Weight-Loss NEW YEAR: 12 Week Biggest Loser Challenge!!

[Jess393]

I'm completely amazed. I was so excited about this "challenge" 3 weeks ago. YES, the fruit and veggie thing has been CLARIFIED, and some people choose to eat what they choose to eat as far as calories go. Four years ago, I weighed like 25lbs more than I do now and was eating 1200/c per DAY. Yeah, a little older, a little wiser, I've upped it a lot. The person in charge of this challenge did not set everyones calorie intake; I've been in challenges in the past where people have chosen to eat their own levels of calories then, also, and there has never been negative backlash. This challenge could totally use some advice on how to follow proper nutrtion guidelines, no doubt about it. But what other ones couldn't?!
I'm more upset with the fact that there are people who joined the "challenge" and then say, "I'm not doing this type of exercising because I don't want to." THEN WHY ARE YOU IN A CHALLENGE?! Its the whole POINT! Ignoring the diet aspect, the point of a challenge is to give you a reason to WANT to push yourself. Dammit people- PUSH YOURSELF to overcome what has stopped you in the past. Don't use this site as your main forum? Fine. I do. I've been here for YEARS because the support is great, and all comments in my journal, negative and positive, are not only welcome, but NECCESSARY for my future success. Stop making me feel like a chump for doing what I can, when I can. I can't do a friggin pullup. HARDLY handle pushups. Doesn't mean I'm not up for trying something new.
Whatever; Brigette- good luck to ya girly and to everyone else in the challenge. Keep up the terrific work and DO NOT stop(barring any unhealthy practices of course) fighting for yourself. I quit.

 

[Addiecakes]

I quit.

I'm confused, why are you quitting? I'd hate to see someone leave this contest. Truthfully, I don't read up on what a lot of other people are eating, so I haven't seen any problems with people trying to drastically cut calories to win. I pretty much just pay attention to myself when it comes to the challenges, and then I find out how they went when the chart is posted. If I did well, awesome, if not ... that's okay too, because I know I did my best for what I am capable of doing.

If you're doing what you're supposed to be doing for healthy weight loss, then why would you leave?

Guess I just wanted some clarification ... I don't want you to leave and I don't think any of us want this contest to unravel.

 

[Jericho]

Well, this has taken a turn into the scary zone..

 

[whiskeytangofox]

I'm more upset with the fact that there are people who joined the "challenge" and then say, "I'm not doing this type of exercising because I don't want to." THEN WHY ARE YOU IN A CHALLENGE?! Its the whole POINT! Ignoring the diet aspect, the point of a challenge is to give you a reason to WANT to push yourself. Dammit people- PUSH YOURSELF to overcome what has stopped you in the past.

I have to say. I've been doing the challenges but doing badly and didn't do any squats. I don't know if you are referring to me but I thought I'd just explain why I am doing the challenge.

The whole week of drinking the water was a wakeup call that I don't drink enough water and I am trying to drink more now, even though I may not be meeting my actual quota for the week.

The squats thing was different as I felt weakness in my knees and ankles over the past week and am very worried about injury. I think that 'what has stopped many people in the past' from successfully losing weight is pushing ourselves too hard and not being sensible in how we push our bodies and then quitting in shame. I am very grateful to Omega for the opportunities to acquaint myself with the different types of exercises and ways in which I can be improving my weight loss but the ultimate judge of whether or not, right now, I should do them is me. I want to but I also don't want to derail my whole diet, and ultimately my health, in trying to prove something. Trying to shame people about this seems a bit unnecessary to me.

 

[Jericho]

I think we are slipping into a bad place that none of us want or needs.

Everyone, take a breath. I've seen things said on the site that I very much disagree with. I have said my opinions and tried to base it with facts. We all have to remember that if that is how they are going to lose weight, we should hope they will still be healthy and well. We are all losing weight in different ways. Some are using pills, some are using various diet plans..but we are all here to support each other. We shouldn't be talking about each other behind their backs.

Not everyone is going to be able to do the challenges, some for physical reasons. That is why the challenges are an edge but not the whole thing. When it comes down to it, it is about losing the weight.

I don't want to see anyone do things that hurts their health..but we should always be there to help them.

So..for the first time..I am going to suggest people taking pills..

and call me in the morning.

 

[Omega]

It would appear that I am being criticised by others for taking part in a challenge on a forum which is not my main forum. I have made over 6,000 postings on this forum - so I think that any reasonable person would consider me to be an active participant on this forum and able to take part in any challenge which I felt was appropriate for me.

