The (Diet)Bet Is On!

So, this happened:

Yes, I just accepted my very first DietBet challenge.  While my children are my main inspiration for getting in shape, winning money for eating right and exercising regularly is actually a pretty good motivator too.

I’ve been hearing about DietBet for a few months now, and I figured that it couldn’t hurt to try something new to get my butt in gear.

Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Accept a DietBet challenge on www.dietbet.com.  There are so many challenges to choose from with a huge variety of different themes.  I decided to go with one that starts on February 14 – Valentine’s Day box of chocolates be damned!

Step 2: Place your bet.  The challenge I chose has a required bet on the low end – just $10.  I figured that was a safe amount to test the waters on my first challenge. 

Step 3: Submit your initial weigh-in.  The weigh-in is completely confidential and never posted to the public anywhere on the website.  You take a picture of yourself and your current weight (as shown on a scale), and send it the DietBet referees for confirmation.

Step 4: Complete the challenge.  Generally, the challenges run for 28 days, and you need to lose 4% of your starting weight to win.  Sounds like a lot, but it’s easy to put it into perspective, especially since it’s meant to be accomplished over 4 weeks.

Step 5: Enjoy your winnings!  At the end of the challenge, you submit your final weigh-in.  If you’ve lost the required amount of weight by the deadline, you and everyone else that was playing the game too split the pot!

I will be submitting my initial weigh-in today in preparation for my Saturday start date.  So far, my game has $70 total in the pot with 7 players it's up to $100 now with 10 players!! If you want to join in on the fun, click here for the game I'm playing.  I’ve seen some challenges with thousands of dollars up for grabs, but I wonder if the odds of winning in such large games are realistic.

I’m looking forward to a bit of extra motivation. I’ll post updates over the next 28 days – hopefully at the end of it, I’ll walk away a few pounds lighter and with a couple extra dollars in my pocket. 

Have you ever participated in a weight-loss challenge that had a financial incentive?  Did the prospect of winning money help you reach your goal?