So yesterday, we learned what the Bariatric Foodie Pledge is. Today, I'm going over the most frequently asked questions.
Of course this list is not exhaustive. If you have other questions, feel free to put them in the comments, on the BF Facebook Page or Tweet them to @BariatricFoodie.
Just to review, the Bariatric Foodie Pledge begins February 2. Every Sunday I'll call for folks to pledge a goal to work on that week. Then you'll work on your goal throughout the week. On the following Saturday I'll ask you to "check in" or say how it went. For every person who both pledges and checks in, they are entered to win a special weekly prize. If you pledge and check in all four weeks you are entered to win a super-big GRAND prize.
Here are a few common questions.
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!
No! There is no registration (or fee) 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.
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.
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.
How much time will I be given to submit my pledge/check-in?
I give the call for pledges at noon each Sunday during The Pledge. You have until Monday at noon to submit your pledge. I post the call for check-ins by noon every Saturday. You have until noon on Sunday (when the next week's pledges begin) to submit your check-in.
What happens if I don't submit my pledge/check-in on time?
Remember that you must pledge and check-in by the deadlines to be eligible for the weekly prizes and to get credit for that week so that you can be eligible to win the grand prize (all people who pledge and check-in on time for all four weeks are eligible for the grand prize drawing).
If you didn't submit your pledge in time, I encourage you to still work on your goal for that week and re-join the next week. If you didn't submit your check-in on time, I encourage you to still be proud of the work you did and re-join the next week. Remember: healthy goals are their own rewards!
Gee, Nik, that seems kind of brutal. You don't make ANY exceptions? Why?
There are two reasons. One is "you-based" and the other is "Nik-based."
You-based: A big part of the benefit of the Pledge (if past participants are to be believed!) is that it promotes accountability. You are working on a goal of your own choosing and holding yourself accountable to it. The reason why the prizes are drawn randomly is so that the ONLY person you are competing with is yourself. Having a deadline helps to make sure you do, in fact, hold yourself accountable to that goal. Sometimes the best lessons we can learn are from falling short. Trust me, I know this!
Nik-based: There are a lot of moving parts to The Pledge. On any given week (besides the first week) I'm simultaneously collecting Pledges, wrapping up check-ins, communicating with prize sponsors and troubleshooting tech problems. In order to keep everything running on schedule, I cannot make exceptions to the deadlines. That's why I am stressing them up front. I'll leave it up to you how you choose to remember the deadlines, but please do. It's worth it!
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!
What if I have difficulties submitting my pledge?
If you have technical difficulties, you can email me at bariatricfoodie@yahoo.com. Please only do this if you are experiencing true difficulties! I will say that because of the nature of web applications sometimes the problem can be easily remedied by going to a laptop or computer to submit your pledge. Be warned that I will ask you to do that before intervening any further.
If your difficulty is accessibility (for example, you are sight impaired or have another disability that makes filling out the online pledge form difficult for you), email me at bariatricfoodie@yahoo.com and I am more than happy to assist!
NO! I have asked my pledge sponsors to open up the prize pool worldwide. Some have been able to do that, some have not. Where they have not, I will cover shipping for any non-US-based names that come out of the hat.
No! Stay tuned for more information about the technology we'll use during the Pledge in part five of this series (this is part two).
If I still haven't answered your question, feel free to post yours in the comments, to the BF Facebook Page or Tweet it to @bariatricfoodie.
No comments:
Post a Comment