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.

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?
If, for any 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 be mindful of your fitness plan 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 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, which is posted toward the beginning of every month. 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?
Your calorie goal, and calorie adjustments, are entirely up to you.

13. Is there a minimum calorie goal?
Yes and no. If your diet dictates you should fast once a week, I won't remove you from the group. But if I perceive that you're using my group to damage your body (for instance, if your calorie goal is regularly at anorexic levels), then I will remove you from the group. I don't want the group to become a tool for people who want to harm themselves.

14. Is there a maximum calorie goal?
No. But keep in mind that if you're trying to lose weight, you should choose a calorie goal that will enable you to achieve that.

15. Can my calorie goal change from day to day?
Yes. It just can't change from hour to hour. In the morning, pick a calorie goal. If you exceed your goal during the day, you're out.

16. Do I have to friend you, caradae?
No.

17. If I friend you, will you follow my feed and post encouraging messages to me?
I would love to, but probably not. Updating the group takes a lot of my time, and I don't have much of it to begin with.

18. I friended you and I noticed you don't track your calories on MFP. Why?
I keep track of my calories and exercise on paper, an option I extend to all challenge participants. We're all on the honor system.

19. What is the end goal of this challenge?

The end goal of the challenge is to have stayed mindful of your diet/exercise plan for a month. The goal isn't to starve yourself for 31 days and to gym out every day--you can give yourself days off by setting your calorie budget high and by doing light housework for exercise. By having to come here every day and say, in front of the group, "Yes, I was active today, and, yes, I'm aware of what I ate today," you're ensured two things: 1. that you will have to be mindful of what you're putting into your body and the exercise you're feeding it all month long, and 2. that you will have an audience, which is something many people (myself included) need in order to stay on track.

20. It's 7:00 a.m. and I see people checking in for the current day. Isn't that against the rules?

There are a few legitimate reasons why people might be checking in "early": 1.) They live in a different area of the world. Your 7:00 a.m. might be their 7:00 p.m. 2.) They have a different sleep schedule. Maybe they work overnight and 7:00 a.m. is what they consider to be the end of their day.