I’m out of shape.
I’ve been eating like crap.
I have not exercised in months.
I sit in front of my laptop, hunched over, most of the day.
All of that changes on August 13th.
If you’ve read this blog before, you are likely aware of at least one of the three “28-Day Challenges” I organized last year. All were designed to rally a group of folks – friends, strangers, family, etc – into a “community” in order to focus on one thing for 28 straight days.
The first one was in May 2011 – a challenge to do 100 pushups and 250 crunches every day. Read the recap here. The next one started in June 2011 – a challenge to eat healthier by eliminating bad additives. Read the recap here. The last one I did was in August 2011 – a challenge to do at least one good deed every day for 28 days in a row.
As it turns out, 2 of those challenges were my most popular blog posts of all time. I had nearly 100 folks participating each time. Not bad, right? It was wild and very encouraging to follow everyone’s progress.
It’s now a year later and I’m ready to re-start these challenges. Selfishly, it’s because I’m feeling really unhealthy now (see above).
Project GET HEALTHY Begins on Monday, August 13, 2012
This 28-Day Challenge will focus on exercise and healthy eating. Should you choose to join us, you will improve your exercise and eating habits each day … for 28 straight days.
Here’s how it will work:
- Fill out this VERY short form indicating that you are “in.”
- Begin thinking about your “get healthy” goals (we’ll send you a short worksheet to help get your started once you sign up)
- Create an SuperTracker account and/or download the free MyFitnessPal smartphone app to begin creating your 28-day plan (optional – also, if you are more of a pen/paper kinda person, we have a Word document that you can fill out and even print!)
- Join our “Closed” Facebook Group (optional) and start connecting with other participants.
- Help us spread the word by telling, sharing, texting or emailing 5 people about the challenge and encouraging them to join too! (feel free to also share this blog post on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and whatever other social network you’re a part of)
- Wait for further instructions in the days leading up August 13th (begin mentally preparing. Ha!)
But WAIT!
Before you say, “Wait. 28 straight days? Are you kidding me? I can’t do that!!!” remember that …
- Yes you can.
- Yes you can.
- You are creating your own goals. You can make it as “easy” or as “difficult” as you want.
- If you struggle to walk around the block without huffing and puffing, make it your goal to walk every day for 28 straight days until you can do it without being short of breath. If you run 10 miles regularly, consider adding another form of exercise to the mix.
- If you drink 8 cans of coke a day & 3 energy drinks, try to cut that number in half (or eliminate entirely) for 28 straight days. If you already drink 8 cups of water a day, challenge yourself to find a new healthy recipe for the 4-week challenge.
Get where I’m coming from? The idea behind this 28-Day Challenge is that everyone – I mean everyone – can participate. We could all be healthier, right?
In an attempt to really take this 28-Challenge to the next level, we are brining in the professionals. Sure, I could tell you what I think you should eat. I could tell you what I think you should do for exercise. But my suggestions are not based on education and training. That’s why I’ve invited Paul Ryan MS, RD to join us over the next 4 weeks.
Paula is the Owner of Healthiest Regards, which “promotes the power of nutrition education, competent eating, happy family interactions at meal times, and positive attitudes towards food through individual counseling, group counseling, speaking events, and more.” Paula is a Registered Dietitian. She knows her stuff. Learn more about Paula.
During Project GET HEALTHY, Paula will be blogging about nutrition and exercise, providing practical tips and tricks, meal ideas, recipes, and much more!
We’d love to have as many of your friends, family, co-workers, colleagues, neighbors, and so on, join us over the next 28 days. Please share this blog post with them and invite them to participate.
Who is ready to GET HEALTHY?
DJ Waldow
Waldow Social
@djwaldow
