Weight Loss Contest at work

kelseyann777
kelseyann777 Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi. I'm pretty new to mfp. A weight loss contest at work has motivated me to go down the road of losing a large amount of weight a second time.

When I was 14 I weighed 310 lbs and got down to 145 by my high school graduation. However over the last several years I gained even more, starting at a weight of 334lbs.


I'm 2 months into the contest, and I am down to 286lbs. I have lost 48 lbs. I do Tae Bo videos a couple times a week

My issue is that I am very conflicted. I want to lose as much weight as possible and win the contest, but I want to be healthy. MFP does not recommend me losing more than 2lbs a week...but if I lose only 2 lbs a week....I surely will lose the contest. While my coworkers are very supportive, I feel a lot of pressure (from myself) to drop weight very quickly.

My second weigh in I had only lost 10 lbs, when the first month I had lost 30. I won the first weigh in, still waiting on the results of the second, (lot of ppl dropped the contest over the holiday so I may have a shot still). Grand prize is a cruise for 2.

I upped my calories a little 2 days ago, and I dropped the 6 additional lbs, but I am still struggling to find the balance I need to win the contest and not harm myself.

I'm one of those people who tend to go one extreme or the other. Moderation is very difficult for me. While this contest is a blessing in a way that it is causing me to try to care about myself and my health again..it's also difficult to find a good approach and not feel stress and pressure.

If any of you have been in a similar situation or have advice, I'd really appreciate it. Thank you.

Replies

  • kelseyann777
    kelseyann777 Posts: 5
    Oh and i'm now 25 and 5'8 if that helps at all.
  • vturner88
    vturner88 Posts: 17
    In my humble opinion, do what's best for you and your body. At the end of the day, it's about getting healthier and feeling great about yourself. No contest, no matter how good the intentions are, should make you feel like you're under a crazy amount of pressure. :) Awesome job on the weight loss so far! In the beginning of a weight loss journey, the first few pounds will always be easier to lose than at the end, so your loss may slow down a bit, but that could be a good thing! Losing muscle as opposed to fat is something you want to avoid. I'd go with your gut on keeping things at a healthy level. Choose a purpose for losing the weight - other than winning the contest. That will put a lot of things in perspective.

    Good luck!
  • Shellz31
    Shellz31 Posts: 214 Member
    One of the reason I refuse to join my office's "Biggest Loser" competition is because it does push you to try extremes to lose weight. And really the bigger you are the harder it is because, assuming they are going by percentage of weight loss, you have to lose a LOT of weight to get a large percentage. Last time I joined in our office the winner was a 6'1" man who weighted only 155lbs to start and dropped to 127!!! He looked so sick and I hated the idea that the money I put into the competition was rewarding him for basically starving himself.

    I know it's hard, but if you go to extremes to lose weight then that probably means that once you slip up you'll give up completely. You have to find middle ground! And forget the competition, it's not a healthy approach to weight loss.

Categories