The Biggest Loser Competition
I recently signed up for a weight loss competition between my coworkers and it occurred to me that I never told the tale of my participation in last year’s competition. It is a story of close calls and my own susceptibility to money as a motivator. This is The Biggest Loser 2019.
The lady who hosts the contest sent out an email around the end of the year for the following month, announcing the contest details as she has some years previously.
I’m a pretty big guy, so 10 pounds really isn’t very difficult for me to lose. It isn’t a high percentage of my total weight, and the bulk of it could probably be shed pretty quickly through sheer water weight. By that token, it wasn’t a huge risk of failure, nor was it a particularly large investment at only $20 for the buy-in. I decided I would participate, putting in my cash and deciding to try my hand at winning some of the forfeited funds.
This type of contest is particularly attractive to me. I’m overweight. I realize this. I *know* that I need to lose weight, but the philosophical benefits of losing weight just don’t hold a very compelling grip on my willpower. Even the physical benefits are too abstract and far off. I know it’s better for me to lose weight, but I just… can’t be bothered to do so. Money, however? Money is a very specific, very present, and very powerful motivator for me. If I can position myself to gain some monetary resources, I am both intrigued and willing to put in some effort. A weight loss competition exists in the fortuitous overlap between my drive to get more money and my need to lose weight and get in better physical shape.
Given such a convenient source of motivation, I thought it would behoove me to participate. At the most immediate level, I would stand to gain some money. But on a more abstract level, I would lose some weight, and maybe pick up some better lifestyle habits. If I got some cash and started eating better and exercising more, it was a win all around.
Curious about the potentially winnings, I crunched some numbers. There were 30 participants in the original email, which would mean there was $600 available. I created a spreadsheet with 30 rows, indicating the payoff potential for any state between everyone meeting the goal weight and nobody but myself winning. If everyone achieved their goal, we would all get our $20 back and nothing more. If I was miraculously the only participant to lose 10 pounds, I’d walk away with $600 in my pocket.
I weighed in on January 7th at 294 pounds: not the biggest I’ve ever been, but concerningly close to it. I had roughly 10 weeks to lose 10 pounds, about a pound per week. That’s a very conservative rate of weight loss by any measure, so it wouldn’t take more than minimal effort to meet the goal weight of 284. I made tentative efforts toward losing some weight, but I didn’t really put much work toward it. Unfortunately, I also didn’t bother monitoring my weight much either.
The next time I checked my weight was March 1st. Yes, I went nearly 2 months of a weight loss competition without checking my weight. It wasn’t a good idea, but you can’t change the past. By the beginning of March, I had only lost 5 pounds. I could certainly still lose the weight, but I had much less time available for mistakes.
I started hitting the gym multiple times per week, and paying much more attention to my meals. I ate more lean protein and vegetables, and closely limited my portions. On the afternoon of the last day before weigh in, I stopped by and weighed myself. I was down to 285 pounds. While that still wasn’t quite my goal weight, there were several factors in my favor. It was the end of the day, where the final weigh in would be in the morning. I had both street clothes and shoes on, where weigh in would be shoeless, with a t-shirt and gym shorts. Surely, each of those factors would be sufficient to bring me down to my goal weight. I shouldn’t have to skip dinner that evening to ensure my success.
The next morning, I went in prepared to win. I didn’t drink any coffee or water, and I saved breakfast until after weigh in. By the time it was my turn to weigh, four people had already met their goal weight. In previous years, the ratio was about 10 winners out of 35 participants.
When I walked up, the host set the scale to the weight that I began at. I stepped onto the platform and the scale didn’t move. That was a good sign, I at least hadn’t gained weight from my starting point. I began scooting the slider to the left. It crept below 290: expected, good, but not quite good enough. It continued to 285: same as what I weighed the afternoon before, almost enough to win. It reached 284, still with no motion: I successfully met my goal. It kept going past 280: a lot better than I expected. The scale finally leveled out at 277.5 pounds, significantly better than I thought I would reach, especially given my preemptive weight check the previous afternoon.
After reaching my weight goal, I breathed a sigh of relief. I immediately put my clothes back on and ate an indulgent breakfast. Patiently, I awaited the email from the host announcing the results.
I lost some weight and got a profit of nearly $40. For 2019, my participation in the Biggest Loser competition was a success. We’ll see how the contest plays out for 2020.
I weighed in at 292 this year, so I unfortunately gained back most of what I lost last year. After last year’s resolution, I suggested that we keep the contest running throughout the year, with quarterly payout periods. I’m not sure yet if we will keep the contest ongoing, but I certainly hope we do. A sustained carrot on the stick in the form of cash would keep me motivated and maybe I could lose more weight and keep it off.
The lady who hosts the contest sent out an email around the end of the year for the following month, announcing the contest details as she has some years previously.
