Competition losing weight?

rekite2000

This is partially due to another thread and then because I am doing a competition starting tomorrow. I really don't care if my team wins- I am using it for accountability with my team. I plan to eat proper calories- I like food too much to starve myself!

What do you all think of competing as a motivator? Do you think with the right mindset this are good or does the competitive factor take away from the healthy lifestyle aspect?

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pixie_mills

I'm currently doing a "biggest loser" competition with my friend online. I am her bridesmaid in April and we both want to lose a bit. We have roped another friend into joining in who's daughter recently died of meningitis. Each week if you are NOT the biggest loser you pay £1 to a meningitis charity. I feel good because I'm motivated and I'm donating to charity. It's also quite scary as you have to upload a pic of your weight. It motivates me because I don't really wanna upload a pic and I've put on loads. At the same time, I'm doing it healthily and not doing the things stated above (e.g. laxitives) You are only cheating yourself if you don't do it sensibly and healthily.

jemhh

For me, it is not motivating. I don't do well with time based weight loss goals. They stress me out and I'm not into trying to drop weight as quickly as possible. I'd rather do it slower and in a way that I can live with in the long term.

pixie_mills

I get that too The beauty of this one is there is no real time limit, it's just like an ongoing weekly....thing lol x

nuttynanners

I'm participating in a "biggest loser" challenge at work through the end of June. We just started this month and will have monthly weigh-ins with mini prizes. We are going based off of percentage of weight lost...which is okay, but not really a perfect way to do it.

I work in a health-based environment, so I don't think people are going to go to "drastic measures" to lose weight, but take a more even handed approach. It should actually be a pretty tough competition.

Overall, the competitive aspect is working for me this time. I once was able to lose a significant amount of weight on my own, but gained it all back. Every subsequent attempt to lose the weight has eventually fizzled out. It's nice to be held accountable this time around, as there will be many weigh-ins before the competition ends. Plus I get to see all of my competitors on a weekly basis.

To be honest, though, I think it's just the "newness" of the competitive aspect for me, though. If I'd already tried the competitive angle, I might not get as much out of it. So really what works for me is just to try new things!

CA_Underdog

rekite2000 wrote: »

What do you all think of competing as a motivator? Do you think with the right mindset this are good or does the competitive factor take away from the healthy lifestyle aspect?

Done right, it's great. I hosted walking competition at work, and it encouraged everyone to walk a little more than usual so as to not let the team down. Just mind you don't get too competitive. If one of your team accomplishes 50% more than usual, that's huge, whether or not they "win".

rekite2000

Half of the money goes to charity (only $10 per person). It can't hurt- my husband and I compete with fitbit, but just for bragging rights :-). I am not a super competitive person so I think it will be motivating.

summergirl212

I am a competitive person so I like competing no matter what it is. I have a bunch of friends who are also trying to work out and eat healthy and I take that as motivation. Whenever someone tells me that they went running or to a class at the gym then i'm like, I better do that too! It's all being friendly and never in a negative sense, but it definitely gets me moving! If there was something with money involved I would be all about it!

rcottonrph1

To me, it is best to compete with yourself and only yourself. I think a competiton tied to activity, like steps walked, is good. Weight competition is bad. Because if you lose at all, you are still a winner, so why should a winner ever be made to feel like a loser?

rkcampbell

For me, it was a great way to kick off my weight loss. We weighed in each week and used total percentage lost. We also did a points chart for making daily healthy choices. I needed a good kick in the butt to get going so this was a perfect and safe (for me emotionally) way to do it! I won both the total percentage and the points chart and used the money to buy some new clothes. This was 3 years ago and I've had my ups and downs, but I never would have even gotten started if not for this competition and accountability.

ana3067

jemhh wrote: »

For me, it is not motivating. I don't do well with time based weight loss goals. They stress me out and I'm not into trying to drop weight as quickly as possible. I'd rather do it slower and in a way that I can live with in the long term.

I agree. I think part of my issues recently have been that I want to reach my goal in x months, but I've not been able to maintain the lower calorie intake needed. I think my body composition and weight training goals are more important right now than simply meeting a goal for x months from now, and I don't think both goals were working well together. I guess it's better to do well in the gym and slowly change my body composition now that I'm at a size that I'm at least comfortable with than to try and get it all off right away and stagnate at the gym!