Weight loss – using the psychology of incentives
I have decided to give £300 to a charity if I don’t meet my weight goal targets. The trouble is the charity I have chosen (which I will not name) is one I don’t like. It’s not that I just don’t like them. I dislike everything that they stand for, their attitude and their behaviours. In the normal scheme of life, I wouldn’t give to them in a million years. But, I will give to them if I don’t meet my weight loss goals. It will be horrible, but I will give.
So, my goal is to be less than 70kg by 23 March 2012. But to avoid me going on a crash diet the week before, I’ll set myself two way points:
Now: 75.7kg
31 January 2012 target: 73.6kg
29 February 2012 target: 71.5kg
23 March 2012 target: 69.9kg
The plan is to give £100 to this (anti-) charity if I don’t hit each of the targets. The money will roll forward so that if I meet the first two but don’t get to under 70kg then they will get the whole of the £300.
5.8kg is around 12.8 pounds. So that is roughly a pound per week. Very achievable. And if I don’t achieve it, very embarrassing paying the money to my anti-charity.