Is one of your New Year’s resolutions to lose weight? What if I was to tell you that there are ways to get paid to lose weight? That sure makes the topic a bit more interesting, doesn’t it!
But it might seem too good to be true. Who would pay you to lose weight? The truth is there are a few ways you can get paid to lose weight. We’re going to highlight three of them for you today.
Read on to see if you can use one or more of these ways as a springboard for your weight loss goals.
Best Options to Make Money Losing Weight
Three of our favorite ways to make money losing weight are listed below. Each of the choices works a bit differently. Read them over and see if one or more might be right for helping you lose weight.
1. Healthy Wage
Healthy Wage launched a health and wellness company in 2009. Their goal? To make weight loss and fitness more fun and effective. You bet money on your weight loss and fitness results and win or lose depending on those results.
And we’re not talking small potatoes for cash prizes here. Healthy Wage’s top cash prize is an attractive $10,000.
Healthy Wage works with both companies and individuals. For example, the company you work for might set up a company-wide event. Employees can choose to participate and compete for the best results.
However, you can participate in what’s called a public challenge too. These challenges aren’t limited to corporate employee participation. Anyone can sign up and join in the fun.
When Deacon Hayes and his wife, Kim, wanted to lose weight, they decided to use Healthy Wage. They signed up for a Healthy Wage competition where they competed with others.
“The Healthy Wage competition we entered was fun and it held us accountable. My wife won her competition, which was nice because she made some money”.
“I lost mine, so I lost some money, but with Kim’s winnings it was a wash. And the important part was that we both lost weight”.
Healthy Wage has many different types of challenges to choose from. Here are some of the kinds of challenges they offer.
Healthy Wage Challenges
With Healthy Wage, you can participate in more than one challenge at a time. Here are some of the challenge options they’re currently offering.
The Healthy Wager Challenge
With this challenge, you choose the number of pounds you want to lose. Also, you select the amount of time you want to lose it in and the monthly wager you wish to place on your results.
There are minimums with this program. The minimum amount of time you can participate in is six months. And the minimum number of dollars you can contribute over those six months is $100.
First, you input your challenge numbers into Healthy Wage’s calculator. When you do that, it’ll give you an estimate of your potential winnings. The calculator lets you run experiments so you can find the right challenge and bet for you.
For example, when I visited the site, I entered in that I wanted to lose 30 pounds over nine months. I also entered that I would wager $50 a month on that goal.
The Healthy Wage website estimated my earnings as between $1390 and $1623 if I were to meet my goal of losing 30 pounds. Then after you share your email address with the site, they will give you your exact prize amount.
Once you place your bet, the prize amount is locked in. To win the prize, you must meet or exceed your goal by the end of the last day of the challenge. If you lose the weight early, you must maintain it.
But if you don’t meet your goal, you forfeit your contributions and any prize money.
The Healthy Wager Team Challenge
You can also participate in the Healthy Wager Team Challenge. For this challenge, you need to have a team of five. You can ask family members, friends or co-workers to participate.
This is a three-month challenge, and each person contributes $99 over three months ($33 per month). The payout is a hefty $10,000.
At the end of the three months, the team that has the greatest percentage of weight loss wins the $10,000 prize.
Personal Jackpots
Also, Healthy Wage has various Personal Jackpots going on at any given time. With the Personal Jackpots, your goal is to attain a 6% weight loss in three months.
All Personal Jackpot winners get paid with a split of the pot. The website shows you the pot amount before you sign up.
Step Challenges
Healthy Wage also has Step Challenges. With these challenges, you increase your daily walking steps and win cash. See personal challenge details on the website for more information.
Also, the home page of the Healthy Wage website has details for any other challenges that they might add.
Additional Details
For all of the challenges, you need to weigh in to verify how much you weigh. So you’ll need to get your weight verified twice; once at the beginning of your program and once at the end. But the weigh-in is super easy — you have two options:
- Download their mobile app (after you register). Then follow the simple, on-screen instructions to let one of their referees remotely witness your weigh-in [takes about two minutes].
OR - Make a short weigh-in video that you upload securely to their website.
You don’t need any special equipment for either method other than a smartphone and a scale.
Also, Healthy Wage has a referral program. You get a reward for each referral you send that signs up for the program. Healthy Wage will add $40 to your cash prize jackpot for each person you refer (and that signs up) to the program.
However, note that if you don’t win your challenge, you won’t get your referral bonuses.
Healthy Wage is Secure
Healthy Wage uses 256-bit encryption to protect your payment information. This is the same level of security that many big-name banks use. So you can be confident your payment information is safe and secure.
