Weight loss competitions to win money?

Good Day and Happy New Year's Eve!!!

First time poster to this sub... Started my journey, casually, around one to two months ago, by meal planning and integrating whole, healthy foods, quit smoking, quit drinking (except rare occasion), quit refined sugar (only honey and maple syrup for me!), and limiting eating out. Didn't seem like a huge jump because this was kind of a lifestyle my SO and I had been moving towards anyways... and I'm 10 lbs down! Even over the holiday - whoop, whoop! Looking to get more serious come the new year. I was wondering if anyone is aware of any weight loss challenges/competitions that result in payment should you win? I have a significant amount of weight to lose and plan on doing it anyways, so why not make some money and have that extra motivation, amirite?

If anyone is curious, I'm a 5'7" 24 yr old female, currently 258, started at 268, with a goal weight of 170 lbs.

I did find the site healthywage... With a $10/mo wager, I could gain ~$500 in a year. There are actual contests though, where its like $100 to enter, and you can win up to $5,000? Just curious if anyone else has any ideas?

Thanks a bunch!

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Could use some encouragement

Hi all!

Started my weight loss journey in August of this year. In all I’m still down 27 pounds. Things went a bit haywire in November when my husband suddenly became disabled and was diagnosed with cancer.

Due to stress and probably awful eating habits, I quickly lost 7-8 pounds in about 10 days. I called my doctor, was diagnosed with what is likely stress-induced IBS, and was put on Bentyl. It helped a bit. I ate more (at maintenance), and my weight stabilized, which was the goal. I maintained for 2-3 weeks.

My diet is definitely still “off” compared to what it was. Gone are the 6+ fruits/veggies per day I was eating. Im more like 2 or maybe 3. I’m taking care of two kids on my own, chasing them around, cleaning the house, and managing bills on my own now. Plus I’m trying to visit him twice per day, though our son isn’t allowed on the floor (due to age), so we have to get creative.

In short, I’m still stressed and I’m not cooking or doing any meal prep.

Yes I should probably cut myself some slack, and I do, to a point.

I’ve started a C25K program last week to get me moving on my days off of work (job keeps me active), as well as for my mental health. I also started eating at a deficit again a week ago. Overall I’m averaging about -400 calories per day. With this, my weight is still stable this week, and I haven’t started losing again.

I am probably consuming more sodium than I had been. The steady weight can likely easily be explained, but given my emotional state at times, it just gets so frustrating.

I just want my old life back. I can’t have that back, so in light of that, I just want to be making progress for myself again. I want THAT back to normal. I need it for me, and I need it to be healthy for my kids.

Here’s to hoping for a better 2019.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2GMiP8D

My Year In Review - M 44, 246 - 165 = 81 pounds lost

So it's been a year since I've started eating better, exercising and taking better care of myself. My first goal was to lose 50 pounds, then to lose 75. I started on January 1, 2018, weighing in at 246 pounds and I'm ending the year down 81 pounds finishing up at 165. See progress pics from day 1 to today - https://imgur.com/a/pHvXn13. You can also see the various pics that I've posted throughout the year by browsing my profile.

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By May, I had achieved my first goal and lost my first 50 pounds. It was such an incredible feeling knowing that the hard work and effort that I had been putting in was paying off. I kept at it and lost another 25 pounds, achieving my second weight loss goal of 75 pounds by the end of August. I continued putting in the work and kept losing until I lost a total of 87 pounds. My new goal was to lose 90 pounds so that when I reapply for life insurance, I would be in my BMI ratio for my height and it should hopefully get me a better rate. I haven't quite made it there yet.

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Now that being said, the last 12 pounds took a long time to lose as I had gotten a bit complacent and didn't work as hard at it as I had in the past. I started thinking that I've put in the work all year, I can enjoy a little bit more treats here and there. Well that's a slippery slope that never leads to anything good. Well now Christmas season is here, with lots of food and lots of treats around and I got a little lax in my snacking and I've gained a few pounds back. Nothing crazy, I'm still finishing the year at 81 pounds lost.

So here's what I've learned -

• Support and encouragement always help, but don't rely on anyone you know to fully support you through your journey. The best way that I kept encouraged was to visit this sub and r/progresspics every day. I would look at pictures and read the stories and they would keep me inspired to keep going. These two subs are the reason that I started my weight loss journey in the first place. I could see that regular people just like me were getting results by putting in the work. I told myself if they can do it, so can I.
• Take pictures. Lots of pictures before and during the weight loss. I still look at myself in the mirror and go wow, there's still lots of belly there, but I tend to forget what I looked like last year. Going back to see the before and after differences can be quite motivational.
  
