Competition Diets for Women

In October of 2004 NBC aired the first episode of The Biggest Loser and took the American viewing public by storm. Contestants competed to lose the greatest amount of weight, although later the terms were changed and contested vied to lose the greatest percentage of weight rather than number of pounds. Since the show's inception competition diets have become popular all over the world. Whether the prize be money or merely glory, competition has fueled weight loss.

Availability

• There is no shortage of competition diets available to women. In fact, there are a number of online weight loss clubs that use competition as the primary motivator. For some women an internet based competition can be quite effective, as evidenced by program called Shape Up Rhode Island 2007. Over 4,000 Rhode Island residents paid a $15 registration fee to participate (many employers paid the fee for registrants) and once the 12 week program was complete, Miriam Hospital and Brown University analyzed the results. What they discovered was that the number of people who began the competition as obese decreased by 9 percent by completion of the program.

  While an Internet based program may work for some women, others may need personal relationships with their competitors in order to stay motivated. If this is true for you, you might want to consider organizing a weight loss competition among the women at your place of employment. Persuading your employer to sponsor the event will be easier if you point out the inherent business benefits of healthy employees: more productivity and less sick time. Corporate Fitness League (CFL), a company that organizes and facilitates workplace based fitness competitions, suggests that you determine the guidelines in advance. CFL says you'll need to know the start date, how long you want the competition to last, and what the teams are (if there are teams) and who the captains are. You'll also want to decide exactly where and when you'll do the weigh-in and weigh-out and what the prize will be for the winner. Lastly, you'll want to decide if you're going to compete for the greatest number of pounds lost or the greatest percentage of weight lost.

Caution

• A word of warning, though, is called for before you begin your competition diet. Competition is a great motivator, perhaps too great if health and safety are cast aside for the sake of winning. On November 24, 2009 Edward Wyatt of the New York Times reported that several contestants on The Biggest Loser resorted to deliberate dehydration in order to rapidly lose weight. Doctors recommend that you limit yourself to losing 2 pounds per week, whereas The Biggest Loser contestants were sometimes losing 15. Pace yourself and focus on fitness and eating healthy.