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Today is the first day of a “The Biggest Loser” kind of competition at work.

I have 6 weeks to meet my goal, which is set after an assessment with a personal trainer. I like that, because it wouldn’t be fair if it was a weight loss competition, since I’m not overweight. It’s a lot easier for someone 50 lbs. overweight to lose 20 lbs, than for someone at their “ideal” weight to lose 20 (specially since they have no reason to do so!). Additionally, even if it was a body fat percentage loss competition only, it still wouldn’t be fair: It’s easier to go from 30% to 25%, than from 25% to 20%. So the trainer’s assessment will establish goals, and for those of us who are already at a decent level of fitness, the goal will be something else.

The way it works is:

• Day 1 (today): DEXA Body Fat scan. We do those here at work, so that’s convenient.
• Day 1+n (undetermined yet): The trainer appointment happens, and she’ll come up with the goal to meet.
• Day 42: Another DEXA Body Fat scan. After this, the trainer will re-asses everyone, and determine the winner.

The big prize is quite nicel: $250 in cash, a year membership at the gym of the winner’s choice, and 4 tickets to a Reno Aces game.

Today I weighed myself, and I came in at 170lbs. Standing at 5′ 10″, this is the top of my ideal weight (according to the BMI magical formula), and I really don’t want to get any thinner or lighter. My goal however is to get more “ripped“. That is something I’ve been planning on doing to get ready to look good on our honeymoon pictures in July, so this just helps me stay on track, and perhaps speed things up. In other words, my goal is to reduce my body fat percentage. It all sounds pretty vane, and that’s probably because it is.

I’ll be “working on my fitness” by being more mindful about what I eat, and stepping up my work-outs. I’ve doing Starting Strength at the gym for about 2 months now, and I’ve enjoyed getting back into lifting weights regularly. Along with that, I hope to be able to ride my bike to work at least twice a week, now that the weather is much nicer and there is plenty of daylight for the ride home at 5pm. Lastly, there’s always volleyball (the season starts this Sunday, and I’m on two teams!), running and swimming (to be prepared for a triathlon, perhaps) and any other kind of activity that I end up getting involved in one way or another.

My DEXA scan is in 4 hours, and that means that I can’t have any food or water until I’m scanned and given the green light. The suffering begins, NOW!