Well, I've heard that larger people have a higher bmr, and just being larger burns more calories,so the skinnies may be onto something. However, a percentage would still be an advantage to them. My reasoning is that if someone only has 15 or so pounds to lose to reach their goal,and that's presumably the lowest they could safely weigh,than a total pounds lost contest against a person who has 100 plus pounds to lose is already lost. To reach that same 10 percent, the 350 pound person has to lose 35 pounds,which may happen in the same amount of time as the 15 pounds loser, but can continue to and should be encouraged to lose much more,thus leaving the thinner person in their dust. Although in the end,all of them win by being healthier. Go team!

I do know it us easier for men to lose pounds than for women. My md confirmed it. I also have read that if you are heavier to start with, you lose more quickly.

also, muscle weighs more than fat, so if you exercise and build muscle, you may shape up and go down sizes in clothing, but you may not show was much weight loss.

Whether it is easier than not, if you under a short time frame, it might not be safe for a person to lose 35 pounds.

I am a "skinnier" person and yes it it harder to lose a pound than it was to lose the ten.

But, these are all theories. I wouldn't do percentage. Why not just keep it at pounds lost?

ETA: Cyn and i posted at the same time. I also agree that men lose weight quicker.

You might have to divide people up in teams of men and women.

I would definitely do percentage vs. pounds and break it into genders, if possible. Just basing it on pounds would be in NO way motivating to me because of the unfairness.

look at how dietbet does it- it is based on percentage. So it seems to me that is more fair.

There's a whole medical aspect to loosing weight as well. With my health issues with (metabolic) I gain weight on 1200 calories a day WITH exercise. I've gained 10 lbs this year by eating less and working out more. I'm in the mid 170lbs, an all time high. I can loose weight at 900 with the same exercise level, but I often bonk while working out. So now we're exploring alternatives.

So I'd say that if you're in perfect health and just simply eat too much and exercise too little, it's about how hard you work to do the opposite.

The prize should be a chocolate cake.

Another way of doing it, is to compete based on body fat percentage. I actually won such a contest at my gym a few years ago, despite the fact that I only lost about 10 pounds I lost the highest percentage of body fat. I believe that there was a winner for women and one for men.

I think that this is a good approach because it rewards not just weight loss, but also exercise.

If you go this route I wouldn't rely on those body fat scales, because I understand that they are not totally reliable. You would need to have someone who is experienced with measuring using calipers.

I wonder if you couldn't do some other metrics so it's a combo, not just weight loss. Maybe set some target for vegetables per day, fit bit 10,000 steps per day, and 8 glasses of water per day. Of course, you'd have to rely on each person's honesty, but I think it would mitigate any unfairness for gender and degree of overweight.

The Biggest Loser tv show calculated by weight loss percentage not pounds.

You may have to accept there is no way to perfectly even the playing field. Weight loss is different for each individual person. I know men who can cut out in between meal snacking and lose five pounds in a week. Other's it could take great effort and a month to lose that same five pounds. As shared there are soo soo many variables. The last one of these challenges we did at work was more like Annie suggested. We were in teams and on our honor we had to meet certain healthy living criteria each week. Steps walked, healthy snacks, start the day with a good breakfast etc. Perhaps it would help to better define your end goal. Is is just to see who can lose the most pounds or is it more about creating healthier workers over the long haul?

I agree with arcy--weight loss is so different for everyone. I don't think your group can possibly make such fine distinctions. I am on Weight Watchers and have lost 10 lbs since late October. I feel great about that but it has been very slow. I have 10 more to lose in 2017 and honestly don't care when it is finally all off as long as it happens in 2017! Weight Watchers has an online forum for members, Connect, that is interesting to read. Anecdotal evidence there certainly seems to suggest that, all things being equal (which they are really not), people with more to lose who follow the plan lose quicker than people with less to lose. There are some amazing people who post regularly who have lost 50, 100, 200, or even more lbs--as well as many like me whose 15-20 lbs have crept up on them over the years.

I'm going in the same direction as Annie - have everyone keep a journal, and focus on the lifestyle changes rather than calories. Such as - steps walked, sodas NOT consumed, ate broccoli instead of macaroni & cheese, etc. At the end divvy the prize money based on the number of lifestyle changes made, and give ALL the participants a cut, even if it's only a small amount.

Donna

The prize should go to the person who has kept the weight off after a year. That's the hard part. Ask me how I know!

Changing one's habits is a better goal than a number, and keeping it off is more important and harder.

