Weight Loss Contests

September 21, 2010

“Come join the lose 15 by December!”

“Bloggy Biggest Loser Competition!”

“Fit by falafel-fest!”

These are all over Twitter and on different blogs. I used to drool at these since I’m uber-competitive and want to WIN!

Bah. Crazy Emmie.

I’m not against weight loss contests at all. You know I even had delusions of grandeur with The Biggest Loser. I am all for a healthy competition where pride and ego are at stake, and the consolation prize is losing some weight. Nothing wrong with that, right?

A few months ago, I dropped out of one of these weight loss competitions because it was driving me effing batty. The scale wasn’t moving and my emotions were as frail as Chantilly lace. I am one of those people who always had the motto “Second place is the first loser.” Right now, I’m trying to focus on staying off the scale and making positive choices that will add up to big losses… eventually. The pressure of trying to win a race is just too much right now.

Have you participated in weight loss contests? Do they fuel you or frustrate you? Again, as I said, I’m not against them AT ALL! Just for me at this moment in time, I can’t handle the extra pressure I would put on myself to try to win.

  • Roxie

    I can NOT do weight loss contests. Ironically, they make it worse for me. I try to keep up and win, when all I do is feel like a bigger failure when all is said and done.

  • http://www.unveilingthediva.blogspot.com/ Stephnms

    I’ve only participated in a couple of them, and overall it was a good experience. I would do it again, depending on the type of contest it is. If there’s a ton of rules and regulations though, I won’t do it.

  • TheMeWithin

    I was in one that just ended and honestly if it was not for the Plus Size bloggers (http://www.plusizebloggers.com) I would have not of lost 16 pounds this summer. Vera kept me super motivated and egger to weigh in every week. She is doing another contest for the winter and I cant wait. If your looking for that perfect contest She is awesome!

  • http://laurakay428.blogspot.com Laura P

    I’m in a competition/challenge right now. I’ve done others in the past and haven’t done very well on them. This challenge, so far is going alright. Check back with me in a few weeks though. LOL

    Fuel or Frustrate? It’s a little bit of both for me. I love being teamed up with others for the friendship/commoradorie (sp?) and for the chance to get to know these people through twitter, blogs and facebook. They also frustrate me though as there are times I think I could/should do more but yet I know I am not in a place where doing more is always an option.

    I’ve been learning through my time of doing these virtual challenges that I am only one person and if I push myself too far, I will burn out. Burn out leads (for me) to laziness which leads to old habits coming back and then I need to start all over again.

    I’m taking my weight loss day by day. I know that I will not lose mega amounts of weight each week like the biggest loser contestants do. I am me, and my weight will come off even if it is slowly. :)

  • http://www.biggirlbombshell.com Big Girl Bombshell

    Contest like that don’t help me…I am not a real competitive person…I would rather walk along with you than in front or behind you…. I even left Weight Watchers because of the competition with the scale. While I am on a Slimdown journey that includes weigh-ins, it is my approach that works for me..It’s not competitive…we are all in it to LOSE! Thanks for this post!

  • http://www.christinalovescharlie.blogspot.com Christina

    My friend and I tried to do a weight loss competition over the course of like 3 months, and the finish date would be before Christmas. The deal was that whoever lost more weight got a gift card of some kind of $100 value. So, I would give $50 and so would she, so whoever lost would only lose $50.. Long story short, we lasted for about a month, and then gave up. If a weight loss competition is gonna be started, I think it needs to be for a short amount of time, and not long term because you’re more likely to get frustrated. At least, that’s what I think…

  • http://twitter.com/LisaEirene Lisa Eirene

    I don’t think they are healthy. For me, I need to lose weight for the right reasons or I won’t do it. I lose weight for myself and to better myself, my health and my fitness level. I have goals I want to achieve and if losing some weight will get me there–that’s the only motivation I need.

    Not only that, focusing on the scale number makes me absolutely BATTY. I ONLY weigh myself once a month because I got so obsessed with the scale.

  • http://twitter.com/msgigglepuss MsGigglepuss

    I used to love doing weight loss challenges online. They motivated me a great bit…until the scale stopped moving. Also, some people begin to lose their honesty when real prizes are involved. When someone is consistently losing 8-10 pounds or more a week and not very big to start, it raises eyebrows. Now, I focus more on goals more personal to me…not saying I won’t participate in one again if the mood strikes me.

  • Dangerouslilly

    Ugh, I am super-competitive enough as it is with myself and my preconceived notions of how my weight loss should be progressing. I think a contest would drive me batshit insane.

  • http://colormeuntypical.blogspot.com Untypically Jia

    I was in a blogging weight loss competition last spring and aside from week one, everything went totally downhill. I was the fattest girl in the competition so I was really hard on myself. In the end I came out +5 pounds.

  • http://www.kclanderson.com/before-and-after KCLAnderson (Karen)

    Frustrate…I don’t do them any more. At all. Nada, nope, zip, zilch. No challenges, contests, goals. No weighing either. No dieting, no counting calories. No denying myself, no restricting. And lo and behold, I have finally found something that “works.”

  • http://www.kendrathroughthelookingglass.com Kendra

    I don’t do them because this is my journey and I have to do it at my own pace. If I were in a competition I would be too tempted to lose weight in an unhealthy way.

  • Karen

    I haven’t joined and I won’t. For me, the competition is not motivating. And I think many of them are focused on the wrong thing – a big push to lose weight. I need to focus myself on my actions and behaviors and the weight will follow. I hope:) I am joining a challenge that I like because we set goals and no one is going to win based on how much they lose. It is just about support and motivation.

  • http://www.hello-gorgeous.me/ Karen (Hello Gorgeous)

    I’ve signed up for some but either dropped out or the person who started it quit. I don’t really let these competitions get to me though. I probably don’t do a whole lot different than I would for not participating in one. But they were never about winning anything, just keeping each other motivated.

  • http://abetterlesserme.blogspot.com/ D…

    I’ve been involved in a couple that were set up at my gym, both times I was sent into a full tail spin, started questioning everything I did and really didn’t get anywhere with it. That said I’ve seen it really work for some people, I think it just depends on the person. For me I know that I will never let myself be talked into joining one ever again!!!!

  • http://thejourneytofit.wordpress.com/ Danielle

    Never have. Probably never will.
    Mainly because I don’t have enough weight to lose, so I’ll never win… but almost as importantly, I’m like you and always want to win if I enter a competition and I’m way more likely to get frustrated and/or burnout than I am to thrive in that kind of environment.

    Then again, I guess it depends a lot on how the contest is set up, what the prizes are and how it’s judged, etc etc. I’ve heard of some that sound way more supportive and “friendly competition” than other…

  • http://diana-journeyofalifetime.blogspot.com Diana P.

    I haven’t ever participated in weight loss competitions…probably because I haven’t actually seriously tried to lose weight before (until now!). I also auditioned for BL season 10, and didn’t even make it through the first call backs. I decided to make my own “biggest loser” experience, and spend the summer spending 3-6 hours a day at the gym and learning all about the healthy way to do nutrition. So far I’ve lost 27.5 pounds, and now I’m still working hard, but scaled down what I’m doing.

    I think I would love some good competition and encouragement, but only if I was already doing what it took to lose the weight and had some healthy routines. For me it’s not about the fad diet or the kill-yourself-exercise, thus also not about the awesome competition, but about learning what I can maintain and live with. Right now, since I am on a weight loss track, and want to take it off more quickly, I can maintain a routine of working out 3 hours/day, 5 days a week. But it’s all about my routine. Thus–if competition was added, that’s great, but only as an added benefit and push!

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