“Hey guys, it's that time of year again. What better motivation to drop 10 pounds than to enter a contest & have peer pressure to help you along the way. Here's how it works. Starting January 7th thru Jan 9th you can weigh in & pay 20.00. On March 20th weigh inagain & if you lose the 10 pounds then you get your $20.00 back. Plus the money from everyone that did not reach the goal of 10lbs will go back into the pot and will be split between the ones that did achieve the goal of 10lbs. I will be downstairs at the scales on Jan 7th, 8th and 9th from 8AM to 8:30AM please come down and weigh in and give me your $20.00. If you need to weigh in at some other time during the weigh days, please email or call Leigh Pender and set that up. *****You will need to pay the $20 at the time of weigh in***”
I’m a pretty big guy, so 10 pounds really isn’t very difficult for me to lose. It isn’t a high percentage of my total weight, and the bulk of it could probably be shed pretty quickly through sheer water weight. By that token, it wasn’t a huge risk of failure, nor was it a particularly large investment at only $20 for the buy-in. I decided I would participate, putting in my cash and deciding to try my hand at winning some of the forfeited funds.
This type of contest is particularly attractive to me. I’m overweight. I realize this. I *know* that I need to lose weight, but the philosophical benefits of losing weight just don’t hold a very compelling grip on my willpower. Even the physical benefits are too abstract and far off. I know it’s better for me to lose weight, but I just… can’t be bothered to do so. Money, however? Money is a very specific, very present, and very powerful motivator for me. If I can position myself to gain some monetary resources, I am both intrigued and willing to put in some effort. A weight loss competition exists in the fortuitous overlap between my drive to get more money and my need to lose weight and get in better physical shape.
Given such a convenient source of motivation, I thought it would behoove me to participate. At the most immediate level, I would stand to gain some money. But on a more abstract level, I would lose some weight, and maybe pick up some better lifestyle habits. If I got some cash and started eating better and exercising more, it was a win all around.
Curious about the potentially winnings, I crunched some numbers. There were 30 participants in the original email, which would mean there was $600 available. I created a spreadsheet with 30 rows, indicating the payoff potential for any state between everyone meeting the goal weight and nobody but myself winning. If everyone achieved their goal, we would all get our $20 back and nothing more. If I was miraculously the only participant to lose 10 pounds, I’d walk away with $600 in my pocket.
I weighed in on January 7th at 294 pounds: not the biggest I’ve ever been, but concerningly close to it. I had roughly 10 weeks to lose 10 pounds, about a pound per week. That’s a very conservative rate of weight loss by any measure, so it wouldn’t take more than minimal effort to meet the goal weight of 284. I made tentative efforts toward losing some weight, but I didn’t really put much work toward it. Unfortunately, I also didn’t bother monitoring my weight much either.
The next time I checked my weight was March 1st. Yes, I went nearly 2 months of a weight loss competition without checking my weight. It wasn’t a good idea, but you can’t change the past. By the beginning of March, I had only lost 5 pounds. I could certainly still lose the weight, but I had much less time available for mistakes.
I started hitting the gym multiple times per week, and paying much more attention to my meals. I ate more lean protein and vegetables, and closely limited my portions. On the afternoon of the last day before weigh in, I stopped by and weighed myself. I was down to 285 pounds. While that still wasn’t quite my goal weight, there were several factors in my favor. It was the end of the day, where the final weigh in would be in the morning. I had both street clothes and shoes on, where weigh in would be shoeless, with a t-shirt and gym shorts. Surely, each of those factors would be sufficient to bring me down to my goal weight. I shouldn’t have to skip dinner that evening to ensure my success.
The next morning, I went in prepared to win. I didn’t drink any coffee or water, and I saved breakfast until after weigh in. By the time it was my turn to weigh, four people had already met their goal weight. In previous years, the ratio was about 10 winners out of 35 participants.
When I walked up, the host set the scale to the weight that I began at. I stepped onto the platform and the scale didn’t move. That was a good sign, I at least hadn’t gained weight from my starting point. I began scooting the slider to the left. It crept below 290: expected, good, but not quite good enough. It continued to 285: same as what I weighed the afternoon before, almost enough to win. It reached 284, still with no motion: I successfully met my goal. It kept going past 280: a lot better than I expected. The scale finally leveled out at 277.5 pounds, significantly better than I thought I would reach, especially given my preemptive weight check the previous afternoon.
After reaching my weight goal, I breathed a sigh of relief. I immediately put my clothes back on and ate an indulgent breakfast. Patiently, I awaited the email from the host announcing the results.
“So we had 32 people in the challenge this year. We had 11 make it. So you will get back your $20.00. You will split the pot of the 21 that did not make it. So you guys will split $420.00. This comes out to $38.18. Are you guys ok with me giving you $38.00? If not I will get the change when I go to bank. So you will get $58.00.”
I lost some weight and got a profit of nearly $40. For 2019, my participation in the Biggest Loser competition was a success. We’ll see how the contest plays out for 2020.
I weighed in at 292 this year, so I unfortunately gained back most of what I lost last year. After last year’s resolution, I suggested that we keep the contest running throughout the year, with quarterly payout periods. I’m not sure yet if we will keep the contest ongoing, but I certainly hope we do. A sustained carrot on the stick in the form of cash would keep me motivated and maybe I could lose more weight and keep it off.
Finished at 275, for what it's worth. We'll see how many people make it, and how much I win.
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