It's Back....The Game On! Diet

Summary: The Game On! Diet is not a diet. It's a bold new approach to fitness that turns the latest, smartest, most successful health science into a fun, fierce, and exhilarating game. Developed by Az Ferguson, to help Grey's Anatomy writer Krista Vernoff shed forty pounds of postpregnancy weight, it is the ideal program for busy people who should be working out but have a thousand good excuses not to.

Az keeps you motivated and Krista keeps you laughing as they show you how to organize opposing teams, set goals, and compete to earn points for daily exercise, healthy meal plans, and positive lifestyle changes. With The Game On! Diet, the process of losing weight, for the first time ever, is actually fun. After all, what's better than a bikini body . . . and bragging rights?

Get out there and lose . . . to win! Game on! -- Harper

Last summer, some fellow book bloggers and I participated in the Game On! Diet based on the book THE GAME ON! DIET: KICK YOUR FRIEND'S BUTT WHILE SHRINKING YOUR OWN by Az Ferguson and Krista Vernoff. As far as diets go, it was a pretty cool concept for losing weight; and I did enjoy the friendly (and not-so-friendly competition.) I had a fair amount of success last time and for the most part kept almost all of the pounds off, but I've noticed that the holidays have not been good to the old butt, tummy and hips! Now I know it wasn't the holidays that were the problem but my lack of willpower for desserts, wine and other goodies that have made me a little thicker around the middle.

Just in case you don't remember from last time, here's the premise in a nutshell:

Rather than focus on losing weight, you get to focus on winning points -- this idea definitely appeals to the competitive side of my personality. You can earn a maximum of 100 points a day for doing the following:

1) 30 Meal Points - 6 points per meal -no snacks
2) 20 Exercise Points - 20 minutes of exercise per day
3) 10 Water Points - 3 liters a day
4) 15 Sleep Points - at least 7 hours a night
5) 20 Transformation Points - 10 points for a healthy new habit and 10 points for dropping an old unhealthy one
6) 5 Communication Points - being in contact with your team members every day

You can also lose points if you:
1) 10 Points - snack between meals
2) 20 Points - if you collude with another player
3) 25 Points - alcohol penalty per portion

The diet does cut you some slack:
1) One day off a week when you don't have to follow any of the rules
2) One meal off a week when you can eat what you want and have one unit of alcohol
3) Each day you can have 100 calories of anything as a bonus treat

Since the snack cake teams had so much fun last time, many of the original players are back along with a few newbies! There are three teams; and we will compete against each other to see which team gets the most points. Of course, I am a returning Ding Dong -- the reigning champions!

Ding Dongs

Ti of Book Chatter
Amy of My Friend Amy
Jill of Rhapsody in Books
Molly of My Cozy Book Nook
Julie of Booking Mama

Twinkies

Dawn of She Is Too Fond of Books
Natasha/Vasilly of Classic Vasilly
Candace/Beth F of Beth Fish Reads
Jennifer of The Literate Housewife Review
Jenners of Find Your Next Book Here
Jenn of Jenn’s Bookshelves

Ho Hos

J.T. of BiblioFreakBlog
Jen of Devourer of Books
Pam of Bookalicio.us
Sandy of You’ve GOTTA Read This
Laurie (blogless at this time)

Our challenge begins tomorrow, January 4th and and runs for four weeks. Many of the participants will be blogging regularly and tweeting to keep everyone in the loop about our efforts.) You can follow our discussion on twitter by using the hashtag #gameondiet. We haven't worked out all the details, but there are going to be prizes!

I have to admit that I am really not in the mood to start dieting, but I know I need to. Once I get started, I will definitely be in 100% (hear that? Twinkies and Ho Hos.) There are a few things that I am dreading like giving up diet soda -- I am so addicted! At least, I can still have my coffee and iced tea. The exercise part is going to be a little more difficult for me this time because I haven't been working out or running regularly, and I have a hard time finding the time to go to the gym everyday. I'm thinking I might get up at 6:00 and just get it over with!

As far as the Transformation Points go, I am definitely not looking forward to this part. Since the habits didn't stick from last time, I am doing the same ones again. For my healthy habit, I am going to do five Sun Salutations each day. For my unhealthy habit that I need to kick, I'm going to stay off of my computer for two hours a day and spend more time with my family. I really didn't want to take on this part of the challenge again, but I figure if it "hurts" this much, it must be the right one to give up for four weeks!

Hey Twinkies and Ho Hos -- it's GAME ON!

Review: The Game On! Diet

Summary: The Game On! Diet is not a diet. It's a bold new approach to fitness that turns the latest, smartest, most successful health science into a fun, fierce, and exhilarating game. Developed by Az Ferguson, to help Grey's Anatomy writer Krista Vernoff shed forty pounds of postpregnancy weight, it is the ideal program for busy people who should be working out but have a thousand good excuses not to.

