about_us.html

	<h2>Who We Are</h2>
	
	<p>Hi! I am <a href="/r38y">Randy</a> and this is <a href="/tikaro">John</a>. We are the creators of Lose It or Lose It! We're overweight and don't want to be anymore!</p>
	
	<h2>Why We Created Lose It or Lose It</h2>
	
	<p>Let me (Randy) start with a little bit of my history. I think many of you will find it a familiar story.</p>
	
	<p>In 1999 - 2000, I was a senior in high school and I weighed 245 lb. I have been overweight for as long as I can remember, but this is the first weight I can actually remember. I wanted to fix it, but I don't remember really trying that hard.</p>
	
	<p>In 2000, I started college at Drexel University. Like many other college students, I didn't watch what I ate and I didn't exercise on a regular basis. I thought "If I am wearing the same size clothes, I must not be gaining weight!". That couldn't be further from the truth; it is amazing what you can shoehorn into your clothes.</p>
	
	<p>I graduated from Drexel in 2005. I don't remember what I weighed then because I don't think I weighed myself the entire time I was in college. I can promise you though that it was higher than the 245 lb I weighed in high school!</p>
	
	<p>In 2007 I quit my job as a structural engineer because I wasn't happy and wanted to work as a web developer. Around that time I went to Thomas Jefferson Headache Center to see if they could fix my migraines (Good news, they did! They ROCK, you should see them if you have migraine problems). I jumped on the scale and it said <strong>307 lb</strong>! How the heck could I get that heavy?! I'm pretty sure it had something to do with never weighing myself.</p>
	
	<p>Towards the end of the summer in 2009, I started to really get tired of being overweight and failing to lose weight. Over the previous 2 years I had worked my way down from 307 lb to 285 lb. I pretty much was trying to lose weight the whole time but would go for 2-3 weeks then silently go back to my previous habits. I think a lot of people go through similar cycles. I started to think about what I needed to solve this problem once and for all.</p>
	
	<p><strong>The problem was, there was no "punishment" for failing in my weight loss goals. If I didn't lose the weight, I would just continue to be overweight just like I have always been. I needed some form of punishment, and it needed to be public.</strong></p>
	
	<p>I came up with the idea of a 10 week plan where I lose my money if I don't make my weekly goals. I would know that after 10 weeks, I would either lose weight or lose my money. If I failed to make my weight loss goals, I would have less money instead of just continuing to be overweight.</p>
	
	<p>I also wanted my friends and family to know how I was doing so they could cheer me on when I was succeeding and encourage me when I failed. Everything in a user's profile is public and we strongly encourage users to add accountability friends, link their account with Twitter, and link their account with Facebook so we can automatically share their progress.</p>
	
	<p>I launched the site in November of 2009. Many people have used the site to help them lose weight, which is awesome!</p>
	
	<h2>The Present</h2>
	
	<p>John was one of my first users. He believed in the site so much that he decided to come on board as my partner. Now John and I are working hard to spread the word about our success using the site and helping others reach their goals. I have lost 45 lb and John has lost 27 lb!</p>

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What is Lose It or Lose It?

Lose It or Lose It is an innovative online service that enables you to design your own 10-week weight loss plan and track your progress, and also gives you tools and incentives to keep you motivated and help you achieve your weight loss goals. The idea is very simple – you set a goal for yourself to lose a certain number of pounds per week and then give us how much money you want to put on the line if you don’t make your goals (we like to think of this as your investment in losing weight). The process starts with an initial weigh-in, and then there are 10 weekly weigh-ins after that. If you miss a weigh-in or if you fail to achieve your weekly weight goal, as verified through the weekly weigh-ins, a “penalty” will be deducted from your investment (please see the next section for how these penalties are calculated). In other words, lose the weight or lose your investment. That is why a Lose It or Lose It investment is different from a financial investment — there is no expectation of getting your investment back unless you achieve the goals you set for yourself.

You will receive e-mail reminders to make sure you weigh in each week during the required timeframe. In addition, you must designate two or more “accountability friends” who must agree to receive e-mails about your progress so that they can spot you. At least two persons must agree to be accountability friends before you can start your plan. Your accountability friends will receive up to two e-mails a week about the results of your weigh-ins and certain other events, for example, if you fail in weigh in.

Who Can Use Lose It or Lose It?

Any resident of the United States who is 18 years of age or older.

How Can I Lose My Investment and How Much Do I Lose?

You will lose a portion of your investment each week in penalties if you don’t stick to the weight loss plan you have set up. A penalty equal to 1/20 of the wager you have selected when setting up your plan will be deducted from your investment if you miss your weekly weigh-in, which must be within the required timeframe of +/- 12 hours from the time of your initial weigh-in. Additionally, if any given week you weigh in at more than your weight goal for that week, an additional penalty equal to 1/20 of the wager you selected when setting up your plan will be deducted from your investment. So, for example, if you set a goal of losing 2 pounds per week and you initially weigh in at 200 pounds, your weight goal for week 5 will be 190 pounds. If you weigh in at 192 pounds that week, and you have selected the $100 option, a penalty of $5 will be deducted from your investment. You either make your weekly weight goal or you don’t: there is no partial credit for losing some weight since the last weigh-in, but falling short of your goal.*

At the end of the 10-week period, your investment (minus penalties deducted) will be credited to the PayPal account you used to make the investment.

Are These “Penalties” for Breaking An Agreement With Lose It or Lose It?

Absolutely not. They are actually part of the service we provide to help you lose weight. The penalties serve an important purpose: in addition to paying for your use of our tools and services to set up your weight loss plan, track your progress and hold yourself accountable, they are a key motivator to achieve your goals. We call them “penalties” to reinforce this motivational aspect. Lose the weight or lose your investment!