There are other rules as well with the program. See the website for additional information.
Who Can Participate?
Healthy Wage is open to residents of the United States, Canada and Mexico. The program is also open to residents of the United Kingdom, Australia, much of Latin America and most of Europe. See the website for additional details on eligibility.
How Do I Get Paid?
If you win your challenge, you can choose to get paid via your PayPal account or via a check. Should you decide to get paid via check, you’ll get your money in one to three weeks. If you choose PayPal as your payment method, you’ll get paid in two to five days.
Note that you may get charged PayPal fees if you choose to get paid via PayPal.
If you think Healthy Wage might not be the best route for you to help you lose weight, here are some alternatives. These other options offer ways you can get paid to lose weight too.
Related: Healthywage Review: Can You Really Get Paid To Lose Weight?
2. Evidation
Evidation works differently than Healthy Wage. It’s a fitness app that pays you to track your steps. The app is free, and it will pay you $10 for every 10,000 points you earn. You earn points by taking steps and other activities.
Deacon Hayes downloaded the Evidation app last year to help him keep his weight down and be accountable for his health.
“The Evidation app is really easy to use. It’s just a set it and forget it kind of an app. I just downloaded it and hooked it up to my fitness app such as FitBit and Google Fit”.
“I’ve only earned about $10 so far, so it’s not a huge money maker. However, it’s so easy to earn. Why not use it”?
Not Just a Step Tracker
Evidation isn’t just a step tracker. In fact, Evidation has over 20 apps you can choose from to help you get healthy and lose weight. Some examples of some of the activities you can earn points for include:
- tracking exercise activity
- logging food intake
- tracking sleep activity
- weighing yourself
- meditating
- sharing your journey on social media
And more. You can earn up to 80 points a day for tracking exercise, and additional points for other activities.
In addition, the Evidation app has offers you can take advantage of to earn even more points. For example, you can participate in offers for health studies or offers to refer friends to use the app.
Rewards are paid out via bank account deposit or PayPal. It takes roughly three to seven days to get your reward once you’ve made the request.
Bonus: You can also donate the money you earn with Evidation to charity.
Evidation has paid out over $500,000 to members to date. There’s no maximum on how much money you can earn with Evidation.
3. DietBet
DietBet works similar to Healthy Wage. They have games – or bets – you can sign up and join in on. Or you can create your own with family and friends.
Everyone throws a bit of cash into the pot, and at the end of the challenge the winnings are split up between the (weight) losers.
Patty of Phoenix, Arizona, joined DietBet after being challenged by a fitness celebrity she follows. “In January, I decided it was time to lose the extra weight I’d gained after having my first baby”.
“A fitness celebrity I follow was kicking off a big group challenge on DietBet and it motivated me to join. To sign up I downloaded the app, paid the fee and took my weigh-in pictures”.
“In 28 days, I made small changes that converted to a overall 4% (6.1 lbs.) weight loss. I paid $30 to join the bet and cashed out $38.07 at the end of the bet. It was simple, motivating and fun!”
When you sign up with DietBet you start by submitting two photos. One is of you standing on a scale, the other is a picture of the numbers on the scale.
Three Programs to Choose From
DietBet gives you three programs to choose from: the Kickstarter, the Transformer and the Maintainer.
With the Kickstarter program you’ve got 28 days to lose four percent of your current weight. After your 28 days are complete, you send in another weigh-in.
If you’ve completed your 4% challenge successfully, you get a part of the winnings.
With the Transformer program, your goal is to lose ten percent of your body weight within six months. You can pay your entire bet up front or spread it out over six months.
With the Maintainer program, you maintain your initial weight for 12 months. There’s a two percent daily fluctuation allowed with this program.
Also, you’re allowed to lose up to four percent of your body weight. However, the main goal of this program is to help you keep the weight off.
Why it Works
The company says DietBet works because people get inspired by the accountability and social support.
DietBet winners have earned over $62 million to date. They’ve got a variety of games to choose from; starting at four-week long games up to twelve-month long games. Visit their website through the link above for more information.
4. MyWalgreens
You can do more at Walgreens than shop for your medications and household goods. Now you can get paid to reach your health goals. MyWalgreens has a 4-week health challenge that pays you in Walgreens Cash rewards for each week you reach your goal.
Only myWalgreens members can play, but it’s free to join.
Each myWalgreens challenge starts on Monday and ends seven days later. All you have to do is complete a challenge, and you’ll earn $1 in Walgreens Cash for the month ($0.25 per week). If you meet the challenge every week for four weeks, you get an extra spin which may earn you another $2 in Walgreens cash.
