Healthy You Challenge

Chubby Chick of Gotta Lose 200 Pounds fame has graciously agreed to be the first blogger featured on our Friday Blogger featured post. Remember, if you'd like to nominate a great post from one of our bloggers, make sure you email me!!!

I recently read one of her posts and while I always say how much alike we are in our weight loss journey, now it seems we have similar ideas about tracking goals but she has taken it one step further and inspired me to do the same.

Check out her recent Calendar Girls post….

So... it seemed like a lot of you liked the idea of getting a calendar and giving yourself a sticker for every day that you are "on plan." I had originally seen the idea posted on some other blogs, and I decided to jump on the wagon, too. Who hasn't wanted to be a "Calendar Girl," right? lol Well... I've never really wanted to BE one... I'd just love to one day actually LOOK good enough to be one. hehe So... go ahead... jump on the wagon and be a "Calendar Girl." It will be fun and motivating. If you do it, post a pic of your calendar at the end of the month, or let us know how many stickers you got. And if you've earned a reward... let us know what that was, too.

HOW?
1. Get a calendar and some stickers.
2. Give yourself a sticker for every "on plan" day.
3. Work out a system of rewards.
4. Post a pic of your calendar at the end of the month.
5. Copy this pic, and post it on your blog along with monthly sticker stats and earned rewards.
7. HAVE FUN!

WOW what a great idea!! When I started exercising I started marking the calendar every day I exercised. Chubby Chick marks her calendar with a sticker for every “on plan” day and worked out a reward system. Visual reminders are such a strong tool. When I look back at my exercise calendar and see the days without the blue dot, it makes me even more determined to reach my goals.

Chubby Chick has taken it a step further by implementing a reward system and starting a club.
Her outline is above!

What a great tool!! I hope everyone grabs a calendar and starts tracking their progress or implements it in a way that works for them. Visual reminders are such an excellent motivator!

So now instead of just putting dots on the calendar, I'm using her sticker and reward system. Because my goals include eating on plan, cardio and strength training, I’m going to use stickers for each of them.

Green: on plan
Red: cardio completed
Blue: strength training

At the end of the week I’m going to add up the number of stickers and pay myself 50 cents for each sticker and at the end of the year, I’m going to use the money for a fabulous spa day or something else fun for ME!!

I also want to figure out a monthly reward, but if you know me, you know thats always been the difficult part for me. I have a hard time rewarding myself. I wonder if anyone else struggles with that?

What do you want to acknowledge and be rewarded for? Don’t want to use stickers? Get different colored markers or just draw a star with a pen. It doesn’t have to be expensive or fancy, just a small reminder of your goals and that you are doing a great job!

It doesn’t have to be an expensive calendar; it can be a small one you keep at your desk or even on your refrigerator. You don’t have to share the meaning of the stickers with anyone else if you don’t want to. You can keep it small and private or you can make it large and bold! I use a calendar I’ve downloaded from Microsoft Office. Right about now, 2008 calendars should be going on sale. I’ve even seen decent calendars at the dollar store. So why not use Chubby Chicks idea for a visual tool and play along? It’s fun, it’s easy and it’s a great way to stay motivated!