Hi there!
I am one of the referees at DietBet. I became a referee in 2014 and was a player before that.
My weight loss journey started in my youth. I was always a little on the chunky side. I lost some weight around 15-17 due to some traumatic experiences and maintained the loss until the dreaded "freshman 15".
Except in my case the weight gain didn't stop at 15 lbs. Over time I gained quite a bit of weight, and I've lost and regained over and over again.
At my most successful, I lost 75 lbs. And then I regained it. I often think back to this success with hopes of recreating it. I hear the motivation that I've done it before, I can do it again!
But the reality is...then it was easy. I stuck to a food plan with no issues, and took up running. And aside from the wanting-to-die feeling from running, it was all so easy.
I thought that was great! Unfortunately, 'easy' didn't teach me anything. Once I completed my goal of running a 5K, I didn't know what to do. And life handed me some rotten lemons. Without running, I turned to food.
Fast forward a few years, I was back to where I started weight wise. When I joined DietBet as a player, I was able to lose 30 lbs. The financial incentive got me moving! And it still does.
But now that I'm a referee, I get to see your successes too. I love helping players figure out how games work. It's empowering and encouraging to see you guys do so well. And when things get tough, know that I can definitely relate.
I've been there. I *am* there. Every day is a struggle. But I find I am learning a lot more from struggling than I ever did before. I'm learning how strong I am and looking forward to how strong I can be!