Who would ever enter a challenge if that level of commitment to a forum was not considered enough?

I was taking part in challenges on this forum before many people here were aware that this forum existed...

Despite having attained my goal weight - I need to stay as focused on my own project as anyone here. I have had a BMI history which is comparable to anyone here - and will always have to struggle with my weight. I lost my grip over Christmas and gained 12 pounds. I need to handle it before it is joined by more weight. Challenges have helped me to lose weight in the past.

It would appear that I am being criticised for not embracing every aspect of this challenge. This seems to be very unreasonable since I have explained that I have consistently worked very hard for my weight loss - and indeed maintaining that loss.

I drank the water and won that challenge.

I didnt do the squats and lunges - although I do some of these within my aerobics routine and during my keep fit classes. I have just returned home from such a class today. I knew that many were doing much more of this than me and no longer feel the need to try to win every challenge that I enter. I won enough challenges on this forum two years ago for that to be an issue for me.

I have posted my nutritional information every day this week. This is something that many others cannot claim to have done. I have brought in each day at a calorie deficit while hitting nutritional targets.

I have lost weight each week.

I have said that I will walk. I walk a lot every day. During my main weight loss phase I generally walked between 11 and 13 miles EVERY day. Every morning I get on the treadmill that I have in my living room and walk at least 6.5 miles - simply to bring my low BMR up to a level that will balance against the calories that I know that I will want to eat.

I am a PCOS lady and as such my hormones make my body more inclined to gain weight rather than lose or maintain weight. My age (50) and height (5ft3) work against me. I need to do a level of exercise or I would gain weight and struggle to eat healthily.

I will not do push ups and pull ups. I have never pulled myself up.
I do push ups as part of my pilates class - and quite frankly it is not the quantity that I find the real killer but the speed. A number of exercises appear to be more testing when my teacher instructs me to go a lot slower. I will stick with my exercise schedule. I have no time (having done my daily walk and classes) for extra things just for a forum challenge. The advice of my teacher has served me well thus far with a level of weight loss that many would aspire towards.

I would have been more than happy to list the servings of fruit and vegetable in my food - had the challenge been to have at least 5-a-day. This is a standard level which is universally acknowledged to be a minimum which is appropriate for good health. Since the challenge was stated as being 2 fruit, 2 veg no more, no less I said that I would not be attempting to do that and gave my reasons why.

Since PlumpHope has not come to a final announcement on the wording of that challenge (she said that she was open to suggestions) it is far from certain that I will not be taking part in that challenge. It is likely that it will be reworded since Kara has said that it is inappropriate in the current form. It clearly needs to be reworded for the challenge to continue.

I do not see an issue with not being overly competitive regarding every single challenge. If one person sets out to win everything it becomes demoralising for those that trail. I resigned on the last day from the last challenge that I ran on this forum (Summer Shake Up) as I wanted other people to be encouraged by winning towards further success.

I cannot believe that people are resigning because I do not have time to count my lunges and squats, do not want to go for quantity rather than quality with my pushups, cannot do a pullup and do not want to eat a severely limited quantity of fruit and vegetables each day.

It has been said that this challenge could use some advice regarding nutrition and healthy weight loss. I have tried to give such advice whenever I thought that it could benefit people. It would appear that my eagerness to help others that are where I was some time ago has been misconstrued as an attempt to make others feel bad about themselves. I apologise to anyone who feels that I have damaged their self esteem in this way.

 

[bellyoff]

I'm dropping out of this challenge. I found it useful in that I became cognizant of my water intake, and did squats/lunges for the first time in years. However, people are clearly complaining about the challenge, which may result in it being shut down. Rather than wait for the other shoe to drop, I'm entering the Biggest Loser Challenge beginning 1/19.

Neither Plump nor the participants claimed to be nutritionists, certified personal trainers, or any such expertise. I think it's great to encourage healthy lifestyles. Still, there's a positive and tactful way to provide such information and support.

I'd like to thank Plumphope for all her hard work and creativity in organizing the challenge.

 

[Jess393]

I don't even know what to say, to be honest... I wasn't targeting anyone in specific. I was mad that Kara's comment was all negativity. I apologize for upsetting anyone; wasn't meant to be anything other than a rant.

 

[Jericho]

Let's just pull it together. Remember the reason for this..it's not to beat each other as much as SUPPORT each other.

