The $10 Challenge

Victoria
Jun 4
3 min read

After last week’s emotional post and the decision that Grampy would want me to keep going and give Program my all, I knew I needed to find a way to make the journey feel exciting again.

In the past, exploring new recipes and experimenting with different foods has helped when Program started to feel repetitive. While that still has its place, this time I realized I needed something more.

I needed accountability.

I think that’s part of the reason gyms charge membership fees. Once you’ve spent your hard-earned money, there’s a little voice in your head reminding you that you should probably use what you’re paying for.

Thin’s In has its own version of accountability. There’s the weekly weigh-in, the food sheet, and, of course, Dianne waiting to review both.

Don’t get me wrong—between the membership fee and the possibility of facing a disappointed Dianne, I show up every week whether I want to know the results or not.

But lately, I felt like I needed an extra push.

So, I turned to someone even more terrifying than a disappointed Dianne.

My mother.

And thus, the $10 Challenge was born.

This week, my mom and I started a seven-day challenge.

The rules are simple:

• Be 100% legal every day – not a bite, taste, or lick.

• Drink a minimum of 48 ounces of water.

• Walk at least 8,000 steps.

• Miss any part of the challenge and you owe the other person $10.

Not "mostly legal."

Not "I was only 8 ounces short on water."

Not "7,900 steps is basically 8,000."

Nope.

Ten dollars.

It's amazing how quickly motivation appears when owing your mother ten dollars is on the line.

I found myself checking my water intake before bed, making sure I had gotten every ounce. I caught myself pacing around the house to squeeze in a few extra steps. And when measuring dressings and condiments, I was suddenly much more precise because I wasn't about to hand my mother ten dollars over ranch dressing.

The funny thing is that none of these habits are new.

Program has always taught me the importance of drinking water, staying active, measuring portions, and paying attention to the details. The challenge didn't create new habits—it simply added another layer of accountability.

And sometimes that's exactly what we need.

This week itself was relatively quiet.

I experimented with a few ricotta recipes and can confidently report that while the recipes were fine, my feelings about ricotta remain unchanged. I still don't love it.

I also had a girls' dinner where I put together individual charcuterie boards. The difference this time was that everything was weighed and measured beforehand. It turns out you can still have a beautiful charcuterie board on Program—you just need to know exactly what's on it.

And because apparently I don't have enough things to think about, I've also started looking at future travel plans.

Part of me wants to plan a relaxing getaway to recover from the emotional roller coaster that has been the last six months.

Another part of me wants to travel somewhere that allows me to pet animals that society normally tells me I shouldn't be petting.

The second option is currently winning.

But through all of it—the ricotta experiments, the charcuterie boards, the travel dreaming, and the constant checking of my step count—the week ended on a positive note.

I lost four pounds.

Which is always a nice reminder that the small things matter.