I am no good at math. Someone school me.

lohkin

Honestly. So, I am trying to understand a contest at work for weight loss that will be measured in PERCENTAGE, not actual pounds lost. Here's my confusion: I am 4'11" and currently weigh 153. If I lose 13 lbs I will no longer be obese (Yay?!) But, if someone else loses 10 lbs, they could win the contest because they weigh less to begin with? I am not getting this?
Is that what that means?

Mr_Knight

If you lose 13 pounds from 153 pounds, you've lost 8.5%. For someone to lose 10 pounds and beat you, they'd have to have a starting weight of 117 pounds.

10 / (13/153) -> 117

CA_Underdog

That's quite common--they measure losses that way on Biggest Loser, too!

It's not perfect, but it's a recognition that it's harder for someone who weights 250 lbs to lose 1 lb than it is for someone who weighs 350lbs to lose 1 lb.

You losing 15lbs (150->135), a slenderer person losing 12lbs (120->108), and a chubbier person losing 20lbs (200->180) would all tie.

lohkin

I think I follow. That's more reasonable than what was in my head

williams969

Say you lose 13 lbs. That's about 8.5% of your starting weight (13 divided by 153).

Now, say someone at your work weighs 117lbs (or less), and loses 10 pounds. 10/117 = 8.55%. They beat you, since they lost a bigger percentage of their body than you did.

Conversely, say someone weighs 250lbs at your work. They would have to lose more than 21.25 lbs to beat YOUR 13 lb loss (21.25 / 250 = 8.5%).

ammo7

Hi there.

13 out of 153 is 8.5% (rounded to 1 decimal place). So if you lose 13 pounds, you will have lost 8.5% of your starting weight.

If someone else loses 10 pounds they would tie with you if their starting weight was 118 pounds; but they would beat you if their starting weight was less than 118 pounds. For example, someone who weighs 116 pounds and loses 10 pounds will have lost 8.6% of their starting weight.

The reason that a competition might choose to measure winners by their percentage lost (instead of actual pounds) is because it is usually much more difficult for someone with a low starting weight to lose a significant number of pounds.

Good luck with your competition
Feel free to let me know if you would like more explanation about the math.

VeryKatie

Yes possibly. So if you lose 13 lbs (13/153x100) that's 8.5% of your body weight. Say someone else loses 10 lbs but started at 115 lbs. That's (10/115x100) 8.7%.

However, the point is that the amount of effort they put in would be just a bit more than you therefore they deserve to win based on effort. Well, I'm not sure "effort" is exactly the right word, but I hope you get my idea.

It's hard to lose that much in a short time frame so many people may give up. 8% is nothing to sneeze at! Most people MIGHT be looking more at a 4% loss over a month or two.

lohkin

Thanks! The competition starts Jan 5 and runs through April 4. I have already lost 10 lbs in 80 days with food changes alone, so I am hopeful that the addition of structured fitness routines will keep that momentum going.
I do see the math now, it's just not my strong skill

Liftng4Lis

Go get it!

Alluminati

I hate math

Velum_cado

OdesAngel wrote: »

I hate math

This sums up my understanding of every math class I've ever taken.