Monday, June 4, 2007
June ChallengersWelcome to June! It's going to be a FABULOUS month, and we are going to make so much progress in our journey to wellness!
Here are our challenge groups for the month:
Amber
Christy
Fatinah
Lola
Alana
Cory
Joy
Morgan
Amethyst
Jeannie
Maria
Natalie
Michelle
Nan
Tee
Terri
Tigerlilly
Still awaiting word on a blog address from Judi - as soon as I hear from you, I'll add you to a challenge group
We ask that you blog at least 2 or 3 times per week, so we can read what you're facing at the moment, and motivate you as best we can. If you're going to be MIA for a day, a week, etc, please email your partners and let them know. Communication is key! We have a pretty good sized group this month, make sure you visit your challenge partners regularly, but feel free to spread the love within the entire group :)
As most of us are recommitting ourselves, how about a Refrigerator Before & After challenge to get us started this month? If you'd like to participate, you'll need to take a before & after photo of your refrigerator. The goal is to get rid of all the junk foods that have snuck their way back into our refrigerators in May. Extra kudos to those challengers that already have great refrigerators! Everyone should have authoring rights to the challenge blog - please log in, introduce yourselves, and share what your June challenge is going to be.
Thank you so much for joining me this month, let's make it a great month!
Aloha,
Michelle
Labels: Admin, June Challenge
Posted by Michelle @ The 2007 Challenge ::
6:56 AM ::
0 Comments
Friday, June 1, 2007
June is HERE!Okay folks ... after my little pity party email to past and present Challengers, I'm ready to start a brand new me! We are looking for new Challengers for June - so far returning to the Challenge are Tee, Lola, Cory, Maria, Morgan, Jeannie, Joy, Fatinah, Christy, Tigerlilly, Alana, Amber, Judi, and new Challengers Natalie and Terri!
The concept is simple - we each set our own specific challenge for the month, and little support groups are formed within the main challenge group. Your mission is to tackle your challenge, and support your partners! We're all here for commeraderie, fellowship, and support!
If you'd like to join our merry little group, please leave a comment below or send me an email at 2007challenge [at] gmail [dot] com.
Thanks!
Labels: Admin, June Challenge
Posted by Michelle @ The 2007 Challenge ::
6:51 AM ::
2 Comments
Monday, April 16, 2007
April Group ChallengeHi everyone! We're at the halfway mark for April - I hope you're all doing well and achieving the goals you've set for yourselves this month!
I thought it would be a great time for a group challenge, just to mix things up a little. In honor of Earth Day on April 22nd, I would like to challenge you to do one eco-friendly thing between today and April 22nd. It must be something that you aren't already doing, but can be as simple as trying a vegan recipe, recycling all your plastic and paper this week, planting a tree, visiting your local urban ecology/nature center and learn something new.
If you'll be participating, please be sure to blog about your eco-friendly challenge, and share a photo if applicable!
Thanks!
Labels: Admin, April Group Challenge
Posted by Michelle @ The 2007 Challenge ::
12:53 PM ::
2 Comments
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Blogger of the MonthAt the end of each challenge month, all challenge participants get put into a hat (or in this instance, my girl's Beauty & The Beast teapot) and one blogger gets randomly picked as the Blogger of the Month. They win my neverending adoration, a plug here on the blog, and a surprise prezzie! Without further ado ... drumroll please ...
Congratulations to Christy, our March Blogger of the Month!
Labels: Admin, Blogger of the Month
Posted by Michelle @ The 2007 Challenge ::
5:39 AM ::
2 Comments
Sunday, April 1, 2007
April Showers ...... bring a new Monthly Challenge group!
Please email me at 2007challenge [at] gmail [dot] com if you'd like to join our merry group of challengers!
Thanks!!
Labels: Admin, April Challenge
Posted by Michelle @ The 2007 Challenge ::
8:29 PM ::
0 Comments
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Just shoot me ...... because I'm throwing out yet another challenge! Mwahahaha!
