Healthywage
Ktmom19
Posts: 64 Member
Any others using Healthywage as an incentive to lose weight? Or any who have used healthywage before?
I bet on myself that I can lose 45 lbs in 6 months. Hopefully that's feasible.
I bet on myself that I can lose 45 lbs in 6 months. Hopefully that's feasible.
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Replies
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You might want to rethink your goal. That's almost 2lbs per week, which would only be feasable for very. very overweight people.8
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I signed up to lose 45lbs in 8months the other day. I had wanted to sooner but wanted clarification on the photos being used for ads. They said before and after photos are completely voluntary and verified weigh-ins/videos will not be considered a submission. They said if I want it to be kept private they will, and verifying referees will honor that even my photos during the challenge.
Good luck with your wager!! I signed up for an additional 6% individual challenge with my bet as well to keep me on track and not to think that I can put off some loss to the end.2 -
So where does the extra money come from if you win. I had a quick look but didn't want to put my email address in just to find out my prize money. I will assume a lot of people will NEVER make the weight loss and it is their money that pays out the people who do.
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manderson27 wrote: »So where does the extra money come from if you win. I had a quick look but didn't want to put my email address in just to find out my prize money. I will assume a lot of people will NEVER make the weight loss and it is their money that pays out the people who do.
Yep. I mean if you're willing to spend that money on motivation I think it can be useful. But the fact is you can't directly control the speed and amount of your weight loss. You can control what you do, but not how and how fast your body responds.
I would say betting on anything faster than 1 lb per week is a bad bet. And even that is a crap shoot.
Regardless, just make sure you don't let the stress of possibly losing the money cause you to push too hard and go to unhealthy lengths to hit your goal. That's a recipe for yo-yo dieting.
Sorry if I'm being a negative nancy! I'm not much of a gambler so that probably colors the way I see this. I do wish you luck!6 -
Money can be a great motivator for some though so if it keeps you on target and you can afford it then it may well work for you. It is an interesting idea and I will be interested to see the outcome for @Ktmom19 and @Picky_nikki
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I realize it is not for a lot of people. I also recognize I very well may lose the money I put forth and I am okay with that. Worst case scenario, I do not make it to 45 lbs in time, but I make some healthy changes and am out some money. I have wasted $35 dollars a month on much worse things than my health. I am probably saving that much money just by not eating out so often. I am not normally a gambler at all. I think I have spent 20 dollars at a casino in my lifetime. I enjoy a challenge and think it will help motivate me. I will not allow myself to resort to unhealthy ways of reaching that goal. My health is more important than money.6
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@Picky_nikki ... I wish you the best of luck. I would love to hear how it goes for you!0
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@kimny72 I am not normally a gambler either, however I have been doing well with being diligent for a month now and thought I am on track why not try and give me more motivation to help keep my clean eating habits while using the CICO system of MFP. Not negative Nancy at all! I did a lot of calculations and looked at my own stats before going ahead. I did not let the highest payout dictate my bet.
@manderson27 the money comes from people who do not make their goals.
My monthly loss needs to 5.625lbs for my bet, which isn't too extreme, but I will have to work for it! I was very mindful of that and looked at my most recent losses and calculated an average and went well below that. I have MFP set for 2lb loss per week, and on average have lost more than that. I picked my bet based on what is feasible and not the biggest payout taking into account some weeks will be great and others might plateau. I am going to give it my best effort, however, if I am close and barely miss my goal without going off track I will be okay with losing my money as I will have gained health in the process. I will not resort to unhealthy behaviours to meet my goal last minute. The whole reason I am tracking my food and trying to lose is for health. I pick my foods based on nutrients over calories.
@Ktmom19 Good luck! I hope you do well too!2 -
Not criticizing here, just curious as to how it works. I would also love to hear how it is going for both of you. @Ktmom19 I will be cheering you on as my MFP pal.2
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So far so good....@manderson27 I appreciate your support!0
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Geesh, I wish I would have heard about this 113 lbs ago. Good luck!4
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Wow! Congrats @bikecheryl that is quite an accomplishment!!0
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I see the motivation, but I think this encourages short term effort and does not lead to long term success.
I've spent a good deal of time studying the behavior of people who have lost significant weight and maintained this for more than 1 year. Most of this data comes from the National Weight Control Registry:
http://www.nwcr.ws/Research/published research.htm
A common element is "finding a greater purpose" beyond simply losing/maintaining weight. For many this purpose is a new passion for a physical activity/sport, for others it's staying active for a loved one, kids, etc.5 -
Wow! Congrats @bikecheryl that is quite an accomplishment!!
