E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSDetermined to slim down, Calvin Gardner opted to put his money where his mouth was: He bet $300 that he could drop 50 pounds in six months.
It was a gamble, but the odds were good. If he succeeded, he’d more than triple his money. The only downside: he’d lose his cash if he didn’t lose the weight.
The unusual betting scheme Gardner chose is offered by the HealthyWage company, which essentially has become a bookmaker for the fat and flabby. Of course, like any good odds maker, the company seems to come out in the black.
Courtesy of Calvin Gardner
Calvin Gardner lost 50 pounds in six months after wagering $300.
Just 1 in 4 who place the bet actually end up collecting, the company’s founder, David Roddenberry allows.
Gardner was one of the lucky 25 percent. But that’s probably because the 25-year-old San Diego graduate student was highly motivated. His weight had crept up during a busy school year in which he’d gone from a trim 170 pounds to a stout 220. He stumbled upon HealthyWage online and immediately signed up. In less than six months, Gardner shed 50 pounds and turned $300 into $1,000.
Research shows that people vastly improve their odds of losing weight if there’s cold, hard cash involved, according to Dr. Kevin Volpp, a professor of medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine and director for health initiatives and behavioral economics at the Wharton School, both at the University of Pennsylvania.
“We as humans are really wired to focus on immediate gratification rather than delayed benefits,” Volpp explains. “And because any single indulgence doesn’t affect health that much, we can rationalize that we’re going to have an ice cream cone and some fries today and we’ll start dieting tomorrow -- or next week. Our focus is on the present.”
The idea behind monetary incentive programs is to nudge the equation we form in our brains a little bit more toward the long-term benefits. And that’s something that appeals to corporate America.
With health care costs skyrocketing, in part because of the fattening of the American population, some companies are using the “stick” approach -- motivating employees to be healthier by raising their health insurance premiums if they smoke or are too fat.
The HealthyWage program is more about the “carrot” -- offering people a chance to win money by shedding pounds.
HealthyWage’s Roddenberry got into the weight-loss business because, he says, as an ex-hedge fund manager, he personally understood the power of money. The company offers a variety of weight-loss programs to individuals and companies -- all with a financial incentive. Dieting betters are required to verify their weight loss through a health club or a physician.
What works best, according to Roddenberry, are programs where participants put some of their own cash at risk. “You have to be more committed to put up your own money,” Roddenberry says.
The 1 in 4 payouts might seem like a bad deal, but Roddenberry argues that clients are still winning because they’ve stayed with a weight-loss program for six months to a year.
Gardner isn’t sure he’d have worked out most days, slashed calories and dropped the pounds without the promise of a big payout.
“It kind of set a deadline for me so I couldn’t procrastinate anymore,” he says. “And being a poor student, the idea that I could turn $300 to $1,000 was pretty motivating.”
Leave a Comment:
Pity I didn't know about this; I gained weight over the last decade, but I'm taking it off because the cholesterol was creeping up and I don't like taking drugs.
I've lost about ten pounds a month over the last three; for those curious, I'm using Dr. Gundry's Diet Evolution.
(http://www.drgundry.com/). Can't argue with the results- nothing else I've tried was effective.
I'm big- 6'2", 54" chest, 18" biceps- so the sixty extra I was carrying didn't look that bad- but the impact on my health was.
The Vegas Diet!
You too can lose $50 in six months!
Several coworkers used to have office pools like this. It rarely really went anywhere. It definitely helps to have a motivator, but if you aren't dedicated to changing your lifestyle to be healthier any change will be temporary at best. Given the financial incentive you might be inclined to do something drastic and unhealthy in order to drop those last few pounds.
You're 100% right. I participated in two office pools like this, lost the weight both times and eventually regained it.
The key is to find a way that works for you. I'm using a free calorie-counting site now, MyFitnessPal.com, and I've lost 23lbs so far. Seeing just what and when I'm eating, and how it all adds up, has made all the difference for me. Unlike past attempts, I'm actually changing what and when I eat (and getting more exercise), and I don't expect to go back to my old habits. I can eat whatever I want, as long as I have the calories for it. The only thing is, you have to be honest, because if you lie to it, it won't do you any good.
So for 100 people who take the wage the company makes $22,500 off of the 75 who fail and pays out $25,000 to the 25 that succeed. What am I missing about this business model?
No, given a $300, $1000 payout. So, everyone would pay 30,000 = 100*300. They would pay out 25,000 = 25*1000. They make $5000
you forgot about the $7,500 the 25 who succeeded put into the kitty. That makes the total bank $30,000 with a payout of $25,000. Net $5,000...
