Hi friends! Who’s excited for the holidays? (You can probably tell that I am purely based on the volume of gingerbread I’ve been sharing). Maybe this just means I’m getting older, but holy crap they come up so fast. The holiday season can slip between your fingers real fast, too. Or at least they do for me, unless I’m especially mindful.

That’s why this year, I’m super excited to share that I’m working with Lindsay of the Lean Green Bean (aka one of the first blogs I ever started reading) on her holiday Challenge: Elf 4 Health. If you’re not familiar with Lindsay’s blog, she’s a Registered Dietitian, who shares her health knowledge and plenty of delicious, and approachable recipes perfect for anyone starting their journey to a healthier life. I’ve always looked up to Lindsay and her blog has been a huge inspiration so I didn’t skip a beat when she asked if I’d want to help her co-host the challenge this year.

Elf 4 Health is all about being mindful, and making the most of this special time of year.

This is a four week challenge that will run from the November 23rd through December 20th.

The challenges fall into 4 different categories:

• Food
• Fitness
• For You
• For Others

There will be daily tasks, weekly newsletters and a private Facebook community.

And are you ready for the best part? You’ll have an elf to support and encourage you if you’d like! When you sign up, you can choose whether you’d like to be paired with a partner to swap ideas and support with, or participate in the challenges on your own. Over the course of the challenge, you can have two different elves.

Sounds like a great way to stay motivated and meet new people over the holidays doesn’t it?! Since this challenge is internet based,anyone can participate… no matter where you’re located! All you need is access to the internet and an email address.

So what does an Elf do?

As an Elf, you are expected to support your assigned buddy with their holiday health goals and the daily challenges. Elves & buddies will be reassigned after 2 weeks so that hopefully you get to meet 2 new people!

You are only asked to email your buddy 2 times per week:

Monday: Send your buddy an email to help them with the challenges for that week. Ideas of things to include/attach: your own personal tips & tricks, inspiring words and/or images, a new, healthy recipe or workout to try.

Thursday – Saturday: Any time during these days, check in with your buddy! For example, ask them if they tried a new recipe, workout, or had fun with any certain challenges. Feel free to tell them how you did with your challenges, too!

Anything more than those 2 emails is up to you but feel free to go above and beyond this to show your support! Just a few ideas: send your buddy Tweets, shout outs on our Facebook Page, email a fun workout you liked or send a hand-written recipe or note.

Important Dates:

• Friday, November 20th at 11:59pm EST: sign up deadline
• Sunday, November 22nd: Round 1 Elf assignments emailed
• Monday, November 23rd – Sunday, December 6th: Round 1
• Friday December 4th: Round 2 signup deadline
• Sunday, December 6th: Round 2 Elf assignments emailed
• Monday, December 7th – Sunday, December 20th: Round 2

*If you missed the initial sign up deadline, you can still participate

• Sign up before December 4th for Round 2

Not clear about something? Email Lindsay or me (init4thelongrun4@gmail.com)

So, you’re probably wondering what the daily challenges are, right? Here are 2 images you can save on the lock screen of your phone to remind you of the challenges for weeks 1 & 2 then weeks 3 & 4

You can see more detailed descriptions on the calendar below and we’ll expand even more on the challenges in each weekly newsletter. See below for a printable list! Print it out and hang it somewhere to remind you participate, or add it to your Google calendar!

Want to sign up? Fill out the form below:

Join the Facebook Group

We will be sending out a weekly newsletter reminding you of the weekly challenges so look out for a confirmation email to confirm your participation & newsletter subscription. If you don’t receive a confirmation email, check your spam box. If you still can’t find a confirmation email, let one of us know ASAP and we’ll add you to the list.

[Tweet “Can’t wait to be part of Elf4Health! Join the holiday challenge with me.”]

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