Bigtime Fail

I lost my own DietBet. I was the only one of the 8 of us to lose. I started with the best of intentions:  

1.   I would be committed.  
2. I would post at least weekly about my progress, along with any tips and recipes I came across.     
3. I’d link up with the Pish Posh challenge.   
4. I’d meet my goal.

And I didn’t do ANY of those things. 

Hoping to entice participants, I offered some prizes and winners would be entered into a drawing. I figured I’d meet my goal and at a minimum get my $40 back to spend towards prizes, plus two of the prizes would be donated.  Bigtime fail. I didn’t win and didn’t get the two donations (more my fault than the donators).  The failed DietBet wound up being slightly expensive. 

•   $40 buy-in        
• $25 JCPenney gift card (sorry @red_writinghood I STILL haven’t mailed this)       
•  $25 Victoria Secret gift card         
• Mary Kay mini fragrance set         
• Mary Kay pedicure set

But, on a more positive note, I took this picture towards the end of the game – as I headed out to my Burlesque 101 class. I think I look okay. Even if the pounds didn’t fall off, the skirt I bought at the beginning of the bet is now too big, so something was happening! So I’m okay with not meeting the goal in pounds.

Want to see more pictures? Check out my Facebook page. 

A special thanks goes to Redhot Writing Hood for participating AND helping get a few additional participants.

Interested in DietBet? Check out their website and join an open bet or host your own. It’s a great motivator and can be fun. I did win my first two bets but at this point think I’ll work on toning and not worry about the scale anymore!

Sexy in time for Halloween

How many times have you looked at all the latest Halloween costumes and snottily pointed out that they're too sexy these days, but in the back of your mind you know part of your issue with them is that you can't fit in one? Okay, maybe that's just me.

This is the costume I want this year. Although I'm slightly irritated that the wings don't come with it.
How is it a fairy costume without the wings?!

As some of my readers know, I participated in a DietBet a few months ago and got down to my lowest weight in years! It was awesome. But the stresses of separation combined with new meds and my total lack of motivation the last two months resulted in some weight gain and loss of muscle tone.My "fat pants" are snug. My back fat is bulging. Ugh. That about sums up how I feel about that. So in order to try to get to my goal weight (125 pounds), tone up, and just plain feel better, I'm doing two things. I hope my friends and readers will join me!

1.  DietBet - You bet $40 you can lose 4% of your weight in 28-days. Weigh-in on the first day and the last day of the challenge by submitting two pictures to the game. Lose weight in whatever way works best for you. At the end of the game, everyone who meets their goal is a winner and the pot gets split between them. In addition, the winners will be be entered into a drawing for the following prizes: a $25 Victoria Secret gift card, a bottle of wine, a Mary Kay miniature fragrance set, and a Mary Kay mint blossom pedicure set. Click here and sign up now- my game starts on Monday, September 17. (I've just emailed support to change the date from the 10th to the 17th, so ignore that it says the game starts now!) Remember, as long as you meet your goal you at least get your $40 back. My last game had a $50 buy-in. The winners wound up with $83 each. 
2. The Pish Posh Challenge - The wonderful Pish Posh is also doing a weight loss challenge; hers doesn't cost any money, though. Check out her 8 week challenge here. I'm joining a little late - but what the heck.

If you're really intense, check out the Whole Life Challenge. I was going to try this out after hearing about it from Crossfit Echelon, but I don't have another $40 right now and I'm not sure I'm ready for this kind of commitment. This is an 8-week challenge and the last day to sign up is September 14.
Here's a summary of how it works: "The Whole Life Challenge is an 8-week health and fitness game designed for you to see what kind of impact you can have on your body, fitness, and lifestyle if you commit yourself to a specific structure. There are three categories for the game - Performance Results, Physical Results, and Lifestyle and Accountability. This is not just a “change your body” challenge. It is a “who you are” challenge! Nutrition, workouts, mobilization, supplements, daily accounting, community engagement -- if you play all out you won’t believe the results you can get!"

It's the food part of this I'm not sure I can commit to... I think I'll take baby steps on that part.

And here are pictures from last year's Halloween costume (Mrs. Edward Scissorhands), just for fun.

I Bet You CAN Lose Weight: 4% in 28 days

Before I can post about the roller coaster ride my life has been over the past week and a half, I’ve decided I must write about my upcoming DietBet. I need participants! 

Exactly how I felt when I got on the scale last month. This is from some site on losing weight by going herbal.

(Disclaimer: By the way, this is not a sponsored post. DietBet won’t even know I’m writing this until after it’s posted, when they may chastise me and tell me I can’t use their name or something. I don’t know about rules when it comes to blogging.)

In February, SelfishMom convinced me to join her DietBet. I’d been slowly letting the weight creep back on, so this was a great incentive to get my growing ass moving again.  It’s just what it sounds like – you make a bet based on losing weight.  I wasn’t sure I could do it, but I figured losing money is always a motivator to me so why not try it?  I won: my $50 back plus an additional $33. And I lost 8 pounds.  

Several of my friends thought this was a cool idea and wanted to participate.  With an upcoming beach vacation in May (now cancelled, and that’s another post in itself, part of the whole damn roller coaster ride), I figured I’d host my own bet.

A very ugly picture of my messy room and what I looked like going into my first DietBet.

Here are some basics.

• The game starts on Monday, April 9. This lets everyone go have fun the week before Easter (it’s Spring Break around here) and enjoy their Easter brunches or candy or whatever (for those who celebrate) and weigh in on Monday.
• Buy-in is $50.
• Bet is that you will lose 4% of your current body weight in 28 days.  (Game ends on Monday, May 7.)
• The pot gets split between everyone who meets the goal of 4%. There’s no special award for losing the most weight or losing weight the fastest.  If you meet the goal, you win.
• Participant must be at least 18-years-old.
• You can lose weight through any method that works for you. There’s no set diet plan, nothing to buy, no specific exercises.

Because I have people from all over participating, there is room for cheating. I’m inviting people I trust and asking them to invite people they trust. Hopefully there are no sore losers out there who are intent on cheating us out of our money.

How it works:

1. E-mail me or leave me a comment with your contact information and I’ll send you an invitation.
2. Follow the link I send and register on the DietBet site. You do not need to pay when you accept the invitation, but I must receive your money before the game begins.  You’ll need to send the money via PayPal.  I’ll send more directions when you request an invite.
3. On Monday, April 9, weigh in. This is where trust comes in.  You’ll email or picture message me a picture of you on the scale, and the picture must show the weight on the scale. You can take this picture looking down at your feet.  Use the same scale, dress the same way  you will dress and weigh in at the same time of day you will on May 7.  Don’t layer up for April 9 and then get on the scale naked on May 7.  Or pig out all day for weigh in and then weigh before you eat anything on the final day.
4. Go about the next 28 days doing what works for you as far as losing weight. Encourage or set-up friendly competition with the other participants.
5. On May 7, weigh in and again send me a picture. Once I have everyone’s weights I’ll let you know how many people met the goal and get the money sent out.

During my DietBet I really looked forward to interacting with other players. Some were on the DietBet site regularly, posting successes and frustrations.  Others we didn’t hear from at all other than weigh in.  It’s completely up to you how much you want to participate in the site. You can find other people to talk to on Twitter using the #DietBet hashtag.

So, comment or email me if you want to participate. If you’re a blogger, leave me a link to your page. I may require references or background check. J

What have you got to lose, other than weight, and maybe $50?

My goal weight. This isn't a great picture. Go to my previous post for a picture of my true goal!  Yes, it is inappropriate to ask me if I'm wearing anything underneath this dress.