 

[Addiecakes]

I don't really see how quitting makes anything better, and I also don't think that there is any reason for anyone to be angry. Kara was voicing her concern about some of the challenges and the caloric intake listed in the daily journals of some of the participants. I don't think that warrants anyone taking offense, quitting, or calling anyone out.

What we should be doing is coming together as a group to voice our concerns and make sure that the choices that we make are in the best interest of our individual health. For example, ...

PlumpHope, how about instead of saying 2 servings of fruits & veggies no more no less, we make 2 servings be a quota? Being that there are very different calorie levels for the different participants, I think that saying 2 fruits and veggies at a minimum would be a better challenge than saying no more, no less. For example, I aim to eat 2,500-2,800 calories a day, and if I'm only getting in 2 fruits and 2 veggies, then I'm not getting in a balanced amount based on my caloric intake. Does this sound reasonable?

I really don't think that there are many problems with the challenges here, (I haven't seen anyone trying to encourage any specific calorie restriction) and I don't think it is necessary to turn this into something heated. However, throwing in the towel now will only make the challenge unravel faster.

I ask that those of you who are thinking about quitting please reconsider, and I think that we all need to take a moment to look at what we're all trying to accomplish here. It is important for us to stick together and support each other. This does not mean that we will always agree, and that is okay... but calling each other out and getting angry helps nothing.

If there are problems and concerns to be addressed, let's address them instead of arguing about things that ultimately are not in our control.

 

[bellyoff]

Addiecakes, I hear ya. I only want to weigh in once a week, which means only participating in one challenge. Weighing in more often is simply discouraging, for me. This challenge began as something positive that I looked forward to. That's no longer the case for me. So, I chose a different challenge. Simple as that.

I participate on the board for support and camaraderie in living a healthy lifestyle. Challenge or no, the board is great!

 

[Omega]

With the concept of mutual support towards a healthy and effective weight control (which is what we all need or we wouldnt be here) maybe we should all calm down and take a collective deep breath.

I cannot help but think that it is unfair to PlumpHope and all the effort that she has put in - to leave the challenge.

I have often joined more than one challenge on this forum at a time - and each new challenge only served to motivate me more and put me into contact with more great people - who often gave me immense support (which was much appreciated).

I think that it is probably a good idea for people to join the other challenge. I would probably be doing the same if I had more weight still to lose - but this challenge is working well and I am working my way nicely through my recent gain. I would be far from welcome in the other challenge since I have so little weight to lose that it would not be fair to the rest of my team...

I think that there is much to be said for BOTH joining the other challenge AND continuing to participate in this challenge. I am sure that with very few tweaks this challenge can be running in a way that will not be shut down.

PlumpHope did say that she was open to suggestions - and the modification of the week 6 challenge rules to a minimum of 5-a-day would (to me) appear to be a minor change. Hopefully PlumpHope will see it that way. Many challenges on this forum and elsewhere have used it as a weekly task. I used it in the challenge that I ran here in the summer.

As far as calories go - I must admit that like Addicakes I hadnt been paying too much attention to what other people had been posting.

While some of us may be under the supervision of a doctor or nutritionist - many of us will not be. While some of us are experienced at the business of weight loss - others are starting out and hoping for advice. Maybe I was remiss in not checking what others were posting - maybe checking up whether things were at an appropriate level...

Eating at too low a level is a very real danger - and many people can start out firm in the belief that they will get to their goal weight quicker if they can just persuade themselves to live on fewer calories. I remember that I used to think that way too...

Plateaus are very real things that can stall a project. One of my friends has been on a plateau for over two years. When I first knew her she was very slightly overweight and I was enormous. My body fat percent was 21.7% at last measurement (LOL - which OK - was before Christmas...) but she is still very slightly overweight - I am now a fair bit slimmer than her. I really do appreciate how bad that kind of thing makes her feel. She has been involved on computer forums (even spent a while as a mod here) and is an intelligent woman who is perfectly capable of counting calories accurately. She goes to the gym. She swears that she continues working hard - and I have always believed her.

I personally always found attempts to live on too low a level of calories harmful for another reason. It is just impossible to keep up over the long term. You can mess up your metabolism so that you need to eat at a really low level forever or gain weight. I tried to lose weight many times over 20 years - and each attempt ended with me weighing more than I was when I started the project...

I still have Sunday to post (I got side tracked with all of this when I logged on to do just that this morning). I will make sure that my posting shows both my calories (as it has been) but also the other side of my calorie balance so that people can see that I do not work with too great a deficit. This is wise as I am not under medical supervision.

