The DietBet  website turns dieting into a fun competition. And by "fun" I mean "lets you risk losing a pile of money to ensure that you lose weight." DietBet put up $5,000 dollars that I, the Dilettantes, and five other bloggers were all competing to win. And if we were successful at losing 4% of our body weight in one month, the winners (losers) would share the pot and a percentage of the winnings with a charity of our choice. We all selected  DC Central Kitchen  because we love what they do, and it somehow seemed perfect we were eating less so others could eat more. Anyway, after all of this, it all came down to our weigh-in last night. And true to our freakishly competitive form, we were all successful at losing at least 4% of our body weight. And because I'm on a roll, I'm going to continue with my healthy habits to get back to my fighting weight. Read the full article.

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That social accountability is the basis for DietBet, a weight-loss-wager website that launched Dec. 19…DietBet founder Jamie Rosen says users can send messages encouraging one another and track progress through an online scoreboard. "It becomes this fun social experience that's the opposite of what people think of dieting," he says. "It's not lonely or solitary." Read the full article.

DietBet.com is the latest site on the scene with the motto of "Lose weight with friends while taking their money." It launched in December and already has hundreds of people signed up in various contests. "Ours is not winner-take-all like 'The Biggest Loser' show," said founder Jamie Rosen. "Anyone who reaches their goal at the end of a four-week challenge splits the pot. It doesn't matter who crosses the finish line first. We're not making this like a gambling pool, but actually trying to help people lose weight." Read the full article.

Enter DietBet, a new social media game and website where people compete to see who can lose a given amount of weight in a four-week period with a cash prize as their reward. "We think it's a tool for dieters to get motivated and have fun," said Tina Basle, vice president of strategic alliances at DietBet. "People are keen to get fit and lose weight and keen to engage socially with one another." "No one is going to put their kid through college using DietBet, the main focus is on dieting," Basle said. "If you're a gambler, go to Vegas." Read the full article.