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HealthyWage Review – Get Paid to Lose Weight


Our rating

4.0/5

HealthyWage

  • Cost: Minimum $100 bet
  • Features: Individual and team weight loss challenges; step challenges
  • Advantages: Motivational help; high earning potential; additional weight loss resources and coaches; safe competition rules; easy to sign up
  • Disadvantages: Betting carries monetary risk; less earning opportunity for healthy individuals


Oftentimes, losing weight requires both physical and financial effort. On the one hand, you need to start an exercise regimen and make the effort to be more active. On the other, fitness related expenses like a gym membership, sportswear, and meal planning services can rack up quickly.

Although it’s possible to lose weight on a budget, for the most part, taking on a weight loss goal requires some investment. Considering the range of health effects of being overweight, this is money well spent. However, if money’s tight, buying a new pair of running shoes or paying for fitness coaching is probably the last thing on your mind.

Thankfully, it’s now possible to turn your weight loss goal into a windfall of cash if you’re willing to bet on yourself. With HealthyWage, you win cash prizes for reaching your personal weight loss target, and there’s up to $10,000 on the line for serious players.

If you want to lose weight and aren’t afraid of betting on yourself to succeed, HealthyWage is the perfect platform to kick-start your new weight loss goal.

What Is HealthyWage?

Most apps that pay you for exercising are free and make money by collecting user data for market research and promoting fitness-related products. In contrast, HealthyWage uses financial incentives to help people reach their weight loss target and to earn cash in the process.

According to HealthyWage, financial incentives increase the likelihood that you lose weight. This is largely because the negative outcome of losing money for not reaching your goal provides motivation to consistently exercise and eat healthier.

A 2008 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association also supports the use of financial incentives for weight loss. Although research on this strategy isn’t unanimous, it’s clear that putting money on the line can provide the boost of motivation that’s needed for consistent weight loss for some participants.

How Does HealthyWage Work?

If you’re interested in making money by losing weight with HealthyWage, there are five steps to follow:

Step 1: Use The HealthyWage Prize Calculator

HealthyWage pays participants if they reach their weight loss goal on time. Your HealthyWage bet must be at least $100. Additionally, you must aim to lose at least 10% of your body weight to participate. Finally, six months is the minimum bet time frame.

However, there are several factors that influence how much you earn, including:

  • Your weight, height, and gender
  • Your weight loss goal
  • The time frame for your goal
  • How much money you bet on yourself

The HealthyWage calculator lets you calculate your prize based on how many pounds you want to lose, your time frame, and your monthly bet. Afterwards, you enter your gender, current weight, and height to calculate your exact prize potential.

Examples of current HealthyWage calculations can help you gauge your earning potential:

  • Example 1: A 150-pound, 5’4” female who loses 20 pounds in six months betting $50 per month can win $353.76, for $53.76 in profit.
  • Example 2: A 230-pound, 6’0” male who loses 30 pounds in seven months betting $100 per month can win $813.81, for $113.81 in profit.
  • Example 3: A 240-pound, 5’7 female who loses 65 pounds in 10 months betting $200 per month can win $3,560, for $1,560 in profit.

Generally, aggressive weight loss goals result in a higher payout. In other words, losing more weight and betting more money pays you more if you’re successful.

According to HealthyWage, the average winner loses 40.7 pounds and gets paid $1,245 for their efforts. If you’re unhappy with your prize amount, you can adjust your target or bet for a more lucrative reward.

Step 2: Place Your Bet

HealthyWage lets you pay your weight loss bet upfront or in monthly payments. Depending on how much you wager, the upfront payment could be thousands of dollars, so it’s important to consider your options. HealthyWage accepts debit and credit card payments.

If you don’t meet your weight loss goal, you lose your entire bet. You can buy more time if you’re running out of time to reach your goal. This feature adds six months and six more payment installments to your challenge.

You can also adjust your HealthyWage terms within 30 days after starting a challenge. This includes changing your weight loss goal, bet amount, or time frame. You can’t make changes after this period, and HealthyWage doesn’t offer refunds on bets.

HealthyWage only provides a refund if you become pregnant or provide medical documentation within 14 days of a diagnosis that states that you shouldn’t participate in the challenge because of a medical condition or are physically unable to.

Step 3: Verify Starting Weight

Although you might think cheating is rampant for an online weight loss competition, HealthyWage has a system to keep participants honest. Additionally, you can verify your weight and enter a HealthyWage competition right from home.