• I can eat whatever I want, pizza, nachos, bread, it doesn't matter, as long as I don't go overboard. There's no need for me to eat 4 or 5 slices of pizza when 1 or 2 will do. Portion control is the key.
• Exercising helps. I used to be the most lazy person I knew. I started going for walks, then I started bicycling, then jogging and now I regularly do 5K runs twice or more a week. I never would have thought of running 1K last year let alone 5. The key to this for me was to take it slow and not try too hard too quickly. I worked my way up from walking 1Km to 2, to 3, 4 then 5. Then I started walking some, then jogging some and walking some and jogging more until I worked my way up. I think that by setting achievable goals, you are more likely to try and work towards them rather than give up. The same went for bicycling. When I bought my first bike in the spring, I went for a little ride, total of 1K. I had to stop at the halfway point to catch my breath. I never would have thought that I'd be doing 40K rides by the end of the summer.
• The most important thing that I've learned is that my weight loss is totally up to me. I can't blame others or make any excuses such as my metabolism just isn't as good as that person's or whatever. I've proven to myself that I can get results if I put in the work. It's not always easy, but it's also not rocket science. Eat less, eat well and exercise more, the weight will go.
  
• CICO has been the best thing that I've ever learned. I use My Fitness Pay every day to log everything I eat. I can tell you everything that I've eaten in 2018. By logging my food every day, it helps to keep me accountable for what I'm eating.
• I step on the scale every morning. Sometimes I don't like the results, and other times I'm quite happy, but this is also a part of my routine that helps me stay on track. By starting my day on the scale, it helps to remind me that I don't want to go back to my old habits.

So it feels like I rambled on a lot, but it's been a big year for me. I could not have done it without the support and encouragement that I've found in the different Reddit communities. Again r/progresspics, r/loseit and r/c25K have helped me turn my life around.

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I'd like to thank everyone who posts in these communities. You are the reason that I am where I am today and for that I'm very grateful. I know how lazy I was so when I say this I mean it - If I can do it, so can you.

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Keep up all the good work folks and let's make 2019 another great year.

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2019 is the year I'll hit healthy weight - what are the mantras you use to keep on track?

Let's start with stats! F, 21,173cm, SW 95kg, CW 80kg, GW 65kg

Some background: I started my weight loss journey in April 2018 and lost 15kg this year - which is nothing compared to some of the numbers on this sub! However, it's the first time the scale has gone in the right direction for me, it's halfway to my goal, and despite my slow, stop and start progress, I am determined to be proud of myself.

In 2019, I hope to achieve my goal weight that puts me slap bang in the middle of a healthy BMI. I can lose a pound a week and make it by fall, and then I want to start maintaining and strengthening my body.

I come to this sub daily for encouragement and reinforcement, although I don't interact as much as I'd like to. I was wondering which pieces of wisdom you keep handy when you're feeling your focus drift from your health goals? What mantras, pieces of wisdom and sayings that you learned on this sub, or elsewhere, do you remember to stay alert? What really stuck with you and encouraged you this year?

For me, recently reading this sub really helped me to get perspective on the calorie fest over the holidays and manage it in a way that works for me. It's what you eat between New Years and Christmas that counts, after all!

Apologies for any typos, I'm on mobile and commuting! 🌻

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78 days - 19.4KG loss - 800miles cycled - cal limit of 1500 per day.

Since I started mid october I have lost 19.4KG by limiting myself to 1500cal per day with a target of 114g of protein per day(tend to do this with whey powder). I use a scoop of huel for breakfast to get me eatting three times a day rather then nothing till night time and eating rubbish. I have also got back into cycling and have done 800miles in 78 days which has helped with the weight loss.

When I started I gave up crisps which was bloody hard. Second month I lowed by booze from about 30 drinks a week down to 2 drinks a week which was very hard to my wife to cope with. The next challenge for me is to cut down on diet coke or maybe even give it up.

photo link below is my progress tracked with my garmin watch and garmin scales.

https://imgur.com/RD5rbNx

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2EZv3s3

What old ah-ha moments/old habits/beliefs/behaviours/taught information that was contributing to weight gain have you overcome and how did you realise?

I figure that with new year they’ll be a lot of people looking to change things up in the next few weeks. There’s a lot of us here who have had all kinds of experiences with weight loss and mountain of knowledge and tips exist between us all. I thought it might be helpful to start a thread where we can put those things we now know to be wrong or need to be moderated better in one place, because odds are somebody else is buying into those same things right now and might find it useful to see where others made changes.