But people won't like a contest that is so hard to "audit" and people won't wait a year either, I'm guessing.

Larger people generally lose faster, as do men. But people with more to lose also lose faster. A 180lb 6' woman who needs to lose 20 lbs will not lose the 20 as fast as a 180lb 5' woman who needs to lose 55lbs, loses 20..

Body fat % estimates are also imprecise, i think?

The fairest? Separate gender categories and % of excess weight lost. (ie above normal BMI).

So everyone needs to figure out the weight at which their BMI is normal, and subtract that from their current weight. The result is their "excess weight". Whoever loses the highest % of their excess weight wins. (Again with gender categories)

Hmmm, speed weight loss isn't the best for the body, it's stressful on organs.

Steady progress is better.

My favorite health/ weight loss book of all time- Mastering Leptin by Byron Richards.

www.wellnessresources.com/books/mastering_leptin.php

He has some great help too on his website for anyone who is stuck at a certain weight and weight loss has stopped.

Ann Louise Gittleman's books on weight loss and health including Fat Flush and her excellent books on women's health- nutrition, perimenopause, menopause, gut health. If you know anyone suffering in Perimenopause or Menopause, these are the solutions!

We live in times where the soil has become depleted and food no longer has all the things it should have for best health. Animals don't graze on open ground. People don't stay in motion. When you get healthy, weight loss follows naturally.

I think it's an unfair challenge in favor of the men ;-(

It's great to take the challenge on, however.

Perhaps the "winner" could get to donate the money to a charity of their choosing?

fwiw - throw away the scale and gauge success by how well you fit into your snug fitting jeans and how good/energetic you feel. I say this as someone who totally binged on sugar the past few wks and am yearning to get backt o that energetic state of mind I was in a few yrs ago. It all works together - excercise for burning calories and also its been scientifically proven to alleviate moderate depression as well as (yes!!!) antidepressents.... so that means less compulsion to binge eat. But then improving diet - getting nutrients and cutting out sugar and processed foods - that improves body chemistry and gives you the energy and drive to be more physically active.

If this is not useful information - well, nevermind. Guess Im mostly giving myself a pep talk here!

good luck.

These Biggest Loser type contests are a terrible idea. I have a friend who enters every year and loses and gains the same 15 lbs. that's called yo-yo dieting. Several years ago, I entered one of these contests and lost 40lbs in nine weeks. I ate next to nothing and lived at the gym. I won $1000 for my effort then proceeded to gain 50lbs in 12 weeks. I screwed up my metabolism so bad, it took a couple of years of hard work to get it (mostly) functioning properly.

I'd rather lose weight without one of these competitions. Indeed, I lost 40 pounds about 4-5 years ago over the period of nine months... occasionally five of those pounds come back, but then they go again. I didn't compete with anyone; I did it on my own and let it happen gradually. And it wasn't entirely about weight loss - it was about feeling BETTER overall with more energy, and that's not something anyone can objectively measure. It was also about having a far better LDL/HDL ratio, and a massive drop in triglyceride level. (Which is measureable, and perhaps ultimately more useful than the loss of weight.)

I would find a new job that knows that my weight is none of the coworkers business. This "debate" should have been determined before the challenge was even presented. Good Luck to all of the losers who signed up ;)

LOL stolen!

I wonder if everyone would be happier if the pot was split between three charities that the winner's choose? This way it will be a friendlier competition and everyone feels good that their money goes to a good cause.

Blue, actually it comes down to Stolen's point. And competing for a prize or donating to winner's choice is pretty much the same thing. Best option is to go it alone. Very very few of the contestants on The Biggest Loser didn't rebound when it was all over.

A charity like feed the hungry!

This story came up on my FB newsfeed and pretty much confirms what I have always thought, that it is nearly impossible to keep weight off without extreme vigilance. Although it is a dichotomy, losing weight is the worst thing you can do to be thin since your metabolism slows dramatically and permanently.

Biggest regainers

Does it depend on why your department is doing this? If it's to support each other in losing weight (as so many of us need to do), then what about a longer time frame -- such as a year long program with small prizes each month (maybe one month it's % lost, next it's healthful eating, most time spent walking, etc). It would seem, that if it gets very detailed and people are going over journals, etc. then it could be more divisive than intended... who wants to feel co workers are fibbing on diet journals etc. maybe winnings should go to charities each month... good luck whatever is decided, hopefully greater health is the goal.

