Drama. Enjoyable on TV and movies. Not in real life. But, of course, it's often unavoidable. This weight bet I'm involved in has had a wee bit of cray cray and I have no shame sharing what happened with my closest pals.
I live in the Bay Area. California. I happened to be in Seattle in March where I joined this biggest loser-ish competition. When I started, the people in charge casually agreed that my final weigh-in would have to be in San Francisco and verified by a trusted person in that office. No biggie? Wrong. It became a big deal especially once I was in the lead.
I happened to be back in Seattle for work near the end of Week 10 of the twelve week competition. I promised competitors that I would bring my scale to compare to the one in Seattle and then we could adjust my May 31 final weight accordingly. Again, no biggie? Oh no girlfriend. It was not enough for someone who we'll anonymously refer to as "Diana". Even though I lugged my scale to Seattle. Here was her message to everyone:
"Several of the folks that initiated this competition learned that Rodney will not be here for the final weigh-in, and after discussing it as a group we feel that his final weigh-in needs to be at the same place using the same scale as everyone else. We discussed comparing his scale to the one everyone else has been using, and we still feel that there is a possibility that using a different scale may sway the results. Even though this is a friendly competition, everyone has worked hard to achieve their goals and we feel there should not be an exception to the final weigh-in. Similar to any other race or competition, everyone starts at the same starting line, ends at the same finish line, and is clocked by the same stop watch.
So we thought we should see what the consensus is on this matter . . . since Rodney will be here to weigh in this week, should this be his final weigh-in and the results used for the actual final weigh-in on the 31st?
Again, this was a group discussion and I was the only one comfortable in delivering this message, so please do not shoot the messenger . . . I volunteered to facilitate an open discussion so that the decision can be made by the group and everyone can feel comfortable with the results."
If you didn't cuss while reading that, I have a lot of respect for you. I was filled with nothing but WTF and couldn't believe what I was reading. I won't share every detail of what followed. But I truly appreciate one individual in particular who defended me (such a great person):
"Who discussed this? I don’t recall being a part of any group discussions on this matter.
If you are proposing that the competition ends early so that Rodney can weigh in on the same scale, then it seems only fair that the competition ends early for all of us. Otherwise, everyone else gets a two-week advantage over Rodney, and that hardly seems fair.
Let’s also be honest and admit that this wouldn’t be an issue if Rodney wasn’t kicking ass!
I’m all for an open discussion, but it seems as if there was a pre-discussion to this “open” discussion…"
There was a little more back and forth but, after a vote, it was decided that the original plan would stick:
"Rodney compares his scale to ours (he has his up here) and if there is a difference we can determine the amount to adjust his final 5/31 weight by. Linda will also verify his final weight."
How did I personally respond to any of this? I immediately bit my tongue and decided against any haste response. Of course I wanted to tell this person off and defend myself. But, honestly, what good is negativity vs negativity? It was clear this person needed to add drama to this otherwise friendly competition. Instead, I replied the next day trying to keep it positive:
"I’m sure we all have stories to share but, just to let you all know, my weight loss journey has been filled with declining on tons of social outings in order to avoid temptations. The Razorfish SF people think I’m ridiculous – don’t even get me started on friends & family. Or, if we do meet up, I’m eating only a salad or avoiding the most deliciousest options. And no alcohol (GASP). I’ve been focused on consuming ONLY healthy foods. Running/working out helps but it’s definitely what I’m eating that’s made the difference. I’m quite obsessed and my body has never been happier (yes, my body and I chat about it all the time).
It’s also pretty awesome that my wife has been my rock and the support that’s helped make this lifestyle change possible. If I win any money, trust me, half my winnings go to her. Actually, a first place win would mean treating her to a nice weekend get-away to celebrate what we’ve done. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Anyway, please realize that I completely appreciate being part of this competition (shoutout to Kelly for being our commissioner). And "Diana" was completely right - everyone HAS worked hard to achieve their goals. I love that we’re all making changes for the better!"
I have about one more week to find out how I finished. Wish me luck!
