We did the workout challenge a couple months back. It is now time to address a challenge that focuses not on complete compliance for a short amount of time, but hopefully lifelong habits. This “challenge” is actually pretty similar to how I set up my own tracking. It addresses diet, workouts, daily walking, mobility, etc. It is an attempt at being all-encompassing and sustainable.
Quick Look
We will track how many workouts you do, how many of the daily movement assignments you complete, your water, and how well you are eating. With that in mind, here is the points breakdown.
Movelevate Class–10 points each.
Daily Movement Assignments–5 Points each.
Water–5 points each.
Walk–1 point per mile, to 1/100th. (example: 3.11 miles)
Sleep–5 points for goal time reached.
Diet–5 points possible.
Diet
You start each day with five points. For this challenge, we are eating Primal. That means meat, fruit, vegetables, nuts, cheese. The goal is to limit the amount of processed food and grains we eat. We try not to use the term “cheat food”, but there are things we want to limit for most of us due to the insulin response. If you have questions on what is Primal and what is not, reach out to us or Dr. Google. As for the points system here, you subtract one point for each serving of a “negative impact” food consumed. So, a burger with a bun would be a minus-2, with each bun being one serving. A serving of cereal in the morning is a -1, etc. Go back for that third serving of Lucky Charms? Yep, minus-3. This also includes soda, and yes, diet soda. The idea here is not to think of foods as good or bad, but to approach them from a “does this help me achieve my goals?” mindset. So yes, we have designated “bad” foods here, just be careful with that approach. We are not getting into caloric needs or macros here, but if you want some advice here, reach out individually. We are glad to help in that regard.
Primal Diet Resources:
Points possible in a week: 35
Class
This one is simple to track. 10 Points for each video class completed. This is all or none. 10 or 0.
Points possible in a week: 30.
Daily Movement Assignment
We are bringing this back after a couple of weeks off, working in some more mobility work. Like we say, daily habits done consistently over time make a big difference. This is all or none, 5 or 0.
Points possible in a week: 20.
Water
We all need water. We all know it. Few consciously attack it though. Not us. Ideally, we need to drink about one ounce of water per every two pounds of body weight. This is all or none, 5 of 0.
Points possible in a week: 35.
Walk
We are big fans of the frequent, short walks. Build the habit of walking several times a day and it feels like less of a chore than a designated long walk. But do what works for you. You get points for every mile you walk. Walk 2.5 miles, get 2.5 points. Walk 3.22 miles, get 3.22 points. Use whatever app you want to track this. Sarah and I both use Nike Plus if you want to see our walking progress. Mileage will be from active walks, not a daily total as kept by some fitness trackers.
Points possible in a week: Unlimited.
Sleep
We all know it is important. Few of us prioritize it. We also all have slightly different needs, but that 7-9 hour range is ideal. So, we are going to set a goal of at least 7 hours for the purpose of this exercise (see what I did there). Sleep 7 hours? Get five points. Don’t? Get zero.
Points possible in a week: 35.
Add that up and there are 176 points in a week (using an average of 3/day for walking). So, that is just over 25 points a day. Now comes where we vary a little from some other similar challenges.
| Class | 30 |
| Diet | 35 |
| Daily Assignments | 20 |
| Water | 35 |
| Walk | 21 |
| Sleep | 35 |
| 176 |
We are not chasing max points here in some sort of competition. We are trying to build sustainable habits, remember? Our goal here is to reach a minimum number of points. This number can change depending on your goals. Looking to make some drastic changes? You probably need a higher goal number. Looking to make gradual improvements? A slightly lower number than that. Happy with where you are and looking to maintain? You have some more freedom to move that number.
That number would eventually be up to the individual, but we are going to start everyone out shooting for 80 percent of maximum points and stick with that for some baseline data. So, we are aiming for an average of 140 points per week, 20 points a day to start. We will track this in a Google spreadsheet I have set up.
Are You In?
Let’s build some life-changing habits! We plan on starting the challenge on Monday, June 7. Let us know if you are in for this and I will get the spreadsheet link sent. And we might have a surprise at the end. Update: The spreadsheet has been posted in the private Facebook group and the Google Classroom. If you still need added, let us know.
For more information, email movelevate@gmail.com.
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