weight lost challege at work

cali30

I need to lose as much weight by Oct 2, 2015!! I need as much advice possible on how you lost weight.. thanks

Sued0nim

Sorry to be a downer but I have a huge issue with biggest weight loss style challenges as they are fundamentally unhealthy and detrimental to long term success

Weight loss is not linear
The faster you lose the more LBM you lose

the motivation may be useful but it's not a great concept, please approach with care

ncboiler89

cali30 wrote: »

I need to lose as much weight by Oct 2, 2015!! I need as much advice possible on how you lost weight.. thanks

Stop eating. Just don't eat another bite. You win.

Alatariel75

I'm very very wary of challenges like this which set no parameters and just tell people to lose as much as they can as fast as they can. It doesn't seem sensible or healthy to me. Plus I think that it allows far too much of my personal stuff to enter the work environment.

yirara

No sorry, I would not participate. Of all people, our office nurse ran a weight loss challenge and the winner was based on the percentage of total bodyweight lost. Everyone not losing in a week had to pay a certain amount of money. Great! Apparently she has no problems with water gain due to menstruation or didn't take it into consideration. I refused to take part, and seeing the unhealthy measures some colleagues took (one was only eating apples!) I'm glad I didn't. You learn nothing from that, really.

Packerjohn

yirara wrote: »

No sorry, I would not participate. Of all people, our office nurse ran a weight loss challenge and the winner was based on the percentage of total bodyweight lost. Everyone not losing in a week had to pay a certain amount of money. Great! Apparently she has no problems with water gain due to menstruation or didn't take it into consideration. I refused to take part, and seeing the unhealthy measures some colleagues took (one was only eating apples!) I'm glad I didn't. You learn nothing from that, really.

And this illustrates the piss poor state of "workplace wellness" programs in the US and why they are failing miserably.

atypicalsmith

We have a challenge where all who wanted to participate put in ten $1.00 bills. We weigh every other week. If we lost weight since the last weigh-in, we get a dollar for each full pound. Gained, had to throw in an extra dollar for each full pound. Anyone can quit at any time, but can't take what's left of their original $10.00 back. The end point is when all the money is gone, if that ever happens. I know I will probably have to kick in a couple of dollars this week. It's fun and there's no pressure because it's based on the last weigh-in, and not overall weight loss.

salman1108

Stop eating. Just don't eat another bite. You win.
or get the vid for more helptinyurl.com/worldbest-weightlose-biknibody

Lounmoun

cali30 wrote: »

I need to lose as much weight by Oct 2, 2015!! I need as much advice possible on how you lost weight.. thanks

Set a reasonable goal of losing between .5 and 2 lbs a week. If you have a lot to lose then you might go with 2 lbs a week. If you have less than 50 lbs to lose then 2 lbs a week might be too agressive or uncomfortable and you might do better with setting your goal to 1 lb a week.
Give MFP your info. Eat the calorie goal you are given. Don't do weird, intensely restrictive things to try to lose weight fast. Don't go below 1200 calories. Eat food you like in appropriate portion sizes. Log everything you eat and drink as accurately as you can. Eat a portion of any calories earned from exercise.
Be patient and healthy about this.

KarenJanine

To echo others, approach with caution. Competing to lose weight could result in losing weight too quickly (resulting in muscle loss) and unhealthy eating behaviours with potentially health-damaging consequences.

What is the prize? I'd wager your health has a higher value.

Sure, share meal and snack ideas with your colleagues and motivate each other to exercise, but make good health the goal, not a low scale number.

tudoroaks4

ncboiler89 wrote: »

cali30 wrote: »

I need to lose as much weight by Oct 2, 2015!! I need as much advice possible on how you lost weight.. thanks

Stop eating. Just don't eat another bite. You win.

That's basically what my father did for weight loss challenges at his work. He'd stop eating for a few months, win and then gain it back as soon as the challenge was over. He won every challenge they had. Eventually they stopped doing it after they realized he was losing and gaining the same weight over and over to win the prizes.

lthames0810

It kinda depends on who is involved and what their relationship is. Years ago I got involved in one of these challenges at work, but it was a private thing among just three women who were friends. We each put in money every week, gain or lose, for the winner's prize. It was the heaviest one among us that lost the greatest % of starting weight and we other two were thrilled for her. Her prize was a gift card for a new outfit. She actually continued to lose weight long after the challenge was over.

To the OP: Remember the lesson from the fable of the tortoise and the hare.

belinda_73

we have these too at work and it's usually men who win. If you can team up with a group of coworkers to encourage and account for each other to be healthy. share food logs, walk or exercise together. It is fun. But don't try to win by starving yourself. We have seen good success stories of people changing their lives and the way the way they take care of themselves, but we have also seen the last week of the challenge get a little scary.

belinda_73

oh and to answer your question to lose weight, log your food, everything, religiously. MFP does work. sign up for spark, read fitness magazines on what to eat to be healthy. do some sort of activity every day even if it's just for 20 minutes. I tell myself that each time I don't feel like going, just give it 20 minutes. If you can find a workout buddy, even better. weight loss is 90% food 10% exercise. The exercise helps you build muscle to raise your metabolism and helps with the overall feeling of well-being. I joined a couch to 5k when I first started exercising and was fortunate to end up in a great class. I'm competitive so that was the extra kick I needed. Check out groupon if you are interested in group fitness, there's tons of them in my city. Try yoga, barre, boot camp. Good luck!

jessicapk

Having won a workplace competition in the past, the best advice I can give is to find a good plan and stick to it. As Lounmoun said earlier, follow a sound and practical weight loss plan based on calorie counting and make sure it's sustainable, since you should really plan on continuing after the competition until you reach your goal AND after that since it should be a lifestyle change to really make it worthwhile and healthy.

However, and especially if it's a longer term competition, just stick to it. Most people who join those are not in it for the long term. Make that commitment and show that dedication and you'll likely win long after the guy who only eats apples and the girl doing the lemon juice cleanse have given up and gorged themselves to make up for lost time. Don't think of it as a game but a kick start to help motivate you into doing something you should do for yourself. Any prize is simply a reward that's subsidized by your company instead of you.

GeekdGirl

Do you have more details about the challenge? Is it just weight? A % of body weight? Do they take any other variables into account? If you are determined to do it, just exercise and log your food. Keep your diary open and ask for people to check it for accountability. Then accept that even if you don't win you'll be healthier

Dani9585

I don't like the weightloss challenges. Instead, I do step challenges with my fitbit friends. It's healthy. It's motivating. And I still want to kick butt!

rybo

This is a deal where it sounds great in principle, but fails in practice.