Wednesday, June 15, 2011

"Good Days" Healthier Living Project


Two days ago a stranger on the subway threw me a shady comment regarding my weight. This made me want to take action and reclaim my health - and many of you said you'd like to join me. So I've been trying to think of a simple way for us help each other eat better and live healthier - while accommodating different people with different goals and different lifestyles.

That same day, in a discussion with Froggy, we talked about "Good Days" and "Bad Days". It doesn't take Weight Watchers, Jennie Craig or even counting calories to know if you've had a "Good" health day or not. For some of us, a Good Day is simply not pigging out - for others, a Good Day is sticking to your Weight Watchers points. And for others it's whether or not you went to the gym that day.



So here's my idea... the BunnyNation "Good Days" Healthier Living Project. The premise is simple - to have more Good Days than Bad Days.

Here's what I propose:
  • At the end of each day you must HONESTLY asses if you've had a Good Day or a Bad Day - based on your own unique criteria. Participants should keep track of this because ...
  • Every Monday participants will email me their Good Days/Bad Days tally for the previous week. For instance, if you had 4 good days last week you would get a 4 out of 7 (since there are 7 days in a week, duh).
  • On Tuesdays I'll post a weekly Good Days Project Report and list everyone's results. Those with the most Good Days will be at the top of the list - and those with the fewest at the bottom.
  • In addition to Good Days/Bad Days, I'll list actual weight loss/gain if you send it in your email.
  • Participants can then provide further updates, provide tips, or simply elaborate on their Good Days/Bad Days in the comments section of the weekly Good Days Project Report post.
Additonal thoughts:
  • I think a specific time frame would work well, instead of just an open-ended project. I propose that we start on Monday and continue through the summer. The day after Labor Day would be the final Weekly Report.
  • I like the idea of listing everyone's Good Days progress in a post rather than simply sharing in the comments. Being at the top of the list should be a motivating factor - after all, a couple thousand DustBunnies (and others) will see it. Although ...
  • We must keep in mind that we're comparing apples and oranges in most cases. Like I said, my Good Days would probably be OHMYGODNoooooo Days for most people. So this won't be a competition - since we're only competing with ourselves. The Good Days/Bad Days standard is simply a way for us to communicate our progress with each other.
So ... what do you think???



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19 comments:

the dogs' mother said...

Sounds good. I will have to think upon what is a good day goal for me. Two things come to mind right now - exercise and blood sugar testing. Even typing out the words blood sugar makes my stomach hurt. But it is STUPID not to test daily. I won't even tell you how often I don't test - is shocking for a person with a chronic illness. sigh....

Anonymous said...

Sounds good to me!

mrs.missalaineus said...

i love it and again i love how you are so good at organizing and using your blog for such a great undertaking!

my good day will be sticking to my points and excercising. i just ebayed a couple of points encyclopedia for both the 'points plus' and 'momentum' programs' since they share some commonalities. i can become the ad hoc librarian for points for anyone not in the official program.

you rock!

xxalainaxx

Uncy Carl said...

I like how simple this plan is and how easily it adapts to everyone.

@Froggy, regular daily posting of my blood sugar is one of my goals too. I hate my diagnosis but I'm only hurting myself by acting like it doesn't exist.

I'm adding a minimum of 20 minutes of moderate exercise daily and regular meals. I'm terrible about skipping meals all day and then "making up" for it later in the day. Also, I have to stop kidding myself that coaching a youth baseball team is "exercise".

Anonymous said...

I'm in. A good day for me is going to be getting some form of exercise and sticking to my points.

I really love this idea. No competition, no pressure, just sharing our journey. You're so smart!

the dogs' mother said...

Uncy Carl - I soooooooo know what you mean. And it means a shock when the quarterly doctor visit roles around and you hear 8.5 from the blood test. AK!
I've been down to 6 this year and damn it I'm going to do it again!!

the dogs' mother said...

From Blogging Project Runway -
Tim Gunn's new show - The new ABC Daytime reality series is looking for women in the New York metropolitan area who have 50 to 100 pounds to lose.

Hey! That's discrimination right there. Why not have a token male dust bunny?

truth said...

OK. Just by your mentioning this on your blog I've been thinking about it & have had 2 "good days" in a row. My problem is late night snacking - I love the chips & crackers! So for 2 days snacking has been carrots, cucumbers & peppers instead. Plus I went to the gym today and even though a couple of the other gymmers looked like they were going to call the EMTs for me - I get REALLY RED when I work out! - I did it!

ty all!

Unknown said...

Can I play too... if so... a good day for me will constitute time at the gym during a lunch break or after work...

When I started my blog it was to keep track of my weight on an almost daily basis... just seeing the numbers would make me cringe...it helped me drop from 235 to 198 at one point, now I hover between 210-215... I would like to be 190...at least 195 by my fire island trip in august...

Just let me know if I can join.. this will be cool...

David Dust said...

Dearest DustBunny Kelly -

No one needs permission to join - you're already in! I'm so excited to see some people who don't comment often joining in.

XOXOXO

Anonymous said...

I think this is a great idea! My good days will be going to the gym or doing my assigned training fro an online 5k training program I joined. Need to watch the after 6pm carbs also. May I make a suggestion based on past experience? I am a Physical Therapist and work w/a lot of patients who have been ordered to lose weight so they will be good candidates for joint replacement surgery. On the 1st day I always ask them to state their goals and without fail they all have this enormous list: "Stop smoking, no fast food, no fried food, no booze, exercise every day, no sweets, no carbs, etc etc etc..that's what I'm gonna do!" No, you aren't. What you ARE going to do is get frustrated and fail. If I can get them to narrow it down to 2 simple goals, they have a much better chance of success and will actually see some results pretty quickly. So please, my fellow DustBunnies, don't overwhelm yourselves! Keep it simple!!

Ken Riches said...

I'm In.

Miss Ginger Grant said...

I'm in- and I SUCKED today! DO we start reporting MOnday, or start being good on monday?

Miss Ginger Grant said...

PS- a good day for me is a day that I don't choke the living shit out of someone!! I get cranky when I'm trying to reduce!

Lelio said...

I'm in! This is such a great idea. I've been meaning to get back into eating healthier and exercising more, and I think this is just the motivation I need. Thanks for organizing this!

Joy said...

I'm right there with Froggy. I don't test every day either. My A1C is below 7, and I want to get at or below 6 again. So my goals are to test in the morning and at night (I have enough supplies and we know why!!) and to go to the gym at least 3 times a week and then 6.

While I'm on the #6 roll, I'll go for having 6 good days a week. 666 Plan for Auntie Flame!

We're starting Monday, right? Otherwise, I start tomorrow!

Big Mark 243 said...

I think the is a fabulous idea and you have so much influence that I am sure that your project will have a positive impact!!

Sassy said...

David,

I wanted to point you all in the direction of a beautiful model and person, Matt Schiermeier.

He and his partner Cameron Earnheart run a website that is dedicated to the health and wellbeing of people in general but especially those who are HIV positive.

I think some of his health pointers might be exactly the kind of inspiration you are looking for atm.

You can find these lovelies and their story at http://www.mattschiermeier.net/

Kanani said...

I like the idea, but I think one thing that really helps is listing things that you're grateful for. Good days can be the fulfillment of taking stock, and engaging in things that you're grateful for --hence, usually, you'll make choices that are healthier for you.

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