I know we all have our personal March challenges going on, and several are participating in the Lent challenge, but here's a quick and easy challenge that is a lot more fun! At least I hope you think so after you read about it! LOL!
Between today and next Wednesday, March 21st, I would like you to photograph every single thing you put in your mouth over a 24 hour period. Okay, well, maybe not EVERYTHING (get your mind outta the gutter. I know mine went there very briefly LOL!) Then I would like to you post the photos on your blog, with a description of what it is, when you ate it, and where you ate it.
Now there are three ways to do this ...
The I want to play this challenge, and there's no holding me back approach. You will photograph everything: all foods, drinks (water too!), snacks, "just a bite" of whatever it is. Everything.
The I want to play this challenge, but there are some things that just aren't meant to be shared approach. You will photograph almost everything: you won't take a photo of every stinkin' glass of water you drink, or or too ashamed to admit you had "just a bite" of the office cake ... three times ...
The I want to play this challenge, and am going to pretend I didn't eat all that stuff approach. You will take photos of other people's food because you're too embarrassed to show us what you really ate.
If you want to play, leave a comment below. When you do post your photos on your blog, be sure to leave us a post here at the challenge blog too. For extra credit, do this challenge for two days - one at work, and one at home (like on a weekend). I for one, eat worse at work, because I'm surrounded by yummy, delectable, and just plain evil foods all day long. I'm connected via a skywalk to a food court for Pete's sake! At home it's easier because I don't bring that crap in the house!
Play on! Have fun! :)
P.S. Please label your challenge posts as "Your Name, March Group Food Photo Challenge" Thanks!
Labels: Admin, March Group Food Photo Challenge
Posted by Michelle @ The 2007 Challenge ::
9:16 AM ::
8 Comments
Monday, March 12, 2007
Spark PeopleHi everyone :) I've noticed several people raving about SparkPeople.com lately, so I thought I'd check it out!
I would like to challenge you all to check it out (if you haven't already done so). SparkPeople is free (as is FitDay and traineo), and allows you to track just about anything you want. I just started it today, but IMHO, it's the best in comparison to FitDay and traineo. I think the major advantage that it has over FitDay and traineo are the custom meal plans, based on information that you enter into your profile.
I hope other seasoned SparkPeople veterans will jump in on this post and give us your opinions, and any suggestions you may have.
I created a SparkTeam for our challenge, and you can find it here.
Labels: Admin, SparkPeople
Posted by Michelle @ The 2007 Challenge ::
9:30 AM ::
5 Comments
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Random goodnessI've decided to have a random drawing each month for all participants ... you don't need to do anything to qualify for the drawing, except join our challenge! This is how it'll work ...
- A random drawing will be held on the last day of each month.
- You will earn one ticket for each month that you participate.
- The bucket o' tickets will accumulate each month - for example, we're now in February. If you participated in the challenge in January and February, you will have 2 tickets in the drawing for February.
- The winning ticket/challenger must have been a participant in the current month's challenge to win.
- You can only win once.
- When you get your prize, you must take a photo with it and post it on your blog!!
It's pretty simple, not rocket science. Just a fun little extra reward as my way of saying thanks for your continued support, motivation, and inspiration!
So, I betcha all wondering ... am I a winner??
Drumroll please ....
January's winner is ... Jeannie at Points and Pounds!!
February's winner is ... Paige at Biking My Way Down!!
Yaaayyyy!!! :) I'll have a little something sent to you by the end of the week! Thank you for joining me on this journey!
Labels: Admin, Monthly Drawing
Posted by Michelle @ The 2007 Challenge ::
10:00 AM ::
4 Comments
Wow. February sure flew by in a blink of an eye!
We are now accepting new challengers for our March Madness Challenge. If you'd like to sign up , please email me at 2007challenge at gmail dot com with your name, URL, reason for joining the challenge, and your March Madness Challenge no later than FRIDAY, MARCH 2nd!! I will be assigning partners on Saturday, March 3rd.
