Diet Hints, Hacks & Tricks

cake2go pop art lady with heart hands
cake2go pop art lady with heart hands

Using Money as a Weight Loss Challenge for Myself (and possibly for charity)

by | Jul 21, 2021 | Dieting Tricks | 0 comments

I’ve decided to create a weight loss challenge for myself to really dig deep into the motivation driving me to reach my goals. I’m already focusing on an overall balanced diet, (mostly) regular exercise, and taking APEX-TX5 because my results were happening so slowly. Now, I’m turning my attention to what is going to make me stick to it until I get there.  I have the tools. Now, I just need the mindset.

A Weight Loss Challenge Involving Money Will Make Me Stick to It

I’m using money as a motivator because I know that I’m cheap, so a weight loss challenge that says I could lose money will make me work harder to prevent that from happening.

Here’s the deal I’ve made with myself. I’ll be using a money jar, because being able to see it all the time will remind me to keep it up. Plus, the act of physically adding money to the jar will be more impactful, I think.

The Rules

It’s a 30-day/month long weight loss challenge. I feel that this is a good span of time to work with because at the end of the month, I can restart it exactly the same way, or tweak it and decide if I want to continue in a slightly different way to make it work better.

Here are the rules to my weight loss challenge:

  • Set a goal for the month and add that goal to my calendar 30 days from the start. The goal must be reasonable. Not too difficult to be unhealthy or unsustainable, but not so easy that it’s a practically guaranteed win. I’m aiming for 1 pound per week, plus “one for the pot” – 5 pounds total – for the first month of my weight loss challenge.
  • Add $2 per day to a clear jar (a clean pickle jar, in my case) for every day that I have not yet reached the goal.
  • If I reach my goal, I get to take that money and do what I want with it – save it, buy something with it, or whatever I want.
  • If I don’t reach my goal, that money must be donated. I’ve decided to make my donation to the Foundation to Decrease World Suck if that’s the case.

I decided on $2 per day for my weight loss challenge amount because it’s enough that I can afford it to tuck it aside, but enough that it will hurt if I have to let it go.  At least it will be to charity, so I will be guilted into actually living up to my promise to myself!  I have a strong feeling that if I reach my goal, I’ll still split the amount with the charity, so we both “win”.  We’ll see!  Want to try it with me? Join me on Facebook and/or Twitter!

Most of Us Think we’re Making Far Better Healthy Food Choices Than We Are

Most of Us Think we’re Making Far Better Healthy Food Choices Than We Are

I like to think that I’m making some healthy food choices, for the most part. I know my diet isn’t perfect. I don’t even aim for perfect. I’d have to give up too much of my favorite treats to get to that point. I don’t even think that focusing too much on nutrition is great for your overall wellbeing. A bit of fun has its place now and then. That said, according to this new study I’ve read, we Americans think we’re doing far better than we are, and it’s really holding us back!

What Exactly is a Calorie Deficit for Weight Loss?

What Exactly is a Calorie Deficit for Weight Loss?

I’d heard about the need for a calorie deficit about a million times before I actually looked into what it was. Now, I understand that the name pretty much explains what it is. I got it on the most basic level. If I wanted to lose weight, I needed to burn more calories than I was taking in. That said, when it comes to putting things into practice, the situation became less obvious to me. I admit that it took freaking forever for me to actually look it up.

What Exactly is a Calorie Deficit for Weight Loss?

What Exactly is a Calorie Deficit for Weight Loss?

I’d heard about the need for a calorie deficit about a million times before I actually looked into what it was. Now, I understand that the name pretty much explains what it is. I got it on the most basic level. If I wanted to lose weight, I needed to burn more calories than I was taking in. That said, when it comes to putting things into practice, the situation became less obvious to me. I admit that it took freaking forever for me to actually look it up.

Running and Dehydration: A Brutal Combination

Running and Dehydration: A Brutal Combination

Running and dehydration pretty much go hand-in-hand during the summer months. As someone who has taken up running relatively recently and is facing her first summer with the sport, this is very new to me, though not unexpected. That said, as I’ve been researching, I’ve also discovered that the combination, while brutal, isn’t exactly what many of us assume it is, particularly when it comes to difficulty level.