In my last post How I Regained the Weight I Lost, I mentioned the bet.
Yesterday I entered a bet with three others. We are all going to lose 20 pounds. If I lose, I will be required to go 1 week without coffee. My body could use the break, so this is a win-win.
To me this was the least interesting part of the post, but it is what has gathered the most attention, both online and off. So before I do the post on how I plan to lose the 20 pounds, I want to cover the bet.
Last week I spent several hours working on my health goals and what it would take to accomplish them. Once I had all the data in front of me, it was clear that I needed to drop 20 pounds to help my knee heal. I was already drafting the post when I mentioned this to a friend. This friend liked my goal and adopted it as her own. It was her idea to make it a competition. On Sunday two more friends were inspired to join the bet.
Geoff had a great comment on what makes a motivating bet. For me the motivation is not winning the bet, as I would gladly give up coffee for a week to see my 3 friends lose 20 pounds. My motivation it is getting my knee healthy again. Posting a blog post also provides a level of accountability that I used successfully when I went a month without coffee. In the post A Month Without Coffee – Here Goes!, I laid out the case both for and against publicly announcing your goals. I decided to test being publicly accountable and it worked.
The thought of me suffering a week without coffee is motivating to my friends in the bet. Yet my motivation is to avoid going another summer in Seattle with restricted movement.
When summer hits in Seattle, I don’t want to be sitting down icing my knee.
Anemone
Feb 26, 2014 — 3:25 pm
Ok, but how long do you have to lose the 20lbs? Is it whoever loses them first? (And if I lose 20 lbs first do I win something? What can I say – I’m competitive. Not that I know what I weigh now or anything. But I figure that’s 4 inches off the waist. Maybe I should measure my waist?)
At any rate, good luck and have fun with it.
MAS
Feb 26, 2014 — 4:56 pm
@Anemone – We put a 5 month limit. If no one has won by then, the person with the most pounds lost will be declared the winner.
newtopaleo
Feb 26, 2014 — 6:20 pm
Try any red LED light or incandescent light on your knee?
Geoff
Feb 26, 2014 — 6:47 pm
MAS – You are in the right frame of mind. The pain you would experience from missing a summer exploring Seattle (to say nothing of the physical pain in your knee) is a strong motivation to lose those 20 pounds and heal your knee. Your weight loss goal has reached Dan John’s stage of “must” – you’ll get there.
Mike
Feb 26, 2014 — 8:01 pm
MAS: If you are a true coffee addict you will subconsciously deliberately lose the bet.
MAS
Feb 26, 2014 — 9:01 pm
@newtopaleo – No.
@Geoff – Thanks.
@Mike – I plan to go without coffee longer than 1 week once summer arrives, but not until the weight is off. If I could do a month in October, a week in the summer is no big thing.
glenn whitney
Feb 27, 2014 — 10:14 am
I think Mike could be right about the potential for subconscious undermining of your goal…
MAS
Feb 27, 2014 — 10:16 am
@Glenn – He’s not and to prove it, I will commit to going at least 1 week without coffee this summer even if I win the bet.
Mike
Feb 28, 2014 — 7:05 pm
MAS: Ha! Going one week without coffee?? Big Deal! Try a month or two.
MAS
Feb 28, 2014 — 7:07 pm
@Mike – How about October 2012?
https://ineedcoffee.com/a-month-without-coffee/
Cooper
Mar 18, 2014 — 1:28 pm
@Mike @glenn I don’t follow…wouldn’t a coffee addict be further motivated to reach his goal in order to prevent the week of abstinence?
MAS
Mar 18, 2014 — 3:49 pm
@Cooper – Because I stated that I was planning to go a week without coffee in the summer anyway.
The Side Bet is actually far more motivating to me.
https://criticalmas.org/2014/02/fat-loss-side-bet/