What about starting a lunch club at work? Instead of going to a restaurant, everyone brings something nutritious to share. You can try recipes you never would otherwise. Please everyone, avoid fast food and snack foods full of chemicals. You don't need that stuff messing around with your body chemistry. If you don't know what's in it or what all the chemicals are on the list, say no and eat a snack you baked yourself.

Stay away from diet sodas, etc. The manufacturers know very well, diet sweeteners, etc. lead to weight gain in the long run and they will sell more product in the meantime until you figure it out. That's how they prosper. If it really worked, people would be reporting big success. Actually snacking throws metabolism off. You need a little time between meals. Please don't eat right before bed. This is the worst. If you have powerful urges to eat late at night, your body's natural rhythm needs some tlc.

Instead of maybe focusing on weight loss, can you focus on something like physical activity step counts? That would encourage people to be more active during the work day and you can have some things like walking meetings and activity breaks.

Weight loss is so variable between people and some people can drop weight really quickly while someone like myself would be lucky to drop 0.5 to maybe 1.0 lb per week.

Focusing on the healthy lunches and snacks like kittymoonbeam describes and the step count/physical activity challenge will go much further in advancing everyone's health in the long term, and it's more sustainable. This is a lot of the work I do in our community coalition, advocating for these types of changes.

Does your workplace have places to walk or workout? Do you have flex time so you can be active? Do you get discounts on your insurance for participating in wellness programs or attending the gym? Once again, there is better evidence for these type of systemwide changes.

I recently had bypass surgery and just visited the doctor for my three-month checkup. He is an expert on weight loss. He told me that the hardest-to-lose group of people are black peri- and post-menopausal women. The next is the rest of us peri- and post-menopausal women (me). I had a hysterectomy at 44 and went into full blown menopause at that time. This does not take into account people like 1929Spanish-GW, who have specific issues, rather whole groups of people.

I haven't read all the discussion, but saw a break it into genders suggeston and thought that if you add one more prize (divide by four insteaed of three), you could do the top lb loser for each gender and the top % loser for each gender.

I agree with the suggestion above to make this a physical activity challenge instead. My old gym held a contest to see who could log 100 miles first, either by walking, cycling or other measurements that they devised for some of the other cardio machines. Of course, you then run the risk of some overly enthusiastic person with an overgrown competitive streak killing themselves to get there first. (Like me. I won my gym's challenge in 8 days. ;-))

You could do it by different measurements and then have prizes for each so there are more than one winner and one way to win. So like most steps, most lbs lost, biggest % lost, most water drank, most inches lost around the waist, etc.

We had a step tracking challenge at work and the cheating and bad feelings were over the top. All for a $150 prize.

Sas, that's really pathetic.

Annie, I like that. At least it emphasizes different things. But, of course, some idiot will probably get water intoxification.

My place of work had a holiday challenge, totally voluntary. Anyone wanting to be in the drawing had to pay 15.00, be weighed before Thanksgiving and then after Jan 2nd. Anyone staying the same weight or losing weight went in the drawing.

About losing weight quickly. I lost what for me was a lot of weight in a very short time. I didn't want to lose the weight, and it took me 1 1/2 years to gain back the weight. Subsequently, when I needed to have my gallbladder removed, I discovered that one of the causes of gallbladder trouble is rapid weight loss. I would be leery of anything that promotes rapid weight loss.

Yeah, type A personalities and overachievers are always an issue. Ask me how I know!

:)

Do it by measurements since exercise should be part of the equation. Muscle does weigh more than fat. Weight training does burn fat more than cardio. People need to incorporate both. Optimally, you need 30 minutes of cardio 3x a week.

Also, just because a person is thin does not mean they have less body fat unless their weight training.

I would not call 30min of cardio 3x/wk "optimal". I would not even call it the bare minimum for heart health.

In fact, for weight loss and maintenance, studies have shown that an hour per day is needed! Yikes.

This is from the Weight Control Registry (a non profit organization that tracks data on those who have maintained a >=30 lb loss for >=1yr; the average participant has lost 66lb and kept it off 5.5yrs!):

• There is variety in how NWCR members keep the weight off. Most report continuing to maintain a low calorie, low fat diet and doing high levels of activity.

• • 78% eat breakfast every day.
• 75% weigh themselves at least once a week.
• 62% watch less than 10 hours of TV per week.
• 90% exercise, on average, about 1 hour per day.

For people with less serious weight issues, there is the CDC advice:

To maintain your weight: Work your way up to 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or an equivalent mix of the two each week. Strong scientific evidence shows that physical activity can help you maintain your weight over time. However, the exact amount of physical activity needed to do this is not clear since it varies greatly from person to person. It's possible that you may need to do more than the equivalent of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week to maintain your weight.