Thanks so much....... now to just lose those last 20 lbs !!!0 -
Picky_nikki wrote: »
My monthly loss needs to 5.625lbs for my bet, which isn't too extreme, but I will have to work for it!
FWIW, I had a doctor's appointment in January that marked 98 pounds lost. I have lost 41 lbs since that appointment, and that is close to 5.6 pounds lost per month. The first 98 took two years, so the rate was slower. It is possible.
It comes off in fits and starts for me anyway. There can be discouraging six-week plateaus and then suddenly it is two pounds a week on the scale and I get caught up. I am not sure exactly what is going on, but the body does not always do what you think it should.
I actually overshot my goal, and I am getting adjusted to maintenance now. After losing for more than two and a half years, it is time though.
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I signed up to lose 115lbs in 12 months. It's about 10lbs a month. I'm well above 300lbs so it's feasible for me. The reason they are able to pay out to the winners is because only about 30-40% of people actually meet their goal.2
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I signed up a few weeks ago. I lost a bunch of weight here (nearly 100 pounds) and then over the last two years I put back 60 pounds (let’s call it grief weight because I ate through the death of my fiancé and brother for a year and then just kept eating for another year). Eloped last week with my new beau (sometimes lightning does strike twice) and planning a spring wedding after the fact. I bet I could lose 60 pounds over 8 months. I could totally fail. Whatever. It will keep me motivated though and you all will keep me motivated to keep it off as you have before. If someone close to me dies again I may put more weight back on, but hopefully, since I’ve been through it already, it will be better next time as I’ll be better equipped to deal without eating my way through it. In any case, since I’m not really a gambler, but AM competitive against myself, this seemed to be a good idea for me. And if I am able to make my goal (unrealistic as it may be),I can buy a wedding dress with my winnings. Either way, I’ll look good in it. 🤪1
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Hey all, just came across this thread and wanted to gain some info about healthy wage. I'm looking forward to starting one in October so I'll give myself enough time to heal from my surgery. I've lost weight before on my own but gained it back when I became pregnant. I read about healthy wage earlier in the year and figure if I'm going to lose weight again, I might as well make some money off of it. Good luck to you all who are joining or have joined and congrats to those who have won!2
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I just looked up Healthywage since I recently changed from my Fitbit to an Apple Watch so I am looking for some accountability / competition. Fitbit was great but I would get to caught up with getting steps and not working out as much as needed to. Initially I lost 84 lbs here and gained back some and now I am looking to loose 18 lbs in 6 months. Like RBracken34 I too am very competitive with myself . I hope to check back and see how things are going.0
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manderson27 wrote: »So where does the extra money come from if you win. I had a quick look but didn't want to put my email address in just to find out my prize money. I will assume a lot of people will NEVER make the weight loss and it is their money that pays out the people who do.
Haven’t done Healthy Wage, but i did a Diet Bet years ago. 6 months and with the 1% loss per month it came out to about 15 pounds total for me. It was doable and it made me keep really rigorous track as folks were dropped out every month and everyone who didn’t have only their last month’s worth to go was dropped from the contest after month 5 to ensure no crash dieting in a race to the end.
I wasn’t using Happy Scale then (wish I was) but I was using MFP. I can’t imagine undertaking something like that without good logging. The stress of the weekly weigh-ins was kinda icky for me. Actually a lot icky. So much pressure on that one day. Could really lead to some bad behavior.
I did it once, got where I needed to be and never did another one.
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I started HealthyWage on July 17th and I'm losing 75 lb within 12 months! My first time using HW..eek. I have to lose about 1.4 lb per week to reach my goal and I'm on track so far. If anyone wants to add me and write a note to let me know you're doing HealthyWage too in your message, I will add you as a friend on MFP! I could use the support0
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amybroccoli86 wrote: »I started HealthyWage on July 17th and I'm losing 75 lb within 12 months! My first time using HW..eek. I have to lose about 1.4 lb per week to reach my goal and I'm on track so far. If anyone wants to add me and write a note to let me know you're doing HealthyWage too in your message, I will add you as a friend on MFP! I could use the support
I see this is a new response to an old thread... I just signed up for HW also. My goal is only 15 pounds & I set it for 9 months. I should be at goal well before then, but then I need to MAINTAIN it. Since I'll need to be at/below goal STILL in April for my final weighin. My profit will be small, as I don't have a big # to lose, but I don't want to lose my $25/mo investment either!0
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