What Do I Do if a Penalty is Deducted by Mistake?

If you believe an error has been made in deducting a penalty, you must report it by contacting us at [email protected] within 7 days of the time information about the penalty is first posted on the website. If we determine that an error has been made, we will reverse the penalty within 7 days. All decisions on our part are binding.

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel early for any reason by e-mailing us at [email protected]. Your cancellation request will be effective 24 hours after we receive it. If you cancel, we will deduct a $50 cancellation fee from your remaining investment and refund the balance to you. If your remaining investment is $50 or less, then the cancellation fee will be the amount of the remaining investment. (This is because we love you and don’t want you to cancel!) Your refund will be credited to the PayPal account you used to make your investment within 7 days after your cancellation request becomes effective.

Is This Gambling?

Not at all. Everything is within your control and depends on whether you are motivated to follow through on the weight loss plan you have created for yourself. Secondly, you will never get back more than your initial investment.

How Much Should I Invest, and What Is the Minimum Investment?

The lowest-cost option is $100, which corresponds to $10 per week, $5 for missing your goal weight and $5 for skipping a weigh-in.

Your investment represents how much you are willing to commit to meeting your weight loss goals. In choosing your wager you should consider what is reasonable, realistic and fits within your budget.

E-Mail Reminders

After your initial weigh-in, you will receive one friendly reminder per day via e-mail at random times of the day. You will also receive up to 2 friendly reminders during the 24-hour weekly weigh-in window. We will send up to 100 reminders in total over the 10 weeks of your weight loss plan. You have the option of signing up for SMS reminders (instead of e-mails) on your Profile page. These may be better for you if you tend to ignore e-mails. However, please be aware that your mobile provider may assess charges for SMS messages, and we are not responsible for any charges incurred.

How Are the Weigh-Ins Handled?

After your sign up with Lose It or Lose It, you will have an initial weigh-in to determine your weight. After that there will be 10 weekly weigh-ins, each within a required timeframe. The required timeframe is a window of +/- 12 hours from the time of your initial weigh-in. So, for example, if your initial weigh-in was at 8 pm on Friday, then you must weigh in between 8 am Friday and 8 am Saturday the following week and each week after that. We will send you an e-mail reminder when the window opens and another one 6 hours before it closes. Your accountability friends will also receive an e-mail 6 hours before the window closes if you haven’t weighed in yet that week, and will receive another e-mail when you weigh in with information about your weight and the success or failure of your weigh-in. Information about your weigh-ins and the photos you submit will be posted on your Profile page, where it will be visible to your accountability friends and anyone else interested in your progress.

A weigh-in consists of submitting through the site a number with up to 1 decimal place (123.1 lb; 123.15 lb will be rounded to 123.2 lb) and a picture of your feet on the scale with the weight plainly visible. Bad weigh-in photos may be posted on our site as examples of what not to send in, so please don’t send us anything embarrassing! We reserve the right to determine what time a weigh-in has occurred, whether or not your photo is sufficient and what your verified weight is. All decisions on our part are binding.

What if the Site is Down and I Can’t Weigh In?

If you can’t make a weigh-in due to a technical problem with the website or the site being down, you must report it immediately by contacting us at [email protected] and try again in a little while. No penalties will be deducted from your investment if you can’t weigh in because of a reported technical problem or outage unless we determine that the site was up and running for at least 12 hours during your 24-hour weigh-in window. All decisions on our part are binding.

What Are “Accountability Friends” and How Do They Sign Up?

Think of accountability friends in the same way as friends who spot you at the gym. They hold you accountable by monitoring your progress and providing you encouragement to meet your goals. When you sign up for Lose It or Lose it, you must provide the names and e-mail addresses of at least two persons you would like to be your accountability friends. We will then send these persons an e-mail. If they agree, they will receive an e-mail 6 hours before each weekly weigh-in window closes and another one with your updated weigh-in information once you weigh in. (They can also stop receiving accountability friend e-mails if they want.) You will need at least two persons to agree to be your accountability friends before your weight loss plan can start.

We will not use the e-mail addresses you submit for your accountability friends to send marketing e-mails or share them with spammers. Please consult our privacy policy for more information.

Who Sees My Weight Information and Photos?

Everybody who visits the Lose It or Lose It site. Information you submit for your Profile page (such as weight loss strategy and comments), your weigh-in photos, event information (such as the success or failure of your weekly weigh-ins), the amount of your investment and penalties deducted, the names or avatars of your accountability friends, and all other information relating to your weight loss plan and progress is publicly viewable. In addition, people interested in your progress will be able to subscribe to receive your event information by RSS feed. We believe that “it takes a village” to lose weight, and that public visibility is critical to giving you the encouragement and motivation you need to meet your weight loss goals and to hold you accountable to everyone interested enough to check out your Profile. Please do not submit any weight, health or other information or any photos that you consider private or embarrassing.

Does Lose It or Lose It provide any diet, exercise or weight loss advice or program?

No. Lose It or Lose It does not provide any diet, exercise or weight loss advice, suggestions or program of any type. Lose It or Lose It is also not a health care provider. We provide only tools and services for you to create your own weight loss plan, track your progress, motivate yourself and hold yourself accountable. While we invite you to post your weight loss strategy on your Profile page, please understand that we do not review these strategies and express no opinion about them. Furthermore, we do not promise or guarantee that you will lose weight by using our tools and services. We certainly hope you achieve your weight loss goals, but whether you do so or not is solely your responsibility.

You are strongly advised to consult with your physician before starting any diet, exercise or weight loss program. Lose It or Lose It is not responsible for any adverse health effects or injuries that may result from your attempts to lose weight while using our tools and services. Lose It or Lose It is not for everyone. Persons with eating disorders and others who may not benefit from weight loss should not use Lose It or Lose It.