You guys?! Did you realize that at the end of the month pools around the country start to open?  Well, in some places they are probably already open but ours officially open on Memorial Day.  You know what that means…bathing suit season is almost here!  I doubt I am the only one who has  few {or more than a few} pounds they would like to lose before they throw on their bathing suit so I am doing a little throw back Thursday thang here and resurrecting the five week weight loss challenge!

When I first shared this weight loss challenge last year, I never expected for people to want so much information about it.  Of course, I am super excited that people are interested because it means they are looking for ways to get healthier. 

If you aren’t familiar with the weight loss challenge, let me recap:
The Basics:
The idea of the weight loss challenge is to motivate you to stick with the plan in the hopes of losing the largest % of weight so you win a pot of money at the end. Looking great and getting healthy is obviously the best reward but a little extra money doesn’t hurt at all either.

The Buy-In:
To participate, each person pays an entry fee {ours was $15.00}. All that money goes into a pot and is distributed to the winner(s) at the end of the challenge.

The Challenges:
Each week, a new challenge is introduced and the challenges are cumulative! The whole idea is to really help you start to establish healthier lifestyle habits over the course of the five weeks along with losing some weight in the process.

Here is how we structured ours:
Week 1: Hydration Nation – You have to drink 64oz of water per day.
Week 2: Sweet Tooth Cured – Elminate sweets (i.e. cookies, brownies, etc.)
Week 3: Bust a Move – Work out for at least 30 minutes per day.
Week 4: On the Wagon – Eliminate all alcohol {beer, wine, cocktails} from your diet.
Week 5: Clean it Up – Start a clean eating regimen and eliminate all processed foods.

Infractions:
One of the ways the pot of money grows is through infractions.  Sure, in a perfect world, everyone would do exactly as they are supposed to each and every week.  I’m definitely not perfect though and the challenge is structured to recognize that.  So, whenever you have an infraction {i.e. you miss a piece of a challenge}, you pay $1.
For example, you only drink 5 eight ounce glasses of water one day, you pay a dollar.  Eat a candy bar…that is another $1!

Reporting:
Generally, one person is selected or volunteers to act as the organizer of the challenge.  That person is in charge of reporting. Each week, as a participant, you give your % of weight lost and the number of infractions you have to the organizer. Weigh-in day is the same day each week and is done as the first thing you do when you wake up to make sure you capture your true weight.
To calculate the % lost, you need two pieces of info {and for me…a calculator}:
– Your starting weight (the weight you start with at the beginning of the challenge)
– Your new weight

One of the biggest questions I get about this is what is the best way to keep track of the challenges, your infractions and your data.  So, I paired up with Kim from Seven Thirty Three to create the perfect printable to help you out!

All you have to do is go visit Kim to print your own weight loss challenge tracker!

The Prizes:
We had two prized for our group:
– The person with the largest % of weight lost got the pot of money minus $15.
– The person with the least number of infractions got their $15 entry fee back.

Some More Fun Ideas:
– Definitely think of ways you can personalize the challenges.  Maybe eliminate soda for a week if that is problem area for people in your group.  Or, have a challenge to replace one meal a day with a salad.
– Throw in surprises to really keep people motivated.  Our organizer would throw out an bonus like “you can lose one of your infractions if you try one new fruit or vegetable this week.”   

So, is this something you would try?  I had a ton of fun with it and am thinking of trying to find some people to start a new one with this week.  If you do try this out, I would love to hear your feedback in the comments!