For me, once I began calorie counting I also begun to have revelations about the things I’d always believed to be quick and healthy snacks. For instance, I’ve always had issues with chocolate and I do need to be an adult and deal with that, but whenever as a child or teenager I would complain about being hungry but mostly meaning ‘I need chocolate’ I would be told to have some toast or crumpets instead. As a snack. I now am gobsmacked that two pieces of bread, butter and a spread, or crumpets and butter and cheese are about as calorie dense as some of my meals, and the chocolate bar definitely would’ve been the better option of the two. I would then go on to get my chocolate bar anyway, because I’d eaten the instructed snack (that I didn’t really like) and was not satisfied, and would also go on to have my dinner and maybe biscuits/cookies or whatever other easy to access junk was around.

Crying in the changing room wondering how I’d put on so much weight I genuinely couldn’t understand or see any pattern in my eating that could equate to it, I was considering believing (as the relatives around me were insisting) that nothing could be done and I’m just from a family of big-boned people, despite all those years I was at a healthier weight. But now I’ve come most of the way on this journey and looking back I can see where I screwed up so clearly. Also, I’ve never even liked bread, and the amount of bread I used to get made to eat (because it was ‘healthy’) makes me angry, now my calories go on things I do like and it’s not bread.

What are things that contributed to your situation and how did you realise or overcome them?

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2CGyKky

Day 1? Starting your weight loss journey on Monday, 31 December 2018? Start here!

Today is your Day 1?

Welcome to r/Loseit!

So you aren’t sure of how to start? Don’t worry! “How do I get started?” is our most asked question. r/Loseit has helped our users lose over 1,000,000 recorded pounds and these are the steps that we’ve found most useful for getting started.

Why you’re overweight

Our bodies are amazing (yes, yours too!). In order to survive before supermarkets, we had to be able to store energy to get us through lean times, we store this energy as adipose fat tissue. If you put more energy into your body than it needs, it stores it, for (potential) later use. When you put in less than it needs, it uses the stored energy. The more energy you have stored, the more overweight you are. The trick is to get your body to use the stored energy, which can only be done if you give it less energy than it needs, consistently.

Before You Start

The very first step is calculating your calorie needs. You can do that HERE. This will give you an approximation of your calorie needs for the day. The next step is to figure how quickly you want to lose the fat. One pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories. So to lose 1 pound of fat per week you will need to consume 500 calories less than your TDEE (daily calorie needs from the link above). 750 calories less will result in 1.5 pounds and 1000 calories is an aggressive 2 pounds per week.

Tracking

Here is where it begins to resemble work. The most efficient way to lose the weight you desire is to track your calorie intake. This has gotten much simpler over the years and today it can be done right from your smartphone or computer. r/loseit recommends an app like MyFitnessPal, Loseit! (unaffiliated), or Cronometer. Create an account and be honest with it about your current stats, activities, and goals. This is your tracker and no one else needs to see it so don’t cheat the numbers. You’ll find large user created databases that make logging and tracking your food and drinks easy with just the tap of the screen or the push of a button. We also highly recommend the use of a digital kitchen scale for accuracy. Knowing how much of what you're eating is more important than what you're eating. Why? This may explain it.

Creating Your Deficit

How do you create a deficit? This is up to you. r/loseit has a few recommendations but ultimately that decision is yours. There is no perfect diet for everyone. There is a perfect diet for you and you can create it. You can eat less of exactly what you eat now. If you like pizza you can have pizza. Have 2 slices instead of 4. You can try lower calorie replacements for calorie dense foods. Some of the communities favorites are cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash in place of their more calorie rich cousins. If it appeals to you an entire dietary change like Keto, Paleo, Vegetarian.

The most important thing to remember is that this selection of foods works for you. Sustainability is the key to long term weight management success. If you hate what you’re eating you won’t stick to it.

Exercise

Is NOT mandatory. You can lose fat and create a deficit through diet alone. There is no requirement of exercise to lose weight.

It has it’s own benefits though. You will burn extra calories. Exercise is shown to be beneficial to mental health and creates an endorphin rush as well. It makes people feel awesome and has been linked to higher rates of long term success when physical activity is included in lifestyle changes.

Crawl, Walk, Run

It can seem like one needs to make a 180 degree course correction to find success. That isn’t necessarily true. Many of our users find that creating small initial changes that build a foundation allows them to progress forward in even, sustained, increments.

Acceptance

You will struggle. We have all struggled. This is natural. There is no tip or trick to get through this though. We encourage you to recognize why you are struggling and forgive yourself for whatever reason that may be. If you overindulged at your last meal that is ok. You can resolve to make the next meal better.

Do not let the pursuit of perfect get in the way of progress. We don’t need perfect. We just want better.

Additional resources

Now you’re ready to do this. Here are more details, that may help you refine your plan.

• Quick Start Guide - Build your foundation!
• Loseit Compendium - Frame it out!
• FAQ - Answers to our most Frequently Asked Questions!

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