DOUBLE or Nothing

Posted on March 12, 2015

After losing my first DietBet, (as in, I lost the money I put in, AND FIVE POUNDS!!!), I took a week to lick my wounds and eat without thinking about it... only to see all those pounds creep right back on. Luckily, I knew I hadn't REALLY gained 3 pounds back, because one pound is an excess of 3500 calories, and even with dessert every night (HELLO, ICE CREAM, so good to see you AGAIN, and AGAIN, and AGAIN:), there was no way I had eaten an excess of 10,000 calories in 7 days. (To put that in perspective, that would be 10 pints of ice cream on top of a regular 2,000 calorie a day intake. As mcuh as I love ice cream and had missed having it regularly over the month, I just knew that there was no way the 3 or 4 pints my husband and I had split could have done this.)

But I digress!

The point is, why would I sign up again i I lost? Doesn't this mean this isn't a good fit for me? Isn't it a sign that now is not a good time?

Contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as a good time, a good fit or a good reason to never try again. Infact, I felt so close to the money-pot, that I knew I couldn't let the momentum go for too long before giving it another go. The fact that I gained back as much weight as I did in such a short amount of time was a good indicator that, without a reason NOT to put the ice cream in my grocery cart, or NOT to plan my meals, or NOT to lose myself in the chaos of a huge transition across the country, I probably would continue to outgrow my pants.

I felt inspired to not only continue, but to GO for the GOLD and sign up for the TRANSFORMER: -10% over the course of 6 monthly bets; month 1: -3%; 2: -2%; 3: -2%; 4: -2%; 5: -1%; 6: cumulative -10%... I think I have these numbers right (readers, please comment in the notes below if I am at all confused on the breakdown...:) I'm really impressed with DietBet's rules to combat "unsports(wo)manlike" dieting behavior. For example, if you are on a 10% bet and you are more than 6% away from the goal in the 5th month, you forfeit your funds to those in the healthy running -- making the biggest win in that final month, as I understand it. These parameters follow all the knowledge about healthy, long term weight loss that I have studied and am familiar with, yet they package it into a fun, motivating and achievable package. I REALLY dig it for this season of my life!!

I also want to hear from the winners... and, especially, those who played and "lost" and played again... or are playing again, and WHY. Why, why, WHY? Why play again? How much did the winners win? What games? Where do you place your focus on longer versus shorter games? How do others think about this phrase: "DOUBLE or NOTHING" when it comes to stringing DietBets together to really "WIN BIG?" In the end, if we are losing weight, and getting healthier in the process, (which we always are, if there is any excess weight to lose -- can you hear the choir of knees, heart, liver, kidney, cholesterol, hips, and your wallet singing: "THANK YOU!" (!?)

Because that is the deal here, as far as I see it, at the end of the day. Either we are ALL IN to lose weight and WIN (bet-money or no bet-money) or ALL OUT to see this community as one more thing that doesn't work -- one more thing that makes us feel bad, deprived, not good enough, not skinny enough, not the right number... Even if we win the money with this latter attitude, we lose the point, which is that PLAYING is WINNING with the right mind-set.

Oh, and if you're not there yet, maybe try betting again from the place where you already know that you ARE THERE, that you CAN and WILL and DO want to win: DOUBLE or NOTHING!! Disagree? Have somehting to say? Please share it in the comments below... I wanna know, and I want my readers to know how much your comments help me and shape my writing.

Speaking of: I commit to write a BLOG for every 1% I have BET (so that's 4 blogs this month... and at least 10 for the Transformer over the next 6 months.)

Comment Now!

stephruns62

03/12/2015 5:56PM

I started my first Dietbet last ~May. Since I remarried, I had picked up many of my husband's not-so-good eating habits and had stopped running. I had gotten up to 155 lbs. and was not feeling good about myself. My first 4% Dietbet was a success. I was so excited that I immediately joined another 4% and a Transformer 10% at the same time. I won all of those games, woohoo!Towards the end of my Transformer, I joined another 4% -- thinking it would be easy money. But it was getting harder, and after 6-7 months of "being good," I think I was burned out with dieting. I did not win that 4% Dietbet. My Transformer ended the first of December and hooray I could enjoy the holidays -- after being good through Thanksgiving -- and have some goodies, soda, fudge.Well, here I am 3 months later, and 10 lbs. heavier. I really enjoyed feeling thin, and joined a 4% and another Transformer, with my first month overlapping. The Dietbet is just the extra motivation I need. Good luck!

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Cat the Cowgirl

That is a great share! Thank you! We have a lot in common (my husband made me fat, too-wink, wink;). I also totally get the burn-out from dieting that comes after a long and disciplined weight loss transformation... I'm curious about the maintenance challenge that will roll out later this year (based on what I read about the DietBet company). This has changed my life- and I think they are on to something... I wish you the very best of luck on your journey!! It sounds like you have got this- again! I'm curious how much you won, and how does the money part work differently for the 1 vs 6mo bets? I know we're (virtually) strangers, but if you'd be willing to share some about that, I know I'm not the only one who is curious... Either way, you inspire me, Steph!

stephruns62

Thanks Cat! I think you can just look at my profile to see what I won. I ended up cashing out $388. The 10% Transformer definitely paid the best. And yes, I'm also excited for the Maintenance. I signed up for the Jillian Michael's because I think if you win, you're payout is better on the bets with the most players. Wishing you the best!

Barb

03/12/2015 5:14PM

This is my first Diet Bet challenge, and I'm interested the answers to all the questions you asked. I joined because I thought this would be a fun and motivating tool. So far it has been. I plan losing around 3% every month of the transformer game until I'm within 8 pounds of my goal weight. So if I do well in these first 2 months I may join another one. I don't care if I win money, in fact I want everyone to succeed, but I really want to keep my money. I don't to feel bad that I wasted it, so that is motivation for me. I'd say good luck but I'd rather say, "you got this girl!"

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