To lose weight and keep it off: You will need a high amount of physical activity unless you also adjust your diet and reduce the amount of calories you're eating and drinking. Getting to and staying at a healthy weight requires both regular physical activity and a healthy eating plan.

You all bring up great points.

This is a totally voluntary weight loss challenge – informal
invitations are emailed out to 3 departments comprised of about 80 people. It is not officially sanctioned by the
company, but not discouraged. We have had various versions of the challenge the
last 4 years, and we have found out some things that work, and some that
definitely do not – regarding participation.

1st, we needed a $20.00 motivation fee and
prizes. Most will not stay involved if
they have nothing monetary to lose or gain.
Giving it to charity did not work - got the same participation drop out rate as not having a motivation fee.
Winner-take-all caused some to drop out if they knew one person was
really successful – so then we had 1st, 2nd, & 3rd
prizes at the end (splitting the motivation fee proportionally 1/2, 1/3, 1/6.) Furthermore, to sweeten the pot, we had an
anonymous donor grant a $5 weekly bonus to the person who lost the best
percentage each week. That way, you may
not win one of the top three, but you could win a couple of weekly
bonuses. Surprisingly, the finalist
winners rarely won most of the weekly bonuses, because they were the slow and steady
losers, not the quick up and down ones.

2nd, having journals, counting steps, recording exercise minutes or
any other form of “measurements” did not work. There were lots of hard feelings
about them – some accusations of “fudging” or being too personal. Some people
were WAY too competitive – and that also caused hard feelings. We had people chose to lose the way they
wished by reducing calories, increasing exercise, or both. We have only one person officially record
weights, so no else would know anybody else’s actual weight. We just announce the top finalist’s losses –
not current weight.

3rd, we found 4-6 weeks to be too short of a time, and some
ladies did silly things to win. 12 weeks
was too long and we had a lot of dropouts.
8-10 weeks seems to be the sweet spot time wise – too long for “crash
dieters” and short enough not to “burn out”.
Now we try to have a 10 week diet challenge, then a 6 week maintenance challenge
before another 10 week weight loss challenge. (The maintenance challenge is to
kick in $20 and you get double back if you do not gain anything in 6 weeks –
normally held over a holiday season.)

4th, we haven’t had many men compete, so that has not been a big
problem (of them losing faster). Since
we have a wide range of weights (135 – 340), we have tried various versions of
% loss or total loss. Last time it was
the weekly % bonuses coupled with prizes for the top three total weight lost. This time the main organizers wanted it to be
total percentage for the final three prizes.
I think this does favor the thinner ones, but I was just asking all your
opinions in the hopes to fine tune this continuing completion in the
future.

Personally, I have lost 35 pounds last year in several of the competitions -- and I hope to do more in the next one. They do keep me motivated. Thanks for your thoughts.

Yes, as we get older we have to work out twice as much and eat half as much!

It is a lifestyle and does require constant and extreme vigilance, as dedtired mentioned a few posts ago.

Well, out of the 80 people the invitation went out to, 19 have volunteered for the percentage weight loss challenge. Half are new participants, and when asked, most said they were impressed with how many people showed good weight loss last time. (We did not publish the results to everyone, but they saw progress and their friends shared who one the final 3 prizes.) All weights are confidential -- only the top percentages lost will be revealed.

Our 19 ladies (no men asked to join the group) range in weight from 132 to 311 lbs. We will weigh in with a buddy once a week - and just report the top 5 percentage losers each week. This will be an interesting challenge! (I'll be having a major surgery in that time frame, I hope not to gain weight as I am "down".)

Our 6 week maintenance challenge had 8 participants, and 4 of them won by either maintaining weight or losing even more. (One lady even lost 11 lbs over the holidays! She really wants to lose more.) Two just missed out by gaining back a bit, and a couple blew it. All that gained some are joining the challenge again. Two that maintained are at their goal weight since mid November.

We will each diet/exercise the way we choose for ourselves, but those who are showing some of the best results will be asked to share with the group what is working for them.

Agree with Mtn above. I run 25-30 miles a week and weight lift. I also run 12-15 races a year (everything from 5k - full marathons). I would say I am very physically active. I am easily burning 3000 calories a week. I am petite 5'2" and 107 lbs. my weight really does not budge, despite healthy eating. This level of physical activity just allows me to maintain in my 40's.