Thanks...I didn't realize the $300 is sunk.
Two other websites that are similar are stickk.com and beeminder.com (I'm a co-founder of the latter).
The general term for this kind of technique of forcing yourself to follow through on something is "self-binding" or "commitment devices" and the problem it solves (not doing what you know you should do) is akrasia: or
The links got eaten by the spam filter there. Google "akrasia" to find them.
So with beeminder.com, it looks like it's all about FAIL and PUNISHMENT. If I go off track, you make money, if I stay on track you make nothing; either way I either break even or donate money to beeminder.com? Great business model - who thought that one up?? Punish people right and left and have them pay you with no downside while you deliver no services of any kind for the cash you bring in ...
Uh ... yeah ... where do I sign up for that?!
@FeO2, i know the feeling. I'm carrying at LEAST an extra 60-70, but you'd never guess it by the muscle underneath. there used to be a lot more of the muscle, but over the years, finding time to exercise or go to the gym have been minimal, if at all. and i'm starting to feel it more and more. time to start getting the lead out and making exercise and diet a priority.
jay-811680, What you're missing is the math. 100 players x $300 = $30,000 and the payout of $25,000 to 25 of the players leave a $5k profit. Actually kinda good as far as sports gambling goes.
Over the last 2 years I've lost 50 pounds. My doctor says slow and steady is the best way to keep off the weight. At this rate, it'll take me another 2 years to get under 200. But if it stays off for the rest of my life, that's a huge number of years I get to be fit and healthy. :)
Congratulations. 50 pounds is fantastic. I'm tempted to try this but I've lost 70 pounds in 1.5 years on my own. It's much slower than I wanted but I've kept the weight off and my healthy eating is the lifestyle change I needed. I've just started my next phase to lose another 70 pounds. Slow and steady at least for the 1st year. Keep going you are doing well.
I am getting soft around my stomach. It's annoying.
While money is a great motivational tool, it shouldn't be the only one. Losing weight and becoming more healthy has so many other benefits that outweigh monetary compensation. On June 11 of this past summer I was 214 pounds (5'8" with a 42" waist). Saturday, November 5, 2011 I hit my goal - 160 pounds, 33" waist.
That day in June I looked at myself in the mirror and was completely horrified as to what I had done to myself. I wanted to be at my healthiest ever before I turned 40 (this past October) and to also feel better about myself, etc. Immediately I joined a gym, signed up with a trainer for some sessions and saw a nutritionist. It was one of the best things I have ever done (quitting smoking 6 years ago was the best). I have so much energy now, I am positive and optimistic, and just feel better all around. I am now in maintenance mode working out 4-5 times a week for one hour (1 day cardio, 1 day strength, 1 day rest, 1 day cardio, 1 day strength, 1 day rest, 1 day some other activity to keep things interesting) and take three days off for recovery.
Would money have been a good motivational factor to get going? Yes. But, after a while when you see the results of your hard work, those results are enough motivation to keep you going.
I wish anyone who is attempting to make their lives better by losing weight and becoming healthier the best of luck and hope you have as much success as I have.
I wish I had seen this 7 months ago. I've taken off 54 pounds in the past 7 months by making a commitment to myself to eat healthy and to exercise regularly.
I'm now a fitness instructor at a local gym as well.
How long before dobson and his croonies will dub this as illegal gambling scheme.
This is a great conversation thread! It's good to see so many comments about people losing weight and getting healthy on their own. I myself have lost a little over 30 pounds since July and I'm planning to lose 10 more before Christmas. The diet I used was "The Rotation Diet" by Martin Katahn. It's been around awhile (typical low-fat, low-calorie diet) but it was pretty easy and it worked - in case anyone is interested.
I think the key is putting a plan together that you know you can stick too. The whole "a little more excercise" and "a few more veggies" approach just didn't work for me. So if you have a plan, great, stick to it and see where you are at the end. If you don't have a plan, I really recommend putting one together. You can be your own little science experiment!
A personal health coach can also help. Rather put that money towards good nutrition than gambling. I help people lose weight at WayneJohn.com
I think this is a great idea. It's not like this country couldn't use this type of gambling.
Now lets do this Medicaid and Medicare to cut down on the type II diabetes cases.
