Game On!

Okay - I've got my SP additction under control. I've basically walked away from the site. Too addictive and too time consuming for me.

So - on to my next addiction! (laughing)

I am instigating a game! I am dragging friends into a round of "Game On!" from "The Game On! Diet" by Krista Vernoff & Az Ferguson. I will journal here about how it goes. Hopefully... If I'm not too busy off bustin' my arse to kick those of my competitors!

The Game in a Nutshell:
An opening quote from the book: "And listen, you can do this. I know it's a lot of information, and it may seem like a lot of change, but I promise you, it will only take a few days - then you'll have it down and you will feel better. And when you feel better, life feels better. Seriously."
THE BASICS
Okay - so this isn't really a diet at all. It's a game. A 4-week health-improving challenge. A game that is based 100% on integrity – Be Honest or Don’t Play!* Teams need at least 2 members & a designated score keeper. It doesn't matter if you have 2 or 12 - you can be in competition because individual scores are averaged for the team. Ideally the book suggests 3-4 members on a team based on the author's experience. But that's flexible. When setting up a team seek out like-minded competitors! You may not want to mix the VERY competitive with the mellower competitors…
* Pick a Prize: we need to make "winning" worth more than bragging rights! (laughing) We will discuss prize options. It can be basic (losers take winners to a movie) or it can be creative - everyone gets together to listen to the losers recite haiku poems in praise of the winners!!! (LAUGHING) We can make this fun!! The prize does need to be something worth competing for and something that will sting a little to lose.
* Choose a "Start Date": 1 date for all teams.
* Keeping Score: There's a score sheet that I will convert to Word or Excel format for those who decide to play. A perfect-point-day is 100 points but they're not easy to get.

KEEPING SCORE
100 Point Day
- 30 Meal Points (5 meals per day, 6 points awarded per meal)
- 20 Exercise Points (some form of exercise 20 minutes a day)
- 10 Water Points (3 litres of water per day)
- 15 Sleep Points (Get at least 7 hours of sleep)
- 20 Transformation Points (10 for practicing a new healthy habit & 10 points for giving up an unhealthy habit)
- 5 Communication Points (be in contact with at least 1 team member and at least 1 competitor!)
* Exceptions: Each DAY players get 100 free calories. They can be used for anything except: alcohol, soda, diet soda. Each WEEK each player gets 1 meal off AND one day off. The meal off can be taken at any time during the week but cannot be carried over to the next week. Your "Day Off" includes a respite from the rules. The respite may be spread throughout the week (Mon is water requirement day off, Tue is habits day off, Thu is sleep day off, etc.) or you can take 1 full day off from everything.
* Bonus Points: You can earn 10 bonus points each WEEK by turning in your scores to your team's scorekeeper by a designated time (eg/ noon on Monday). The same deadline applies to all teams. AND each WEEK, a bonus equalling 20 percent of your points earned for the week is awarded for losing 1% of your body weight. (Note: if weight loss is not a goal for you, you must set yourself a fitness goal for which you will win your bonus points and inform your teammates and opponents in advance of beginning the game.)
* Penalties:
- There is a 10-point snacking penalty for snacking on ANYTHING between meals (2 exceptions - cucumber & celery. That's it.)!
- There is a 20-Point Collusion Penalty. If any player suggests to any other player a compromise of integrity (eg/saying to an opponent "If I eat a snack and you eat a snack, then we both lose points and it balances out so we don't need to fess up to anyone!" The player suggesting the compromise loses 20 points.
- There is a 25-point per portion Alcohol Penalty. A portion equals any amount of alcohol up to 6 oz of wine, 12 oz of beer or 1.5 oz of hard liquor. One portion of alcohol may be consumed with the meal off without penalty. Alcohol may be consumed freely on the day off. NOTE: If during any week a player fails to earn their weight-loss/fitness bonus, that player loses the luxury of alcohol on the day off for the rest of the game. You can still have 1 serving with your free meal without penalty. This is not to be cruel it is just indicative that the alcohol is preventing you from meeting your goals. Plus - it's only 4 weeks!
WINNING THE GAME
At the end of each week each player turns in their score to the scorekeeper. A maximum-score week equals seven 100-point days + the 20 percent weight-loss/fitness bonus + the 10-point scorekeeping bonus.
700 + 140 = 840 + 10-point scorekeeping bonus = 850
A score of 850 points is the (hard to earn!) maximum points for each week.
At the end of each week, the scorekeeper tallies the total points for the team.
The total score for the team is then divided by the number of players on the team.
Week 1 Example:
Team A has 3 players.
- Player One earns 750
- Player Two earns 850
- Player Three earns 780
750 + 850 + 780 = 2380
2380/3 = 793
Team A's total points for the week is 793.
Team B has 2 players.
- Player One earns 685
- Player Two earns 750
685 + 750 = 1435
1435/2 = 717.5
Team B's total points for the week is 717.5.
Team A was in the lead at the end of Week 1.

