Finding a partner or a social way of losing weight is often touted as one of the most effective ways to shed pounds. A few years ago Biggest Loser inspired similar weight loss challenges across the country, but now people are upping the ante. Dieters want friends and colleagues to put their money where their waist is.
“Diet betting is definitely becoming more popular among friends, relatives and co-workers,” Joy Bauer, author of Joy’s Life Diet, told the New York Times. “It makes life easier if everyone around you is cutting calories, and the amicable competition keeps people driven.”
For Samwoo Ee, the first bet was just a warm-up.
Mr. Ee, 30, worked at an Internet company in SoHo, and had been competing with a colleague to see who could lose more weight. But they had both stopped going to the gym because of long hours at the office. In search of more motivation, they turned up the pressure: they entered into a formal one-month wager to see who could cut the higher percentage of their body mass index.
“It got pretty competitive,” said Mr. Ee, who weighed 248 at the time. “We used to do push-ups every hour in front of each other’s cubicles. And he used to leave really good chocolate on my desk.”
His co-worker, Daniel Fries, won the first month, after losing about 16 pounds to Mr. Ee’s 10, and Mr. Ee paid him $20. Then, Mr. Ee said, “it got serious.”
Read the rest of the story at the New York Times.