I am starting a weight loss competition in my family, whats the best way to measure progress?

I wanted to start a weight loss competition this summer in my family, but I wanted it to be fair. For example its probably easier for my 260 pound brother to lose a pound than my 160 pound mom. So whats is the best way to compare? Should it just be percentage of mass? Should fat be considered? Should i buy a body fat analyzer? Because i guess if someone lost 10 pounds of fat and gained 3 pounds of muscle, wouldn't that be better than someone else who just lost 9 pounds of fat? Just curious what people's thoughts on this are, i want it to be as fair as possible but with accurate measures of comparison.

Public Comments

  1. go to publix and get on the weight scale, measure your waist,hips, and legs
  2. I would definitely do % loss since the sizes vary so much. You are right, someone who is 260 pounds may find it easier to lose one pound vs. someone who is 150. Keep a chart of the loss, with the percentage, and you will have an accurate measurement. Good luck to you. What a great idea!
  3. Don't use a scale, but, use a tape measure. Since muscle weighs more than fat, it wouldn't be fair to someone who gained muscle/lost fat as opposed to someone who just lost fat. (&, muscle takes up less space than fat...so if someone lost 5 pounds of fat, but gained 5 pounds of muscle, they would have lost some inches, but, not weight per se) Besides using a tape measure, base the winner on who lost the most % of inches. Start off by measuring everyone's arm, belly, hip & thigh girth & base the % from there.
  4. hey just to give you a little advantage my friend lost 20 pounds in 10 days using this new cleansing technology and without dieting. I don't know much about it but you can check it out here: http://www.isapure.com. Hope that helps.
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