2025 MacroFactor Transformation Challenge Kick-off Thread!
Hey there, MFers!
Starting today, we'll be opening sign-ups for our first transformation challenge!
You can learn all about the challenge here, but these are the basics:
- Sign-ups will be open from January 1st-10th.
- Participation is simple: take some "before" pictures, fill out an entry form, consistently log your food and weight in MacroFactor for the next 100 days, take some "after" pictures, fill out an exit form, and you're golden.
- 100 people will each win $500, and one grand prize winner will walk away with $50,000, for $100,000 in total prize money.
If you'd like to participate in the transformation challenge, you can find the entry form here.
Let's try to keep all discussion and questions related to the challenge in this thread, so that the rest of the subreddit can continue to function as usual.
Thanks, everyone! We're really looking forward to the challenge. We hope it will be a good motivator to help you get your year started on the right foot!
FAQs:
Why is the challenge restricted to certain countries?
This is primarily due to varying legal requirements and regulations we must follow when running competitions internationally. We have not yet completed the necessary compliance steps to extend the challenge to all regions and countries.
Is it 100 days from the time I submit my entry form, or 100 days from January 10th?
The challenge formally starts on January 10th, and concludes on April 20th. However, you can submit your entry form between now and January 10th, and your exit form between April 20th and April 27th.
Can you explain more about the weight loss caps?
We implemented caps on the rates of weight loss we allow for this challenge in order to discourage crash dieting, while still giving some leeway to people who'd like to pursue reasonably aggressive goals.
These caps are: 1.5% of body weight per week, or 2 pounds per week (whichever figure is higher), averaged over the duration of the contest.
So, for example, if you currently weigh 200 pounds, 1.5% of body weight is 3 pounds. 3 is greater than 2, so your cap would initially be at 3 pounds per week.
However, if you currently weigh 140 pounds, 1.5% of body weight is less than 2 pounds, so your cap would be at 2 pounds per week.
Rates of weight loss for the challenge will be calculated from the weight data you submit as part of the data export you'll attach to your exit form, and will be calculated between January 10th and April 20th. We will only be paying attention to average rate of weight loss over that entire period, so if you lose 5 pounds during your first week of the challenge, don't sweat it.
To spell it out in explicit terms, if you're at a low enough body weight where the 2-pound-per-week cap applies, the most weight you're allowed to lose is 28.6 pounds. Otherwise, your body weight on April 20th must be at least 80% of your body weight on January 10th (that would be the net effect of losing 1.5% per week for 100 days). Rates of weight loss exceeding these limits will mean you won't be eligible to win one of the prizes.
To be entirely clear, we are not recommending that people try to lose weight at that rate. We'd recommend not exceeding the lower of the two values (i.e., sticking with 1.5% as a limit if 1.5% is less than 2 pounds per week, and sticking with 2 pounds per week as a limit if 1.5% is more than 2 pounds per week).
Do I have to show my face in before-and-after photos?
Your head must be visible in the photos, but you can blur your face if you'd like.
However, the grand prize winner will be subject to identity verification. So, if you blur your face in your photos, you should also save versions of your photos with your face unblurred so that we can verify that you are actually the person in the photos.
Does the email address associated with the Google account I used to submit my entry need to match the email address associated with my MacroFactor profile?
No. You just need to make sure your entry form and exit form are submitted using the same Google account.