should i join diet bet?

sixtyinchesoffury
sixtyinchesoffury Posts: 321 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
hey friends! a buddy of mine out of state has been playing diet bet and now i'm curious. I've been checking out their website and the game rules and it's pretty intriguing. mainly because I have been needing a little kick in the butt. I've just kinda fizzled out as far as my enthusiasm goes. anyway what better way to get motivated than with money :devil:

so in a nutshell, the player puts in the amount the bet is set up for ( the one i'm looking at is $35, I've seen as low as 10 and as high as 50) the bet lasts 4 weeks and everyone who loses at least 4% gets to split the pot. sounds like it'd work right? I don't know but i'm will to try it. with my last couple of weeks dealing with an illness I've really slipped into a lame mind set of whatever i'll just eat this cookie cause i'm down about my current situation :noway: stupid I know! I just gotta switch something up in my mind and get back in the positive :love:

so what do you all think? would you do it> I mean I dropped 35 at village inn the other night for my family so certainly it would've been a better use of the money..

also if there are enough of you interested you can start your own, which I think would be fun with friends.:drinker:

Replies

  • TurangaLeela
    TurangaLeela Posts: 70 Member
    I read an article a little while ago that said a financial incentive is the most effective weight loss technique, so I'd say go for it. Keep that money at the forefront of your mind, whenever you eat or think of slacking off exercise.
  • bluiz13
    bluiz13 Posts: 3,550 Member
    i just posted the same question but on my feed.....in order to lose 4% i'd have to lose 7.28lbs in 1 month...i havent lost that kind of weight in a month in a VERY long time....i've been stuck between the 170s and 180s for well over 2yrs....maybe this is the push i need and really what's $10-25 to "lose" if it gives me the competitive edge i need to bust thru this stupid place i'm in right now on the scale????

    do you know which challenge you would join???
  • sixtyinchesoffury
    sixtyinchesoffury Posts: 321 Member
    i just posted the same question but on my feed.....in order to lose 4% i'd have to lose 7.28lbs in 1 month...i havent lost that kind of weight in a month in a VERY long time....i've been stuck between the 170s and 180s for well over 2yrs....maybe this is the push i need and really what's $10-25 to "lose" if it gives me the competitive edge i need to bust thru this stupid place i'm in right now on the scale????

    do you know which challenge you would join???


    yeah I was looking at this one http://www.dietbet.com/games/11601 Sarah's Summer Slimdown

    I thought $35 was a good amount because I wouldn't just say eff it and blow it off but it's not so much that I can't afford/justify it. also it starts on April 25 and ends May 22. there's about $7000 in the pot right now. anyway I definitely need some different motivation right now. I'm doing the Bolder Boulder (10k walk/run through Boulder, Co----absolutely gorgeous :flowerforyou: ) on Memorial Day so it would be a little extra push to focus on for the next 4 weeks.

    I haven't lost that kinda weight in a while too. i'd be looking at about 7 pounds to lose, not sure if it's possible but I need something to light a fire under my *kitten* :explode: :devil: :blushing:
  • Lobster_Lover
    Lobster_Lover Posts: 45 Member
    Did you decide to join? If so, how is it going so far?

    I am currently doing the "Sarah's Summer Slim Down" Dietbet. It is my first diet bet and so far it has been very helpful. Other times when I have wanted to "cheat" on my diet, I figured it was only me who would know or be affected, but now it affects my wallet. And even if I only make $10, how cool would it to be to tell your friends you made $10 for losing a few lbs!

    (I read somewhere that usually 70% complete the DietBet successfully. So currently 637 players for a pot of $22,295. If 70% are successful, that is about 446 people. So take the pot ($22,295) - 15% DietBet fee ($3,344.25) = $18,950.75 split among the 446 is $42.49 so you make almost $7.50 not to mention, you don't lose $35. If you invested $35 into a Weight Watchers program or something, you might lose the weight, but would you get your money back if you did? Nope! So this is enough incentive for me.)