The weekly scores are tallied by the team scorekeepers at the end of the game and the winner will be determined.

Tie-Breaker: In the unlikely event of a tie, the book says the team with the highest number of 100-point days wins. BUT I don't think that's fair if the tied teams have a different # of members. If that happens I suggest an additional "sudden death overtime" week!

FOOD
Both F.Y.T. Foods (Flatten Your Tummy – pronounced “Fit”!) & F.L.A.B.B. Foods (Fat-Loading And Belly Bloating) are listed in the accompanying Excel spreadsheet.

Each day every player is allowed 100 free calories. This is designed to avoid the feeling of deprivation we sometimes concoct in our minds. This can be used for anything except: alcohol, soda, diet soda.

Each week every player gets one free meal that can be used at any time during the week. This meal, if not used, can NOT be carried over to the next week!

Each week every player gets one day off from the rules. The respite may be spread throughout the week (Mon is water requirement day off, Tue is habits day off, Thu is sleep day off, etc.) or you can take 1 full day off from everything.

KEEP IN MIND IT'S ONLY 4 WEEKS!!! You CAN do it if you want to. You just have to want it bad enough!

EXERCISE
A minimum of 20 minutes of exercise 6 days a week (you don’t get extra points for the 7th day but by all means grab 20 minutes of exercise that day too!) This needs to be 20 minutes of exercise that makes you breath harder than usual. You may be able to talk but you definitely shouldn’t be able to sing. Basic recommendation from the book includes 3 days of HIIT alternating with 3 days of resistance/strength training.
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training

Find some music that motivates & energizes you and load up an ipod! Feel free to do this as a team or as a whole group activity with teammates and competitors alike.

WATER
Three litres every day. Seriously! Easy as that. No soda, no diet soda. To zest it up a little add lemon or lime or mint or cucumber to your water. Herbal caffeine-free tea counts towards your water.

SLEEP
7 hours a night MINIMUM aim for 8. Seriously! Did you know: lack of sleep can increase carb cravings?

TRANSFORMATION
The goal is to get rid of one bad habit and begin a good one during this challenge. Below are some suggestions from the book of Bad & Good habits. With the good ones – you can not pick a new healthy habit that is ALREADY a part of your regular routine. And remember – PICK VERY CAREFULLY! Once you’ve picked your habits and declared them to your team there is a 50 POINT PENALTY to change your chosen habits!

BAD Habits:
Drugs Complacency Lying Negative Self-Talk
Cursing Caffine Texting While Driving Watching TV
Video Games Mindless www Surfing Internet Porn Gossip
Watching the News Ordering In Buying Bottled Water

GOOD Habits:
Take Up Cooking (@ least 1 meal/day) Organize Your House or Clear Clutter
Study a Foreign Language Learn or Practice a Musical Instrument
Rediscover Reading for Pleasure Take Up Journaling
Take Up Yoga Take Up Meditation
Floss Daily Call 3 People You Like Each Day
Be of Service to Others (do charitable work)

I've got a number of friends interested already. Can't wait to get started! I think this will be my October Challenge!

Oh there is also a list of "F.L.A.B.B." (Fat-Loaded And Belly Bloating) foods:
All fried foods
High-fat/processed meats
Anything made with refined sugar
(includes sugar, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup and sucrose)
Anything made with white flour
Butter
Margarine
Whole-fat cheese
Cream
Dried fruit/fruit juice**

Some Common Foods That Fall Into These Categories:
Baked goods
All sugary breakfast cereals
Most breakfast bars
Cakes
Candy Chocolate
Condiments(ketchup, BBQ sauce, etc.)
Cookies
Donuts
Ice cream
Pastries
Pies
Granola**
Potato chips
French fries
Fruit "drinks"
Sugar-sweetened beverages
All sodas (Coke, Crush, Ginger Ale, etc.)*
All diet sodas*
Bacon
Fast-food sandwiches and burgers
Hot dogs
Jerky
Salami
Sausage
Bologna
Chicken nuggets, strips, fingers
Fish sticks
Mayonnaise

* Not an option for your 100 calories a day
** Not junk but very high in calories

