The 2013 Bariatric Foodie Pledge

Has it been another year, already, Foodies? Yowza! Time sure flies when you're having fun!

Since there are a decent amount of newbies in our midst, I am going to start at the beginning about the Bariatric Foodie Pledge. The most important thing I want you to know for this post is that the Pledge does not begin until February 2nd, you don't have to register for the Pledge in advance, so please don't start pledging goals/trying to register in response to this post, k?

What the heck is the Bariatric Foodie Pledge?

So...you've made some resolutions. Are you sticking to them? Are you about to give up? Have you already given up??? And what about come February?

No matter the situation, Bariatric Foodie Pledge is here to help you transform those resolutions into healthy lifestyle changes.

How?

Well, beginning February 2nd and continuing through March 2, each week I will invite you to "pledge" (or work on) a goal of your choosing. It can be anything you want: more protein, water, vitamins or exercise. More me time. Less carbs. Whatever!

Throughout the week I (and your fellow Pledgers) give you a RIDICULOUS amount of support in the form of Facebook posts, recipes and tips. At the end of the week, I ask you to "check-in" (say how you did) by answering a few short questions. Everyone who does that for a week will be entered into a weekly prize drawing. Each week there will be three weekly prize winners.

But here's where it gets sweet. Those who pledge a goal and check-in on their goal for all four weeks of the Pledge are entered to win a special GRAND prize!

So...questions...I know you have them. Here are a few that usually come up:

• I am a pre-op/non-op, can I still participate? YES! I've been getting this question a lot and I take it as a sign that I was right about having newer folks in our midst. Hi!!! No matter how you came to Bariatric Foodie, you are welcome to participate in the Pledge. This point is so important, in fact, that I have to pull out my bold, italics, ALL CAPS and underlining: ALL ARE WELCOME TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PLEDGE. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE POST-OP!
• Do I have to sign up for the Pledge in advance? No! There is no registration for the Pledge. Just stay in touch with the blog as February approaches. I'll put out the first call for pledges on February 2nd. DO NOT PLEDGE BEFORE THAT DATE! And please...for the love of all that is good and yummy READ THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PLEDGE POSTS! I'll try to keep them brief.
• Do I have to have achieved my goal in order to be eligible for the prize? No. You need only pledge your goal and check in. The check-in questions are designed to help you see where your goal might have gone astray, which hopefully will help you down the line.
• Do I have to make a different goal every week? Nope! You know you best. If you want to keep working on the same goal throughout go for it BUT you do have to re-pledge every week, even if you're working on the same goal.
• Do I have to be on Facebook or Twitter to participate? No! As a matter of fact this year, I am employing the help of my friends at Rafflecopter to compile pledges. You can do that from right here on the blog!
• How can I tell if you got my pledge? Each week I will publish a list of the pledgers I have on record for the week. If your name is missing, there is a period of time to let me know about it. And you'd want to do that because not only is that the list I use to draw for weekly prizes, but I also use it to compile the list of people eligible for the grand prize. So you wanna be on that list. So check it!
• Is the Pledge only open to U.S. residents? Unfortunately the prize aspect is limited to the U.S. Since the prizes are shipped from the sponsoring company, my hands are tied in that respect! But I'm working on getting more Foodies around the world in on the prize action. If I can make a case that there's a good amount of non-U.S. participation that would certainly help in convincing companies to invest the extra couple of bucks in shipping. Just saying!

Other questions? Leave them in the comments section and I'll answer them promptly!

Look for more information about the 2013 Bariatric Foodie Pledge coming soon, including this year's prize sponsors! But remember, the Bariatric Foodie Pledge does not begin until February 2nd.

Yay!