An overview of my nutrition will therefore be open for comment.

Others may choose to do the same.

Any debate would only serve to educate those that are still in the early stages of developing their nutritional targets and general food plan.

 

[Addiecakes]

An overview of my nutrition will therefore be open for comment.

Others may choose to do the same.

Any debate would only serve to educate those that are still in the early stages of developing their nutritional targets and general food plan.

I'm glad that you're going to do this, Omega. I have found it difficult to get ENOUGH calories in my day in a balanced way that is appropriate for my weight. I generally eat around 2,000 calories a day when I try to aim for about 2,500-2,800. I just can't seem to find the time to eat that much throughout my day ... so maybe seeing the way other people balance their diets will help me be able to squeeze those few hundred calories into my diet.

I can really tell when I've had too few calories in a day. Last week when I went to the gym one day, it was incredibly difficult and seemed much harder than usual, and I had recalled that the day before I had only had 1,700 calories, and that morning I had only gotten to 1,200 by 6pm when I was working out. I could tell such a huge difference between that day and days where I'd eaten 2,500 calories the day before. When you work off 400-600 calories in a workout, it really makes a difference that you're eating enough.

 

[PlumpHope]

Screw It.

I never claimed to be an expert, and I never set anything in stone. I have asked for feedback regarding challenges, and I have taken into consideration all the information people wrote to me with.

That being said...

Having read through this thread, I see many members who are eating unhealthily low levels of calories. I see people who are eating unhealthy diets as a whole. And I see that the person who is running the challenge is telling people not to eat more than 2 servings of veg a day .. which is in direct contradiction to all good rules of nutrition. When a challenge tells people to STOP eating healthy food out of a fear of eating too many calories, then there is a problem with that challenge.

I never set calorie limits on anyone, and the point of the challenge was never "Let's see who eats the least," it was let's see who keeps accurate food journals and is accountable for all their food decisions. I made that clear, and for Kara or anyone to insinuate otherwise is just stupid and borders on defamation. Sorry, but it is. The whole point was to start good habits with logging food intake.

And using the Biggest Loser guidelines with people who are not under the care of nutritionists and trainers and other professionals, as the Biggest Loser contestants are is EXTREMELY dangerous and .. if I might say .. borderline stupid. Not only are the situations on the Biggest Loser very different from that of the participants in a challenge, it's pretty common knowledge that the methods used on the show are extremely unhealthy and unsustainable over the long term.

I can only come up with challenges based on my own personal life experiences. I probably eat zero servings of fruits and veges a day on average, so asking myself to do 2 and 2 was a big step up. When i typed in a search for how many servings is recommended for weight loss I found the recommendation of 2 and 2 on several sites, and I went with it. I was never going to hunt anyone down and murder them for eating an extra serving of green beans, and I think the fact that Kara or anyone would attack me for assuming people would approach things with common sense is again, stupid.


Thank you to those of you that have taken this challenge for exactly what I meant it to be, a fun competition. To those of you that want to read through this as the gospel of PlumpHope and rip apart things on a ridiculously detailed agenda - Have fun. I bet I misspelled words too.

I'm out. I'm not even going to bother putting in effort where it's either not appreciated, picked to pieces without just asking me about it, or spat on. I think I was pretty approachable, and I would have appreciated if those of you who expressed concerns outside the thread would have just expressed them to me first. Have a great life.

 

[Jericho]

I am sorry you feel this way. I can understand how it must have felt. I hope you change your mind.

That being said, I want to make sure this stay going so, if there is no objections, I will take over to keep the focus going.

Let's call last week a wash. This Thursday, send to me in PM your new weight and how you did on the challenge. I will take the old weights from the first week and calculate it into this week.

As far as the challenges, let's change the last one to least 4 servings of fruits and or veggies. That will focus things on increasing that vital part of our diets without limiting how much more.

I wish Plump was doing this but I guess I don't want to see good work and modivation slow down cause of this.

 

[Addiecakes]

I am sorry you feel this way. I can understand how it must have felt. I hope you change your mind.

That being said, I want to make sure this stay going so, if there is no objections, I will take over to keep the focus going.

Let's call last week a wash. This Thursday, send to me in PM your new weight and how you did on the challenge. I will take the old weights from the first week and calculate it into this week.

As far as the challenges, let's change the last one to least 4 servings of fruits and or veggies. That will focus things on increasing that vital part of our diets without limiting how much more.