What’s the Challenge?
As a myWalgreens member, you can set two goals – physical activity and lifestyle goals. To track your progress, you can use a tracking device or enter your progress manually, checking off the days you meet your goals.
When you click on Health Goals in your myWalgreens dashboard, you’ll see the health goals you can use. Choose two goals for the greatest chances of winning your Walgreens cash.
5. Sweatcoin
Sweatcoin pays you to walk. But it doesn’t pay you in cash. Instead, it pays you in Sweatcoin, a virtual currency you can use to buy products in their store or donate to charity.
The Sweatcoin app has been rated the top app in over 60 countries because when you improve your health, you benefit society.
So what can you do with your Sweatcoin?
They offer thousands of products to choose from to reward yourself for your hard work. They include access to apps like Audible and Headspace to physical products like iPhones and Apple watches.
If you’d prefer, you can donate your earnings to top charities, including African Wildlife, Cancer Research, or Save the Children, to name a few.
The British Journal of Sports Medicine found that Sweatcoin users increase their activity by 20% just by earning Sweatcoins.
Don’t worry about your privacy, either. Sweatcoin doesn’t share your information with any third parties – privacy is their number one concern.
How Sweatcoins Get Their Value
You might wonder how Sweatcoins get value. What does the app have to benefit from it?
It’s not the app that benefits but the companies that reward you. The companies offering rewards benefit from better overall health in their clients. Whether they are health insurance companies with fewer claims because people are healthier or other brands that focus on health consciousness, they are all companies that play a role in the health of our society.
6. Stickk
Stickk is an app committed to helping you ‘stick to’ your goals. If you’re tired of setting goals and, after only a few days giving up, you aren’t alone, and that’s what Stickk wants to help.
Stickk calls itself a commitment platform because it provides motivation to complete the task or goal you set.
How Stickk Started
Dean Karlan, a professor of Behavioral Economics, did some research on how to create behavioral change. He knew it wasn’t that people weren’t setting goals but that they couldn’t change their habits long enough to see the difference they wanted.
Dean discovered that people were much more likely to reach their goals when they signed a commitment contract, so that’s what he created with Stickk alongside his partner Ian Ayres, another Yale professor.
How Stickk Works
Stickk bridges the gap between setting goals and achieving them with the Commitment Contract. This binding agreement is an agreement with yourself. You put money on the line to keep yourself motivated and define the steps you’ll take to reach your goal.
You choose your goal and set the parameters. You are 100% in charge of the process. Next, you’ll have a referee watching over your progress and your ‘bet’ on the line.
Along the way, you’ll post progress pictures and even bring friends and family on board to be your support.
Right now, there’s $59,000 at stake and 580,000 commitments created. Whether your goal is to walk more, lose 10 pounds, eat healthier, or lift more weights, make a contract with yourself and get going.
7. WayBetter
Losing weight shouldn’t be painful; it should be fun, and that’s why WayBetter was created. The premise of WayBetter is to make losing weight fun by creating social games that help you build momentum to reach your goals.
Each game is a multi-week challenge. You can choose a single activity or a more holistic approach to weight loss. They help you achieve your goals by breaking them down into smaller goals so it doesn’t feel so overwhelming.
You can set goals to lose weight, take more steps, eat better, or any other health-related goal.
Starting Your Membership
It’s free to start WayBetter, but if you decide to move forward, you’ll need a membership. It begins with a free quiz that narrows down your habits and what goals you want to set. Then, each new member gets a free trial, but you must buy a membership to continue.
Membership costs $69 for six months.
You’ll then have a plan to follow and support along the way.
If you prefer to bet against yourself for extra motivation, you can join a WayBetter game and place the required wager. If you meet the challenge, you’ll get your money back plus a little extra.
All members playing the game have money ‘in the pot.’ Everyone who finishes successfully splits the pot.
The idea behind WayBetter is to make getting fit and losing weight a social task. No one should feel alone or upset for not achieving a goal. Working together makes you feel motivated, supported, and ready to reach your health goals.
Think of WayBetter as a ‘way better’ way to diet and exercise. They don’t want you to consider healthy eating a diet or exercise a chore. Instead, they put the fun into taking care of yourself and achieving better health, and who knows? Along the way, you might even make a little money too.
Summary
According to Healthy Wage, research has shown that cash rewards have increased weight loss success. Also, research shows that people are more effective at losing weight when their own money is on the line.
So if you feel like you need extra motivation to reach your goal of losing weight, think about trying one of the options listed above.
Putting money on the line might just give you the motivation you need to make some positive changes to your health. And who knew you could get paid to walk?