You have two options to verify your starting weight:

  1. Mobile App. Download the HealthyWage app for Android or iOS after placing your bet. The app has on-screen instructions that explain how to take a weigh-in video.
  2. Manual Video. You can create your own weigh-in video that follows HealthyWage’s requirements and upload it to your account.

Both options require a scale and submitting your video to HealthyWage so an employee can verify your weigh-in is accurate. Your scale must be digital or an upright scale. HealthyWage states that your video is only seen by HealthyWage staff and is never shared publicly.

You have three weeks from starting your challenge to verify your weight. Note that your weight loss challenge clock begins when you verify your weight, not when you place your bet.

Step 4: Verify Weight Loss

Your weight loss challenge might span months or more than a year depending on your goals and preferences. Your success ultimately depends on whether you lose your target weight by the end of your challenge.

HealthyWage uses the same weight verification process as your weigh-in video if you reach your goal. You can submit a weigh-out video within two weeks of the end of the challenge, which is useful if you reach your weight target ahead of schedule.

If you reach your goal before the two-week mark, you have to maintain your weight until the end of your challenge to win. Therefore, setting realistic expectations and a reasonable time frame for your challenge is important.

Step 5: Get Paid

Once HealthyWage verifies your weigh-out video, you get paid through check or PayPal. You receive your initial bet amount plus additional cash, thereby recouping your weight loss investment plus a profit for your efforts.

You can also refer other participants to HealthyWage to boost your earnings. You earn an extra $40 for completing your weight loss goal for every new member you refer to HealthyWage. Note that your referrals must enter a weight loss challenge themselves to earn a $40 bonus.

HealthyWage doesn’t withhold any winnings for taxes. The IRS requires reporting prize and contest earnings of $600 or more, so keep this in mind if you’re filing your own taxes. If your winnings are $600 or more minus your initial bet, HealthyWage sends you a 1099-MISC form come tax season.

Key Features

Adopting a healthier lifestyle is a great decision at any age and weight, even without monetary incentive. HealthyWage only sweetens the deal by paying you, and there are several key features that make this platform more robust than a simple betting platform:

Other Ways to Earn

Individual challenges are HealthyWage’s most popular. However, there are additional game styles and team challenges, so there’s truly an option for every participant.

Other HealthyWage challenges include:

  • Step Challenges. Compete with a team to reach 1 million steps in 100 days or 300,000 steps in 30 days depending on the step challenge game you enter. Winning teams split a prize pool, and step challenges are less intense overall than a weight loss challenge.
  • Team Challenges. Compete in teams of five to win $10,000 in prize money. The teams with the largest-percentage weight loss win a portion of a prize pool, with a top prize of $10,000. Team challenges typically cost $100 per person to enter and last three months. If you weigh-in again after six months and maintain your weight loss, your entry fee is reimbursed.
  • Jackpot Challenges. Compete as an individual or as part of a team in a jackpot weight loss challenge. If your team achieves a 6% weight loss average, you win an equal portion of the prize pool. Entry fees vary between challenges and most challenges last three months.

If you want to lose weight fast, shorter challenges like jackpot and team challenges are ideal, especially because your entry fee is generally less expensive than the bet for a long-term weight loss challenge. If you want motivation to get your steps in, the step challenge is a perfect option.

Finally, you can boost your earnings by joining multiple challenges simultaneously. For example, you can join a personal and team-based weight loss challenge, or add a step challenge to the mix. This makes it easy to double up on your efforts and maximize winnings.

Safe Competition Rules

Losing weight is healthy, provided you have excess weight to lose and aren’t relying on a fad diet that isn’t sustainable.

Thankfully, HealthyWage takes the idea of healthy versus unhealthy weight loss seriously. There are several rules and incentives in place to ensure weight loss is always safe, including:

  • The Yo-Yo Rule. If you’re a previous HealthyWage winner, you must start future HealthyWage challenges at or below the final weight from your last challenge. This only applies if you’ve won $200 or more from a single challenge. However, this rule prevents potentially unhealthy weight fluctuations or intentionally gaining weight to win future challenges more easily.
  • Pregnancy. You can’t participate in HealthyWage if you’re pregnant. Additionally, if you become pregnant during a challenge, you have 60 days to submit proof of pregnancy from a doctor or clinic. HealthyWage then pauses your challenge, and you can resume or restart your challenge in the future if you receive clearance from a doctor.
  • Unhealthy Practices. HealthyWage states you can’t use unhealthy tricks to game the system. Examples of tricks include intentional weight gain before a challenge starts, starvation, water deprivation, or anything your doctor wouldn’t recommend. Granted, this is difficult to prove through video weigh-ins, and it’s up to HealthyWage to determine if participants are potentially risking their health to trick the system.

