Isn’t it great to be a winner! In January I joined the Fitfluential DietBet game with a $25 entry fee. All I had to do to get back at least that amount was lose 4% of my body weight before the game ended February 17th.
It was a tough challenge because I’m losing but slow and steady. Thankfully, I exceeded the required weight loss by 1 pound and was able to join in on the pot. Of the 582 people involved in the game, over half met their goal giving each of us a nice return on our entry fee.
Money as a Weight Loss Motivator
Although I had read about public wagering to encourage people to lose weight, this was my first personal experience. I found two sites that let people bet on weight loss.
About HealthyWage
HealthyWage was started four years ago and offers BMI (body mass index) and 10% challenges with longer terms and a larger buy-in. Of course, the reward is greater as well. You can put in $150 and have six months to lose 10% of your body weight. People who succeed get double their money back.
You can participate in the BMI challenge without putting any money in. People with a starting BMI above 30 have a year to get it below 25 and earn $100. There are also team matchups.
About DietBet
DietBet was launched in January 2012 and has become quite popular with its four-week social dieting games. The pot grows as more people join in and everyone that loses 4% or more of their starting body weight shares the pot at end of the game.
There are new games starting every day with starting fees as low as $10. The good news is that even if they don’t make the goal over 90% of participants lose some weight during their games.
My Social Weight Loss Experience
In addition to registering and paying the starting fee it’s required to submit photos to verify the starting and ending weights. There is a two –day period users can submit the photos.
To ensure the photo is from the weigh-in timeframe, an index card with a word provided at weigh-in time must be included in the picture along with the scale weight shown. Additionally, a full-body image must be submitted. There are specifications about what to wear; basically wear non-bulky clothes.
Social interaction is available with message boards and continual updates on progress. I did like seeing the weight loss of the group increase over time. Participants are encouraged to weigh-in weekly during the challenge.
Submitting my final weight was a repeat of the starting weight process. Both weights are verified manually by the DietBet team, but the approval email came quickly. I was thrilled to know I was getting my money back plus more! I had the option of keeping it at DietBet to reinvest in another game or cash out with PayPal (my choice).
I’m not ready to join game right now, but am planning on joining in on a post-vacation game in the Fall. Would you take part in a social weight loss challenge or game?
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Congratulations on winning the diet bet. I did one a few months ago and won as well. It is definitely a great feeling to know that you accomplished something…and didn’t waste your money. lol
Khaleef, I would have been so mad if I didn’t make it. Thank goodness, the goal was met!
Sounds like a really motivating idea!
It was, but I was worried about making it!