Stay Motivated with SparkStreaks!

How (and Why) to Start Your Own Streak Today!

-- By Jen Mueller & Nicole Nichols, SparkPeople Experts

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At SparkPeople, we believe that streaking can motivate you to reach your goals. Put your clothes back on—we're not talking about running naked in public (although that sure could inspire you to tone up or drop a few pounds)! We're talking about a different kind of streak—when you consistently meet a goal, like tracking your food or drinking 8 cups of water each day. For years, Chris "SparkGuy" Downie, SparkPeople's Founder and CEO, has used streaks to reach his own health and fitness goals. Long before he started SparkPeople, he accomplished a 700-day exercise streak that even inspired one of his co-workers to lose 50 pounds!

You probably familiar with the concept of rewarding yourself when you reach a goal weight or accomplish a fitness feat. Sometimes it's even more motivating to reward yourself for the journey, not just the destination. Seeing how consistently you've been taking steps to reach a goal (and knowing others can see it, too), can help boost your resolve and keep your motivation going strong. This is especially true when you've done your part but the scale hasn't budged, even though you've been making the right choices every day. That's why we created SparkStreaks—a SparkPeople tracking tool that can motivate you to stay on track and help you reach some amazing goals!

Start Streaking in 5 Easy Steps

You'll find a link to SparkStreaks under the "My Trackers" tab at the top of the site. This page will show you all of your Streaks and the progress you've made with them so far. If you don't have any streaks or would like to edit your Streaks or add some more, simply click on the "Start/Manage Streaks " button near the top of that page.
Simply check the box that says "Track Streak" to start a Streak for the goals of your choice. For example, one of your Fast Break goals might be to track your food in the Nutrition Tracker each day. If you check the box to track this Streak, you'll be able to keep a count of how many days in a row you've met that goal.
You can also check "Share on SparkPage" (optional) to show your Streaks on your SparkPage, which means others will be able to see your progress and can cheer you on as you work toward your goals. This can increase your accountability and help you stick with your goals.
When you're finished setting up your Streaks, scroll down and click "Save My Changes" at the bottom of the page.
Track your goals! Your SparkStreaks will automatically update when you track your goals using the Nutrition Tracker, Fitness Tracker, QuickTrack and Other Goals trackers, which can all be found under the "My Trackers" tab at the top of the site. You don't have to do anything different for your goals to count towards your Streaks.

Even if you miss a day and have to start over with a Streak, that's OK! You'll still be able to see your longest Streak for that goal (as well as your current one). So if you need more accountability or want a better way to measure your progress, set up your own SparkStreaks today!

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About The Author

Jen Mueller
Jen received her master's degree in health promotion and education from the University of Cincinnati. A mom and avid marathon runner, she is a certified personal trainer, certified health coach and advanced health & fitness specialist. See all of Jen's articles.

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Member Comments

BEESONAMY

This is a great tool for me. I can do anything for 10 minutes (well, most anything!) I love SP!!! - 4/12/2013 1:10:52 PM
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AMYTHECRAFTER

Since I've walking 4 miles a day my husband is sighing me up for the Revlon walk!
My husband and daughter have been doing it for years, this will be my first.
I'm looking forward to it! - 4/5/2013 8:19:04 PM
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COCHRANE0511

Can relate to Moms100, I too have jumped out of bed plenty of times since joining SP on November 1, 2012 to log/track my points! Lol

- 11/25/2012 10:49:02 PM
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LYNNET

I love the concept of sparkstreaks but I don't like that it only records streaks in weeks versus days. I tried to set up a user defined streak that I want to do daily but it wouldn't let me. bummer! - 4/3/2012 2:44:11 PM
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HANNAH_CALM

I don't really like how complicated the SparkStreaks and Team Challenges are. They don't sync well, and they should. The Team Challenges require you to go to a special page and enter exact amounts of data, that should already be recorded, because you've done it in the fitness minutes area or the SparkStreaks page. So it's all messed up. I hope SparkPeople learns to sync it better, because it's really a pain the way they have it. - 1/14/2012 11:50:36 PM
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CRYSMYS

I loved the concept of tracking streaks.. until the day I forgot to record a day's entry. I didn't realized I hadn't entered it until the following week, and the Spark system wouldn't let me update it. To have a months-long streak end because of a purley technical restriction was more than a little disappointing.. and the end of tracking streaks online for me. I have exercised at least 10 minutes a day since February 20 2011.. but you won't find a streak for it. - 11/3/2011 10:11:59 AM
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MOTIWEIGHTION

This is sooo coincidentally scary, in a good way, lol! I just recently posted a blog that highlighted one of my sparkstreaks! I’m currently on day 127 of 10+ min of fitness (which is hiking steps) & counting!! Even on my scheduled rest days, I have 10 mins to spare! And it’s all bcz I purchased “The Spark”, an amazing, motivational & inspiring piece of reading material. When I read how he & his coworker had parted ways, she was determined to start her own streak, which she did bcz she was inspired by Chris’ streak.. She dropped like a bit over 50 I believe. Even though Chris had heard that she had lost weight, when he had finally seen her he sounded like he was proud of her. I mean by reading the book you can just kind of envision it! Why wouldn’t he. Anywho, it’s all bcz of Chris (SparkGuy) that you, me & millions of others are spreaking too, lol. SP ROCKS! Thx Chris (SparkGuy) (: - 11/3/2011 1:54:08 AM
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MARTHA503

Great read,never thought to track streaks - 5/3/2011 12:26:13 PM
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ANISIA85

I love SparkStreaks, it helps a lot with coming online every day and tracking things. There are some days I'm tired at the end of the day and don't feel like logging in, but the SparkStreaks make me do it anyway, because I don't want to lose the current count :) It's a good way to be pushed forward. - 1/23/2011 7:30:29 AM
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RACHELSBAMA

I appreciate my success more when I track what I have done. I can see where I have gone right and it keeps me motivated.
Carol - 12/5/2010 1:17:20 PM
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MY_NEW_ATTITUDE

I agree...who would think a 55-year-old woman would get excited about SparkPoints, Awards and SparkStreaks. But I do! They have helped me with my fruits and vegetables and most of all, have helped me to give up diet soda, which I never thought I could do. Unfortunately, I didn't realize until last week that even though I had set it as a goal the end of May...and have stuck with it since May 30th...it didn't set it as a SparkStreak.

Now I have to work on the exercise part...that has been a huge struggle for me. - 8/3/2010 8:19:24 PM
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MOMS100

You know you're addicted to Spark streaks when you're tucked comfortably in bed & suddenly hop out, saying, "Oh, no! I've got to log in my water (exercise, etc.) so I won't loose my streak!" - 5/14/2010 12:23:46 PM
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RUSTBUCKET1

I love SparkStreaks! It's a good way to get confirmation of your achievements. - 4/17/2010 9:45:56 PM
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MNGIRL1920

I'm always happy when I see my Streaks and see how long I have gone. It does motivate you and I feel a little bad when I miss a day of tracking. - 11/29/2009 7:16:59 PM
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CAROLJ35

Spark Streaks have been very motivational for me. Last night I finished painting (bedroom) at 8:30 and realized I had not had dinner and didn't have my 5 fruits and vegetables. I wanted to just shower and go to bed, but I reheated vegetables, added applesauce for dessert to make sure I got at least 5 of that group. I usually have more than 5.
And I won't go to bed if I don't get all the water, finish at least 8, and don't care if I do have to get up through the night. - 9/19/2009 9:26:15 PM
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