DietBet - I'm gonna be rich! Maybe!

My goal for this summer is pretty simple: lose weight.

By the end of this summer, I hope to be as close to my goal weight of 200 pounds as possible.  I know that this coming tour year's schedule will not be conducive to weight loss, and so I would be happy to just maintain throughout the tour.  Since I have to be at my goal weight for at least three months before I have the skin removal surgery, I would prefer to not have to wait too long next summer after the tour is over to have the surgery.  I want this extra skin done and gone as soon as possible!

So, this summer I'm using some new methods to try and motivate me to keep on my diet and exercise regime.

The first method to keep me motivated is an app called "Gympact."  Basically, you make a pact with the app to work out a certain number of times per week.  For every workout that you miss of your pact, you pay!  For instance, I made a pact that I will work out a minimum of three times a week and that for every missed workout, I will pay $5.  The plus side is that when you meet your pact requirement, you earn money!  Usually about $.35 per workout.  Yes, you aren't earning very much, but at least you aren't losing money if you actually achieve your number of workouts per week!  To track your workouts, the app needs to access your GPS in your phone and basically you have to check into a gym for at least 30 minutes for the workout to count.  Or to make it even easier (and this is what I use since I don't have a gym membership) you can link this app with RunKeeper.  You just go about a normal run with RunKeeper and as long as you walk faster than 2 mi/hr and you move consistently for at least 30 minutes, than the run/walk counts as well.  See!  Super easy to earn some cash.

The other method that I'm using to incentivize myself is a new website/app call "DietBet."  With DietBet, someone starts a bet and when you join, you are saying that you will lose at least 4% of your starting weight in four weeks.  To join the bet, you pay a dollar amount (my bet was $25, but I've seen them as low as $10 and I think can go much higher than $25 as well!) and have an "official" weigh in.  You take a picture of your feet on the scale along with a "secret" word that the website doesn't tell you until the first official day of the bet (this way they know that everyone is weighing in as close to the same time as possible).  Also, you must take a full body picture of yourself standing on the scale.  There are only two official weigh ins with the bet, at the beginning and at the end, but you can unofficially weigh in through out the bet to keep yourself and others up to date on your progress (or your struggles).  At the end of the four weeks, who ever ends up losing the 4% of their weight splits the total pot with all the other winners.  My DietBet's pot is up to an astounding $18,000.

I must say, it's amazing how motivating winning money can be!  When I weighed in (granted it was right after I got back from Las Vegas on vacation so my weight was slightly higher than normal) I officially weighed in at 234.3 pounds and I am unofficially at 228.7 right now.  If you are doing the math, I need to lose a little over 9 pounds to win part of the pot.  I've already lost a little under 6 pounds.  I only have a little over 3 pounds left to lose and three weeks left to do it!  Granted, I am going to be in San Francisco next week for my sister's wedding and I'm hoping that I don't gain too much weight while I'm there.  But, DietBet really has curbed my eating!  When I reach for a snack out of boredom, I actually find myself thinking "Do you really need that snack?  What if this snack keeps you from winning the bet?" and I don't end up eating it!  The point of DietBet is, of course, to encourage everyone within the bet to lose weight as well.  In a perfect bet everyone would just get their starting money back!  But, let's be honest... We don't live in a perfect world.  We make mistakes and people can discuss their difficulties and struggles on the site.  Maybe they binged over this holiday weekend?  Well, they talk about it and people talk them through it.  Maybe they have hit a plateau and no matter what they do, they aren't losing weight?  People are more than happy to offer their advice!

So, basically I'm using money as my motivator this summer.  Maybe it will work, maybe it won't.  But, I like that it's something new.  They've almost made losing weight and getting healthier a game!  And when you win, you win money!  (and your health, of course...)

Well, as I mentioned earlier in this post, I will be leaving for San Francisco soon, Wednesday to be exact.  I will be posting an unofficial weigh in tomorrow, since I will be in the air and traveling most of the day on Wednesday and I will post another unofficial weigh in upon my return on Thursday, June 6 so that we can assess the damage that I did.  I'm bringing some workout clothes so that if I have time, I can hopefully get a couple of runs in at the hotel gym, but if I don't end up doing it I won't beat myself up too bad.  I know I'm going to be walking around a lot and luckily I still have a lot of time upon my return to make up for whatever gains I may have made.

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Until tomorrow with my unofficial weigh in!