HYC Update: Challenges, Challenges, Challenges

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Has it only been a week since I last wrote a HYC Update?  It seems like it’s been forever, but then again, a lot has been going on around here.

It’s a new year!!  A fresh start.  A chance to do it right this time.  Not that I feel like I’ve done anything wrong, but let’s just say that I’ve learned some things along the way so that this time things will (hopefully) go a bit smoother. I love January because it’s filled with new beginnings and new chances to see how much we can improve our lives.

Which is the topic I want to cover today.  Challenges.  It seems like I’m seeing lots of challenges posted on many of the blogs I frequent, and I couldn’t be more delighted.  I love joining in on challenges because they help to motivate me, connect me with others who are like-minded, and they get that competitive side of myself going.  Love it! I do realize that one person can only join so many challenges, but so far I’ve found a few that I’m really enjoying, and I thought you might be interested in learning about them too.

The one that I look forward to every day is one that I wrote about earlier, but it’s so worthwhile that it bears repeating: FatGirlvsWorld turned me on to TheDailyChallenge from MeYouHealth, and I joined on Thursday. Every day they give you a different challenge to complete, and as you do it you get points. (I’m not sure what the points add up to, other than these cute little online stamps, but that’s not really the point of doing the challenges). My first challenge was to clean out my inbox, then it was to set a resolution (the closets were mine!). Today’s was about turning a negative into a positive.  So the challenges are little things that can have a bigger impact on your life and well-being. Easy and good for you, what’s not to like? You sign in using Facebook and can ask your friends to “connect” with you. I’m looking forward to completing each day’s challenge, and I hope some of you guys join me. ScaleWarfare joined the other day, so we’re getting quite a little group of bloggers, and I think you should be next!

The next challenge comes from the Sisterhood, who always put together such great ways to keep us connected as we strive toward a goal.  I love the idea of this challenge, and the fact that it’s going to involve not just weight loss, but fitness and well-being, too.  (Notice any patterns?) “This challenge will, of course, focus on weight-loss, but we’ll also be throwing in some fantastic fitness elements, so even if you don’t need to lose weight, there will be something for you (and we promise not to punch you)! Read: NO EXCUSES! SOOOOOO, the challenge starts right here, right now. Today. There are no teams this time around, because we really want you to focus on the ONE person who is most important: YOU. Yes, you. You are important, beautiful, smart, funny, and strong; and you can do this. We promise. If you stick with us, you’ll be successful in all your fitness and weight-loss goals, and you will have FUN doing it.”

I missed the first week of this challenge, but I’m definitely going to be checking in on it throughout the remaining 8 weeks until February 23. 

And finally, I’m joining the January Being True to You Challenge. For this one, HealthyLoserGal has set up a different purpose for each week:

• Week 1: “The first week of January, for the True2U challenge, put at least an hour aside by yourself, with no distractions, and think about what you truly want for your health and fitness.”
• Week 2: “The second week of January, the challenge is to begin to achieve that goal.  Figure out how you’re going to achieve your goal. Week two of January is you concentrating on YOU and making your goal a priority in your life.”
• Weeks 3 & 4: “Between Saturday, January 16th and end of day, Monday, January 31st you have 12 days that you should be moving or working toward your specific goal.  That gives you four days off that you can “slip” during those 16 days.”

Here’s my plan for the Being True to You Challenge:

• Week 1 – I’ve decided that I want to start taking advantage of all of the classes offered at my gym, and what better way to get to them than to challenge myself to attend them on a regular basis each week?  Done.
• Week 2 – 24Hour Fitness offers tons of classes every day of the week, but because I want to keep this realistic, I don’t want to over-commit and under-deliver.   Beginning this weekend on Saturday, January 8, I will attend 3 group exercise classes, trying different types of classes to see which ones are the best fit for me.
• Weeks 3 & 4 – At this point I should be attending classes regularly and seeing which ones I like and which ones aren’t my cup of tea.  My goal is to attend 9 group exercise classes by Jan. 31st and if I do, I’m going to treat myself to a pedicure. It’s a win, win if you ask me!

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So each week I’m going to use my HYC Update post to let you guys in on my progress towards all 3 of these challenges, especially the last one.  You’ll notice that I’ve chosen challenges that involve not just weight loss and fitness but also well-being.  Because  that’s something that I need to focus on in order to make sure my mind is as healthy as my body by the time this year is through.

Will you join me in any of these challenges?  If you’ve found others, what are they?

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