7 Great Office Weight Loss Challenges (That Are Actually Kinda Fun!)
If you’ve ever tried to commit to healthy eating, or you’re on a weight loss journey, you know there’s nothing that can threaten your progress more than the office.
(No, we don’t mean binge-watching Jim and Pam’s relationship, though that can trigger some mindless snacking if you’re not careful!)
Lose Weight and Reward Yourself
Losing weight is a challenge. You're ready for it. But it takes a lot of hard work -- a lot of time -- before you see the results you want. Stay motivated and reward yourself with IRLA Weight Loss challenge medals. Get a series of five medals that mark your milestones for losing weight. As you set more goals and make progress in your weight loss challenges, your IRLAs give you the motivation to do more and more.
The office. It’s where we spend five days a week, fifty weeks a year, far from the comforts of our homes, where at least our fridges and kitchens support our health and wellness needs.
Instead, we get an often barely functional office kitchen with a dingy cutting board and shared fridge that Patricia’s already loaded up with the labors of her week’s meal planning, leaving us barely any room at all for our own containers.
Beyond that, you’ve got the temptation of snacks and sweets everywhere.
As a recovering TV producer, a typical production day saw our team arriving at the office at 6 am, downing a bowl of sugar cereal before filming, eating chips for that midday boost before meetings, and then having a round of cake after filming to celebrate a birthday.
(If you’ve heard of the Freshman 15 in college, then you’ll get that we had the Filming 15 during our season!)
I know firsthand how difficult it can be to maintain a healthy diet while at your place of work. It’s stressful. It’s complicated. And often, eating healthy can just be boring.
To help you on your own journey, our team has put together seven office weight loss challenges to help make those 40 hours of healthy eating a little bit more fun.
7 Office Weight Loss Challenges To Jumpstart Your Weight Loss Journey
1. The Silent Snack Challenge
Also known as the No Junk Food Challenge, the Silent Snack Challenge is a way to help you cut out the tempting junk food that you’re up against in the office.
This weight loss challenge is about avoiding any snacks that are noisy to unpack – think the crinkly chip and cookie bags or fast food paper sacks.
Like a snack-eating ninja, you’ll have to replace them with healthy snacks in more stealthy plastic containers you bring from home.
2. The Incredible IRLA Challenge
If there’s one thing that’s true about any weight loss journey, it’s that it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. We do have to keep living our lives, and that includes going to work.
While the office is a tough environment to keep committed to your goals, there is one office weight loss challenge we know you’re up to: unlocking the IRLA Weight Loss Pack during a full month of work. We specifically designed this pack of challenges to help you reach your weight loss goals, with medals that reward you for losing 5 pounds, 10 pounds, 15 pounds, and staying within your dietary goals for 30 days.
Plus, there’s the grand finale and the most beautiful coin of all waiting for you when you hit your goal weight!
3. The Thirsty Teams Challenge
You already know how a good hydration challenge is important for your overall health. It’s also an effective way to maintain your ideal body weight, as it boosts your metabolism, curbs your appetite, and makes exercise more efficient.
With the Thirsty Teams Challenge, you’re bringing this weight loss challenge to the office. Pick teams (or departments) and give everyone a refillable water bottle. The most hydrated team at the end of the month gets a prize.
DON’T WAIT TILL YOU’RE THIRSTY
You don’t have to be an iconic male model to know water is the essence of life. Celebrate the road to hydration with these IRLAs, which you’ll earn by knocking back refreshing cups of the good stuff and giving back to your body. Water may not be the most exciting drink, but remember this: drinking water regularly helps you think clearly, your skin glow, and gives you more energy. Not a bad start for eight little ounces.
Who wants another round?
4. The Black Coffee Challenge
One of the sneaky ways weight gain can sneak up on us is through what we add into our daily coffee (or coffees!). Cream, sweeteners, pumps of syrup at Starbucks – it all may be fine in moderation, but we do still need to be mindful about how often we’re using them.
For this 30-day office weight loss challenge, let’s get as close to straight black coffee as we can. Put the creamers on the hard-to-reach shelves and put the artificial sweeteners away. (Oh, and one point coming from the resident coffee snob – maybe invest in some non-Folgers coffee for the month!).
5. The Lunchtime Walkabout
If you find you’re spending your lunch break checking your phone, this is an office weight loss challenge that’ll help get you active (plus, it never hurts to unplug throughout the day!).
Encourage coworkers to join you and turn it into a social activity. You could also have a different route each day to explore new areas around your office to keep things interesting.
PUT THE REAL LIFE IN IRLA
Sometimes you have to unplug to connect. Earn each of these IRLAs by getting your hands dirty, breathing in the fresh air, and leaving your phone behind. Unwind and rediscover the joys of creating, crafting, and communicating. Each moment away from your devices is a moment to see the world with fresh eyes, to take in the day, and make a choice for yourself.
Now let’s go exploring.
6. The Healthy Potluck Party
We don’t want all these office weight loss challenges to feel too challenging, so for this party you’re scheduling a weekly themed potluck. Think "Mediterranean Monday" or "Taco Tuesday" or “Fresh Fridays” where each person brings in an ingredient or dish that they’ve prepared.
For this weekly challenge (daily’s a little extreme unless you happen to work with a bunch of chefs), you can also crown a winner with a trophy that they can display until the next potluck. Plus, nothing says being an adult like cooking your own meals!
I DON'T WANNA GROW UP
No one throws parties for filing their taxes on time, but maybe they should. These IRLAs let you celebrate your grown-up moments as you make the big moves toward becoming a functional adult person. Taxes, cooking, bills. Saving for rainy days. The non-sexy steps to learning how to survive on your own may not be fun, but once you learn to boil your own water, nothing can stop you.
Ready to sit at the grown-ups table?
7. Desk Exercise Challenge
Your weight loss journey is about both diet and exercise. Yet when you’re in the office, the sometimes sedentary nature of our jobs makes movement difficult. This office weight loss challenge is about having fun with fitness.
Each day, try to create a new desk-themed exercise, from desk dips to chair calisthenics, then challenge other departments to see who can do the most exercises (and if you end up doing 25 pushups in a single set, you’ll start to unlock our other strength training challenges, too!)
DO YOU EVEN LIFT BRO?
These IRLAs are for those who stick with their dreams. Training programs require commitment, dedication, and sacrifice. Each new coin is a testament to the time you suited up and got after it. From hours at the gym to the prep at home, you set yourself up for success and now it’s yours for the taking.
Now go get those gains.