As of this posting, we have 17 returning alumni (Amy, Carrie, Christy, Cory, Galen, Jeannie, John, Joy, Kellie, Lola, Meghan, Midnight Raider, Paige, Robyn, Tee, Tigerlilly and me) and one new challenger (Alanna!).
Labels: Admin, March Challenge
Posted by Michelle @ The 2007 Challenge ::
9:50 AM ::
0 Comments
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Group Challenge time!!I'm flying by the seat of my pants on this one :)
As tomorrow officially begins the Lenten season, many of my coworkers are indulging themselves today with all the things they will swear off for the next 40 days. So that got me thinking ... why not a 40-day challenge? This will be a little bit harder than last month's Fridge Photo challenge, but I think it's a pretty good challenge!
I'm not Catholic, but observed my first Lent last year to mixed reviews. More about that in my personal blog later ... but my challenge to you is this ... what one bad habit are you willing to swear off for the next 40 days (with hopes of it becoming a "good" habit and continuing on after Day 40)?
Yes, I know that this group challenge will carry into March (but that just means you gotta stick around for March's monthly challenge, hehehe!). You can either leave a comment, post here, or on your own blog with your Group Challenge. Just be sure to let us know what you're giving up, so we can cheer you on!
Labels: Admin, February Challenge, Group Challenge, Michelle
Posted by Michelle @ The 2007 Challenge ::
3:05 PM ::
2 Comments
Thursday, February 1, 2007
February ChallengeWelcome to February! We have a great group of bloggers for our February Challenge - 26 in all! That's amazing! Here's a quick intro of our February Challengers ...
Why are you participating in the Make Yourself a Priority in 2007 Challenge?
Christy: to make my son proud of his mom (he is 19 months old). I want him to grow up eating healthy foods and exercising so he doesn't go through what I went through as a fat kid/fat teen.
Cory: to become a better me. I want to be healthy for when I am eventually a mother. I want to learn discipline because I don't have very much. I want to become positive in mind and spirit. And, if that's too corny for you, I want to not cringe when I see myself in a photo.
Debbie: So in the future I can be a fit and healthy wife and mother.
Galen: to be healthy for my family, so that my girls have an active dad who doesn't have to stop everynow and then to catch his breath. And to look good for my wife.
Isabel: to be more active and to become healthier. I like feeling healthy and I know thats its good for me to be active.
Jeannie: to prove it to myself that I CAN do this, so I dont encounter health problems down the road and to be the girl on the beach wearing a bikini!
John: to recover back what I lost in terms of health.
Joy
Judi: to be able to live long enough to enjoy all of the years with my husband after our children are grown and watch my kids create their lives.
Kellie: to stop getting so out of breath during normal activities!
Keri: to feel better overall. I have a thyroiddisease so I believe that eating right and doing this for myself will helpwith that. I also want to look good for Arty when I see him again... ;)
Krista: to have more energy to play with my kids.
Lola: to be healthy and grow old with my husband, and to practice moderation when it comes to unhealthy foods. 1 cookie is fine. Not 12!
Manda: to prove that I can finish what I start.
Meghan: to re-discover my belly button!
Michelle: to never ever again sit on the sidelines and watch other people chase my dreams. To finally finish something that I start!
Morgan: to build self-confidence about my appearance.
Paige: to get back on track the healthy lifestyle I was beginning to live.Poppy: to look good in my bridesmaid dress.
Robyn: to be as healthy as possible for my first pregnancy and trip into motherhood (not pregnant yet, just trying to do what I can before I GET pregnant).
Sarah: to create a great and healthy place for my baby to grow when I try at the end of the year.
Tee: to live a healthier life.
Tigerlilly: to grow old with my husband.
What are your February Challenges?
