First Day Out of the Way!

I hope everyone had a great first day! Let us know how it went on the Facebook group!

This week, we want to just focus on getting our feet wet. Hopefully after this week, we'll all find out some of our strengths and weaknesses and where we need to focus. I'm hoping it will be a big learning week and want everyone to ask as many questions as possible!

For those of you who are new to the challenge, PLEASE don't get overwhelmed or fall behind! If you're unsure about how anything works, please ask!! And for those who did it last time, feel free to answer any questions or offer any suggestions. I know there's no way to make a perfect system for everyone, but we want to try to come close!

So, if you're already feeling a little lost or overwhelmed, here's what to expect/work on in a nutshell:
*The overall purpose is for each person to reach their goal weight. Make sure it's a feasible number to reach 9 weeks from today! As we've said a few different places, healthy weight loss is 1-2 lbs./week. This means that maximum, you should aim to lose 18 lbs. in 9 weeks. Don't make your goal unattainable! We want this to be HEALTHY weight loss! 

*You can earn points using the point system posted. If more than one person reaches their goal weight (as with what happened last time), the winner will be determined by the person with the most points. Every point counts, so make sure you understand how it works! A few clarifications about the points:

• You don't have to be perfect or follow our menus to get a point. If you're a person who normally drinks 5 sodas a day but today you only had one today, give yourself a point-you're obviously trying and improving! Just make sure you're being fair and honest about how you're doing!
• Although MyFitnessPal is the requirement, if you don't have access to it, you can still get a point if you keep some sort of food journal, but it needs to be measurable (don't just keep a mental note!)! If you don't know how to use MFP, here are the basics.
• You an only get up to 3 points a week for exercise. You can exercise as much as you want, but you can only count 3 points for it.
• You can only get 3 points per week for your weekly goals as well. Post your goals on he FB group at he beginning of the week to get support from the group and help keep them fresh in your mind. A great idea that was brought up last time is to post the point system and your weekly goals somewhere where you'll see them often. For info on how you can track your points, click here.
• Every Sunday is point day! You're responsible for tracking and submitting your points. No later than midnight on Sunday.

Those are the basics. We'll all learn more as time goes on, but that's what we want everyone to focus on getting used to this week.

Also, we're still in the planning phase of some areas, one being the weekly themes and guest hosts/writers. If there's anything you're interested in sharing (whether its something you're passionate about like exercise or something you struggle with like planning), let us know ASAP! We want everyone to contribute so please volunteer! (Or we'll hunt you down like we've already done with some of you! ;))

Please let Natalie or me know if you have any questions!!