This year, Chad and I embarked on a fitness journey. We decided to challenge ourselves, and go somewhere we hadn’t before.
I know, I know. We all see this coming: new year, a new plan for a healthier lifestyle. It’s a cliche that we all seem to go through. But who can truly be cynical about an earnest attempt to lead a better life?
Not me. Which is why we are a few weeks into a diet bet challenge, with our momentum only increasing. We are here to win, people. And we just might.
The Basics
Essentially, there are seven of us competing in this challenge. We all have an individual calorie goal; meeting in results in earning points, blowing it leads to point reduction. At the end of six weeks, we’ll tally our points, which will then be converted into dollars.
Diet Bet Challenge Breakdown
Summary
This challenge is primarily diet-focused, operating with a daily point system. Every person uses the MyFitnessPal app to determine their daily calorie goal and track their food and exercise each day.
The main goal is to stay under your calorie goal per day. If you do, plus point. If you don’t, minus points. Although exercise is not worth any points, working out 3 times per week earns a cheat day for the next week, which allows a bonus 500 calories. Equally important to note, if you don’t use your cheat day, you can get points instead.
Each point is equal to a dollar. During bi-weekly check-ins, points are recorded, and tallied at the very end of the challenge. As a result, losers pay the winner the difference in points. For example, if I had 5 points as the winner and Chad had 2, he would pay me $3. In the end, the winner will receive money from everyone else.
Players
As many as you’d like
Time Frame
Ours is a 6-week time frame, with check-ins every 2 weeks.
Rules
1. Stay under your daily calorie goal. (If not, points will reflect.)
2. Track your meals in the app.
3. Track your exercise in the app.
Point System
Here are the point allotments, per day:
+1 point for under caloric goal
-1 point for 0-500 over caloric goal
-2 points for >500 over caloric goal
Cheat days have a caloric limit of +1000 calories over caloric goal. If below this value then +1, but if over then -1.
Additionally, if a participant fails to log caloric intake for a day it is assumed >500 over caloric goal, so -2 points.
Tracking
There are 2 forms of tracking:
- Through the MyFitnessPal app. You must log your food every day. This is also where you log any fitness activity.
Note: If you do not log your food activity, you will automatically lose 1 point.
- Someone should track of all points on a spreadsheet that everyone has access to. This is an ongoing tally to see who is winning, losing, etc.
Money
As if fitness isn’t enough of a motivator, there will also be some financial pressure. Money will not be paid until the end of the competition. However, check-ins will determine how much money is given to the winner at the end of the competition.
Each point correlates to $1. To pay at the end, we will use either cash or Venmo. This is a money-sending app. We will exchange usernames to send the money directly to the winner.
Here is a break-down of the money scoring:
Bi-Weekly Winner’s Pot = (check-in winner point total) – (check-in loser point total)
Overall Winner’s Pot = (winner’s bi-weekly pot total) – (loser’s bi-weekly pot total)
Check-In
Every two weeks, there will be a check-in. At this time, we will compare points, and get a progress report on how everyone is doing. The purpose of this is to keep everyone interested and engaged.
Also, participants can choose to leave the competition at the time of check-ins.
The final check in is at the end of the 6 weeks, where all the points will be added up for a grand finale winner. This is when payment will be tallied and given to the winner of the challenge.
Who’s in?
I’ll keep you updated on our challenge and how it’s going. Cheers!
This sounds like such an interesting idea! I can never get into tracking on myfitnesspal, as it isn’t my thing but I’m glad to hear it’s working for you and giving you motivation! Hope you win hahah
So far so good! Honestly I feel you on the tracking. The past 3 days I haven’t been up on it, and I’m dreading going through and back-logging. Lesson learned—it’s much better if I track as I go, even though it’s a lot of effort. Thanks! I hope I win too haha. Thanks for reading!
This is so interesting angel! Money is a really great incentive and you need that type of motivation on those harder days!
Love Casey x
http://Www.casestreetx.com
Sometimes that’s the push we need! Thank you for reading. <3 xx
This sounds fun and interesting. I suck at controlling what I eat and I might as well lose track. Currently working on consistency and the quantitiy of food I take will probaly give this a try in the near future. Thank you for sharing, Wishing you all the best, hope you win😊
I feel you! I have just fallen a little behind within the past few days, and it’s a struggle to play catch up. but I think overall I’m doing okay, just need a tiny reset! and thank you so much 🙂
This looks like such a good idea! Really good way to keep your motivation up and you’ll benefit from it in the long run!
I really hope so! It’s so important to make lasting habits. Thank you for reading! 🙂
This sounds like a fab idea! Definitely something I’d be willing to do with my partner and I like the fact it’s very like a game. Definitely would help you stay on target especially as I can be a little competitive with him 😉 honestly, great idea savannah! 😊
Ashleigh x
http://www.thestoryofashleighdavis.com
I think part of why I like it so much is because I get to be competitive! The idea of winning sometimes keeps me going, plus it’s just fun. Thanks for reading and giving your feedback! 🙂
What a great idea! I am currently trying to loose weight, but I need some extra motivation! To get my friends (also dieting) to compete with me would be great! Thank you for this post, it’s really helpful xxx
Ashley
https://lellalee.com
Yes! Sometimes I feel like other people are better motivators than myself, even if they just add an extra small layer of pressure. Good luck to you, and thanks for reading! 🙂
This is a great idea! 🙂
I think making it into a challenge will give people motivation to stick to their goals. I’ve had friends of mine mention recently that they need to get motivated, and this may be what we need!
Thanks so much for sharing!
Fran x
The small added dose of pressure from friends and family really helps to hold me accountable! It’s also just fun to have a group chat with a little bit of kind-spirited trash talk and cheerful motivation. I hope you guys can do something that works for you! Thank you for reading. 🙂
The My Fitness Pal app sounds like an interesting app that does it all. It tracks food and exercise daily to determine your daily calorie intake. I didn’t realize how comprehensive these apps are getting. Good luck on your journey.
Apps have really come a far way! It also syncs with other fitness devices, like a Fitbit or Apple Watch. It’s a far cry from where apps began. Thank you for reading!
This is such a great challenge! It sounds like it would really up motivation! ☺️
Jenny • http://www.sparkleandstyleblogger.wordpress.com
Thank you! I think it’s definitely working so far. 🙂
I don’t need to lose weight (I need to gain tbh but it’s difficult), but best of luck!
I feel ya and have been there! Some of the people are doing it just to be healthier/get into better shape. Like the app lets you choose whether you’d like to lose, maintain, or gain weight, and helps you come up with a plan to do so. But thank you!
I’ve heard a lot about these diet bet challenges, they sound like a great way to motivate a group of people!
Britt | http://alternativelyspeaking.ca
They are a great way to get me going, for sure! Thanks for reading. 🙂
This sounds like such a great challenge. I love fitness apps like this and use the WE one myself to track my food and activity.
Oh nice! I’ll have to look into that and do some research. I think that My Fitness Pal is really great for starting when momentum is high. But now, a few months later, it feels like more of a struggle to maintain and keep it up at such a high level of involvement. Thanks for reading!