Second only maybe to office football pools... among the inter-office "contests" is the weight loss challenge. Ever since the absolutely HORRIBLE "Biggest Loser" series hit TV, offices around the country have been holding office weight loss challenges, with the hopes of helping everyone in the office get motivated to shed a few pounds. And if there's money involved... all the better!
Lisa and I specialize in FAT-LOSS, which appears similar on the surface to WEIGHT-LOSS... but is very different in the larger picture. Super-fast weight loss almost always results in super-fast regain, and rebound. Super-fast loss is the WORST way to lose.
But this blog post is not about fat loss. In fact using this technique to win a contest will likely result in almost ZERO permanent fat loss!
But if you want to win a few bucks at the office weight loss challenge... Here we go...
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The average person drinks less than a gallon of water per day. Everybody drinks water, in the form of coffee, soft drinks, juices, in alcoholic drinks, and in the form of good old fashion WATER. If what you're consuming is liquid... you're taking in water. This water leaves your body in three ways. Most leaves as urine, some leaves as sweat, and some is consumed and eliminated through inter-cellular activity and energy production. Obviously, you can't hugely effect the metabolic process, nor should you... but sweating, and to a degree urination you can control.
A gallon of water weighs 8.36 pounds. ALWAYS. Inside your body, or outside your body, a gallon is 8.36 pounds. For the sake of this blog post, lets just round that DOWN to 8#.
Day in, day out... (not during a weight loss contest) It's amazing to me how CRAZY people get about daily scale fluctuations. It's RIDICULOUSLY easy to drink 1/2 gal more or less water/liquid in a 24 hr period than your standard intake. That's a swing of 4# more or less. That weight swing from day to day of 2, 3, 4# on the scale is NOT fat gain or fat loss. It's virtually impossible to lose more than 1# of body fat in a day, no matter how perfectly you diet, or how hard and long you work out. It's just IMPOSSIBLE. So if your scale has moved more than a pound in 24 hours... it's a change in body water. PERIOD...
So.... If you want to win a one-week weight-loss contest at work... It's really easy. You just need to force your body to hold extra water for the first weigh-in... and expel it all for the final weigh in! This works well for longer contests too... but you might actually try to diet and exercise more if the contest is longer that 7 days!
Step One (Pre-first-weigh-in):
- Eat twice your normal sodium, and 50% more carbs, than normal for 2 days BEFORE the "weigh-in". DON'T eat a lot more food! Save space for WATER.
- Then the day before the weigh-in "force-consume" an EXTRA gallon of water (drink 2-3 gallons). You'll gain likely 4-6# in one day. Your body will TRY to pee out the extra water as it can, but you'll hold a lot.
- The day of the first weigh in... drink as much as you can stand in the minutes before you step on the scale. You should be bouncing around, holding you bladder!
Step Two (Mid-week plan):
- Eat/exercise normally all week... Don't stress, don't change a thing. Laugh a lot at your competition sweating and miserable eating rocks and dirt all week.
- Save most of your normally daily calorie intake for lunch time while they are eating salads... eat a burger and fries.
- Post pictures on Facebook of you eating, pumping iron, and doing zero cardio.
Step Three (The day before the final weigh-in):
- Take in ZERO sodium, and stop drinking water at about noon. Past noon, just SIP iced coffee only as absolutely NEEDED to keep your mouth wet.
- Pop some over the counter "water pills" if you want, including dandelion root, cranberry extract, etc. Same stuff they use for PMS... NOTHING harsh, illegal, or dangerously dosed. You won't need it. Don't risk it!
- Eat very little starch carbs like potatoes, rice, or cereal. Meat and green veggies only. LOTS of veggies. Don't eat any water-containing foods, or food cooked in water (like rice or oatmeal). Call it a 1-day diet! No added salt!
Step Four (Final weigh-in day):
- Skip breakfast, and only sip tiny amounts of iced coffee up until the weigh in.
- Weigh in down 5-6# in one week and win!!!
You'll be a shoe-in to win the contest.
Water weight is an amazing "cheat" (and the biggest "mind-f") in the fat-loss process. I NEVER advise anyone to actually do this... as it's bad for you body, completely in-effective in the big picture of health and fat-loss, and is really "cheating", as opposed to working.
BUT IT DOES MAKE A POINT!!!
Don't freak out over daily fluctuations in weight on the scale. It's NOT 2-3 pounds of FAT you gained after a weekend of unhealthy eating... It's MOSTLY water. Understand the SCIENCE of how you body weight changes, and you'll be less stressed about the process. Less stress means less cortisol, and less cortisol means easier fat-loss!
I think I'll run an experiment on myself next week... just for fun! I'll report back!
