There’s nothing like a little peer pressure to help you lose weight and get into shape. I remember that I was in the best shape of my life when I had a workout partner at the gym in my 20s. Now that I’m approaching 40 with two children under four-years old, the exercise is a bit more of a challenge to squeeze into my lifestyle.
There’s another bit of pressure that may help you attain your weight loss goals: losing money! The phenomenon known as “bet dieting” is apparently still going strong. Last year, we spotlighted a site known as StickK that uses gambling as a way to keep people motivated to lose weight. You put up money, and if you hit your weight loss goal, you retain your cash. If you lose it, you can even attach it to a charity that you disagree with, making the incentive even higher. These are generally right or left wing political initiatives. If you aren’t politically inclined, the motive of keeping your money is probably still enough
The latest entry into the weight loss betting sites is Lose It or Lose It. The domain name pretty much says it all. You cough up the cash if you don’t reach your goal. But unlike StickK (whose slogan is “Put a contract out on yourself,” by the way), the cash stays with Lose It or Lose It.
You begin your challenge with Lose It or Lose It by designing a 10-week weight loss program/goal. Choose your weight loss goal and how much cash you are willing to part with per pound, and there you have it. The website brings more to the table than just the willingness to take money from weak-willed people. You receive regular emails reminders to weigh in, and at least two people have to agree to be “accountability friends” before you begin. Accountability friends receive up to two e-mails each week about the results of your weigh-ins.
The website also shows you live statistics of how many pounds have been lost through their site among other things. But, the most compelling thing to me was the ratio of men-to-women. Dieting, a usually heavily female demographic, is 70 percent men on Lose It or Lose It. It must be that the gambling aspect, a largely male demographic, has attracted more men than women.
(via: Lose It or Lose It)