In a weight loss competition

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stilloriginal
stilloriginal Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
I am doing a biggest loser competition at work. I am in it to win it. I am a natural athlete that got a bit bigger from having a desk job compounded with a recent injury which sidelined me for 6 months. The winner is whoever loses the largest % in a 6 month period. I feel I can win it. Unfortunately I am already 2 months into the compeition, I should have came here for help first.

My strategy to win is to have consistent losses each of the 6 months. When others get discouraged or lazy, is when I will take the lead. Focus is my strategy. The company does one every year, and about a 25% loss is what is needed to win in most years. This means about a 1% loss per week, or a bit over 2 pounds for me.

My first month I weighed in with a 4% loss, right on target. Unfortunately, some other dude weighed in with a 7% loss. OK, beginner's luck I think. He will slow down and I will remain steady. Nothing to worry about. Well we just weight month two and he posted a 3.5% loss and I posted 1.23%. horrible!

I have been working out like nuts. I am doing about 3 runs per week, usually something like a 5-6 mile run, and two 3 mile runs. I am waking up early in the morning before work to do the exercise bike usually about 30 minutes. I am also doing DVDs and shooting hoops occasionally. I have only been lifting weights once per week or less in order to avoid gaining any. All in all, I am doing probably 8-9 workouts per week, but many days I am doing 2-3 workouts and others I am resting and doing 0. I know that nobody in the company is working out more than I am.

I think I went crazy trying to get 130 grams of protein per day in month two. I have cut out all of the bars and shakes now...I dont think I need them. but during the last month my leg muscles got huge. I wasn't expecting that....

I was wondering if anyone has tips for winning these competitions.

Replies

  • djshari
    djshari Posts: 513 Member
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    Welllll let's get the cheesieness out of the way - you are all winners because you worked on getting healthy!!

    Other than that I would say hire a personal trainer if you are that serious about meeting a specific goal like this.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Building a ton of muscle isn't going to help you as far as % of weight loss. You'd have to be skinny fat to have the biggest percentage. Muscle looks better but it's not going to get you huge loss percentages.
  • lilbearzmom
    lilbearzmom Posts: 600 Member
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    The other guy is probably much heavier than you- that makes it easier to drop excess weight at first. I think your should maybe keep doing what you're doing- I mean really, how much more can you do? With your dedication you just might surpass the other guy. I bet on you. What in the world is the prize, other than getting healthier? You really want to win!

    -Kendra
  • bpotts44
    bpotts44 Posts: 1,066 Member
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    What is your height and weight and have you calculated your % body fat? No competition is worth compromising your health and anything over 2 lb per week is NOT recommended unless you are extremely heavy.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
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    Maybe forget the competition and continue doing what you are doing?
  • stilloriginal
    stilloriginal Posts: 5
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    Thank you all for responding so quickly. I will try to answer the questions quickly. There is a monetary prize for winning but it is not the reason why I am competing. I just have a competitive personality and want to do it. I am 6'2" 230 (started at 242-my highest ever in life). I have not calculated my % body fat....is there an easy way to do that?? I do not have a gym membership as we have a small gym here at work. I am not trying to build muscle (hence only lifting 1x per week or less, and doing low reps), It was just a weird side effect of eating so much protein. Now I am not sure what to do about that...I feel like eating all the protein is what slowed my rate....
  • Juliebean_1027
    Juliebean_1027 Posts: 713 Member
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    Just curious if you guys are weighing in in front of one another or if it's being done on the honor system. I participated in a challenge similar to this at work and we based it on the honor system, which was difficult at times because I found myself doubting the actual winner. Wondering if that could be the case here as well...

    Just keep doing what you're doing. You're obviously getting results, so just stick with it and you will continue to get results. I'm not sure what your diary looks like, but make sure you're drinking enough water and getting enough fiber as well. (Not sure that these are necessary, but it's what worked/helped me when I was participating in a similar challenge)
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Thank you all for responding so quickly. I will try to answer the questions quickly. There is a monetary prize for winning but it is not the reason why I am competing. I just have a competitive personality and want to do it. I am 6'2" 230 (started at 242-my highest ever in life). I have not calculated my % body fat....is there an easy way to do that?? I do not have a gym membership as we have a small gym here at work. I am not trying to build muscle (hence only lifting 1x per week or less, and doing low reps), It was just a weird side effect of eating so much protein. Now I am not sure what to do about that...I feel like eating all the protein is what slowed my rate....

    You don't have to lift to build muscle. I took up running and cycling and put on a crazy amount of muscle which is even easier for a man to do. If you workout you will build muscle regardless of whether you lift.
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
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    I lost a bunch of weight without lifting and without enough protein. I kept my calories at a deificit (lower carbs) and the pounds dropped at a steady rate. Of course, along with the fat I dropped muscle. I'm now trying to correct that mistake of not doing enough to preserve the muscles I had.

    If I had to do it over again I wouldn't make the same mistake. Putting lean mass on is much more difficult that losing it.

    I agree with bpotts44, it's not worth compromisng your health to win a stupid contest.
  • stilloriginal
    stilloriginal Posts: 5
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    Yes, putting on muscle came from running and eating tons of protein I suppose. In any case I only lost 3 pounds the last month due to this. Should I cut out all the protein and otherwise maintain what I am doing? I measured by body fat % using a crude calculator (first or 2nd hit on google) and it came to about 25%, which is higher than I would have guessed. The weigh ins are not by an honor system, someone is recording the weigh ins. I am not trying to comprimise my health in any way, just looking for tips on how to win these things.

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