Game On!

So a friend found this book, and was very excited about the program, and now seven of us are finishing up week one of a four week game.

I know I'm not overweight, but I have those ten fifteen pounds that never seem to go away. Or if they do, it's just for a little vacation, maybe in the islands (I just know they're off somewhere having fun) then they're right back, settling in like they never left. You know. I know you know.

And I hate diets. I've tried them, now and then. I still have Post-Atkins Stress Disorder (the main symptom is to fall on white bread ravenously wherever, whenever, you find it.) We won't talk about the Master Cleanser, except to say that Grade B maple syrup still makes me shudder. Hallelujah Diet? Amen, but not for me. And I gave up vegetarianism when the anemia showed up.

So I was not thrilled with another diet, to say the least, but this isn't one. I read through the book, looking for the catch. Watermelon? Grapefruit? I had to grow, press, and ferment my own acai berries? Did it mention the colon in any way, shape, or form? All I could find was the old boring stuff we've been told forever (I know this, because I ran across a Jack LaLanne fitness book the other day and he said all the same things): eat small amounts of healthy food often, drink plenty of water, get your rest, stay moderately active.

Yawn.

What's the fun in that? Shoot, anyone can do that. I need variety! Exotic food! I want to wow the people at work with my devotion to the fat-burning potential of the Twinkie!

The difference is that the authors have tapped into our propensity to beat each other up. There's nothing like harnessing human aggression for the greater good. You get to incorporate your new boring healthy habits in a competitive environment. You need at least four people, although you can play by yourself or with a friend. Teams are just more fun. Points are averaged, so the teams don't even need to be even. And you get those points by eating five small meals a day, sleeping at least seven hours a night, drinking three liters of water daily, exercising at least twenty minutes, and working on developing one good habit and eliminating one bad one.

See? Boring. Only.... not. We formed an online support group, and email each other daily about how we're doing. We exchange recipes, offer tips, answer questions about the rules, celebrate the victories, cheer our team on. There's not much trash talk yet, but that could change. In short, I'm now accountable to others for my behavior, and in the meantime, I'm unlearning some unhealthy habits.

Who knew I snacked so much? One rule is that you have to eat every two to four hours, but not in between. I didn't think this would be a problem, until the first day, when I reached into my drawer at work for some almonds. Whoops. I put them back, and became aware of how often I was reaching for something to eat. Sure, it was usually healthy, but it was fairly constant. Unconscious eating is a huge contributor to unconscious weight gain, and it helps to finally be aware of what I'm doing. It's been a revelation just to consider each morning what I'm going to eat and absorb that day. I'm not grazing, I'm choosing. Big difference.

The exercise? Here's my thinking up till now: I have a fairly active job; I'm walking, standing, stooping, squatting, kneeling, far more than I'm sitting every day. I walk two miles once a week at the mall. That's moderate, right?

In a word, no. That's better than some, but I can't call it moderate activity. And for some reason, other programs always called for thirty minutes of exercise a day and I just couldn't imagine how to fit that in. Thirty! Minutes! That's, like, half an hour! No way! But this only called for twenty, and somehow, twenty minutes are a lot easier. That's a sitcom (minus the commercials. What, you still watch commercials? Stop that!) That's... only a little over 15 minutes, which is nothing! It's a mental thing, but it's doable. It's eight blocks around my neighborhood, a few games on the Wii Fit, a stair stepper during a TV show, the treadmill while listening to my high school band concert from 1978, a bike ride to work.

The food: no white flour, white sugar, white rice, white fat. They list the foods you should avoid: processed, sugary, fatty stuff. They list the foods you should eat (a much longer list, by the way): veggies, fruit, lean protein, low-fat dairy, healthy fats. And each meal, you strive for a moderate portion of healthy carbs or fruit, healthy protein, a vegetable, and a small amount of healthy fat. See how boring? Unless you're comparing with your buddies!

And the habits? Who ever heard of making new habits part of a diet? But as a lifestyle change.. oh. I see. You know that list you have in your head of what you need to do, or give up, or feel bad every time you do it, or wish you could start? That's the one. Now pick two things, one new thing to start, one bad thing to give up. Now do it, every day. I know you don't want to. Neither do I. But what if you'd let down your teammates if you didn't? They're counting on you, literally, because you'll get your points if you do this. Now will you? I thought so.

Three liters of water a day sounded unbelievable. Then yesterday, a coworker wondered why I wasn't in the bathroom very much. She didn't believe I was already on my third liter. I've adapted, and now I miss it if I'm behind. I'm not even going to try to convince you about the seven hours of sleep. If you're not even getting that much, you're worse off than you know. BTDT, and it's probably the best thing you could do for yourself out of the whole program.

Once a week you get a day off each item (food, water, sleep, exercise, habits) and one extra meal off. PLUS a hundred free calories a day, so there's your chocolate. No more excuses, not even Thanksgiving!

At the end of the four weeks, all the points are added up, and prizes are given. It doesn't have to be much, because let's face it. Bragging rights: priceless. And we are all already seeing changes in what we do, how we choose to do it, and oh, yes, the scale. Now, that's fun!