Money is a good motivator

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blagoe
blagoe Posts: 2
in Introduce Yourself
Hello
The wife just showed me the site, seems pretty cool so far.
I'm a 33 year old computer administrator and have really packed on the pounds, I used to joke the only exercise I get is walking from the parking lot into work. I'm not new to exercise, I played football in High school and really enjoyed jogging and racquetball in my college days. But about ten years setting at a computer all day coupled with daily fast food lunches has not been kind.
So I started a biggest looser bet with a coworker, the person with the smallest percentage weight loss in four months has to pay the other $400. We are currently 5 weeks into the bet, and I have to admit I don't think I would be doing nearly as well resisting my favorite foods and keeping up with my exercise if it weren't for the bet. I'm also very competitive, and the thought of losing to my buddy is almost as bad as losing the money.

So here's where we started:
I started at 324, my friend started at 225
I believe he has a weight loss goal of 35 lbs so just over 2 lbs per week
At the end of the 4 months he should have lost almost 16%
For me to beat 16% I'd have to lose more than 52 lbs which would be 3.24 lbs per week

Currently almost the end of week 5:
My friend told me last week he had lost 12 lbs which is 5% total lost and 4 lbs ahead of 2 per week goal. Assuming he loses another 2 this week that puts him at 6.2%
This morning I was at 304 so 20 lbs total and 6.2%
So at this point it's neck and neck. The first 12 lbs went quick but the last 2 weeks I've only lost 2 lbs each week. I'm a bit concerned if I don't pick it up he is going to over take me. I've been pretty good with my calories most days I've been under 2000. I've been walking to work which is about a 40min brisk walk one way and I try to make it to the gym for about and hour at least 4 days each week.
I'm hoping the slow down has been a result of muscle growth and the loss will pick back up soon.

My long term goal is to get down to 190lbs, pretty ambitious I know but the bet has been great motivation so far. I'm plaining on joining a softball team and doing some hiking this summer so hopefully I'll have made some decent progress by then.
Brian

Replies

  • blagoe
    blagoe Posts: 2
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    Hello
    The wife just showed me the site, seems pretty cool so far.
    I'm a 33 year old computer administrator and have really packed on the pounds, I used to joke the only exercise I get is walking from the parking lot into work. I'm not new to exercise, I played football in High school and really enjoyed jogging and racquetball in my college days. But about ten years setting at a computer all day coupled with daily fast food lunches has not been kind.
    So I started a biggest looser bet with a coworker, the person with the smallest percentage weight loss in four months has to pay the other $400. We are currently 5 weeks into the bet, and I have to admit I don't think I would be doing nearly as well resisting my favorite foods and keeping up with my exercise if it weren't for the bet. I'm also very competitive, and the thought of losing to my buddy is almost as bad as losing the money.

    So here's where we started:
    I started at 324, my friend started at 225
    I believe he has a weight loss goal of 35 lbs so just over 2 lbs per week
    At the end of the 4 months he should have lost almost 16%
    For me to beat 16% I'd have to lose more than 52 lbs which would be 3.24 lbs per week

    Currently almost the end of week 5:
    My friend told me last week he had lost 12 lbs which is 5% total lost and 4 lbs ahead of 2 per week goal. Assuming he loses another 2 this week that puts him at 6.2%
    This morning I was at 304 so 20 lbs total and 6.2%
    So at this point it's neck and neck. The first 12 lbs went quick but the last 2 weeks I've only lost 2 lbs each week. I'm a bit concerned if I don't pick it up he is going to over take me. I've been pretty good with my calories most days I've been under 2000. I've been walking to work which is about a 40min brisk walk one way and I try to make it to the gym for about and hour at least 4 days each week.
    I'm hoping the slow down has been a result of muscle growth and the loss will pick back up soon.

    My long term goal is to get down to 190lbs, pretty ambitious I know but the bet has been great motivation so far. I'm plaining on joining a softball team and doing some hiking this summer so hopefully I'll have made some decent progress by then.
    Brian
  • hmmmm
    hmmmm Posts: 607 Member
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    Wow that would definitely motivate me! Good luck and keep us updated on how it is going. There is a a lot of good info, recipes and tips on here. This sit really helps. Just make sure you don't tell him about it until after you won his money lol
  • rheston
    rheston Posts: 638
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    If you have time to blend some exercise into your daily routine that should help you peal off some more weight. Whatever you do don't eat to the calorie level you are authorized to do while working out. The practical experience is that if you eat less than you burn you will increase your weight loss without burning muscle or losing energy. Keep the extra calories you earn each day in reserve in case you start to feel hungry and then you can add healthy (fruits & veggies) as snacks in between meals and still keep below your daily calorie allowance (based on exercise).

    Our company started one of these contests and the competition is set up between our various office locations around the US so rather than money there's just a friendly competition between locations.

    Good luck and may your wallet be fuller in a couple of months!
  • jamiel
    jamiel Posts: 6
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    :smile: good luck
  • jmorast
    jmorast Posts: 2
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    B was nice enough to mention this site -- I'm the guy he's challenged to a weight loss duel.

    I was tracking my progress on a different website, but it had lots more advertisements & was ugly.

    We're 41 days in to our competition (122 total days for the event).

    I've lost 7.8%, B has lost 7.4% -- pretty damn close.

    :tongue:
  • zenmama
    zenmama Posts: 1,000
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    Good luck and good job so far!

    dd
  • skinnydreams
    skinnydreams Posts: 1,178 Member
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    Wow, best of luck to the both of you and welcome to the site!!!! The money is a great motivator, but once you reach your goals it'll just be money and you will have accomplished an even greater thing!!!
  • Salema
    Salema Posts: 10 Member
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    We started a biggest loser contest at work today so I can see how the big cash out is a great motivator. Keep up the good work and best of luck to you.
  • jmorast
    jmorast Posts: 2
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    Annnnnnnd... we both won.

    We agreed to consider any percentage results within 1.5% to be a tie.

    We finished as follows:

    Me: Started at 229, finished at 184. Percentage lost: 19.6
    Lagoe: Started at 324, finished at 258. Percentage lost: 20.3

    We lost over 111 pounds over the 4 months of the bet.

    Pretty excited about how this all played out -- the money and our competitive nature kept us on track.

    So -- congrats to Brian -- he said he was gonna win and he came really damn close to taking my money.
  • julie737
    julie737 Posts: 406 Member
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    A tie is the best outcome for both of you!

    Good job!
  • chriss1tt
    chriss1tt Posts: 365 Member
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    How wonderful for both of you. Congrats and great job.:drinker:
  • fatsis
    fatsis Posts: 1,117 Member
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    Welcome. MAy u be thinner and your walet be fatter.
  • Shannon023
    Shannon023 Posts: 14,529 Member
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    You have the edge with this site behind you! :wink:

    Good luck!! :flowerforyou:

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