Thousands of people are winning thousands of dollars by dropping unwanted pounds

Diet betting is basically making a wager that you will lose a certain amount of weight in a specified amount of time," nutritionist Elisa Zied told CBS station WCBS-TV in New York. Co-workers and friends have made small weight loss wagers for years, but now there are Web sites to keep you on track. Mary Lou Wehrli her brother, Grant, are using www.fatbet.net to try to lose about 20 pounds each. The stakes? "The loser will buy the victor dinner or lunch for six at a sushi house," Mary Lou said.

They post their weight at least once a week on the Web site and can taunt each other on the site's blog. "That motivation has had me get off the couch when I really didn't want to," Grant said. Users say the teasing and tempting is all part of the fun. Both weighing in and paying up are totally dependent on the honor system. "This motivation of this younger brother that's going to lose a bet to me, it's just so cool," Mary Lou said. On another site, stickk.com, when you place a wager, you sign a commitment contract. You hand over your credit card number and each week that you don't meet your goal you're charged. "I'm putting $10 on the line each week. Each week I don't lose that pound, I lose the $10," stickk.com's Jordan Goldberg said.

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