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  #1   ^
Old Sat, Feb-20-21, 15:20
CallmeAnn's Avatar
CallmeAnn CallmeAnn is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,728
 
Plan: HFLC/IF
Stats: 218/176/140 Female 5'4"
BF:27%
Progress: 54%
Location: Houston area
Default All Together, Now

I work in an office of only five people. We have our office manager; the only man, and then the other insurance agent besides him, and three of us support staffers. He is 60, and the women are respectively 34, 45, 55, and 60 (me). The manager and I eat LC and the other women are trying to restrict calories. I've made no secret that I am fasting.
So, yesterday, the female agent, who is 45, suggested we do a BMI contest among ourselves, lasting until April 1. That's roughly 40 days. Whoever reduces their BMI the most wins. We'll each contribute 25 dollars, and the winner will keep the pot. The 55 year old woman is not playing the game, so that makes a pot of $100.00.
My question is, won't it be easier for Joe to lose BMI, since men shed fat more easily? Brandy, who suggested this, thinks that focusing on BMI will be more fair since we're all different ages. He was the last one to join and I don't know if she knew he would be in it. She may have thought it would be just us girls, but I know she isn't thinking that he'll have any advantage, now that he's in it, too. BTW, he is 6'3 and is already the most fit, size-wise. He took off most of his extra weight a few years ago.
I think I could win since a) The other women are counting calories and the 34 year old is easily thrown off. She has three kids and a disabled mother in poor health to cook for. They all eat horribly and she is tempted by the comfort food in their meals. She just tries to eat less but she often goes off the wagon for a meal or two. b) Brandy loves her wine and even though she has given it up for Lent, she has switched to Jamison's. I'm not Catholic, but I didn't think that was how Lent is done. hah c) Joe is the starting leader but he likes his bourbon and he isn't terribly motivated since he really doesn't appear much overweight. He weighs about 206. Still, I see him as my main competition. He could lose only five pounds or so, and I could lose eight or nine, and still lose the contest, if I understand how BMI works. Still, I do think my fasting will help me even things out, and I have started getting some good fine-tuning ideas on how to optimize the IF. I'm planning on solidifying my rough schedule of 16/8.
Still, it will be fun and we all get along pretty well so I think it will be positive, over all. I have been pretty steady, with only one backslide, which is now behind me. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

Last edited by CallmeAnn : Sat, Feb-20-21 at 15:26.
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  #2   ^
Old Sun, Feb-21-21, 10:57
WereBear's Avatar
WereBear WereBear is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 14,606
 
Plan: EpiPaleo/Primal/LowOx
Stats: 220/125/150 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 136%
Location: USA
Default

If Joe is not much overweight, he'll lose slowly
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  #3   ^
Old Sun, Feb-21-21, 17:25
Gypsybyrd's Avatar
Gypsybyrd Gypsybyrd is offline
Posts: 7,035
 
Plan: Keto IMO Atkins 72 Induct
Stats: 283/229/180 Female 5'3"
BF:mini goal 250, 225
Progress: 52%
Location: St. Pete, Florida
Default

That’s what I was thinking WereBear.

Good luck Ann!
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  #4   ^
Old Mon, Feb-22-21, 10:24
BawdyWench's Avatar
BawdyWench BawdyWench is offline
Posts: 8,791
 
Plan: Carnivore
Stats: 212/179/160 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress: 63%
Location: Rural Maine
Default

They did the same type of contest at work a couple times, but I never joined in. They based it on percentage of body weight lost. If he's 206, he would need to lose 10.3 pounds. If you're at 193, you would need to lose 9.6 pounds. At least it's more apples to apples, as BMI is not a very accurate gauge.

I really hate these kind of challenges because we are all so different and have our own set of limiting factors, like our gender, age, underlying issues, etc.

Once just a bunch of guys got together and did a contest. One of the guys ate a ton of crap for a couple days before he started and filled up on water before his first weigh-in so that he would weight maybe 5 pounds more to start. A couple days later those 5 pounds were gone, so he was immediately in the lead and it was hard for the others to catch up in the time allotted.
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  #5   ^
Old Mon, Feb-22-21, 20:33
CallmeAnn's Avatar
CallmeAnn CallmeAnn is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,728
 
Plan: HFLC/IF
Stats: 218/176/140 Female 5'4"
BF:27%
Progress: 54%
Location: Houston area
Default

Oh, that 193 was my old profile. I started at 208.4. But, I'm now at 208.2.
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  #6   ^
Old Sat, Feb-27-21, 09:47
CallmeAnn's Avatar
CallmeAnn CallmeAnn is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,728
 
Plan: HFLC/IF
Stats: 218/176/140 Female 5'4"
BF:27%
Progress: 54%
Location: Houston area
Default

And now I'm finally below 208.
He's at 204. Everyone lost weight last week, but me. Or, shall I say, everyone reported losing, but me. I don't really count my weigh-ins on days when I have to be out of the house by noon. Saturday is the only day that counts, for me.
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  #7   ^
Old Thu, Mar-18-21, 17:20
CallmeAnn's Avatar
CallmeAnn CallmeAnn is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,728
 
