The OC New Me Challenge!

Well, ladies and gents, the 2006 year is coming a close and while for many of us it is a time of reflection on our many great accomplishments of the year (moving to a new state, finding a fabulous job, starting the process of adopting the mostly adorable Guatemalan baby on the planet...not to name names of course), but for many of us, it is also a time of reflection of what wasn't accomplished and preparing ourselves for the dreaded New Years Resolutions.

Why do New Years Resolutions suck so much? I mean, for one thing, we pick our Resolutions, right? So you would think something we chose to do would be slightly easier. But no. Most people act like they have a big, burly man with a shotgun pointed at their head screaming, "Make a move and I shoot!"

My impressions are that two main Resolutions of the OC (and yes I realize I'm making a general assumption of all 170 of us and no I don't have a problem with that) are: 1) lose weight and 2) lower the A1C). Losing weight, I believe, is the #1 Resolution of 99.9% of America and lowering the A1C is probably the #1 Resolution of 99.9% of people with diabetes.

So what are we going to do about it? Well, this is my suggestion and contribution to the Great Lowering of Numbers Challenge: a game!

That's right. A game. I call it: The OC New Me Challenge.

Here's how you play:

You e-mail me and tell me what your current A1C or weight (or both) is, and you tell me what your goal is. Then you decide how much you want to wager that you can reach your goal by December 31, 2007. It can be as little as $5 or as much as $100. Whatever you think will motivate you. Every two weeks, you will send me digital photos of your weight (take a picture of the number on the scale while you're on it) or of your 14-day blood sugar average on your meter (you'll let me know your A1C at your check-ups). This shows your progress. As you make progress, you will qualify to win cool monthly prizes like books, CDs, giftcards and other really cool prizes that I can't even tell you about. At the end of the year, if you reach your goal, you get your money back! But if you don't reach your goal, I get to keep your money. No, I'm just kidding. The money goes into the Winners Fund, which is then split evenly among the people who do reach their goal.

So basically, reach your goal or your friends get your cash. Eek! The more you wager, the more likely you are to reach your goal, so I recommend wagering around $20-$30.

Sound like fun? Well you should sign up! Between December 29 and January 7, you sign up by emailing me the aforementioned information. There is no limit to the number of people, but you have to have diabetes. If you're a parent, you have to sign up your child, not you. When you sign up, I will give you more information about where to send your wager and we will work out how to send in your progress updates. Visit the OC New Me Challenge website for continuing updates.

It's a fun game to improve health, so I think everybody should join!

What have you got to lose?