#ASHAFit 8 in 5 Challenge

Over the past year, several SLPs and AUDs have come together to create a support system for getting healthy and staying active through various editions of what we’ve called #ASHAFit challenges. The challenges have ranged in lengths and participant number, but all have looked at who can loose the highest body fat percentage in a given time. This time around, we are doing something a little differently for #ASHAFit85. Check it out…

The challenge:

Lose 8% of your body fat in 5 months

Start Date: Saturday, September 20, 2014 (or anytime the following week or so)

End Date: Saturday, February 21, 2015

You can follow along on FB over here too – we’ll be posting info and motivation along the way. Also from Twitter @ASHAFitness.

The rules:

1. $50 entrance fee by paypal (that equates to $10 per month)
   1. All transactions to Tanya’s paypal account (slptanya at gmail dot com)
   2. All transactions should be in US funds (since the majority of participants will likely pay in US Funds). Paypal makes this very easy. The reason it needs to be the same this time is because it isn’t winner take all, it has to be equally distributed at the end. Mixing currencies will make this more complicated.
2. At the end of the game, whoever has reached the 8% goal shares the pot. So at the very least you’ll have lost 8% for free (if everyone makes the goal).
3. Starting Weight: Send in your weight via email (or fill out the form) that includes your name, preferred email, and weight numbers.
4. Weight Verification pictures are required at beginning and end to ensure a fair game. These pictures will have to be emailed (fit4asha at gmail dot com) as there isn’t a way to attach them to the form. When you submit the initial email, take a full body photo of yourself standing on the scale (Scale Selfie!), in light clothing, and an up-close photo of your your weight with feet on the scale with the starting code word (the code word for week 1 photos is ‘success’) on an index card in view. The weight numbers on the scale must be legible to us.
5. Weight is sent in at least semi-monthly to fit4asha at gmail dot com or you can submit it to the form (preferred for us). Only Katie and Tanya will see these submissions. The reason we want you to do this at least every other week is to help keep you motivated (5 months is a very long time) and on track. Weekly is preferred! Everyone involved will have access to an updated chart of who has lost what percentage throughout the 5 months. If you don’t submit, we’ll assume you’ve gained a lb and the percentage will reflect that!

Who should join?:

Anyone who wants that extra motivation to lose weight is welcome. You do not have to be an SLP or an AUD. You do not have to be going to ASHA this year. You do not have to be American (I’m not!!). You can be a computer programmer from Kazakstan and you are more than welcome!

If losing 8% of your body weight would put you in an underweight category on the BMI, however, joining wouldn’t be a healthy choice.

 Any questions, contact Katie and Tanya at fit4asha at gmail dot com!

Keep in touch via Facebook  and Twitter using the hashtag  #ASHAfit85

Submit your weight to the form:

Once we’ve started the challenge, every week (or every other week) you can submit your weight below or by clicking here and saving the link . The first time we’ll ask you for your email but after that we’ll just ask for your name and weight. Don’t submit to the form until September 20th or later since the weight you are now may not be accurate by then and will not count. Only the picture proof weight will count at the beginning (see rules above).