Christy: to drink 100 oz Water everyday, exercise at least 3 times a week, and blog at least 3 times a week.
Cory: to exercise at least 4 days a week, if not more. Each exercise session to be at least 30 continuous minutes.
Debbie: to lose 6lbs and reach 13stones 7lbs...again
Galen: to be able to jog a full 30 minutes on the treadmill, without stopping. To start training using the swimming pool inaddition to my other workouts, and to log everything without fail.
Isabel: to myself is to eat more fruits and vegetables because I dont really eat them as much as I should.
Jeannie: to drink 64oz water daily and lose 6 lbs.
John: to recover back what I lost in terms of health.
Joy: to exercise at least 3 times per week.
Judi: to lose 10 lbs.
Kellie: to walk at least 7500 steps daily.
Keri: to stop drinking sodas and drink water. (so i'vegot to conquer caffine.)
Krista: to lose 4 lbs, to excercise a min of 3 times per week and to stay on points.
Lola: NO eating out, NO sweets/treats/chips, workout a minimum of 2 hours/day. Other goals are:Lose 8 lbs, lose inches off body (no idea what amount, just something), try a new f/v each week.
Manda: to not be so hard on myself and to just take care of myself - that means eating well and doing what feels good - not punishing myself with too much exercise or food I don't enjoy.
Meghan: to drink 8 glasses of water a day.
Michelle: to start Dr. Andrew Weil's 8 Weeks to Optimum Health, and successfully follow the 1st 4 weeks of his program diligently, honestly, and without fail.
Morgan: eat one piece of fruit per day.
Paige: Use gym membership a minimum of 4 times weekly (just e-joined the gym 12/27/06)
Poppy: to lose 8 pounds and go the the gym 20 times.
Robyn: to lose 8 pounds, exercise at least 3 days per week, and to drink at least 40 ounces of water per day.
Sarah: to drink 5 bottles of water a day, and go to the gym at least 5 days a week.
Tee: to not eat/dine out the entire month.
Tigerlilly: to get under the 200 lb mark.
Labels: Admin, February Challenge
Posted by Michelle @ The 2007 Challenge ::
8:31 AM ::
0 Comments
Sunday, January 28, 2007
February's ChallengersThank you to the following friends for signing on to the February Challenge with me: Galen, Cory, Jeannie, Tigerlilly, Poppy, Krista, Kelly, Lola, Morgan, Judi, Paige, Debbie, and Joy!
For any lurkers out there ... you've seen how much fun we've had in January ... don't let life pass you by! Come on and join us for a great February - it's only 28 days, for goodness sakes! The easiest month for the year! LOL!
If you'd like to sign up, or have any questions, please feel free to email me at 2007challenge at gmail dot com.
Thanks!
P.S. We accept both men and women challengers, regardless of where on earth you live! :)
Labels: Admin, February Challenge
Posted by Michelle @ The 2007 Challenge ::
8:18 PM ::
0 Comments
Saturday, January 27, 2007
FEBRUARY CHALLENGERS WANTED!!We are now accepting participants for our February Challenge! To recap how our challenge works, read on ...
- The original challenge runs all 12 months of 2007. But don't worry if you didn't sign up in January.
- Signing up for a challenge is completely voluntary. You are not obligated to sign up for all 12 monthly challenges. Take it one month at a time. Life happens.
- If you do sign up for a monthly challenge, please honor your commitment. If not for yourself, but for the other challengers that month.
- You will pick your own challenge! We are all different - what works for me, may not work for you. Only you know what struggle you face each day. That being said, this is a challenge, so aim high!
- You will be assigned a cheerleader for the month. Your cheerleader will try to visit you a few times each week to see how you're doing and cheer you on. At the end of the month, your cheerleader will send you a little surprise to congratulate you for your success!
- All challengers will be given authoring rights to this website. Please do not abuse this priviledge and spam us like crazy.
