Do you have a few (or more) extra pounds to lose after the holidays? Do you know you should lose weight for your health, but find yourself without motivation? If so, you’re not alone; I’m one of many millions of Americans right there with you.
I’m an emotional eater, and this last year has been very stressful. I find myself with 30 extra pounds to lose and not much motivation since my stress isn’t going to go away any time soon. When I heard of Diet Bet, I was intrigued. Maybe some external, financial motivation would help!
What Is Diet Bet
Diet Bet has an interesting premise. You join a group of other people on Diet Bet and put $20 into the pot. Then, you have four weeks to lose 4% of your body weight. If you are unsuccessful, you forfeit the money that you put in for the bet. If you’re successful, you split the jackpot with the other winners. I have seen people who reviewed Diet Bet who have won anywhere from $10 to $100 or more.
This is the basic premise of Diet Bet. The individual Diet Bet groups that you join may have different entering wagers, different lengths, and different percentages of weight to lose.
Some people join multiple Diet Bets to up the ante.
To log your weigh in, you must take a full-size picture of yourself on the scale, and you must take a picture of the number on the scale, but don’t worry, that number is not shared with anyone in your group; it’s just for recording purposes.
Benefits Of Diet Bet
External Motivation
Diet Bet can provide external motivation. If you can’t find the motivation to lose weight on your own, doing so with a like-minded group of people who are all trying to achieve the same goal can be inspiring.
Financial Motivation
Nothing speaks louder than cold, hard cash. You may be motivated to lose weight because you don’t want to lose the money you bet. You may also be motivated because you have the chance to win free money AND lose weight! That sounds like a win-win. Indeed, some people have dropped fifty pounds or more by doing multiple Diet Bets in a row.
Drawbacks Of Diet Bet
Unnecessary Pressure And Stress
For the entire four weeks your Diet Bet is running, you’ll likely feel pressure and stress. Even if you follow your eating plan perfectly, your body doesn’t always lose weight systematically.
Some weeks you may not lose anything, and other weeks you may lose more.
Some participants on Diet Bet state that even as they were losing weight, they weren’t necessarily happy because they worried that they wouldn’t lose enough to win the bet.
May Put An Unhealthy Focus On Weight Loss
If you lose weight in a traditional manner, you know that you have good weeks and bad weeks. Sometimes you eat some unhealthy foods, but then you get back on track. With Diet Bet, there doesn’t seem to be the same leeway. Participants may become unnaturally, unhealthily fixated on losing weight so they get their money.
Some people who have joined Diet Bet mentioned that when they only had a week or two left in their bet and they weren’t close to their goal, they took more drastic action such as fasting or only eating fruits and vegetables to make sure that they dropped the weight so they could win part of the jackpot.
What I Decided
In the end, I decided that Diet Bet is not right for me. If I was someone who thrives under pressure, Diet Bet may work, but I’m not that type.
Plus, I don’t want to have to resort to drastic measures at the end of the bet just to make sure I lose enough weight. In my opinion, that type of weight loss is not sustainable. I had a friend who lost a great deal of weight during a 12 week bet, but when the bet was over, she gained back almost all of the weight she lost. I’d prefer my weight loss to be more gradual; I’d like to make sure new habits are in place that help me keep the weight loss off.
Having said that, Diet Bet does really motivate some people and can be a good way for them to keep off the weight.
Have you tried Diet Bet before? If not, would you be interested in trying it?
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