and accrued well-being for all who participate. 😊
- We'll do the challenge for thirteen weeks ending the Friday before Labor Day. So, there will be four three-week blocks and one wildcard week.
Let me know if you're interested. I'm open to modifications to make this more fun/interesting.
Looking forward to ending summer feeling accomplished!
Emmie
Replies
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I love it. Count me in!
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Good challenge. I would be in it for accountability not for bragging rights as everyone will be doing the best they can.
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I’m in. A good summer challenge
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Three weeks is a long time for me to keep something at the front of my mind. That will be a challenging part of the challenge, which, of course, is the point. 👍️
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@Brian_19 Brian, I'm right there with you on the ability to stay focused. I feel like three weeks is a sweet spot, though. One week goals just weren't sticking for me. And I'd find myself mid-week contemplating how I was going to change them the following week. This time, I'm going to carefully pick goals that I can build on. I want to "feel" the stretch of the goals without feeling pain.
I'm really looking forward to this. Slow and steady is what I need to get back to.
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I love the idea. The only concern, for me, is that my goals are likely to be the same ones each week (which are really my standard "everyday" goals). I know that if I can execute on those goals, I will be in a better place. Maybe it's not a bad thing to "fess-up" about how I am not hitting my personal goals every week?
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Steve, repeating the same three goals each three-week period is fine as long as you don't decrease any of them. I'm hoping that thinking about small things in three-week increments will help me have more sticktoitiveness or help me understand why I keep struggling so that I can tweak things based on that insight.
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My three goals for the next three weeks are:
- Track all food/drink every day.
- Get in bed by midnight two nights/week. If I can't sleep, I'm allowed to read a book. No screens.
- Thirty minutes of exercise two days per week.
These are minimums. #2 will be the hardest, by far, for me.
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OK, here it goes! My three goals are:
- Limit alcohol to Friday night through Saturday night, with exceptions for going out to events or get-togethers
- Cut out snacking on the couch while watching TV (no-calorie drinks are allowed)
- Run Sunday-Friday, rainy days excepted
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Steve, I meant to make a comment to you about bourbon. I don't really like it, but it's always available in our house, so I had some two nights last week to relax. Both times, within an hour, I was craving snacks like crazy. That doesn't happen with my normal vodka/soda. So my theory is bourbon causes the munchies. 😁
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Log all my foods no matter how many points they may be for accountability.
Drink 24 oz plain water each day which I don't drink enough of,along with my coffee's and diet soda's
Stretch every day which I should be doing for my body to function properly.
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OK I see several good suggestions on the list so here goes for week 1.
- Take a walk of at least 1000 steps (weather permitting)
- restart my PT stretches for my neck and hip
- limit my YouTube time to 1 hour per day
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It's a challenging time to start because I'm heading out this morning for a week-long family visit. But here goes …
- Stretching every day;
- No eating after 8 pm; and
- Snack calories <250 kcal/day*
* I tried this one a few weeks ago and it did not go well - much harder than anticipated!
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- Food track at least five days per week
- 20 minutes cycling ( indoor or outdoor) five days per week
- Eat at least 30 grams of fiber three days per week
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I love the diversity in the goals! Hope everyone has the week they intend!
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Here's my Friday update:
It was a pretty good fail of a week. I did not hit my goals to limit snacking and alcohol. The only thing I did sort-of well in is hitting my exercise goal, so I'll give myself 1 point this week. I'm going to stick with the same three goals:
- Limit alcohol to Friday night through Saturday night, with exceptions for going out to events or get-togethers
- Cut out snacking on the couch while watching TV (no-calorie drinks are allowed)
- Run Sunday-Friday, rainy days excepted
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logged food
Drank 24oz or more of plain water
Each day done my stretches.
Done well 3 points this week
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I earned two points . . . but barely. I tracked all week. I didn't eat in a deficit, but that wasn't part of my goal.
I got in bed by midnight twice. I had hoped to knock that out early in the week and build on it, but I was down to the wire.
No exercise this week.
Same goals for two more weeks.
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Hit all 3 goals this week—-food tracking, exercise and fiber intake
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OK last weeks goals
- Take a walk of at least 1000 steps (weather permitting)
- restart my PT stretches for my neck and hip
- limit my YouTube time to 1 hour per day
Points earned 0 No excuses just did not do it
This weeks goals the same as last week!
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(1) Stretching every day;
(2) No eating after 8 pm; and
(3) Snack calories <250 kcal/day*
I knew this week would be extra challenging because we were on the road and having fun visiting family all along the way. I didn't track, but I did eat consciously. It could have been better, but I'm ok with ending the week with a .6 lb weight gain. It will get better!
