Here It Is!

You are invited to compete in a Holiday Weight Challenge.

This will start before Halloween and end the Sunday before Christmas (8 weeks total.) The overall goal is to maintain weight or have mild weight loss, essentially avoiding the dreaded weight gain over the holiday season.

Details are as follows:

*$25 entry fee. Money (cash is preferred) is to be turned in to Tara or Jo the first week of competition.

*Start Date is Monday October 28th. Weigh in on that day! Remember to not try and fudge the numbers by consuming excess food and/or salt the night before. Let’s compete fairly.

*Last Day is December 23rd. Weigh in on that day, too!

*Contact/data person is @ tara_zettel@hotmail.com.

*An optional table to keep track of points available upon request (email Tara.) You can keep track of points any way you want.

*Turn in point total to Tara via email weekly. If counting a verse point, include which verse was memorized.

*At the end, also turn in your weight data - whether you either gained or lost/maintained throughout the challenge.

*Winners: TBA – two $ prizes for most # of points and for those who don’t gain weight.

*Facebook Group – will continue with secret Facebook Group. If you join the challenge, we will add you. Great threads on there about discretionary calories, great recipes too. It is a place to get to know the other competitors!

*Previous challenge details, fyi regarding whole grains and other great health info: www.healthchallenge13.blogspot.com

Challenge Rules: How to Accumulate Points

To Earn Daily Points:

1. Keep a food journal. The journal does not have to include calorie counts (but you can if you want, see Discretionary Calories) but does have to include portions, ie: ½ cup skim milk, 1 small white bun, 3 oz deli ham, 6 oz merlot, 2 cups greens with 2 tbsp reduced fat ranch dressing, etc… . Journal may be on paper or online. Point is earned daily by keep an accurate journal.

2. Eat 1 cup fruit and 2 cups vegetables minimum every day. Starchy veggies are corn, potatoes (regular and sweet), peas, and squash. These can be eaten as 3 cups total as veggies per week (as in you can have a potato every day, but only 3 cups can be logged as veggies in this challenge.) The rest needs to be non-starchy veggies. Vegetables can be fresh, frozen, or canned; fruit can be fresh, frozen, canned, or dried. 100% fruit juice allowed as 1 cup per week. One point daily.

3. Bible Study: 15 minutes per day spent on: reading the Bible or a Bible-based study, prayer journaling, or in prayer. One point daily.

4. Exercise: 3 days cardio, 2 days strength training, 2 days of rest. You choose the day to do each activity. Must be at least 30 minutes of actual activity, not including warm up or cool down. Cardio: biking, running, Zumba, elliptical, walking, etc. Strength: weights, pilates, resistance bands, exercises using your body (push-up, pull-ups, lunges, etc.) Gardening, cleaning your home, etc does not count as exercise. Exercise may be broken into 2 – 15 minute periods, etc. One point daily. Rest days are free points days.

5. Discretionary calories: Budget for discretionary calories is 150 calories per day, or 1050 a week. Keep track of these. Can not be banked beyond the week. You do not need these calories, but earn points by not going over. If you go over, you do not get the weekly points. Worth 7 points per week. See separate post on Discretionary Calories.

6. Extra credit: Points may be earned by memorizing Bible verses throughout the challenge. One point per verse, up to 5 verses/points total (about one every two weeks.) This is up and beyond the 15 minutes of Bible Study/Prayer daily. See separate post on Bible Memorization.

Sample Table

Here is the sample table, available by emailing Tara.

Discretionary Calories

Discretionary calories are defined as any calories that have no nutritious value. They are the extras.

These include desserts and junky snacks, but also honey, jelly, ketchup, mayo, salad dressing – all those extra things we put on food to dress it up.

You are allowed 150 of these calories every day, or 1050 per week. These can not be banked beyond the week.

Keeping an accurate food journal will help you be aware of these items.

While overall calorie count is not required for all food, accurate count of these calorie accumulations is. See Food Journal/Shameless Plug.

Here are a few sample portions that would equal 300 calories: 2 chocolate chip cookies, 5 Oreo’s, normal sized candy bars ~ 220 cals, 2 little bags of chips, 2 Regular Coke’s.

Here is a list of discretionary calories items, BLACK LIST:

• Cookies
• cake
• chips
•  ice cream
• regular pop
• Koolaid
• Frosting
• donuts
• honey
• sugar  
• jam
• coffee cream
• sour cream
• Mayo
• alcohol
• whip cream
• ketchup
• bbq sauce
• teriyaki sauce
• butter
• margarine
• choc syrup
• candy
• bacon
• salami, summer sausage
• Cool whip, whipping cream
• chocolate
• choc chips
• pancake syrup
• margarine
• bologna
• pastries
• cinnamon and caramel rolls
• pie
• brownies/bars
• salad dressings (exception:vinegar/olive oil dressing)
• croutons
• sugar cereal
• pizza rolls, french fries, onion rings, mozza sticks, tator tots, store bought hash browns
• Cheesecake
• most crackers*

*Wheat Thins and Triscuits are made with whole grain, ok crackers
Discretionary Gray List (Use in moderation, partial nutrition, high fat):

Pepperoni Pizza, use thin crust

Hot Dogs (look for lower fat versions, without sulfates/sulfites)

Boxed dinners (look for 0 trans fat)

Fish Sticks, Frozen Meals

White bread, buns

Sugar free jello, SF pudding, SF frozen yogurt, other SF products

Bible Memorization

Since this is an overall Health Challenge in the midst of the busiest time of year, a time whose true purpose is gratitude and faith, but can really turn into selfishness and consumerism, we are proposing an extra credit assignment, memorizing Bible verses.

This can be either separate verses or whole passages of Scripture. This should not be used as a refresher course on verses you already have learned or are super familiar with, but ones you have never committed to memory.

If you are not sure where to start, here are some good passages that may inspire you, to remind you the Reason for the Season!

Isaiah 9:1-7 – Prediction of Christ’s birth
Luke 2: 8-18 – Mary’s Song
Luke 2:9-18 – Angel appearing to shepherds
Isaiah 61:1-11 – Christ’s ministry
Matthew 5:1-10 – Beatitudes
Philippians 3:1-11 – Jesus’ example of humility
Psalm 16, 23, 46, 100, 103, 139 – Good Stuff!
Philippians 3:12-21 – Pressing on toward the goal

Again, you can memorize more than five, but only accumulate 5 extra points. Time spent memorizing does not count toward the 15 minute daily Bible study, this is extra credit, up and beyond.

Food Journal/Shameless Plug

LoseIt.com is a great online food journal site. There is a mobile app as well that has all kinds of foods and calories in its bank.

 

 

 

http://www.loseit.com/