    Not to mention, if I am not successful, my boyfriend will never let me live it down that I pissed away $35 and didn't have the will power to say "No" to ice cream lol
  • ericaavin
    ericaavin Posts: 26
    I was part of a diet bet with some friends a few months ago. The motivation was great actually - you definitely don't want to lose that money and you could even stand to win some. However, I don't think that 4% was realistic or healthy for me. I needed to lose 5.4 pounds to win, and I lost 4.4 pounds. On a normal month, that would have been an amazing positive (and ahead of pace for me), but I still lost the money. I think 4% is unrealistic when you have less to lose, and 7 pounds in a month seems high. That being said, as long as you will be happy with whatever you lose (personal win!), the money is definitely a great motivator, and I loved being part of the team!
  • Lobster_Lover
    Lobster_Lover Posts: 45 Member
    I was part of a diet bet with some friends a few months ago. The motivation was great actually - you definitely don't want to lose that money and you could even stand to win some. However, I don't think that 4% was realistic or healthy for me. I needed to lose 5.4 pounds to win, and I lost 4.4 pounds. On a normal month, that would have been an amazing positive (and ahead of pace for me), but I still lost the money. I think 4% is unrealistic when you have less to lose, and 7 pounds in a month seems high. That being said, as long as you will be happy with whatever you lose (personal win!), the money is definitely a great motivator, and I loved being part of the team!

    This has already crossed my mind. For me to be successful in this bet, I need to lose 8.8 lbs in a month. While this is more than I have ever lost in a months time, I also know it is completely do-able for me, if I stay focused. Usually after a week or two I start to sneak in little "cheats" so this dietbet has helped keep me focused and I have less than 5 lbs to go in 20 days.

    With that said, as I get smaller I know that future diet bets will be harder to achieve because I won't be able to drop the lbs as fast. I think you can create dietbets for any goal, but so far I have only seen 4% goals which I think is the general "Norm" for the site.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    That sounds awesome, but I bet a lot of people lie about their weight to get the money.
  • Lobster_Lover
    Lobster_Lover Posts: 45 Member
    That sounds awesome, but I bet a lot of people lie about their weight to get the money.

    I am sure some people smarter than me have figured out how to scam the system, but there are some obstacles in place to help.

    1. When you sign up, you are given a word (within 2 days of the official start, no sooner) and you have to take a picture of the scale with the word.

    2. You also have to do a before shot of yourself on the scale.

    These are reviewed by a panel and if they suspect any fraud, they can request further evidence such as a webcam weigh in, etc.

    Like I said, I'm sure there are some people sneaking through to win $10, but I honestly think the majority are people like you and me, trying to get healthy and looking for some added motivation. And either way, who cares if someone lies, you still have $35 on the line that you are guaranteed back in full unless 100% of the people achieve the goal (then you would lose 15% just because of the dietbet fee)
  • bluiz13
    bluiz13 Posts: 3,550 Member
    i joined the one being run by olivia and hannah from biggest loser...it was a $25 buy in....i am pushing myself pretty good to stay on track to earn my $25 back plus the bonus $ from those that dont make their 4%....i see it like this...if i dont make the 7.5lbs i need to "win" but lose and keep off any weight below my start weight than i'm a WINNER anyway....i had a higher weighin due to a night out the day before and of course the inevitable water weight gain but i'm pushing harder to get PAST my goal so that i can prove to myself i can lose the "true" 4% needed based on what i usually weigh...hope that makes sense.....anyway, good luck to all who decided to join a game reaching your goals....
  • tekwriter
    tekwriter Posts: 923 Member
    Why not put your money in an account and you are not allowed to take it back if you don't lose the weight, but must keep adding to it? that would be a win win.
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
    That sounds awesome, but I bet a lot of people lie about their weight to get the money.

    This was my first thought as well. I'm not a very trusting person when there's no way to verify things.
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
    Why not put your money in an account and you are not allowed to take it back if you don't lose the weight, but must keep adding to it? that would be a win win.

    Ohhhh I like that idea!
  • efirkey
    efirkey Posts: 298 Member
    It's a pretty poor bet to bet $25 to make $7, but at least you are in control of your own destiny. If you are in it to make a few dollars than I recommend entering the less expensive $10-$15 games where more people are likely to not make their goal thus increasing your percentage of winning.

    And if you need to bet more to motivate yourself than enter multiple $10 -$15 contests at the same time.
  • SteelySunshine
    SteelySunshine Posts: 1,092 Member
    If you only have a few give or take 20 lbs to lose this is a really hard one to win. If you have more than 50 to lose and are dedicated to losing weight it will be a lot easier to win.
  • JonathanBB
    JonathanBB Posts: 252 Member
    It seems like an unhealthy, too quick weight loss for you and would worry that with that loss you are converting muscle to fat. If based on your current weight, exercise, knowing yourself better than I know you, this is a healthy weight loss amount in the given time frame, then go for it. Otherwise pass.

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