I actually lost the weight when I became anorexic, which is NOT AT ALL something I recommend. In fact, it used to really anger me when I was near my lowest weight and felt like I was dying (in fact I was soon to be admitted to a hospital) how people would tell me how great I looked and then ask how I lost the weight! (Sure, as an anorexic I wanted to lose the weight, in fact felt compelled to lose weight; but I knew even before treatment that I had a serious problem.)
Why bring up anorexia? Anorexia was just the other side of the same coin as compulsive overeating-because I've actually done both. My overeating came after I had recovered from bulimia. No doubt that comparison will turn off a lot of people who think of anorexia and bulimia as "serious disorders" while their weight gain is just something they need to have more discipline with. That may be true for some but probably not for all. Though I obviously can't speak for everyone, anorexia was just a way of trying to deny any needs, particularly those needs that compulsive overeating or really any overeating was trying to fill with food. Bulimia was gorging on trying to fill those needs then realizing that I wasn't supposed to have needs-so I had to atone for what I had done and rid myself of the artificial filling of the needs. People have told me that their overeating was an attempt to fill their empty hearts or to fulfill other needs. I submit to you that being overweight is also serious in that it can kill you just as dead as anorexia can. Not meaning to use scare tactics, just to be truthful. I am very much against discrimination against the obese or anyone else; I just hate for people to die of something if they can prevent it-I say IF because I know that sometimes due to meds it's impossible to lose weight.
I achieved a more healthy weight by discovering why my eating habits had gotten so messed up in the first place and then by learning to pay attention to the physical signals my body was giving me about appetite and fullness rather than eating based on emotion or boredom or habit or any other reason. I also learned not to consider any foods as forbidden or "bad" as long as taken in moderation and as long as I was in touch with my body's physical signals-ie, my body never physically told me to eat a ton of chocolate or sweets; it would tell me it felt sick after a relatively small amount. Then it would usually crave vegetables. Calling foods "bad" or saying one is being "bad" for eating something can just play into a shame angle associated with food, which in my experience is not at all helpful in weight loss since for many people food itself is used as a comfort from shame. The person is then put into a dreadful circular pattern of repeated shame. There are many little things like this that can sabotage diets and the best intentions-that's why I had to do as I did above. This is likely much deeper than anyone wanted to go. Sorry.
We should have a law that if you are obese, you have one year to lose at least 10 lbs or else your health insurance copays or premiums will increase. Losing weight is tough and requires motivation. I went from 6'3" and 313lbs to around 290 with diet, hit a plateau, started bicycling, dropped to 281, and now have hit a plateau caused partly by beginning a medication that causes water retention and up to 7% weight gain (which my exercise has apparently offset). But I'll find a way to keep dropping the weight either by more dietary adjustments or greater exercise. My motivation was that I saw myself taking more and more type-II diabetes related meds and still not reaching desired blood-sugar goals (I've exceeded them now) and figured that unless I reversed it, it was eventually going to shorten my life or reduce the quality of it.
I'm 43 and 74 inches tall weigh 200, use to lift weights all the time, but even when i stopped going to the gym i still had my 30 lbs dumbells, M - Sat i get up do one set of curls, on set of shoulder press, 50 pushups, set of 50 squats, jump rope for 2 minutes, and a set of rows, all takes me about 15 minutes. The problem is the junk food people eat, use only coconut oil or olive oil, eat twice as much veggies as meat and starch. No sugar processed food, and always have fruit in the fridge. And you get to suck down beer on sunday for football. The perfect diet, fads are a waste, the greatfruit diet, the no carb diet....blah blah blah
I'd probably lose my money - I have NO WILLPOWER! I totally suck at dieting, but I do exercise, and I LOVE the way I feel after running! I think my biggest problem is, I'm not that heavy. I'd like to lose about 15 lbs or so, yeah that's not a lot of weight and it's easy to blow it off. I've lost about 20 lbs two years ago, then it goes up 5 or 6, I "get serious" and get it back down to around 135lbs, then blow it off again. I'd love to weigh 125lbs, my High School weight, but with my attitude it probably won't happen.:(
Why don't health insurance companies offer programs with a sliding scale premium payments in accordance to clients' weight levels??? The closer you get to normal weight levels and maintain it, the lower the health premium. You'd have good incentive to maintain a healthy level as an incentive to have the privilege of paying a much lower premium. You'd need to visit your doctor on a regular basis and be weight so the doc can note it and enter it into a computer linked to the insurance company and they can adjust his monthly premium accordingly. I'll bet we'll have a higher percentage of insured population that are at healthier levels than before and insurance companies could save a lot in better health benefits of their clients...