BLBE2 Roll Call!!!!!!!!

Okay challengers, it's time to sign up for the second "season" of The Biggest Loser Blog Edition!!

Woooohoooooooo! Are ya excited???!!!! I am! er I mean WE are! Who, what??? We?? Well I alluded previously that there would be a new "twist" this time around. Well this time around, I've got my partner in crime, Lynn, who's given us a new look for our new season (whattya think of the new digs?) and is helping out in running this challenge. That means that we'll be able to handle more participants this time around because we're doing this in TEAMS!

That's right! We are going to be competing as teams and it is going to be your job as a team member to focus on encouraging your fellow teammates while at the same time kicking their behinds if they start to stray off course and start spouting excuses. You have to think of everyone else just as much as yourself because you don't want to let your team down, now do you? Let's not forget that this is a tough love challenge. We all must agree that in addition to being incredibly supportive to one another, you must also be equally open to being held accountable for making excuses and for not "pulling your weight" on your team. AND you must equally be willing to do the butt kicking if you spot an excuse all dressed up as something else!

So the deets of the challenge are very similar to the last one.

To Sign Up: Email biggestloserblogedition@gmail.com and include:

• your name (first and last initial is sufficient)
• blog address
  
• start weight
• weigh-in day

We are closing the opportunity for sign-ups at midnight Sunday, January 4, 2009.

Reporting: Once we have all of our participants organized, we are going to divide the group into teams and we will post them. Each team will have their own email address to use for your WI reporting. On your WI day, please provide us with your results and the number that's on the scale that day as well.

Timeline: this challenge will end on Sunday, April 26, 2009 where the results will be final. The official "kick off" to this challenge will be next Sunday, January 11th and is for a total of 16 weeks.

Goals: we are all starting from different places and face different obstacles, so here's what I suggest:

• This is an individual thing that you should do for you to help you along in your progress.
  
• If you think that it's possible to reach your "goal weight" by April 26th, then by all means set that as your ultimate goal. If you reach your goal by then and maintain it or exceed it to the end of the challenge, you automatically "win" the challenge even though you may not have the biggest total body % lost. Obviously if this happens, there can be more than one "winner."
• If you have less than 5 lbs to lose and you really want to be a part of this challenge, you must put up additional stakes. By this I mean that if you achieve your goal (say in the first month) then there must be a fitness goal of some sort that you want to achieve by the end of the challenge. For example, "I want to be able to do 20 free style chin-ups," or "I want to run 5km in less than 30 mins" etc. Try to avoid things like "go to the gym 3 times per week" by being more specific and orientated in achieving a specific measurable thing.
  
• If you have a lot of weight to lose, your goal will be to work your hiney off to achieve as much as possible (i.e. full court press) all the way to the end (Sunday, April 26th) at which point, you're going to cry with excitement because you can lose a TON of weight in that amount of time months in a healthy way. That's not to say that I'm advising you to pull off crazy numbers like "real" BL does - those people are removed from everyday life and have Jillian and Bob kicking their butts all day long, that's a little different. Slow and steady does win this race in the long run, that is a fact.

Support: We will be linking you to the side of the blog. It will be your job to ensure that you you all visit each other and kick each others arses and applaud where need be. We need to do this together guys and we need to have a presence each and every day. You are in teams and you don't want to let your team down, nor yourself, right?! Lets keep the community busy!

Three Strikes and Your Out: That's the rule. If you do not report your WI and we do not hear from you for three consecutive weigh-ins, then you will be removed from the challenge. If you don't want to be in the challenge, at the risk of sounding harsh, we don't want you in it either. I don't mean that in a negative way, just that it only brings the group down to see blank spaces up on the board, right? Fair?

Friendly Competition: Since there will be teams this time around, we plan on making it fun by talking a little smack and keeping it interesting between the teams as we go along. The more participation in this, the better! :-D

Prizes: I managed to come up with something for Michelle for winning the first challenge, so we will do our best to come up with something for our winner again this time. Any suggestions or prize donations are appreciated. (i.e. if you work for a company who is willing to donate something, please don't be shy and let us know!) I think having a real prize out changes the stakes in your head, even if you don't want to admit it, right?

Results: Since you will be reporting to your "team leader," the results will be posted each week for each team, most likely in the same format at the last challenge.

So, if you think you're up for the challenge and got what it takes to take it seriously and realize that by joining this challenge you are committing to being subjected to some tough love and some good old fashioned friendly competition, then email biggestloserblogedition@gmail.com with your info and say goodbye to that number on the scale for-eva!

~Angie All The Way