On my goals …
- Item one was a total washout. No stretching, no excuse.
- Items two and three … I'm deeming them both wins. One evening, I enjoyed my hometown's nationally renowned ice cream, but that was 100% planned and part of my day's itinerary, and, to be honest, that's not at all the sort of thing I'm seeking to eliminate as a bad habit. Otherwise, being busy and being on the road mostly helped me. I did not feel the urge to snack, and it was impossible to graze my kitchen pantry when it was 100s of miles away. 😁
Same goals this week. I'll be back to tracking and working out starting today.
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Here's my Friday update:
I had high-hopes at the beginning of the week, though snacking was a bit of an issue. By mid-week I was doing great and hitting all of my goals, only to have it fall apart last night. In my defense, it was a little stressful hearing about the Israeli strikes on Iran and wondering when the response was going to come. I've got to figure out a way to deal with stress better, other than alcohol and food! I did speak to my daughter and son-in-law in Jerusalem, and they are doing fine and in good spirits.
I'm giving myself 1 point for sticking with my running, but no points for the other two goals.
I'm going to stick with the same three goals again this week:
- Limit alcohol to Friday night through Saturday night, with exceptions for going out to events or get-togethers
- Cut out snacking on the couch while watching TV (no-calorie drinks are allowed)
- Run Sunday-Friday, rainy days excepted
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Steve, I can't imagine that sort of stress as you're about to embark on your move. Glad to hear your family is safe.
I earned a big ZERO this week despite having high hopes and good intentions. This was a bittersweet week. We were out of town for my niece's wedding. It was perfect in every way. I could give myself credit for one day of 30 minutes of exercisie due to all the dancing I did. I was sore and exhausted in the best possible way. Unfortunately as we were packing to go to the wedding, we learned my uncle had died. We'd been expecting that news for a few days, but the speed of his decline was a gut punch. He was truly one of the best people in the world. The family gathering/funeral was beautiful. The day after the funeral, I was awakened by a text asking if I could go to the hospital to be with a friend who was likely going to get a difficult cancer diagnosis. We were still out of town, so I couldn't. Four days later, there's no definitive answer, but things are not looking good.
So, I've been distracted and am weary from the 1400+ miles of driving we did. That said, I'm still feeling good about the challenge. Everything that happened the past few days has been a good reminder that my health should be a priority.
Same goals this week:
- track food every day
- 30 minutes of exercise twice a week
- In bed by midnight with no screen time if I wake up
Wishing everything a focused week!
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Hit all 3 goals this week—-food tracking, exercise and fiber intake
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Last weeks goals
- Take a walk of at least 1000 steps (weather permitting)
- restart my PT stretches for my neck and hip
- limit my YouTube time to 1 hour per day
OK I will give myself 1 point for consistent daily walks (6 out of 7 days). No points for stretching or limiting my YouTube time. So I will keep the same goals for this week, and try adding in one new one of tracking!
This weeks goals then are!
- Take a walk of at least 1000 steps (weather permitting)
- restart my PT stretches for my neck and hip
- limit my YouTube time to 1 hour per day
- Track 5 out of 7 days
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@whathapnd My condolences to you and family on the passing of your uncle.
This week was a sressful week ended up in the ER due to dizziness.
logged food - I wasn't diligent with it.
Drank 24oz or more of plain water - Not every day,especially that I was dehydrated.
Each day done my stretches.- Did most days.
No points this week.
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(1) Stretching every day;
(2) No eating after 8 pm; and
(3) Snack calories <250 kcal/day*
Week 2 report:
- All three goals met on 2 days;
- Stretching only on 3 days;
- No goals met on 2 days.
Overall, not so good and pretty much unfocused.
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Ok gang, with the exception of Tim, we're all struggling a bit. The point of this challenge is to acknowledge, out loud, what we want/need to do to lose weight/have better health in hopes of having that acknowledgement spur action.
Don't let last week bring you down. Let's get after it this week!
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I made my goals the first month easily doable. Because we add more next month and continue with the first month, I will boost the difficulty a notch….Tim
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Hi Tim. You don't have to keep the same goals when the switch up comes and just add to them. You can pick three new ones, keep the exact same ones, keep a couple and switch one, etc. The only think you can't do is decrease one of your current goals. My thinking in making that rule was to have us be reasonable from the outset and to try to slowly build tougher goals. Hope that makes sense. I admire your 2025 consistency!
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