Q:  What should I do if I think an opponent is lying every week to make their points?

A: Keep your own scores honest, play all out anyway, and don’t play with the lying bastard next time.  Maybe put a side bet on the table with one of your opponents or a teammate or even with yourself – that way you stay motivated to keep your scores honest and high. Remember, the liar has to live with himself.  So you don’t need to take revenge because a liar’s miserable mind is its own revenge.

Q:  I don’t trust anyone. How can I possibly play this game?

A: Umm…maybe you should play by yourself and make your Good Habit a weekly appointment with a good therapist to work on your trust issues? Seriously, not trusting anyone is no way to go through life.

Q: What if I suspect my own teammate of lying?

A: Talk to them. Tell them that because you are a true friend, you would not have them sacrifice their soul for a winning score.  Also, consider a group weigh-in each week.  You can’t confirm all their scores with the weigh in, but you can be sure that they are at least doing the work to lose the weight, and thereby gaining some health benefits. Finally, use the power of example. Often, a liar lies because they’re desperate to present a certain/perfect face to the world.  If you slip in points, call your friend and tell on yourself.  Show them that it’s okay to not look perfect all the time.

Q:  Sometimes I lie about doing 20 minutes of exercise one day, but I do 40 minutes the next, that’s okay? Right?

A: No!  No lying!! The Rules are called rules for a reason. And they are all designed with your very best health in mind.

Q:  Can our team make up a rule that if a team member makes an honest mistake, they get to be forgiven one time without a penalty?

A: No. They can and should be forgiven.  But they have to take the point penalty. The goal here is not a perfect score at any cost. The goal is the best score you can honestly accomplish. The slips teach you about yourself, your life, your health habits and where you need to start to pay more attention.  Letting yourself off the hook is actually selling yourself short. Don’t do it!

Q: What if I eat something that I think is sanctioned and then find out it was cooked in butter or something unsanctioned?  Do I lose the points?

A: Before I started playing this game, I thought crabcakes were a healthy choice at a restaurant. Crab is relatively low calorie and high protein and it’s a small portion, right? So I ordered them and I ate them and they were delicious. And then, out of curiosity, I typed them into the calorie counting website and I was like yeay! Only 400 calories! And then I realized it was 400 calories per crab cake. And I had eaten two. 800 calories – as an appetizer.  Clearly, I was not understanding the ingredients. Clearly they are full of butter and mayonnaise which I now understand but truly did not before. I lost points – but I learned something. If you ate something without knowing how it was cooked, you are probably in the habit of eating things without knowing how they’re cooked, which is probably a big part of why you have weight you want to lose.  So yes, you lose the points. But the good news is, you probably won’t make that mistake again.

Q: Have you ever had a situation where you felt you were losing points unfairly?

A: Yes. When my daughter was sick with a terrible cold and she was up every fifteen minutes all night nursing.   By two a.m. having not slept a wink, I was STARVING to death because making breastmilk requires calorie intake, so I ate a banana and took a snacking penalty.  The next day, I told Az about it and he said hell no, that should not be a penalty. You prioritized your health and the health of your daughter. So we took it to a vote – all the players on all teams had to vote. And it was voted that I should not lose the points.  BUT! This kind of circumstance is rare.  If you have a similar situation – don’t just assume it’s not a penalty! Take the penalty and then put it to a vote. A vote keeps you honest. And when voting, everyone should keep in mind that the spirit of the Game is to support your teammates and opponents in their pursuit of health. Don’t be a jerk and vote against anyone just because you want them to lose the points. That said, if you lose the vote, take the penalty and do not be bitter. As with any sport, if you think the ref made a bad call, you still have to play the game in the spirit of good sportsmanship.