Have you ever set a goal to lose a specific amount of weight in a specific time frame and then just not followed through?  Welcome to my world.  I'm guessing it's crowded here.

Every time I have done a DietBet, I have set that goal and a few times I have even followed through.  When I do, it's always worth it and not just for the money.  I think most of my bets that I have won have netted between $11 and $20.  I'm sure I could do less work over that time period and earn more.  Don't get me started on the ones I've lost.

Of course you do it for the weight loss and associated benefits and the money is just a motivator and/or benefit at the end.

Last April, I did the Whole 30 and I was successful.  I lost 13 lbs in 30 days, but I suffered through not eating what I wanted to eat and worst of all (for me), no diet soda.  I know it sounds like a lot of whine and cheese, but there wasn't even any cheese :-(

Throughout the summer, I put back on 5 of the 13 lbs (most of it in the first 10 days), but was doing well maintaining at least 8 lbs of the lost weight.  To be clear, I didn't really do the transition period recommended by Whole 30, so it's all my fault and I knew what I was doing ...

So, when my surgeon recommended I lose more weight before a surgery I need, I knew that it would be hard for me to just do on my own.  He referred me to a program that is medically supervised and when I went to their orientation, they were not high pressure.  After thinking about it, I decided to take the plunge.

In most ways, it's more strict than Whole 30.  It's meal replacement like Nutri-Systems, so you eat 2 prepackaged meals, three shakes (and in the verision I chose, I also add 5 cups of fruit/veggies a day).  Diet soda is allowed (as are any non-caloric beverages), so I don't have that craving, but lean proteins are for phase 2 which comes only after reaching your desired weight level.  No cheat days if you do it right and the worst part, it is a little expensive... $100 a month for the coaching and you have to buy the food.

So, It's definitely not the cheapest way to go, but for someone who has a history of good intentions and low follow-through, it works.  It was rated as one of the top diets by Newsweek (#2 for weight loss) and after 3 weeks, I'm down 12 lbs and at my lowest weight in 4 years.

So, lots of blandness for the next 4-5 months, but then, maybe then, I'll get this thing right ...

More later ...