DietBet/HealthyWage type sites - motivating or a bad plan?

kiela64

(Feel free to skip the pre-amble to the actual question at the bottom!)

I've been a little fascinated by DietBet since I heard about it. It and HealthyWage are sites where you essentially bet some money that you will lose X amount of weight by X date. DietBet is 4% of your starting weight in 4 weeks betting $30 USD (which ends up being more like $40 in my currency), HealthyWage has a few other stages, they also often have incentives like an extra $50 to your bet if you bet a high enough amount on certain days, etc. But their bets start higher and have to be over $100 minimum.

Earlier in my weight loss, 1%/week was too high of a loss rate (over 2lbs/week) and put me at a calorie level that was too low to be sustainable. That's why I looked at HealthyWage because it has more flexibility. But DietBet has more weight loss personalities/lively communities that I keep seeing and I'll admit I'm really curious! And I realized at my current weight (around 162 now post-holiday....lol) puts me at more of a 1.6lb/week loss rate. Which I think is safer.

I've been in a bit of a rut with routines and in one part of my brain, this seems like a really great kickstart to push me to get back into my habits from the summer. I did really well, I lost over 40lbs and got down to 158lbs. Since September (I got a concussion and etc., some SAD-type stuff, life happens, then with the holidays I decided to just enjoy myself and stop tracking for a bit) I've been really lax and my weight has gone up several lbs. Not a ton, but that's the wrong direction! lol.

I'm really afraid I'll gain all of the weight back if I don't buckle down, and I still have lots more to lose, I'm about halfway to a normal BMI for my height (5'2). I have trouble with specific/tangible goals. I know the SMART acronym, but actually making goals that are feasible and specific etc ends up confusing me a lot. So I thought the DietBet gives a really concrete goal, and consequences if you don't meet it - you lose your money, and benefits if you do meet it - you get your money back, with a little more from the pool.

The trouble is, in another part of my brain, I feel like this is a TERRIBLE decision and will only end in failure and heartbreak. Because what if I lose nearly the amount, or I do lose it but weight fluctuations mask it for the Official Weigh In Day, or I lose a still great amount like 1lb/week but still lose the money. Or I get really hung up on meeting this goal that's more than I need to lose to the detriment of just getting back into my routines.

I have no idea lol. I'm curious: TL;DR: What do you think of sites like DietBet and HealthyWage? Have you done one? Would you?

Diet Bet:

Healthy Wage:
(edited to add the links)

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MFP Staff Note: Please do not post links to your individual DietBet or similar sites, its fine to discuss the concept in general, but referencing your own bets is a violation of our community guidelines. Thank you!

leiflung

What is the deal with these? Hiw do they verify you actually lost it?

Sparx_81

I have just bitten the bullet and gone with a healthy wage bet. I'm betting $10 a month for 12 months that I will lose 50lbs! I stand to come away with $350ish in total! I've also started doing a few running challenges to try and keep me in line!
I'm tempted to do a 10% in 6 months on dietbet too as it seems a healthy pot!
I did a good bit of googling and it seems as long as you actually lose the weight they do pay out. There are a few mums on FB groups that I'm in have actually done them so I thought it was worth a go!