Az keeps you motivated and Krista keeps you laughing as they show you how to organize opposing teams, set goals, and compete to earn points for daily exercise, healthy meal plans, and positive lifestyle changes. With The Game On! Diet, the process of losing weight, for the first time ever, is actually fun. After all, what's better than a bikini body . . . and bragging rights?

Get out there and lose . . . to win! Game on! -- Harper

THE GAME ON! DIET: KICK YOUR FRIEND'S BUTT WHILE SHRINKING YOUR OWN by Az Ferguson and Krista Vernoff is a new diet plan that I just tested for four weeks. The idea of this diet plan definitely appealed to me because there are lots of rules. I am a major rule follower so I knew that having these rules would help ensure that I would stick with this diet -- I hate not doing things "right." In addition, there is a nifty little checklist (I get very excited about lists) where I could track my progress each and every day.

What I can most assuredly say after participating in this diet is that there is going to be something in it that appeals to everyone. If you are like me (Major Type A personality), then you might like the rules and the checklist. There is also a game element involved that will appeal to those of you who are competitive. I really liked that aspect too because I love to win! And if you are a people pleaser, then I think the team aspect will help you stick to the diet because you will be concerned about letting down your team when or if you have any lapses.

I have to admit that I'm glad to be done with this first round of The Game On! Diet. I don't regret doing it one bit, but I do need a break from all the rules. Plus, I have three family birthday celebrations coming up in the next month, and I don't think I can get through that many parties without eating any sugar! (Although I did have two mini vacations during the past four weeks that I did survive with only one lapse.)

If you'd like to learn more about my 4 week diet, you can read my prior posts:
Introduction
Week 1 Recap
Week 2 Recap
Note: I didn't do a Week 3 Recap because I was on vacation and didn't have computer access.

Here's a brief summary of the basic idea behind the program:

Rather than focus on losing weight, you get to focus on winning points. You can earn a maximum of 100 points a day for doing the following:

1) 30 Meal Points - 6 points per meal -no snacks
2) 20 Exercise Points - 20 minutes of exercise per day
3) 10 Water Points - 3 liters a day
4) 15 Sleep Points - at least 7 hours a night
5) 20 Transformation Points - 10 points for a healthy new habit and 10 points for dropping an old unhealthy one
6) 5 Communication Points - being in contact with your team members every day

You can also lose points if you:
1) 10 Points - snack between meals
2) 20 Points - if you collude with another player
3) 25 Points - alcohol penalty per portion

The diet does cut you some slack:
1) One day off a week when you don't have to follow any of the rules
2) One meal off a week when you can eat what you want and have one unit of alcohol
3) Each day you can have 100 calories of anything as a bonus treat

Overall, I think The Game On! Diet is a terrific program. And while I didn't lose as much weight as I had hoped, I think I developed some really good habits like eating smaller portions, drinking more water, eating more veggies, and doing five sun salutations every day. I do feel like I'm eating a lot healthier because everything I've consumed is fresh rather than packaged. I also like the idea of exercising six days a week, but in reality I was almost doing this anyway prior to the diet.

The thing I liked the most about the program was the team aspect. I loved being able to talk/complain about this diet and my lack of weight loss with others in the same boat. I enjoyed all the good-natured teasing that went along with the diet; and I especially liked how there were always lots of people to encourage me when I was frustrated!

And I realize that no diet is perfect, but I have to vent about the things I didn't find ideal about this plan. Keep in mind that these are my complaints and my complaints only.

- Eating five small meals a day - I understand the reasons for this rule, especially since it's supposed to increase your metabolism. On one hand, I liked that I always knew I could eat again in two to four hours; so if I was a little hungry after a meal, no problem - I knew I could make it a few hours until the next one. My main problem with this rule was when I was forcing myself to eat the fifth meal when I wasn't even hungry. My dieting mentality is one that says I shouldn't eat just to eat -- I felt like they were wasted calories. And one day last week, I binged on a lunch. I absolutely wasn't hungry and didn't "need" to eat the rest of the day, but I would have had to take not only the six point penalty for my lunch, but also another 18 penalty points if I didn't eat the rest of the day. As a result, I forced down two more mini meals so I'd only end up taking 12 penalty points for the day.

- Frustration with weight loss - Last year, I did Weight Watchers and felt like I had a little more luck losing weight. I ended up losing around six pounds with The Game On! Diet which isn't too bad, but I was hoping for a little more . While I did take my day off each week, I didn't take my extra meal off until week 4. I felt as if I ate that extra meal, I would have never reached my 1% weight loss goal each week -- I found that quite annoying! And to top it off, I was running almost three miles every day when only 20 minutes of activity was required. Upon further assessment of the meal plan, I think I might have been consuming too many calories even without that "free meal." The book does warn against this problem for some people (in fact, Ms. Vernoff herself counts calories for her meal plan.) If/when I try this diet again, I will definitely count calories or use the Weight Watcher point system.

