WHEREAS the wishful thinking weight loss strategy is painless but ineffective, and
WHEREAS ’tis the season for both yummy local produce and the wearing of bathing suits, and
WHEREAS I don’t know about y’all but I need a kick in the too-tight pants,
it is hereby RESOLVED that June is the month of the Five-Prong Challenge, with prizes to the victors who persevere unto the 30th.
Okay, enough resolution language. Two years ago when my toddler was tiny, I had really good success with a simple approach. For the month of June I did five things: every day I (1) ate five servings of veggies and (2) drank a gallon of water (adjust to suit your own needs). I gave up (3) sugar for the month, though I was not obsessive about things like catsup, and (4) eating after 8:00 at night because I am bad about sitting in front of the computer with a bag of chocolate chips. I also (5) got 30 minutes of exercise four days a week.
Two years ago I lost 13 pounds in the month of June. I’ll be surprised if it works that well this time, since I’m no longer five weeks postpartum. But I still think it’s a good plan, and I am posting it right here so I will not cave in a few days and eat the M&Ms left over from my son’s birthday. If anyone wants to join me, I’d love the company. And if you’d like, I’ll send you something fun in the mail when we’re done. 
Now I am new to the logistics of challenges, but my plan will probably not be a perfect fit for anyone else. (Some of you exercise a lot more than I do!) If you want to tweak a prong or two or five to fit you better, just post your revised plan for June in the comments. I am a big fan of the five veggies a day idea, though.
Ok CJ, I’m gonna give this a go. I’m making number 4 no extra evening eating, cos there are a couple of days where schedule dictates dinner coms at 7.45 ish (like on a Monday night when I’m out tutoring and my Mum is out doing stuff and my Dad always cooks us a lovely meal). I get the sentiment of the challenge, just want to make it clear that if I’m still eating my dnner at 8pm I won’t feel any condemnation
I think I might also bring my other blog (http://bigtobeautiful.blogspot.com/) back to life - my posting on it had got a bit sporadic - to log my progress, so a message to all, come over and see how I get on. Obvioulsy I’ll write stuff on here too, but think it might be good to keep a day by day record there.
Comment by Debs — June 1, 2007 @ 2:12 am
And, also, having thought about it that is quite a lot of water. I’m gonna aim for at least 6 pints a day. A while back quite a lot of us used a calculator thing to work out how much water we should be drinking. I can’t remember what the link was, but someone else may be able to…
Comment by Debs — June 1, 2007 @ 3:40 am
Don’t forget US gallons and pints are smaller than UK gallons and pints.
1 UK gallon = 8 UK pints = 160 fl oz.
1 UK pint = 20 fluid oz
1 US gallon = 8 US pints = 128 fl. oz
1 US pint = 16 fluid oz
So 6 UK pints is 7.5 US pints, which is nearly a US gallon.
Comment by Bekki — June 1, 2007 @ 4:52 am
Hrmmm…CJ. What a great idea.
Okay. I’m in!
Comment by Bethany — June 1, 2007 @ 5:02 am
I remember when you did this. I was SOOOO jealous as you told of your weight loss and your loose shorts.
I think I’ll change #2 from water to coffee…oh wait…
Anyway. I’m in! THANK YOU for doing this!!
Comment by blestwithsons — June 1, 2007 @ 6:00 am
Count me in too!
Comment by lady laura — June 1, 2007 @ 6:40 am
Oh, ok. Thanks Bekki. So yeah, I’m aiming for about 6 UK pints. Or 120oz ish. Hey, lots of water anyway.
Comment by Debs — June 1, 2007 @ 6:45 am
I’m in too. I’m at work now, so later this evening I’ll check out all the prongs again and see if I have to modify anything.
Question about the sugar…I know that candy, ice cream, cake, brownies, that kind of obvious stuff has sugar, but what else do I have to watch out for?
I will say that I take a vanilla protein shake every other day and I put in 2 scoops of chocolate powder…would that still be ok? In between the every other day of the vanilla shake, I do a strawberry protein shake with frozen fruit (sugar free).
Comment by Cristina — June 1, 2007 @ 7:38 am
Ok I am in. Think I won’t aim for quite so much water. Anything up from 80 oz is ok for me I think. The no sugar thing is hard to think about which is why I probably should do it too. Can I start tomorrow? Am getting there with the exercise so this may be just the extra push I need. Thanks CJ.
Comment by elly — June 1, 2007 @ 8:51 am
5 servings of veggies is a lot for me… i think my modified points will be:
(1). eat at least 3 servings of veggies a day (aim for 4) plus 2-4 of fruit
(2). drink a lot of water a day (i’m already drinking a lot, and i only “require” like 70 oz or something like that)
(3). give up sugar for the month, with the exception of 1 vanilla latte a week and 1 dessert a week (planned splurges save me!)