I wish Plump was doing this but I guess I don't want to see good work and modivation slow down cause of this.

I totally agree with you Jericho, I'd hate to see all of this hard work go to waste. If you need any help, or if you want to tag-team this let me know and I'm more than willing to join the cause.

I'm really disappointed that things have turned out this way.

 

[jjjay]

This is a real shame we've got to this place. I was looking at it all at a very simple level - not interested in winning, not wanting someone to give me instructions to follow to the letter, but to challenge myself. So, I got a week of realising how much water I didn't normally drink...and, thank you Plumphope, I now drink...gosh...at least 5 times as much water as I used to on a daily basis. I spent a week realising how much the first 10 squats hurt but how by building slowly up, I can do 100...yes...even in a toilet cubicle at work...without making any suspicious noises!! And this week, I realise how difficult I find it to say no...to the treats...and writing it down forces me to be honest.

I understand that this board has to be moderated and legally has to be very careful about what people are recommended to do. I'm just sorry that people got concerned about stuff, and that Plumphope got upset to the point where the challenge isn't continuing.

Good luck to you all in your weight-loss endevours!

 

[Jericho]

Upcoming challenges

Proposed Correction AND change in points

I'm proposing the following. For now on, you will get points for doing the challenges. If you complete it fully, you get 2 points. If you least do it halfway (in terms of days..4 out of 7), you get 1 point. If you skip completely, 0 points. It will be a seperate total from the weight loss. Bonus points will be given for a 'higher' standard like doing the most.

Week Four: I have walked 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more...
Let's make this challenge about walking. To get 2 points, you need to walk at least 1 mile a day. We will give a bonus of 1 point of you do the most miles for the week.

Week Five: Are you ARMED and dangerous?
January 29th to February 4th is the week we focus on our upper body strength... For this one, full points is doing least 30 pushups a day. Bonus point of 1 for the most pushups or curls done.

Week Six: Fruits and Vegetables are Friendly!
February 5th to February 11th is another diet focused week. This time we're working to see who is consistantly eating the correct portion/servings of fruits and veges each day. The goal to aim for is at least 4 servings of fruits and veggies, every day. 2 points for meeting the goal all 7 days. 1 point for the 4 out of 7. You will get 1 bonus point for posting a healthy, vegie/fruit recipie.



What do you all think?

 

[Omega]

Sunday - day 3
calories 1635 eaten
calories burnt from exercise (from fitday) 2150
protein 98.7g (well in excess of RDA but 1g short of 1g per pound LBW)
fibre 33.0g
calcium 1195mg
sodium 2193mg (high)

water 2.5 litres (alloc 2litres is sufficient)

Certainly had more than 5-a-day hitting lots of colours

Exercise
6.5 miles on treadmill at 4.3mph.
Fitday gives values for 4.0mph and 4.5mph. I take the time spent and assume a calorie burn mid way between the two.

My age means that this still only gives me 2150 to eat at maintenance if I am lucky...

My calcium would have been low nutritionally hitting only 395 but I log in fitday as I go and caught it and took 800mg calcium supplement.

I wanted my calories to be on the low end of my happy range as I am in a challenge on my other forum and today is the weighing day there.

What I ate

I tend to have a very light breakfast then a large lunch that many would think of as being a brunch. It is very much on a par in size with my evening meal. I dont go in for snacks as such - but do like to eat my s/f sweets

pear

cooked lunch
3-egg omelette cooked in fry light
250g mushrooms
1 small onion
1 tin (420g) of low salt low sugar baked beans

evening meal
stir fry involving
1 small chicken breast
9 oz courgette (zuchini)
2 red peppers (200g)
1 medium onion
garlic
fry light

I also had lots of sugar free sweets that are a real weakness of mine - but much better than having the same amount of the high calorie ones... I count them on fitday and eat enough healthy stuff to eat them with no guilt.

People can see how I could not survive without my veggies...

 

[Omega]

I am sorry you feel this way. I can understand how it must have felt. I hope you change your mind.

That being said, I want to make sure this stay going so, if there is no objections, I will take over to keep the focus going.

Let's call last week a wash. This Thursday, send to me in PM your new weight and how you did on the challenge. I will take the old weights from the first week and calculate it into this week.

As far as the challenges, let's change the last one to least 4 servings of fruits and or veggies. That will focus things on increasing that vital part of our diets without limiting how much more.

I wish Plump was doing this but I guess I don't want to see good work and modivation slow down cause of this.

Like Addie - I am more than happy to help you too.