FOR HEALTHY EFFECTIVE AND PERMANENT FAT-LOSS SOLUTIONS... GIVE US A CALL. WE TRAIN LOCALLY, AND COACH AROUND THE WORLD.
Lisa and I specialize in FAT-LOSS, which appears similar on the surface to WEIGHT-LOSS... but is very different in the larger picture. Super-fast weight loss almost always results in super-fast regain, and rebound. Super-fast loss is the WORST way to lose.
But this blog post is not about fat loss. In fact using this technique to win a contest will likely result in almost ZERO permanent fat loss!
But if you want to win a few bucks at the office weight loss challenge... Here we go...
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The average person drinks less than a gallon of water per day. Everybody drinks water, in the form of coffee, soft drinks, juices, in alcoholic drinks, and in the form of good old fashion WATER. If what you're consuming is liquid... you're taking in water. This water leaves your body in three ways. Most leaves as urine, some leaves as sweat, and some is consumed and eliminated through inter-cellular activity and energy production. Obviously, you can't hugely effect the metabolic process, nor should you... but sweating, and to a degree urination you can control.
A gallon of water weighs 8.36 pounds. ALWAYS. Inside your body, or outside your body, a gallon is 8.36 pounds. For the sake of this blog post, lets just round that DOWN to 8#.
Day in, day out... (not during a weight loss contest) It's amazing to me how CRAZY people get about daily scale fluctuations. It's RIDICULOUSLY easy to drink 1/2 gal more or less water/liquid in a 24 hr period than your standard intake. That's a swing of 4# more or less. That weight swing from day to day of 2, 3, 4# on the scale is NOT fat gain or fat loss. It's virtually impossible to lose more than 1# of body fat in a day, no matter how perfectly you diet, or how hard and long you work out. It's just IMPOSSIBLE. So if your scale has moved more than a pound in 24 hours... it's a change in body water. PERIOD...
So.... If you want to win a one-week weight-loss contest at work... It's really easy. You just need to force your body to hold extra water for the first weigh-in... and expel it all for the final weigh in! This works well for longer contests too... but you might actually try to diet and exercise more if the contest is longer that 7 days!
Step One (Pre-first-weigh-in):
- Eat twice your normal sodium, and 50% more carbs, than normal for 2 days BEFORE the "weigh-in". DON'T eat a lot more food! Save space for WATER.
- Then the day before the weigh-in "force-consume" an EXTRA gallon of water (drink 2-3 gallons). You'll gain likely 4-6# in one day. Your body will TRY to pee out the extra water as it can, but you'll hold a lot.
- The day of the first weigh in... drink as much as you can stand in the minutes before you step on the scale. You should be bouncing around, holding you bladder!
Step Two (Mid-week plan):
- Eat/exercise normally all week... Don't stress, don't change a thing. Laugh a lot at your competition sweating and miserable eating rocks and dirt all week.
- Save most of your normally daily calorie intake for lunch time while they are eating salads... eat a burger and fries.
- Post pictures on Facebook of you eating, pumping iron, and doing zero cardio.
Step Three (The day before the final weigh-in):
- Take in ZERO sodium, and stop drinking water at about noon. Past noon, just SIP iced coffee only as absolutely NEEDED to keep your mouth wet.
- Pop some over the counter "water pills" if you want, including dandelion root, cranberry extract, etc. Same stuff they use for PMS... NOTHING harsh, illegal, or dangerously dosed. You won't need it. Don't risk it!
- Eat very little starch carbs like potatoes, rice, or cereal. Meat and green veggies only. LOTS of veggies. Don't eat any water-containing foods, or food cooked in water (like rice or oatmeal). Call it a 1-day diet! No added salt!
Step Four (Final weigh-in day):
- Skip breakfast, and only sip tiny amounts of iced coffee up until the weigh in.
- Weigh in down 5-6# in one week and win!!!
You'll be a shoe-in to win the contest.
Water weight is an amazing "cheat" (and the biggest "mind-f") in the fat-loss process. I NEVER advise anyone to actually do this... as it's bad for you body, completely in-effective in the big picture of health and fat-loss, and is really "cheating", as opposed to working.
BUT IT DOES MAKE A POINT!!!
Don't freak out over daily fluctuations in weight on the scale. It's NOT 2-3 pounds of FAT you gained after a weekend of unhealthy eating... It's MOSTLY water. Understand the SCIENCE of how you body weight changes, and you'll be less stressed about the process. Less stress means less cortisol, and less cortisol means easier fat-loss!
I think I'll run an experiment on myself next week... just for fun! I'll report back!
FOR HEALTHY EFFECTIVE AND PERMANENT FAT-LOSS SOLUTIONS... GIVE US A CALL. WE TRAIN LOCALLY, AND COACH AROUND THE WORLD.