The best way to run your own group is the one that works for you all so make it up as you go along! This is just what we did and it worked well for us – if it’s useful to anyone
- We used WhatsApp as my friends were all on it and its free and the group was called simply 702
- I sent out a message to a few of the WhatsApp groups I’m on. This was the gist of the text
hi all – I’m on board with flattening the curve but since I’ve developed a few new ones – of my own – I’m implementing a “702” campaign. For 7 days starting Mon 20th April my plan is to drink 0 booze and to lose 2 pounds. Wanna join me ? If so WhatsApp “702” to me on and I’ll set up a new group for comms. Let’s flatten the curves – together- apart! - The message was sent on a Thurs. so friends had time to think about it and we all had the weekend to relax and enjoy eating and drinking!
- A number of people asked if they could join and just focus on the weight but that wasn’t allowed as the focus of the 702 campaign is to stop drinking and lose weight. However for anyone who wants to do that; it’s a great idea – set up a “72” campaign instead – aiming to lose 2 pounds over 7 days.
- Over the course of the next few days, we ended up with a group of 10. I think it was the perfect number, by chance!
- This was the welcome message sent out when the group was set-up, which was on the Fri. Again you can probably come up with something better yourself but the text might helpHi all – welcome to the 702 group! Congrats brave souls! Everything shared – and who is on the group – is confidential. The goal – no booze for 7 days and to lose 2 pounds. The idea is to share tips, relevant jokes and basically help eachother meet the goal. If ye fall off the wagon it’s a guilt free zone just climb aboard again next day! I have carefully chosen the timing of starting the group so we can eat and drink away for the weekend 😂let’s enjoy the 7 day trip together then xx
- Everyone checked in with a response so we all knew we were on board. The positioning that it would be a fun week and not just misery was helpful and throughout the week the group chat just took off; sharing jokes, swapping fav non-alcoholic drinks; a bit of competitive sharing of exercise routines, which were immediately slagged etc
- On Day 1 a message was sent out reminding people to weight themselves that morning. No weight was shared as that was deemed personal – and it is a personal challenge.
- Before we started someone suggested that we might have an exercise goal to help with the weight and in general most of the group signed up to doing 10k (distance) or about 14,000 steps a day. But some people opted out or were silent on that topic and did their own thing.
For those of us who did the walk/steps – we found it really helped with the weight and head space. - Finally a zoom party – BYOB of course! – was organised for the Mon evening after the challenge so we could share how we got on and celebrate completing the 702 campaign.
Hope this helps!