- You are not obligated to post here. Sometimes posting to our own blogs can be a challenge! If you like, post all your challenge updates on your own blog, then come here and post a direct link to your challenge post. When you do post, please label your post with your name. If you need help, just email us.
- This is supposed to be fun, so if it becomes a chore, just let me know. Just HAVE FUN!
And that's it in a nutshell. If you'd like to join us in February, please email the following information to me at 2007challenge at gmail dot com:
- Your name
- Your mailing address (this is so your partner can send you a little prezzie at the end of the challenge)
- Your blog address. MySpace blogs are welcome too!
- A few of your favorite things
- Your reason for participating in our challenge (please make this a non-weight loss specific goal. For example, BL3's Erik Chopin's reason was "to walk my daughters down the aisle.")
- Your February challenge!
- Optional: your birthday for our birthday club
And that's it. I look forward to seeing all of you succeed, and to getting to know our new February challengers!
Labels: Admin, February Challenge
Posted by Michelle @ The 2007 Challenge ::
7:20 AM ::
0 Comments
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Happy Birthday Christy!!
Everyone, please be sure to visit Christy today and wish her the happiest of birthdays!
Labels: Admin, Birthday Club, Christy
Posted by Michelle @ The 2007 Challenge ::
8:21 AM ::
0 Comments
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
8 days left!!Believe it or not, we have just 8 days left in our January Challenge! I am so proud of each and every one of you! This group has bonded together so amazingly well! I'm sorry for being distracted this past week and haven't been as great about following up with your blogs, but I'll catch up with everyone within the next few days. I do have a couple of updates (Jeannie's email and Manda's blog address) and will get those done today for sure.
Please start thinking if you'd like to continue on to the February Challenge or not. Whether you will join us or take a break, please let me know so I can make some notes. If you decide to skip February, I now ask for your permission to email you for future month's challenges. You can tell me at any time to stop emailing you and I'll honor your request :)
If you are joining me in February, please reply with your February goal. No need to stress ... as long as I have your goal by January 31st, we're good. We'll also accept new Challengers, so get the word out to all of your other blogging friends :)
You may want to start checking with your partner to discuss your January reward/gift. It's probably best to agree on a set dollar amount, and go from there. Don't send it until at least February 1st (this is more of a symbolic date, we're rewarding each other for our accomplishments in January), but make sure it arrives in time for Valentine's Day. If you have a partner that lives outside of your home country, start checking with your postal service on delivery times - you may need to send it before the end of the month.
Also, if you have any suggestions or comments, or just plain feedback about our January Challenge, procedures, out blog, etc, please let me know. There's always room for improvement, and I'm more than willing to make changes :)
Take care everyone! Hope to hear from you soon!
Labels: Admin, January Challenge
Posted by Michelle @ The 2007 Challenge ::
6:11 AM ::
0 Comments
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Drink yer milk, mateys!The latest and GREATEST Got Milk? Ad campaign!
Posted by Michelle @ The 2007 Challenge ::
2:54 PM ::
1 Comments
Sunday, January 7, 2007
A F.R.O.G. for Tee!Especially for Tee!!
Everyone else - please feel free to right-click and save to your own server.
Have a wonderful SONday!
Posted by Michelle @ The 2007 Challenge ::
7:31 PM ::
1 Comments
Friday, January 5, 2007
Posting issuesHi everyone,
Just wanted to follow up because a few of you have mentioned here or emailed me regarding posting issues. When I logged into our account today, I saw that there were 6 draft posts. I think these may have been a few of your missing posts. Just remember to click the orange "Publish" button when you're done with your post. If you click the blue "Save as Draft" button, it will not publish your post. I'll remind myself to check all posts each night to make sure they are published and not pending as drafts :)
Any other issues, just lemme know! Have a WONDERFUL weekend!
Don't forget ...
If you bite it, write it! (thanks Alea)
Nothing tastes as good as thin feels!
and, my personal favorite ...
What you eat in private, you wear in public!
