"joining the 6 week challenge"

Joining the 6 week challenge

You must email these answers before Feb 28th to register

I have a 3 ring binder (as you should have for the 6 week challenge). I am writing your names as you send me emails to "join". What you need to do is email with the following:

1) Name and email address

2) age (this helps me pair you up)

3) who do you live with (alone, pets, kids, husband etc. married, divorced etc)

4) what do you do ? What are your hobbies ? What would you LIKE to do ?

5) where you heard about the challenge and where you live (NYC or other)( are you my student, Sharon's client, heard about it from a friend etc.)

6) What time of day do you need support most (afternoons at work snacking, night time mindless eating etc., getting yourself out the door to work out)

7) What do you think your goal will be ? (for now keep it very basic such as "taking more time for myself", "working out more", "eating better" "more positive attitude" , "taming my sugar addiction", "Lowering stress levels", "better friendships" etc. We will be working in the next 2 weeks to find our "true goal")

8) what is your current fitness routine?

9)which one sounds like you (you can choose more than one):

a) I need to learn what it means to eat healthy (I want to learn more about nutrition/recipes/ideas)

b) I know what to eat but lack will power to resist unhealthy foods (old habits die hard, especially when stressed)

c) I eat healthy for the most part but eat at night for emotional reasons. (I am lonely, bored, stressed)

d) Food/diet is not an issue for me

e) I am a complete foodie and I cannot eat food that I don't love.

10) Are you currently or would you like to follow a specific philosophy of diet (vegetarian, raw, low fat, low carb etc.)

Before we begin our challenge, I will be posting our "official list". If I have not received the above information from you, you will not be on that list... liquidstrength@aol.com (I will send you a "confirmation email" when I receive yours)

After you email me your answers @ liquidstrength@aol.com and you are officially registered you can start doing the "pre-challenge work". You can read past postings on this blog for very specific directions but here is the lowdown:

First Steps (pre-challenge homework)

1) Count how many walking lunges and push ups you can do.

2) measure your:

arm 2 inches below armpit (when your arm is at your side)

around your core @ your belly button (this is NOT your waist and that is intentional)

your leg 2 inches below your groin.

3) *NEW THIS YEAR* write down the average number of hours sleep you get a night and how tired you feel on most days on a scale of 1-10.

4) Get the fat back of your upper arm measured. If you live in NYC, I will do it for you. You can do it at home very low tech by pinching the skin/fat on the back of you arm (2 inches below your arm pit) and having someone use an adjustable wrench (funny huh ?), tighten it until it just touches your skin on both sides (about an inch "into" the skin you are pinching). Take a ruler and measure in mm's how far apart the prongs are.

5) *NEW THIS YEAR* General observations on your skin, eyes, nails and allergy symptoms.

6)*NEW THIS YEAR* How do you feel about yourself ? (on a scale of 1-10).

7)*NEW THIS YEAR* How "happy" are you about your life? (1-10)

Prepping yourself for what's ahead

All of will have different goals and challenges during our challenge but there will be a lot of similarities too. We will all be doing a 3 day "detox" to kick off our challenge. For these 3 days, we eat ONLY fresh fruits and vegetables and lean proteins. Ideally only organic but I respect the cost/availability issue.( There is the option to include plain non fat yogurt but it has to be organic.) Very specific information is coming about this very important phase. This is the most important part of the whole program. We are attempting to reset our taste buds, really feed our bodies all of the nutrients we need and eliminate all chemicals, additives and processed food.

The "3 day detox" is a tough thing to do for most of us. We will need the support of this blog, each other and our "challenge partner". I know I will be on the phone w/mine in the evenings when my sugar cravings kick in. To help you (and me) have a successful experience, for these couple weeks before we start, you can do a lot of preparation.

I have been making small changes that I know will help me in our 3 day detox. I suggest you make some changes too:

1) Stop using sweeteners in coffee/cereal/yogurt etc.

2) Eat fresh/handmade meals instead of anything canned/frozen/packaged

3) If you are a big sweet person (like me) gradually eat less sugar every day and replace your sweets with fruit.

4) If you are a "salt" person, reduce your salt intake.

5) Double your vegetable portions at your meals.

6) Keep journaling. Especially during the times of day that emotional eating is an issue for you (or if it is not an issue for you, journal when you are stressed/lonely etc.) Write about how you feel about yourself, your life and what you would like to be doing as you write. You can't get this wrong. The more you write, the more you learn and grow.

7) Focus in on your "true goal". This is such a huge step. It should take you a while to figure out what your goal really is.