I'm On!

I know I've mentioned this in a couple of my posts, but I thought I would make it official. Today is the first day of the month-long Game On Diet challenge, and I shall be participating on Team Ho Ho. The rear end is pushing maximum density so something had to be done before it exploded.

I spent most of the day on New Year's going through the book, reviewing the rules and requirements, and I must admit, I'm getting a little nervous. Here's the basic premise:


* You get points for various healthy behaviors...eating right, getting enough sleep, exercising daily, drinking water, taking up a new healthy habit and quitting a bad habit, communicating with your teammates and adversaries, etc. You are docked points if you screw up. You report your weekly points into a team member every Monday. At the end of the month, the team with the most points, wins. Prizes are involved.

* You eat five small meals a day, subscribing to the old "fist-sized", "palm-sized" or "thumb-sized" portions of carb, protein and fat, respectively. This may take some adjustment, as I've been quite slothful lately.

* You drink 3 LITERS of water a day. I may just float away! At what point does it just overflow and come back out of my mouth? Can I die from this?

* You perform some form of exercise 20 minutes a day. I don't think this is going to be an issue with me. My burning questions is...does playing the drums on the "hard" level on Rock Band qualify? Since I'm sweating after playing some Alice in Chains, I'm thinking it does.

* To prevent the dreaded weight plateau, you are allowed one day off a week from this regimen to do as you please (preferably not to binge though). This is the only time you can drink wine. Is there a drug to take when I start to have withdrawal symptoms? Isn't wine really a fruit?

* Daily communication must occur between you, your teammates and your opponents. This would include both support and harassment. Hey guys, I even signed up for Twitter in order to be a proper team player. This was no small decision, as I've resisted this time-sucking application for a long time. I really look forward to this part of the game. Already, probably a hundred e-mails have gone back and forth, providing tips, grocery lists, recipes, and encouragement. We're all in this together!

The book itself is a load of fun to read. The book is narrated primarily by a woman, and her male partner chimes in now and again. She seems to walk-the-walk, if you know what I mean. She has always struggled with her weight, but her competitive, take-no-prisoners attitude makes this diet challenge a good fit - she looks like a million bucks. She is foul-mouthed and full of sass, but I love it. Reminds me of me a little.

So stay tuned for updates. I may not be blogging as much for the next month, as I will be hanging out in the bathroom alot after all that water. On second hand, I guess I can take my netbook in there... May the best team (Ho's) win.