Lose Weight and Win Money With DietBet

After I posted about the study that found financial incentives to be a good motivator for weight loss, I have been on the lookout for more websites popping up like Gym Pact. I was curious to see how much something like this would motivate me, and since I no longer belong to a gym, Gym Pact was out of the question. Well, today a friend of my sent me an invitation to a website called DietBet, and I was immediately intrigued.

DietBet is a 4-week program, where participants need to lose 4% of their body weight (or more) in order to get any of the “pot.” You can create your own challenge, or join someone else’s, and pay a certain sum of money to participate. For instance, the one I joined was $25. And let me tell you, I’m more motivated than ever before to lose weight, even just to get back my $25.

Whenever a new person enters your group, the pot rises. I was looking at the top game, and it’s at almost $9,000. I wouldn’t mind being part of that group! When the date arrives for the contest to begin, you have to take two photos  – one full length photo of you on a scale in “airport security” attire, and one of the scale, the number on it, and a piece of paper with a weigh-in word, to prove it’s actually you. I was wondering how they would do this, actually, and it seems like they’ve got it under control! These photos are kept private, and you don’t have to share your weight with the others in the competition.

During the competition, you can post photos, write comments, and just interact with others in the game. There is also an iPhone app companion for the game, which I thought was nice.  Starting on the last day of the competition, you have 48 hours to “weigh out”

I really believe that money is a great motivator for just about anything, and I’m interested to see if I actually have any success using this site. (PS, if you want to join in, my group starts on April 29th. The more the merrier!)

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April 19, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: Apple  Gadgets  Health Care  Health Games  iPhone  mHealth  Mobile Health Care  Patient Home Monitoring  Social Networking Health
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Do Financial Incentives Inspire Weight Loss?

It looks like GymPact had the right idea. The Science World Report recently reported on studies from the Mayo Clinic about the correlation between weight loss  and monetary compensation for doing so.

A previous study by the Mayo clinic found that financial incentives can help people lose weight, and that participants that had some kind of financial incentive at stake were more likely to follow a program strictly. An even newer study by the Mayo Clinic found that the participants who did have a financial incentive noticed body weight reduction AND follows weight loss programs more strictly.

So what was at stake? The participatns in the incentive groups were told that, if they achieved their goal of losing four pounds a month, they would receive $20 each month. And, on the flip side, if they didn’t meet the goal, they owed $20. That money went to a pool, and anyone in the incentive groups were entered to win the pool at the end of the study. Sounds pretty similar to the idea behind GymPact.

Steven Driver, M.D., the lead author of the study said:

The take-home message is that sustained weight loss can be achieved by financial incentives. The financial incentives can improve results, and improve compliance and adherence.

I definitely think this study makes sense. I mean, who isn’t motivated by money, or maybe even more so, the potential to lose money? Sometimes I wish I had something like hanging over my head to work out, because I know I would definitely be motivated by financial incentives. It’s definitely interesting though.

I do wonder how many of the people in the incentive groups kept the working out up and the weight off after the study ended and they no longer were motivated by money. While one would help they would still be successful, I have my doubts. It seems like if you aren’t motivated for the right reasons, like having a healthier lifestyle, it could be easy to fall off the wagon if you weren’t worried about losing money.

Regardless, I’m interested to see if any companies will take this idea and try and incorporate it into an app or something, like GymPact has. If it gets people moving, I’m all for it.

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March 12, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: Health Care  Healthcare IT  mHealth  Mobile Health Care
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GymPact: Breaking the Commitment Breaks the Bank

Last semester, someone mentioned an app for the iPhone called “GymPact”. The basic premise of it is to commit people to working out with something the motivates just about everyone — money. I mean, I can’t tell you often I tell my husband “okay, we are going to work out today”, only to wimp out a short time later, because really, there wasn’t much to get me to go. This app is for people like me, who need a little extra incentive to work out.

So, what exactly is GymPact. Well, I think this little blurb from the website, Gym-Pact.com, says it best

“How many of us have bought a gym membership and never used it? GymPact’s core involves this situation in which something you want later (having gone to the gym) conflicts with something you want right now (staying home to watch TV).

We realized that with real money on the line and easy, fool-proof check-ins at gyms, people could actually push themselves to get out the door and into the gym.”

Basically, a person is supposed to download the app for the iPhone, commit to going to the gym a certain amount of times a week, and how much money will be owed if that commitment is broken (an amount between $5 and $50).  Oh, and did I mention that you have to link a credit or debit card to your account, so if the user doesn’t check-in the committed amount, money is automatically withdrawn. The incentive? The money collected from the “commitment-breakers” is distributed to everyone who kept the pact. It’s typically only between .50 and .75, but hey, it’s better than nothing.

It’s an interesting idea, that’s for sure. A Harvard behavioral class developed GymPact and during a test run, the GymPact got 90% of its users to the gym, a percentage which has stayed that high since it was released to the public. The check-in won’t be valid unless it actually comes from the gym, hence why this can only be used on a smartphone (well, currently only the iPhone).

The pact can be used by just about anyone. People can commit to as little as once a week, up to seven days a week, and can be changed every Sunday. What if an injury occurs and the user can’t make it that week? A doctor’s note has to be sent to the GymPact team. GymPact really means business. Seriously, I think that this is a great idea. Money is a huge motivator, and with obesity becoming a bigger problem in the United States each year, drastic measures should be taken. Obviously, no one can be forced to use this, but if it gets one more person working out that didn’t in the past, I think it’s a success.

Since GymPact was launched, it seems to be pretty successful. Just check out the . People are constantly tweeting GymPact about successes. Not totally convinced? Head on over to the GymPact blog that has success stories, hints and tips from the CEO, Yifan Zhang, and motivation. After perusing the blog for a bit, I’m about convinced I need to try this out.

So I’m going to. After talking to my husband, we decided that once we get back from vacation, this app is getting downloaded to his iPhone. I won’t promise any big commitments; I mean, we are just poor, college students. But hopefully it will get us to the gym. Luckily, I lost all my pregnancy weight in a matter of a few days, but I want to get in better shape, as does my husband. But if I’m going to promote this app, I should use it, right? I’ll write a review on the experience and the app in awhile. Are you in?

(Right as I finished writing this, guess what the song being sung on The Voice is? Money Changes Everything. Coincidence, I think not!)

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May 10, 2012 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: Apple  Health Care  iPhone  Smart Phones  Social Networking Health
Tags:Doctor's Note GymPact  Gym-Pact.com    GymPact Blog  GymPact iPhone  GymPact Team  Harvard behavioral class developed GymPact    Yifan Zhang