Game On Diet Says Pairing Up is Key to Success

Game On! Diet book costs $15

The Game On! Diet subscribes to the “safety in numbers” theory. As the web site that promotes the book “The Game On! Diet,” it’s not really a diet at all. It’s a strategy. The book’s subtitle is “Kick Your Friend’s Butt While Shrinking Your Own.”

Why someone would pay to be told that you’ll be more successful at weight loss, working out, eating healthy or anything if you have moral support and competition motivating you, I don’t know. Still, people have great things to say about the humor and ideas in this book, so I guess there is more to it than that.

Get  your Game On! for free

Because I like to help my readers save money, I have collected some of the wisdom sold in “The Game On! Diet” book and added a little of my own. You should never have to worry about getting a no faxing payday loan in order to learn to lose weight.

Sure, there are some pricey weight loss methods out there that do work. Most of them involve having someone else pick your meals and portions for you. Pills, drinks and other weight loss supplements are usually ineffective and often dangerous. Common sense is free.

Common Sense Item No. 1

I start this list of common sense items assuming that you went to health class in junior high. Thus, I am assuming you know about the food pyramid, regular exercise and calories. That said, Common Sense Item No. 1 is: Get a partner. In the case of the Game On! Diet, get partners. This book is geared toward pitting two teams against each other in a battle of self-control and motivation.

You know as well as I do that if you’re not already getting exercise on a regular basis, you’re more likely to start if you are obligated to participate in it with someone else. Whatever the reason is, whether it’s shame for not following through with goals and plans or because it’s just more fun than doing it alone, people are much more likely to follow through with plans that involve other people.

Common Sense Item No. 2

Compete. Humans are almost as motivated by competition as they are unmotivated to quit eating pizza. “The Game On! Diet” book gives participants a specific game plan. Unlike many other competitive weight loss programs, the Game On! Diet uses points earned, not weight lost, to determine the winner.

This is where I think “The Game On! Diet” is really smart. Instead of focusing on the scale and the number of pounds that drop from it, it shifts the focus to making good decisions every day. Points are awarded for eating healthy and exercising, not for losing weight. Points are deducted for snacking and making other unhealthy choices.

Common Sense Item No. 3

Use your brain. Clearly, the Game On! Diet is a very good motivator. One of the authors, Krista Vernoff, writes in the foreword:

On more than one occasion, I came home from a ten-hour work day, put the baby to bed, ate dinner, and watched TV with my husband, and then, at midnight, realized I hadn’t exercised, which meant losing serious points for myself and for my team, which meant that there was no way I was going to bed without exercising first. A working mom—a working writer—exercising at midnight? I think this may be previously unheard of in the history of the world.

But let me point out that she wrote the book. Thus, “The Game On! Diet” book was not around when she went through her transformation. She and a friend dreamed it up. So, if you don’t have $15 to spare, use your own thinking skills and come up with a healthy eating and exercise competition game of your own. I realize that could be easier said than done, so if you want to read about the successful method Krista Vernoff used, check out the book. You can read the first few chapters at that link, which just might be enough to get you going!