(4). like debs, i sometimes don’t eat until 8pm. so no after-dinner eating.
(5). exercise at least 4 times a week for 45 minutes minimum.
Comment by Anne — June 1, 2007 @ 8:53 am
Oh yes, when I said 5 veg, I meant 5 (or more) fruit and veg.
Comment by Debs — June 1, 2007 @ 9:19 am
I’ll do it.
I need something fairly simple like this to give me good start back into post-pregnancy world. Mine will be more about lifestyle changes than exercise since I’ve not been given the go-ahead from my Dr. yet.
(1) five servings of fruits and/or veggies
(2) a goal of 6 glasses of water per day (I loathe the taste of water no matter what I do to it so this is where I’ll start)
(3) cut sugar for the month, meaning no dessert all month with one exception - my husband’s birthday on the 12th.
(4) no eating after getting the kids down for the night (I’m not putting a time to it, because I like to get a snack in the evening - the only time I can eat something in relative peace)
(5) and one for my brain - start reading the South Beach book.
Comment by stephanie — June 1, 2007 @ 12:08 pm
You know, five servings of veggies feels like a lot at first but I’d encourage everybody to give it a whirl. It’s really not that hard once you get in the groove. For lunch, have a big handful of baby carrots and pile lettuce, tomato, onion, sprouts onto your sandwich — two servings. For dinner have a salad with a cup of lettuce and a couple of kinds of chopped raw veggies (two more servings), plus a little steamed broccoli with your meal.
I found that when I was trying to eat five veggies a day, I would snack pre-emptively on carrots or frozen peas or red pepper strips. To my surprise, I wasn’t hungry for junk at all after the first week. On the first of July two years ago I said, “Hm, I could eat some ice cream today if I wanted. But you know what I really want? Carrots!”
Comment by CJ — June 1, 2007 @ 12:40 pm
Ok I am in…here is how I will modify it for me..
1. Eat at 3-5 servings fruit/veggies
2. Drink 70 oz water(just can’t do a gallon)
3. No sugar except in Friday nights which is family dessert night.
4. 30 minutes of exercise 4 time per week
5. No eating after 7 p.m.
Looking forward to it.
Comment by Kellie — June 1, 2007 @ 1:16 pm
Hee hee… that’s like me this morning CJ. I was just THRILLED to have a bowl of leftover edamame to pig out on for midmorning snack. Say, have you tried that recipe? It’s in the archives- just search edamame.
Comment by blestwithsons — June 1, 2007 @ 1:18 pm
Ok, I am in, too…
1. 5 servings fruits and veggies.
2. Dessert only once a week and no sugar otherwise.
3. 6 days of exercise a week for at least 45 minutes at a time.
4. 75 ounces water or more a day (for my weight that is adequate)
5. Don’t really have the eating late issue but I do have a letting myself get too hungry issue - I will have a healthy snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon if needed. I will also carry them to school with me so I am not famished as I sit and take notes or work on my projects for class.
Comment by Leann — June 1, 2007 @ 4:27 pm
I’m in!
Here is my modified challenge:
1. 7 servings of fruits and veggies each day…4 veggies,
3 fruit
2. 80 oz water a day
3. The only sugary thing I am allowed all month is my
daily serving of dark chocolate…don’t want to let
that go man!!
4. No eating after 8 (not difficult for me)
5. 60 mins of exercise 5 days a week
Comment by Tami — June 1, 2007 @ 7:12 pm
Thanks for the challenge, CJ! I accept! Here are my modifications:
1. 5 servings of veggies per day
(I know they don’t have sugar, but they can be a weakness for me.)
2. 64 oz of water per day
3. I am with Tami–NOT giving up my dark chocolate! But that shall be my only treat this month–no CJ cookies
4. NO NIBBLING. That is my problem. So I will ONLY eat 5 times per day (3 meals, 2 snacks) and I can eat my chocolate whenever I want to.
5. Exercise 3 times per week.
Comment by Brandi — June 1, 2007 @ 8:31 pm
I’m in! But I just read this and I’m starting a day late. My modifications would be:
1) Five servings of fruits and veggies (no more than two from fruit)
2) No eating after 8 unless I’m late getting dinner (quite possible since I’ll be a single mom in less than two weeks!)
3) All rules are off for one date with my hubby before he deploys
Comment by Christy — June 2, 2007 @ 12:29 pm
I’m in, though I didn’t say so earlier.
1. 5 servings of veggies 2 of fruit
2. water! at least 1 gal/day.
3. no eating after dinner
4. no eating at computer
5. 30 min. exercise at least 4 times/week
Comment by Tracy — June 4, 2007 @ 9:31 am