Fatbet is ON!
Okay, in case you missed the Fatbet post below, I’ve set one up. It runs for the next three months. If you want to join in, all you have to do is set a reasonably difficult (yet achievable) weight loss goal for that period of time. (Note: The other competitors don’t see your weight; just your progress towards your goal.) I’m suggesting that anybody that doesn’t achieve their goal must PayPal $50 to the person who loses the most. People who achieve their goal must PayPal $20 to the ultimate winner. Yes, I’m talking real money here. That was the whole point of the NYT article that gave me the idea. People who literally bet their ass stand a much better chance of reaching their goals! If you want to join in, just send an email or leave a comment.
Note: The stupid site only uses pounds, not kilos. So those of us using the metric system have to convert.
TiNK
February 20, 2009 — 3:04 pm
How will we determine the ultimate winner?
Kris
February 20, 2009 — 3:09 pm
Hm. Good point. I was assuming whoever exceeded their goal by the highest percentage, but then somebody has an incentive to set a lower goal. Maybe we shouldn’t have a “winner” then.
Do you guys have a better idea for the wager/penalty?
Ooh, maybe donating money to a charity you disagree with. The thought of giving $50 to the Liberal party would probably motivate me…
missfee
February 20, 2009 — 3:14 pm
i agree give the money to charity and the liberal party as bombed as it is, does NOT qualify as a charity
missfee
February 20, 2009 — 3:17 pm
you can see the goals but not the beginings and ends
Kris
February 20, 2009 — 4:02 pm
But giving the money to charity is a good thing! This has to be something you REALLY DON’T WANT TO DO.
missfee
February 20, 2009 — 4:48 pm
the socialist alliance?
Kris
February 20, 2009 — 4:50 pm
Hahaha… That’s a good one.
Perhaps we leave the recipient up the individual. But if you don’t reach goal, you have to give $50 – no strings attached – to somebody you really don’t want to give it to.
Cindy
February 20, 2009 — 5:08 pm
How about if you don’t reach your goal you donate the money to the charity of the winner’s choice?
Kris
February 20, 2009 — 5:16 pm
That brings us back to the issue of how to determine the winner fairly. I guess we could all compare weight loss percentages afterwards or something.
Rachel
February 20, 2009 — 7:42 pm
Not to sound horribly un-altruistic but the idea of buying a pair of new pants that fit was pretty good. That might be a good incentive to win…
As for penalties… no phone? No internet?
Maybe signing up to do volunteer work?
TiNK
February 20, 2009 — 8:18 pm
I’m happy to hand over the cash to someone or organisation, I just didn’t know how we would pick the winner ;D
And yeah, new gym gear would be nice!
Andrea Roceal
February 20, 2009 — 8:24 pm
Thoughts:
* I don’t like the exceeding your goal metric either because I honestly think I don’t need to lose much more than my target (personally). Maybe we should include additional information, like what we do to lose weight, and the one who sticks to their plan and succeeds at losing weight is the ultimate winner. I don’t know how we’d track that easily, maybe just check in to the message board regularly.
* Penalty: maybe something like giving up food we enjoy that we know is bad for us? No desserts for a week? Stick with the weightloss theme?
Kris
February 21, 2009 — 8:40 am
Maybe we could vote on the ultimate winner, based on who we know worked the hardest, made the most sacrifices, etc? I kinda like that. It puts the onus on each of us to share what we’re doing, and it gives everyone an equal chance of winning.
And I still like the idea of $50 if you don’t make goal, and $20 if you do (but aren’t declared the winner).
Thoughts?
Kris
February 21, 2009 — 8:41 am
Heh. I just realized we’ll also need to qualify what currency that’s in. 🙂
Lara
February 21, 2009 — 9:14 am
I’m in. I haven’t exercised since before Christmas. I’ve still been losing weight, but not much!
Kris
February 21, 2009 — 9:23 am
Invite sent, Lara.
Venks
February 22, 2009 — 11:46 pm
Hey Kris, I’m in too 😉
Tricia
February 23, 2009 — 3:03 am
I’m in; I really need to lose weight before my triathlon, so 3 months is the perfect window. I don’t like the idea of paying if you meet goal, though; what about if you don’t meet the goal you pay and the money is divided evenly amongst the people who do meet goal? That way, even if everyone meets goal and no money is exchanged, everyone still wins by meeting their goals.
Kris
February 23, 2009 — 6:55 am
Sending you an invite now, Tricia.
I guess the idea of paying if you don’t win was to remove the temptation to set a really easy goal. However, looking at what everybody’s set so far, I don’t think we have that problem. We all have very challenging goals, so you’re right, just achieving them will be a huge win.
Kris
February 23, 2009 — 7:04 am
Venks – sent!
Tricia
February 24, 2009 — 4:09 pm
Thanks!