Bacon? I can't have bacon??? Whaaaaaaaaaaa!!! Okay - I'm over it. It's not really THAT bad and I must admit I've started looking around at new "stuff" at the grocery store. Wanna see the list of good foods? They're called F.Y.T. foods (pronounced Fit)(Flatten Your Tummy):

CARBS
Amaranth
Barley
Beans:
Adzuki
Black
Black-eyed
Broad
Butter
Fava
Garbanzo (chick peas)
Kidney
Lentils
Lima
Mung
Navy
Pinto
Soy
White
Bran (Whole Grain)
Bread (Whole Grain)
Buckwheat (Whole Grain)
Bulgar (Whole Grain)
Corn
Crackers (Whole Wheat)
Leek
Milk
Milk - Soy
Millet (Whole Grain)
Oatmeal (Whole Grain)
Palm Hearts
Parsnips
Pasta (Whole Grain)
Peas
Potato (Baked)
Potato (Sweet)
Pumpkin
Quinoa (Whole Grain)
Rice (Brown)
Rice (Wild)
Rye (Whole Grain)
Taro
Tortilla (Whole Grain)
Yams
Yogurt(fat-free)

CARBOHYDRATES:
Eat a fist-sized portion
from the "carbs" OR "fruit"
list with every meal.

PROTEIN
Dairy
(Low Fat or Fat Free)
Cheese:
American
Cheddar
Cottage
Cream Cheese
Feta
Mozzarella
Quark
Ricotta
Swiss
Egg Whites
Greek Yogurt
Fish
Anchovie
Catfish
Cod
Flounder
Hake
Halibut
Mackerel
Mahi Mahi
Perch
Salmon
Sardine
Snapper
Sole
Swordfish
Tilapia
Trout
Tuna
Meat (Lean Only)
Beef, Ground
Buffalo
Chicken Breast
Duck
Kangaroo
Lamb
Pork Tenderloin
Steak - Eye of Round
Steak - Flank
Steak - Top Round
Steak - Top Sirloin
Turkey Bacon
Turkey Breast
Turkey, Ground
Venison
Wild Game Meat

PROTEIN:
Eat a palm-sized
portion with every
meal.


FATS
Avacado
Egg Yolk (one)
Olives
Nut Butters:
Almond Butter
Peanut Butter
Sesame Butter
Sunflower Butter
Nuts (Dried/Raw):
Acorns
Almonds
Beechnuts
Brazilnuts
Butternuts
Cashews
Hazelnuts
Hickorynuts
Macadamias
Peanuts
Pecans
Pine Nuts
Walnuts
Seeds (Dried):
Flax
Pumpkin/Squash
Safflower
Sesame
Sunflower
Oils:
Fish Oil
Flaxseed Oil
Nut Oils
Oil Spray (Pam)
Olive Oils
Udo's Oil
Vegetable Oils

FATS:
Eat a thumb-sized
portion with every
meal.


VEGGIES
Alfalfa*
Artichoke
Asparagus*
Bamboo Shoot
Beans (Green)*
Beetroot
Broccoli*
Brussel Sprouts*
Cabbage*
Carrot
Cauliflower
Celery*
Chard (Swiss)*
Chinese Cabbage
Collards*
Cress
Cucumber*
Eggplant
Endive*
Fennel*
Gourd
Kale*
Lettuce*
Mushroom
Okra*
Onion
Peas (Snow)
Peppers
Pumpkin
Radish
Seaweed (Kelp)*
Spinach*
Squash (Summer)
Squash (Winter)
Tomatillo
Turnip
Watercress*
Zucchini*

VEGETABLES:
Add at least two
fist-sized portions
to at least 2 meals
each day. You may
eat unlimited
greens (*) with all
of your meals.


FRUITS
Apple
Apricot
Banana
Blackberry
Blueberry
Boysenberry
Cherimoya
Cherry
Clementine
Cranberry
Currant
Date
Durian
Fig
Gooseberry
Grape
Grapefruit
Guava
Huckleberry
Jack Fruit
Kiwi Fruit
Kumquat
Lemon
Lime
Loquat
Lychee
Mandarin
Mango
Melon
Mulberry
Nectarine
Orange
Papaya
Passion Fruit
Peach
Pear
Persimmon
Pineapple
Plantain
Plum
Pomegranate
Quince
Rambutan
Raspberry
Rhubarb
Starfruit
Strawberry
Tamarillo
Tangerine
Tomato
Watermelon

FRUITS:
Eat a fist-size
portion from
the "carbs" or
"fruit" list with
every meal.


