Wouldn't this be cheating?! (bloggity)
 

So a few people at work think that since I was thinking about taking alli I should take it to win the weight loss contest. I was flabbergasted I tell you. Of all the reasons to take any kind of pill, that is not one. Plus, I think it's cheating. The contest is to see who can lose the most by diet and exercise. Why would I want to take a pill when everyone is playing fair? It's a simple work contest, nothing more, nothing less. No one's life is at stake, no one's pride, just a bunch of people trying to get to a healthy weight.

Wouldn't you all be pissed if someone started taking a pill to lose weight if you were in the contest? The weird part is that a manager suggested I take it to win. Um, my own personal ethics/morals don't allow that. I have respect for others and respect for myself. And these people know that I am one of the ones who has lost a significant amoutn of weight so far (22lbs) I'm almost at 10% just with diet and exercise. Who could ask for more? Yeah, I'm going to work my butt off and count every last calorie when I wake up tomorrow but I will not cheat.

And now for the bloggy part, NOT looking for debate just stating my position to clarify this. I'm still not certain if I will or won't take the pills. The contest ends just bfore the 4th of July and I guess I will decide then. Side effects aside, the $60 starter kit is a significant investment in any diet plan for me. So far WW has been the only diet product/service I have EVER spent money on and it did work, I just stopped working it. I just don't know.

I agree with you work-wise. If everyone else is doing the challenge through diet and exercise, a pill would be cheating. It would be like being in a bike race, but you put a motor on the back of yours!!

I'm not one for diet pills -- they make me nervous. Besides it's all about learning to eat right -- I could lose 60 pounds in two weeks but if I haven't altered my behaviors, I'll see it all back again anyway.

I agree with you on the morality front. And if what you are doing now is working---- why mess with it?
Plus, Alli has some poopy side effects that just puts me off of it entirely!!

I admire your values on this matter. I think you are taking the right stance. Good for you.

And like you said, you're losing a substantial amount of weight thorugh diet and exercise - 2 things that can't be beat. The price is right too and the side effects - a healthier and fitter you - nothing debatable there. Stick with what you're doing. You will feel better and be proud of yourself. Keep up the excellent work. :)

I agree. It's a bit disturbing that anyone even suggested it, never mind a manager! Sheesh.

Keep doing what you're doing. It's working, and it's a habit that will help you life-long.

Lynn

Just to clarify, the managers didn't suggest it out of the clear blue sky. I was the one who mentioned that I was *thinking* about taking it after the contest. I don't think they would ever suggest that any of their overweight employess diet/ take pill/ etc. Very image conscious as far as that stuff goes. But, given the chance if you mention you are dieting/exercising they are pretty darn supportive, which is great.

Their justification is that it *just* got released so none of us knew about it before but any of us (in the contest) should do it if we were planning to anyways. No thanks. I don't need to win, get it put in the company newsletter and then have the entire company (and all the other workplaces groups doing this because they will put this contest in the paper, it's company-wide) know I took a diet pill.

Nice to know that I'm not the weird one. :) Thanks ladies.

Well if I was in a contest to lose weight then I'd be curious about their progress. The effects of Alli are pretty minimal, it absorbs about 20-40 calories of fat per meal, depending on the amount of fat eaten. That isn't really a lot and would only give someone a minor edge and they'd still have to follow a strict diet. If anything, it might help them lose 1 extra lb in 1 month as long as they don't eat extra calories.

The thing is that people wouldn't understand that and if the person who took Alli did "win" the contest, then they would think it was because of the pill and not their hard work.

Morally I think you are thinking like I would be. If I was in that little contest and someone was to be taking a pill while everyone else was just doing it the exercise and eating right way, I would be a little miffed. Not too angry or anything. As for the pill, I've always been scared of diet pills so I don't look into them! :P So I don't really have much of an opinion on that haha

Alli is scary - the directions say to carry an extra pair of pants. You know, in case you mess your britches. Is anything worth the risk of soiling your pants in public??

I agree with you 100 percent!

I agree that NOT taking alli during the contest is the best thing to do. If you take it and win, people will inevitably say that you only won because of the diet pill. If all of the participants haven't agreed that you could or couldn't take it, I would feel like it is cheating also.