“15 pounds in 12 weeks. That’s 1.25 pounds per week.”

The words leapt from the computer screen. Personal finance blogger, Shawanda Green, had just written an article titled: Menu Plan Monday: I’m Getting Fat Edition. For some reason, it resonated with me. It seemed like a good idea—and doable.

15 pounds in 12 weeks.

That’s the challenge. Are you in? It will take commit and a little elbow grease, but I think that we can do it—especially if we work together.

Can 15 Pounds Really Improve My Health?

Well, studies show that losing just 10% of your body weight can dramatically improve your health. With a 10% weight loss, you can:

• Lower cholesterol levels
• Reduce blood pressure
• Improve blood sugar levels

AND – we’ll be doing some giveaways throughout the 12 weeks to help you on your journey. But, you’ll have to continue participating throughout the full twelve weeks to qualify.

Why Should I Participate?

There’s only ONE reason to participate in this weight loss push: you. Do it for yourself. Do it because you want your doctor to tell you how well you’ve done at your next physical. Do it because you want to wear a bikini this summer. Do it because you want to play pick-up basketball with the guys without feeling like an old-timer.

do it for yourself.

Okay. All you need to do now is sign-up! It’s simple! Just follow the steps and read through the below. Our official kick-off is Monday, March 22, 2010!

1) Visit the help yourself group on Facebook.com. If you’re not already a member, join our group.

2) Post a message on the group’s wall: “I’m losing 15lbs in 12 weeks!”

3) Send your starting weight by Facebook message to my attention. I will NOT disclose your weight at any time, nor will I share your personal information with anyone. Rather, I will be tracking your percentage of weight loss each week and reporting the percent of weight loss to the group! This measure is designed to help you to be accountable to yourself AND to the group. If you are too uncomfortable to send me your weight, I will be happy to send you the % to weight loss spread sheet and you can report to the group each week.

4) Throughout the course of the challenge, I only ask that you post your status/progress at least once per week on the “help yourself” group wall. This includes how you did with your diet that day, or how your work-out went. The idea is to help each other help ourselves!

And that’s it! Good luck and I can’t wait to “see” how much progress you’ve made at the end of 12 weeks!