SWEETNERS
Agava Nectar
Honey
Pure Maple Syrup

Use sweetners
sparingly if at all.
In relation to
calories:

1Tbsp A.N. or
honey = 2/3 of a
med-size potato

1Tbst MS =
just over 1/2 a
med-size potato

See? LOTS of options. I just have to broaden my horizons a little to shrink the horizons of my muffin-top!

So ya - in the process of mailing all this great info out to the interested parties. Should have teams forming in no time!

Ciao for now.

Time For Change

Hello, my name is Erika and I'm a SP (SparkPeople) addict.

So - here's what's triggered this round of change:
I was recently made aware that successful relationships have partners who spend time TOGETHER at least 15 hours a week. Since becoming addicted to SP my husband is being neglected. Add in a little Facebook time and my online-based mom's group and my new photography business and I am spending all my "quality time" with my computer.

When and HOW did my computer become more important than my husband?
very scary.

Time to change.

CHANGE:
* I am no longer going to be actively collecting "SparkPoints". Don't ask. It's obsessive-compulsive for me apparently!
* I am going to invest in my family. If m relationship with my husband falters because of the time I spend on the computer I am going to be SERIOUSLY embarassed and ashamed.
* I still want to lose 12.5 pounds BUT I HAVE to moderate my time on the computer.
* I will go back to jotting down my calories instead of typing in every little thing on SP. It honestly took less time.
* I will go back to blogging on my blog page! (Sad to admit that I was blogging on SP and not here...)
* I will spend at least 15 hours with my husband.
* I will focus on playing with my daughter actively.

DO NOT CHANGE:
* I will continue with SP workouts.
* I will continue doing as may QuickFire Challenges as I can.

I just need to find the balance between blogging, my on-line moms group, facebook, e-mail, SparkPeople and my new business website.
Too much time on the computer is NOT healthy and is NOT helping me work towards my fitness goals.

That is all for now. Time to go play!

PS
When I got back from Africa I was 158 pounds.
Week 1 with SparkPeople I lost 5 pounds.
Week 2 with SparkPeople I lost 0.5 pounds.

I am currently 152.5 pounds and aiming for 140 by the end of the year.

I'm Baaaaaaaack!

After a month in Africa I've got some "getting back on track" to contend with.
Sat Aug 15 I weighed in @ 156.5 pounds.

I've suckered a friend into being my "partner in crime" in getting back into the shape we know we can achieve. Here's an e-mail I sent to her last nigt. It really sums up how I'm feeling so I figured copying and pasting (with a little editing) was easier that re-drafting everything! = )

Subject: Can't Sleep So...

Apparently NOW is the time for me to get motivated! LoL Truth is I ate really well today and blew it all to hell but mindlessly stuffing cola gummies & popcorn in my mouth tonight! I'm disappointed in myself. In order to get back to a place where I'm feeling motivated and ready to get things started here's what I've done:
- I've read 6 articles on fitness motivation this evening and will be implementing some suggestions from the articles to get/stay motivated.
- I've decided that DESIRE trumps willpower. I have to WANT this badly enough to make it happen. Exerting sheer willpower is NOT the way for me to accomplish my goals.
- I've made some new motivational pictures for around my house and have already put some up on the bathroom mirror and fridge. Going to put a couple more in the hall pantry before I tuck in for the night.
- I have worked out that I need about a 625 daily calorie deficit to get to my goal in 3 months. Ideally I'm aiming to be 145 with more muscle. I really want to see some definition!
- I will continue to weight myself first thing in the morning once a week. Saturdays have been my day for a long time so I'll probably stick to that.
- I will continue to take set measurements once per month. I will be doing this on the last day of every month.
- I am going to work out at home when Kali naps. I've got plenty of time - might as well put it to good use! I'm going to focus on strength training as best I can.
- I'm going to walk at least 3x/week for 1 hour or more.
- I'm sticking to counting only calories because it works for me. I just can't bear dealing with all the breakdowns - I'm just not willing to make the time. )

The more I write here the more motivated I'm feeling.

My themes for my goals right now are:
- How Badly Do You Want It?
- It's Go Time!
- No Excuses!
- You Can Do It!
These statements are overlayed on my new motivational pictures.

I'm EXCITED!
I DO want this and I am going to succeed!

Thank you for being my partner in crime!!

XOXO
E

So there you have it. I'm feeling pretty happy about getting back on track. I'm writing down eveything I eat/drink and all exercise accomplished. I will post summaries here as I was doing before. I have a step counter and might use that just for fun to see how many steps I take in a day.