Pay Scale
Now Legal: Gambling on Your Weight

You know the odds. You see what you’re up against.

Halloween. Thanksgiving. Christmas. A trifecta of gluttony—the pie, the eggnog... the chocolate turkeys.
 
For most people, probably not the best time to start a diet. And an even worse time to bet on it.

But every now and again, you’ve been known to roll the dice.

Enter Lose It or Lose It, a website where you’ll gamble on your own weight loss, online now.

Think of this as a boot camp, Vegas-style (well, minus the all-you-can-eat-prime-rib). You’ll start by setting a target weight, at which point you’ll have 10 weeks to reach it. Your motivation: a wager of your own cash, from $100 to $5,000. Hit your goal each week, and the money stays in your account. Fall short, and the website takes a cut of the pot for itself.

Of course, with these kinds of stakes, you’ll have to pass rigorous weekly testing and examinations by a crack team of personal trainers, retired CIA interrogators and either Hans or Franz. Okay, not really—you’ll actually just email a photograph of you on a scale. But that photo will be strictly reviewed and judged for authenticity.

Oh, and while we don’t see anything about them tempting you to go off your diet, let’s just say we don’t see any rules saying they can’t...

Which probably explains the random cheeseburger photos you’ve been forwarded.