- Punishment for not reaching goal weight - Since I had only a little weight to lose, I felt like it wasn't always realistic to lost 1% of my body weight each and every week. Next time, I think I'll set a different goal so I feel like I'm not failing! Since I am one that likes to follow rules, I only had one meal the entire four weeks where I slipped. Fortunately, I reached my goal weight the first three weeks, so I didn't have to take any of the penalties (like losing alcohol for the remainder of the diet.) I guess I was just really frustrated that even if I followed all the rules and scored a perfect 850 points, it was still a very realistic possibility that I couldn't lose 1% of my weight.

I am definitely planning on keeping with some elements of this game. I love the girls (and guy) that I competed with/against, and I hope to continue communicating with them regularly. I also plan on eating a lot healthier and especially taking in more veggies and water on a regular basis. I think everyone who participated agrees that there are some wonderful things to take away from this diet plan!

Overall, I do recommend The Game On! Diet if you are want to make some major lifestyle changes. It is a great way to eat better, increase your physical activity and implement some new habits in your life. Plus, it's a great way to get healthier along with your friends!

Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of THE GAME ON! DIET.

Game On! and Pounds Off! (I Hope)

Summary: The Game On! Diet is not a diet. It's a bold new approach to fitness that turns the latest, smartest, most successful health science into a fun, fierce, and exhilarating game. Developed by Az Ferguson, to help Grey's Anatomy writer Krista Vernoff shed forty pounds of postpregnancy weight, it is the ideal program for busy people who should be working out but have a thousand good excuses not to.

Az keeps you motivated and Krista keeps you laughing as they show you how to organize opposing teams, set goals, and compete to earn points for daily exercise, healthy meal plans, and positive lifestyle changes. With The Game On! Diet, the process of losing weight, for the first time ever, is actually fun. After all, what's better than a bikini body . . . and bragging rights?

Get out there and lose . . . to win! Game on! -- Harper

THE GAME ON! DIET: KICK YOUR FRIEND'S BUTT WHILE SHRINKING YOUR OWN by Az Ferguson and Krista Vernoff sounds like an awesome concept for losing weight. I had a lot of success last summer when I lost over 20 pounds with Weight Watchers and exercise, but I've noticed that a few pounds are creeping back on the past few months. After reading about Book Club Girl's endeavor, I admit that I was a little interested in this health plan. And then when I saw her success, I became very interested!

Here's the premise in a nutshell:

Rather than focus on losing weight, you get to focus on winning points -- this idea definitely appeals to the competitive side of my personality. You can earn a maximum of 100 points a day for doing the following:

1) 30 Meal Points - 6 points per meal -no snacks
2) 20 Exercise Points - 20 minutes of exercise per day
3) 10 Water Points - 3 liters a day
4) 15 Sleep Points - at least 7 hours a night
5) 20 Transformation Points - 10 points for a healthy new habit and 10 points for dropping an old unhealthy one
6) 5 Communication Points - being in contact with your team members every day

You can also lose points if you:
1) 10 Points - snack between meals
2) 20 Points - if you collude with another player
3) 25 Points - alcohol penalty per portion

The diet does cut you some slack:
1) One day off a week when you don't have to follow any of the rules
2) One meal off a week when you can eat what you want and have one unit of alcohol
3) Each day you can have 100 calories of anything as a bonus treat

Admittedly, dieting is not a good time for me; however, I think the Game On! plan does sound kind of fun. A group of fellow book bloggers has agreed to take on this challenge along with me. We have been divided into three teams; and we will compete against each other to see which team gets the most points.

The Twinkies:
Dawn – She is Too Fond of Books
Jenners – Find Your Next Book Here
Jenn – Jenn’s Bookshelf
Candace – Beth Fish Reads
Denise – M. Denise C.

The Ding Dongs:
Tina – Book Chatter and Other Stuff
Amy – My Friend Amy
Jill/Softdrink – Fizzy Thoughts
Jill – Rhapsody in Books
Me!

The Ho Hos
Kathy - The Brain Lair
and her three friends who will be writing about their experience on Facebook

Our challenge begins today, June 29th and ends July 26th -- it's a four week program. All of the participants will be blogging regularly (at least once a week) and tweeting to keep everyone in the loop about our struggles (oops -- I mean efforts.) You can follow our discussion on twitter by using the hashtag #gameondiet. We haven't worked out all the details, but I'm pretty sure that the winning team members are going to get some good prizes!

I am very excited about this but also very nervous. So far, the thing that scares me the most is that I have to give up my diet soda -- that's my drug of choice. I try to limit my soda to one per day, but I still consider myself addicted! At least, I can still have my coffee and iced tea. I think I'll be okay with the exercise part because I already run three miles a few days a week; and I know I can stick to the diet if I set my mind to it.

As far as the Transformation Points go, it's not going to be easy. For my healthy habit, I am going to do five Sun Salutations each day. For my unhealthy habit that I need to kick, I'm going to stay off of my computer for two hours a day and spend more time with my family. That's something I should be doing anyway, but....

Wish me luck -- I'm going to need it! And to the Twinkies and the Ho Hos -- GAME ON!