February Health Challenge

Today marks the last day of the January Health Challenge. I asked participants to respond to a few questions and I received some good responses which I will include/incorporate into the next challenge!

• What worked for you?

Overall, the daily accountability helped most of the people that responded to the questions.

~Definitely liked the check ins every day!

~It really helped having to check in and out.

~I like the accountability of checking in and out. 

~I liked everything about it.  It held me accountable to a food plan when I ordinarily would have justified over indulgences due to the amount of cardio I do. … I would say that having accountability for the water intake helped me most to increase H2O on a regular basis. It kept me mindful throughout the day. I also have realized that hydration for me helps in all areas of fitness, especially with recovery and feeling good all day. I often had headaches due to dehydration. I only experienced one headache all month…

One person summarized the points system for her in this way:

~The “point” of points to me is to show myself I’m in the low range or higher one day at a time and think about how to improve that situation with the next day’s decisions and choices.  (I thought that was a great way to look at the points! Use the data to help you detect patterns of behavior that helped or hindered your progress. So this suggestion will be applied in the next round.)

• What didn’t work for you?

While no one outwardly complained about the program, one person wondered about the “point” of the points (which is why I liked the way another participant put it!)

~While I started strong at keeping points, I didn’t understand the reason for counting points so I finally ended up with just posting the plan and whether I did it or not.  Maybe knowing a point range that we should strive for would have been helpful. 

• What area did you struggle with?

Water and exercise seemed to be the biggest areas of struggle. So we will work on those to areas for sure!

~Biggest struggle was water and realizing that my habits were not going to be gone over night.

~Exercise truly is my nemesis.  Learning to live in the moment is a challenge.  Letting go of getting things done before taking care of myself is a problem. 

• Any other feedback that would be helpful for me to know?

Got some really good ideas back that we will try incorporating into the new and improved program!

~Sleep would definitely be a good addition for me.  I think allowing time for the locals to meet up occasionally may be fun.  Also, what if the locals shared their exercise location/plans for others to join in if they are looking for accountability.

~What if we had a printable checklist (and/or a digital spreadsheet or something) for a week? Days 1 – 7 across the top with all the things we can get points for listed down the side. I would stick it to my fridge and pencil in my points throughout the day… and then once a week report my tally for each day (along with my weight, if I ever find my scale!). It might even work to do something like this, with daily check-ins for those who prefer that.

~Definitely would like to add other healthy point options like sleep or date night!  

Since it’s free, why not join? You’ll get accountability (It’s hard to cheat when you’ve told the world what your plan is!) and support (When you do stumble, or get frustrated, or need help, someone is there to lend a hand, say a kind word, offering encouragement!) and a cool printable (a new tool!)

If you were in our January Health Challenge you will NOT automatically be entered into the next one! Please sign up using the form below! Thank you!