"I had issues with my weight over the last couple decades, but I especially gained significant weight through the pandemic. The spark that finally propelled me on my weight loss journey was a combination of needing to take quite a bit of time away from work due to mental illness, as well as, of course, finding out about HealthyWage.

I believe I found HealthyWage as an advertisement on Facebook in late 2022, and I was struck by the fact that it was sponsored by Jillian Michaels, so I did have a few doubts, but I figured it could also be a genuinely good motivator to get healthier.

I finally decided to take the plunge in January of 2023 after experimenting pretty much as many times as possible with the prize calculator on the HealthyWage website in order to choose a weight loss goal that was realistic (I had been my current weight a couple times over the last couple decades, but never for long), but also would provide the greatest amount of funds in return because I was not working. So in a sense, this health journey became my full-time job.

I absolutely appreciated the ability to control my own methods of weight loss during this journey. I think that the key to all this was buying a second hand smartwatch in late 2022 that finally allowed me to connect to my phone and calculate how many calories I was consuming versus expending. Of course, it was not flawless, but I never had this type of technology before! This was truly a game-changer! I began finally taking stock of how much I really was consuming, and I decided to limit my calories in to about 1600 (with permission from my family doctor), as well as eventually adding about 500 calories worth of exercise per day. I definitely had a lot of periods of plateaus and even setbacks, but my wife believed in me through it all, and I began to believe in myself as well. Certain features of HealthyWage like the step challenges insured that I continued to get enough exercise each day. I also read that it would help me to weigh myself every single morning so as to no longer be afraid of the scale. So I slightly adjusted my calorie goals accordingly every few weeks (mostly just by adding more walking).

Now that I have finally reached my goal weight, I feel like the journey has just begun! I would love to still increase the intensity of my workouts. I've found a few excellent workout videos by trainers who guided me through similar movements that professional athletes use as well, which really continued to inspire me near the end! Perhaps one day I could even join an amateur tackle football team, which I've considered over the years, but I've never made that leap yet.

I think to fully commit to HealthyWage is a great way to lose weight, but I don't think it's for everyone. For me, this was just the right time in my life to finally give it my all into getting healthier - physically and mentally. Although I still struggle with mental illness, I think this journey has given me a certain level of confidence in myself that I never had before. If I had to describe HealthyWage in one sentence I would say that it is a way to bet against yourself to lose weight.

Honestly, I will most likely be using my winnings soon to help get a handle on some of the financial debt that I still owe. That too has been hanging over my head for a while, so I would love to move on from it as soon as I can.

Finally, I hope that my story inspires others to tackle their goals head-on like I finally started in my life. I feel like I went through a lot of personal growth during this journey, including (but not limited to) finally being diagnosed as autistic at the age of 33. Don't let fear hold you back from pursuing your dreams and living as authentically as you wish."