The Jingle Jiggle Challenge Part II: The Holidays Strike Back!

Okay, Ladies, it is getting to be that time of year again...where tricks, treats, and temptations of all sorts lie in wait to make us indulge over the holidays, Halloween through Christmas. Having succumbed last year (and still having a little of that weight left), I am strategizing now to figure out what I will do to counteract the tasty temptations that await. After all, I know that I am a weak woman, and that resolving to keeping my mitts entirely off all of those empty calories is simply not practical. Collateral action must be taken to keep everything in check!

So I am hereby reinstating the Jingle Jiggle Challenge - where everyone chooses their own goal for over the holidays - and expanding it to include Thanksgiving as well. For everyone who wasn't a part of it last year, the Challenge is based on the idea that when you write down your commitments it makes it easier to keep them through the holidays, and by making it through our challenges we could avoid gaining any weight. We would check in usually about once a week with an update on how we were meeting the challenge we set for ourselves. I'm trying to think up some fun recognition for people who meet their challenge.

I'm going to arbitrarily rule that the challenge will begin this year on Nov. 1st, also known as dia de los muertos, the day after Halloween, or next Thursday depending on how you want to look at it. The challenge will run for 2 months, until January 1st, and hopefully keep us fit and on track through the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays (and all the pre-feast snacking, parties, and goody baskets that come along with them). Provided it's okay with our webmistress, Jules, once the challenge gets underway I'll add a chart at the bottom of the page where we can have everyone's goal listed can chart our success towards the goal by week if we choose to do so. Stick with the challenge, and you'll have a gold star on the chart that week, plus bragging rights on your level of discipline!

Now for the key part: the challenge doesn't have to be something tough. If your goal is to actually lose weight over the holidays, that's great and your challenge can reflect that. However, the idea with the challenge is just to prevent backsliding so don't feel pressured to pick a challenge that is going to overwhelm you during the holidays. (Last year, I think someone's goal was to make sure they kept working out three times a week over the holidays. Not earthshattering, but a good solid goal nonetheless.) Whatever you choose doesn't have to be a huge change from what you're doing now, but it just needs to be something you want to make sure you do to keep fit during the season of sartorial excess.

All who want to play are welcome, and in fact are encouraged to do so and welcomed with open arms.

So, what will your challenge be?