I’d been trying to lose my Christmas weight for about six months, and was getting nowhere. That’s when I found DietBet on the internet, and thought the money would be a good motivator to help me lose weight. I joined a Transformer game with some friends, but my head wasn’t in it yet—I told them all that they would likely win all my money! But a couple of days before the game started, I just decided to really commit and make the changes I needed to make in order to lose the weight and win. Only after joining the game did I know that I needed to make a big change.

For me, having other people know whether or not I succeeded was a big impetus. In addition to my Transformer with friends I did a Kickstarter with strangers, and both were positive environments for weight loss. With my friends, I felt very encouraged and supported—and I wanted them to be proud of me, so I worked extra hard. In the Kickstarter, everyone was also very supportive, but I liked the anonymity of it. If you’re feeling self-conscious of your weight and weight loss achievements, it’s very easy to stay under-the-radar in big games with hundreds of players.

Being able to play in multiple games at the same time was also a big help for me. I met my 10% weight loss goal for the six-month Transformer about seven weeks in; I wanted to lose more weight and it seemed best to keep the momentum going, so I joined a Kickstarter game. Once that ended, I took a couple weeks to regroup and then joined another Kickstarter.

Finally, I love that DietBet lets you choose your own path to weight loss. There isn’t a set of rules to follow. Paleo, low-carb, protein shakes, increased exercise, fitness trackers, fitness apps—whatever works for you, use it!

My life is in such a good place right now, and I suspect it’s all interconnected. Maybe I’m losing weight because I’m really happy and feeling good about my life, or maybe I’m happy and feeling good because I’m losing weight! One thing I notice every day is how good—and small!—my body feels. Little things, like crossing my legs, take less effort. I marvel over the bones I can feel in my shoulders and neck and collar area. I don’t know if the joy in that will wear off, but I hope not!