HealthyWage also incentivizes participants to maintain their weight loss, and this is why many challenges repay your entry fee if you keep the weight off for at least six months.

Advantages

There are several advantages to taking on a HealthyWage challenge aside from improving your overall health:

  1. Earning Potential. HealthyWage has $10,000 prizes for team challenges, and individual weight loss challenges can also be quite lucrative. As long as you’re serious about your goal and set a realistic target, there’s no reason why HealthyWage can’t boost your bank account while motivating you to become healthier.
  2. Extra Support. Monetary incentives aren’t the only way HealthyWage motivates you. For example, you can invite lifelines to your HealthyWage account to provide additional encouragement along the way. Lifelines can see your weight loss progress, and you can invite friends and family to support you during your challenge. HealthyWage’s website also has a forum and coaches that provide a wealth of information to assist you in losing weight.
  3. Availability. HealthyWage is available in the U.K., U.S., Canada, European Union, Mexico, Latin America, Australia, and most of Asia.
  4. Challenge Variety. Having the choice between step challenges and weight loss challenges means HealthyWage has an option for every participant.
  5. Motivational. If you struggle to lose weight and maintain your progress, adding monetary incentives to the equation could be a game-changer. This reinforcement model doesn’t always work, but if you need an extra incentive to stick to your workout plan and eat healthily, this system is worth trying.
  6. Corporate Partners. HealthyWage encourages corporate partnerships to let employees join a HealthyWage challenge at no cost. If you want to join a team challenge with your co-workers, consider presenting the idea to your employer, especially if your company already promotes healthy workplace initiatives.

Disadvantages

HealthyWage reviews are generally positive, and there’s a plethora of participant testimonials and national media coverage that support HealthyWage’s mission. However, there are still several disadvantages to consider before placing a bet:

  1. Risk. HealthyWage doesn’t give refunds, and unless there’s a medical emergency or pregnancy, you lose your money if you don’t meet your challenge. If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, this platform isn’t a safe financial move.
  2. Limited Earnings for Healthy Participants. HealthyWage’s step challenge lets you earn money for being more active. However, the serious prizes come from weight loss challenges. If you don’t want to lose at least 10% of your weight or are already at a healthy BMI, these challenges aren’t an option.
  3. Potential Band-Aid Solution. HealthyWage makes an effort to help participants maintain their weight loss. However, the responsibility is yours at the end of the day, and HealthyWage is just a motivational tool. If you don’t make long-term lifestyle changes like following a healthy diet, focusing on portion control, and regularly exercising, HealthyWage is just a short-term fix.

Final Word

If you decide to lose weight, it should always be for the right reasons, not because you’re following a diet trend. Besides, being active is a foundation for living a healthy and happy life. Ultimately, maintaining a healthy BMI is one of the easiest ways to reduce the risk of various diseases and improve quality of life.

However, if you struggle with staying motivated to exercise, companies like HealthyWage can help keep you on track. You shouldn’t use HealthyWage if you live paycheck to paycheck or aren’t confident in your ability to reach your goal on time. If you want to boost your income to pay off debt or simply earn a reward for your efforts, HealthyWage is worth considering.

As long as financial incentives work for your personality and you put in the effort, there’s no reason why your weight loss journey can’t earn some extra money as well.

The Verdict

Our rating

4.0/5

HealthyWage

HealthyWage isn’t for every participant, but if you need extra motivation and want to win cash for completing a weight loss goal, this is the best platform to use.

There are numerous fitness apps that pay you for being more active. HealthyWage takes this model to the next level through betting. If you struggle to stay motivated when it comes to exercising, a monetary incentive might be the change you need to reach your goals.

Ultimately, aggressive weight loss bets pay significantly more than small bets. Additionally, healthy participants won’t find much opportunity with HealthyWage outside of step challenges. However, if you’re looking to lose weight and want to potentially win cash in the process, wagering on yourself could pay off handsomely.

Editorial Note: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of the bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

Tom is a freelance writer originally from Toronto, Canada. Tom's passion for finance and discovering methods to make money originally sparked in college when he was trying to make ends meet on a tight budget. Outside of freelance writing, Tom also manages the blog This Online World - a personal finance website dedicated to helping young adults make and save more money.
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