Labels: Admin
Posted by Michelle @ The 2007 Challenge ::
4:35 PM ::
0 Comments
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Meet the January Challengers!I'm doing a bit of housecleaning in our sidebar, and decided to put all this info into one post :)
Why are you participating in the Make Yourself a Priority in 2007 Challenge?
Alea: to become the person I want to be and be HAPPY with who I am.
Christy: to make my son proud of his mom (he is 19 months old). I want him to grow up eating healthy foods and exercising so he doesn't go through what I went through as a fat kid/fat teen.
Cory: to become a better me. I want to be healthy for when I am eventually a mother. I want to learn discipline because I don't have very much. I want to become positive in mind and spirit. And, if that's too corny for you, I want to not cringe when I see myself in a photo.
Debbie: So in the future I can be a fit and healthy wife and mother.
Debra: to get in shape for my youngest daughters graduation; to get in shape for my own college graduation in may of 2008; and for my own health benefits.
Fatinah: to provide a healthy role model for my daughter.
Jeannie: to prove it to myself that I CAN do this, so I dont encounter health problems down the road and to be the girl on the beach wearing a bikini!
Joy
Judi: to be able to live long enough to enjoy all of the years with my husband after our children are grown and watch my kids create their lives.
Kellie: to stop getting so out of breath during normal activities!
Krista: to have more energy to play with my kids.
Lola: to be healthy and grow old with my husband, and to practice moderation when it comes to unhealthyfood. 1 cookie is fine. Not 12!
Manda: to prove that I can finish what I start.
Meghan: to re-discover my belly button!
Michelle: to never say "I'm too tired" when my children ask me to play with them.
Morgan: to build self-confidence about my appearance.
Paige: to get back on track the healthy lifestyle I was beginning to live.
Poppy: to look good in my bridesmaid dress.
Robyn: to be as healthy as possible for my first pregnancy and trip into motherhood (not pregnant yet, just trying to do what I can before I GET pregnant).
Tee: to live a healthier life.
Tigerlilly: to grow old with my husband.
What is your January challenge?
Alea: 1. Write what I bite! 2. Swim 12km. 3. Lose 3 lbs.
Christy: to lose 5lbs by eating healthy and exercising at least 3 times per week.
Cory: to exercise at least 4 days a week, if not more. Each exercise session to be at least 30 continuous minutes.
Debbie: To lose 6lbs and reach 13stones 7lbs...again
Debra: to lose 10 pounds.
Fatinah: to earn 2 WW activity points per day for each day.
Jeannie: get back into healthy eating habits and get back to the gym.... starting slowly
Joy
Judi: to lose 10 lbs.
Kellie: to walk at least 7500 steps daily.
Krista: to lose 4 lbs, to excercise a min of 3 times per week and to stay on points.
Lola: to follow my training schedule - missing no more then 1 workout/week, and add lean protein to 2 meals/day and eat 8-10 fruits/veggies per day.
Manda: to kickstart my weight loss with a 3kg loss in January. I believe thats 6.6 pounds or there abouts :)
Meghan: to drink 8 glasses of water a day.
Michelle: pre-plan my meals and stick to the plan! Weight loss goal is 10 lbs in January!
Morgan: eat one piece of fruit per day.
Paige: Use gym membership a minimum of 4 times weekly (just e-joined the gym 12/27/06)
Poppy: to lose 8 pounds and go the the gym 20 times.
Robyn: to lose 8 pounds, drink at least 60oz of water per day, and cardio for at least 200 minutes per week.
Tee: to lose 10-12 pounds.
Tigerlilly: to get under the 200 lb mark.
Labels: Admin, January Challenge
Posted by Michelle @ The 2007 Challenge ::
3:56 PM ::
1 Comments
I think not! Read the full article here.
Labels: Admin, News Articles
Posted by Michelle @ The 2007 Challenge ::
10:29 AM ::
0 Comments