
The next eight-week Whole Life Challenge
begins Saturday, and the underground game has already drawn almost
20,000 players. Challengers pay $49 to commit to “7 Daily Habits,”
earning points for the healthy steps they take — and losing points for the rules they break. Players team up and log their points online, and that competitive edge seems to keep people in the game.
earning points for the healthy steps they take — and losing points for the rules they break. Players team up and log their points online, and that competitive edge seems to keep people in the game.

“Eight weeks was a long time ... but I appreciated the accountability,”
says Emer Smith, 34, a WLC survivor who lost 15 pounds playing. “I
definitely had more energy — no mid-afternoon slump. I saw improvements
in my workouts. And my skin was nicer!”
CrossFit members Michael Stanwyck and Andy Petranek created the
challenge in 2011 when they were trying to get their clients to keep
behaving themselves once they left the gym. So they tasked a handful of
early players with eating well, exercising, stretching and taking
supplements every day for eight weeks.
“The key was not telling people what they couldn’t do — you could do
whatever you wanted — but you were going to gain points for doing
certain things, and lose points for doing other things,” explains
Stanwyck, 43, who lives in Venice Beach, California. “And this was prior
to there being a lot of challenges out there, so immediately, everyone
wanted to earn points.”

About 150 people from one CrossFit gym played that first game, and they
did so well — losing sometimes up to 30 pounds — that they brought
families and friends on board for the next challenge. And this
grassroots movement has been building from those couple hundred people
in 2011 to almost 20,000 signing up for the seasonal challenges each
spring, fall and New Year’s Day.
So how does it work? Players select one of three nutrition levels that
get progressively stricter. This is a relief if you’re a newbie who
wants to play without losing her daily glass of wine (the “Kick-Start”
level). But all three tiers ban beer, soda, bread and cheese; it is a
challenge, after all.
Sticking to the compliant foods for a full day nets five points, and
you lose a point each time you cheat. But that’s just one piece of the
wellness puzzle. So you also earn five points for exercising 10 minutes a
day and five more for getting a good night’s sleep. Stretching,
drinking water, personal reflection and weekly lifestyle challenges get
five points apiece. Failing to complete any of those subtracts five
points.

“It’s a very holistic approach to just being well,” said Stanwyck.
“It’s all of the daily habits, like sleeping, relaxing, connecting with
other people.”
And you earn bonuses for following the rules — so if you go four days
with losing less than two nutrition points, you earn one “Indulgence
Bonus” that lets you eat one of your cheats. Or exercising 10 days
straight earns a rest day. “We want people to realize that a day off is
not the end of the world as long as you have a practice that is
consistent,” said Stanwyck.
Many players wonder what their $49 is getting them, since The Whole
Life Challenge doesn’t come with a set workout or diet plan. And there’s
no reward for winning beyond hopefully learning sustainable healthy
habits. But Stanwyck argues his team is working full-time to provide
ad-free life coaching.

“We’ve created a community around the world that is all doing this at
the same time,” Stanwyck says. “You’re going to have support, I’m going
to make it fun and give you new ideas.”
Plus, the website notes that people who pay are in to win, because
they’ve got skin in the game. Is that pint of Ben & Jerry’s or
sleeping in worth $50? Didn’t think so.
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