Mar 26, 2009 6:10 am US/Eastern
'Diet Betting' The Newest Weight Loss Rage
Many Sites On The Internet Allow You To Wager Cold Hard Cash And Poke Fun At Your Opponent At Same Time
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Put your money where your mouth is.
Here's a motivator to lose weight: cold, hard cash.
Thousands of people are winning thousands of dollars by dropping unwanted pounds.
Exercise and healthy eating are noble goals that are tough to maintain, but now more people are using money as a motivator to lose weight.
"Diet betting is basically making a wager that you will lose a certain amount of weight in a specified amount of time," nutritionist Elisa Zied told CBS 2 HD.
Co-workers and friends have made small weight loss wagers for years, but now there are Web sites to keep you on track. Mary Lou Wehrli her brother, Grant, are using fatbet.net to try to lose about 20 pounds each. The stakes?
"The loser will buy the victor dinner or lunch for six at a sushi house," Mary Lou said.
They post their weight at least once a week on the Web site and can taunt each other on the site's blog.
"That motivation has had me get off the couch when I really didn't want to," Grant said.
Users say the teasing and tempting is all part of the fun. Both weighing in and paying up are totally dependent on the honor system.
"This motivation of this younger brother that's going to lose a bet to me, it's just so cool," Mary Lou said.
On another site, stickk.com, when you place a wager, you sign a commitment contract. You hand over your credit card number and each week that you don't meet your goal you're charged.
"I'm putting $10 on the line each week. Each week I don't lose that pound, I lose the $10," stickk.com's Jordan Goldberg said.
When you lose a bet, you choose where your money goes -- a competitor, a charity or what they call an anti-charity.
"That's where we take your money and we donate it to an organization that you oppose," Goldberg said.
Diet betting may not be a fit for everyone, though.
"The concerns I have is that if you're not winning the bet, this can lead to unhealthy behaviors, whether it's over exercising or dramatically cutting your calories," Zied said.
These diet betting sites are free to use. The average bet is between $100 and $300. The weight loss goals range from a few pounds to 50 or more.
Nutritionists advise to lose weight and keep it off. Set a realistic goal of one to two pounds a week.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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