Plan: HFLC/IF
Stats: 218/176/140 Female 5'4"
BF:27%
Progress: 54%
Location: Houston area
Default

Ha! Out of the four of us, one has all but quit (CICO). One is on vacation this week, two weeks before it's all over; but she has transitioned to an anti-inflammation diet that includes IF. Good for her, and I have a head start, anyway. :P The boss is probably neck and neck with me, but I don't even know if the whole silly thing will even be still going since if just one person (34 y/o Hannah) quits it will likely sink the whole ship. It's also fun to note that only she is on the least healthy plan. Joe is relaxed low carb, Brandy has taken up her new anti-inflammation/fasting plan and then there's me. I should be back to wonderland, from just under 210, by next week. Who knows where I'll be on April 1.
I have to draw the comparison between this challenge and a youth sports league that doesn't keep score. We may not declare a winner but we'll all know who came out ahead.
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  #8   ^
Old Thu, Mar-18-21, 20:38
wbahn's Avatar
wbahn wbahn is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 8,651
 
Plan: Atkins-ish, post-WLS
Stats: 408.0/288.0/168.0 Male 72 inches
BF:
Progress: 50%
Location: Southern Colorado, USA
Default

The key to these kinds of challenges is to focus it on yourself and use it as a means to motivate and further your own progress. Consider the $25 the well-spent cost of adding that additional motivation to your quest and if you happen to win, that's just a nice bonus.

There's really no "fair" way to compare one person's progress to another -- just too many variables at play that are highly individualistic. BMI is about as good as any, as is percentage of starting weight or percentage of excess weight (but that last is dependent of everyone agreeing to what each person's excess weight is). None of these are even decent if the spread is very large (i.e., some people are only a little overweight while others are super-morbidly obese).

As for BMI, you have it backwards. The taller a person is, the more weight they have to lose to reduce their BMI by the same amount.

BMI is defined as w/(h^2) and expressed in kg/(m^2).

As a result, someone who is 5'4" has to lose 5.83 lb to change their BMI by one unit, while someone that is 6'3" has to lose 8.01 lb to make the same change (or 37% more weight).
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  #9   ^
Old Thu, Mar-18-21, 21:48
CallmeAnn's Avatar
CallmeAnn CallmeAnn is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,728
 
Plan: HFLC/IF
Stats: 218/176/140 Female 5'4"
BF:27%
Progress: 54%
Location: Houston area
Default

Oh wow, thanks for the wisdom on BMI.
Your first comment perfectly expresses the way I feel about it and also the spirit with which Brandy proposed it. I talk about the others just as an insight to how widely disparate our sample is and the influences everyone is subject to. We have fun and no one is heavily invested in what anyone else does. Hannah drives me very slightly nuts with her complaints of being hungry. I don't spout of with "Really? You wouldn't get hungry if you did low carb". She told me she tried it (half-assedly, I'm sure) a few years ago and couldn't stand going without her favorites. But, she never tells me the fat's going to kill me or anything stupid, so we're even. Sometimes, when she's super hungry, I'll offer to trade off lunch times so she can eat earlier; the silent message being that I'm doing just fine and can easily stand to wait. She knows I see it as a great way to extend a fast - another thing she never blinks twice at. Out of the four of us, she's the only one not doing any actual fasting but she has largely given up snacking, so that's a good thing. I get slightly competitive but I feel I'm the one with the most to prove, as I'm tied at being the oldest and obviously the one who needs to lose the most.
Anyway, insurance is one of those businesses where you have to make your own fun. It's going to be a while before we have to find anything besides this to play with. lol
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  #10   ^
Old Fri, Mar-19-21, 05:12
WereBear's Avatar
WereBear WereBear is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 14,606
 
Plan: EpiPaleo/Primal/LowOx
Stats: 220/125/150 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 136%
Location: USA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by CallmeAnn
Anyway, insurance is one of those businesses where you have to make your own fun. It's going to be a while before we have to find anything besides this to play with. lol


LOL myself: I once temped for a firm of CPAs They were all, "You're so lively and funny, you'll get along with Fred, he's on vacation this week."

The next week, I met Fred. He wore red ties. A real wild man!
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  #11   ^
Old Fri, Mar-19-21, 17:30
CallmeAnn's Avatar
CallmeAnn CallmeAnn is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,728
 
Plan: HFLC/IF
Stats: 218/176/140 Female 5'4"
BF:27%
Progress: 54%
Location: Houston area
Default

That is pretty funny. Gotta love those CPAs.
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  #12   ^
Old Tue, Mar-23-21, 20:04
CallmeAnn's Avatar
CallmeAnn CallmeAnn is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,728
 
Plan: HFLC/IF
Stats: 218/176/140 Female 5'4"
BF:27%
Progress: 54%
Location: Houston area
Default

I hit 200.4 after a 26 hour fast, yesterday. Of course, I told Hannah about it. We celebrate each other's victories regularly. Anyway, I heard her talking to the female agent and she said, if we're still going to give the $100.00, we ought to just give it to Ann, now. Ha Ha.
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