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The Game On! Diet
The Game On! Diet: Kick Your Friend’s Butt While Shrinking Your Own is written by Krista Vernoff and Az Ferguson. Ferguson is the winner of the Body for Life challenge and he developed this plan to help Vernoff to lose weight after pregnancy.
This program utilizes the idea of competition and fun to help you to lose weight and get healthy. You will compete against your friends to earn points for completing goals related to daily exercise, healthy eating and positive lifestyle changes.
The Game On! Diet Basics
The program is centered on a game that you play in teams and involves earning points and winning prizes. Instead of focusing solely on weight loss you get to earn points by fulfilling goals related to changing eating patterns, getting enough sleep, drinking water and dropping bad habits.
This allows you to have fun while you are getting in shape without the stress that is commonly associated with dieting. The game lasts for four weeks and then the scores are added up and the team with the highest score wins.
By the end of the four weeks you should have some positive habits in place that will allow you to continue with a healthy lifestyle after the game has finished.
How to Earn Points
- Eat five small meals a day
- Exercise for a minimum of 20 minutes, 6 days a week
- Sleep for at least seven hours every night
- Drink three liters of water a day
- Maintain a healthy new habit
- Let go of a bad habit
- Communicate with your team and the other players
How to Lose Points
- Weighing yourself too often
- Eating snacks
- Convincing another player to cheat with you
- Drinking alcohol on any day other than your free day
- Not sticking with your good habit or continuing your bad habit
The basic structure of The Game On! Diet involves five meals a day that include lean protein, healthy fats, fruit and vegetables. Snacks are not permitted with the exception of cucumber and celery.
Dieters are allowed one free day every week as well as one 100-calorie treat each day. In addition you also have one free meal a week where you can eat whatever you like and have one unit of alcohol. Foods to avoid include sugar, white flour, candy, chocolate, deli meat, fried foods, soda, and full-fat dairy products.
Recommended Foods
Fruits, vegetables, eggs, seafood, chicken, turkey, lean meat, cottage cheese, avocado, nuts, seeds, olive oil.
Sample Diet Plan
| Breakfast
Omelet with spinach, mushrooms and low fat cheese |
| Morning Snack
Low fat yogurt with blueberries |
| Lunch
Salad with grilled chicken breast and avocado |
| Afternoon Snack Apple with peanut butter |
| Dinner
Salmon with asparagus sautéed in olive oil |
Exercise Recommendations
Dieters earn points by exercising for at least twenty minutes a day, six days a week. This can include any activity that gets your heart rate up.
The Game On! includes an example of a high intensity interval training routine.
Costs and Expenses
The Game On! Diet: Kick Your Friend’s Butt While Shrinking Your Own retails at $14.99.
Available from Amazon →
Pros
- Fun approach to weight loss.
- Social support can help to increase the chance of weight loss success.
- Small frequent meals help to alleviate hunger and cravings.
- Free day alleviates the psychological stress associated with continual dieting.
- Will appeal to dieters who like having lots of rules to follow.
- Addresses the importance of sleep and exercise.
- Includes recipes.
- Many readers will relate to the authors’ writing style.
Cons
- May be difficult for people who don’t have any friends who also need to get in shape.
- Will not appeal to dieters who don’t enjoy competition.
- Does not take individual calorie requirements into consideration.
- Some dieters may not enjoy eating five times a day.
- Difficult to stick with as a long-term weight management plan.
Great for Competitive People
The Game On! Diet includes a sensible eating plan with exercise recommendations that are suitable for almost all fitness levels.
This program is a fun way to change your lifestyle and the support from your friends as well as the competition factor may help to increase motivation for many dieters.
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References:
- Wing, R. R., & Jeffery, R. W. (1999). Benefits of recruiting participants with friends and increasing social support for weight loss and maintenance. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 67(1), 132. link
- Klem, M. L., & Klesges, R. C. (1988). Competition in a minimal-contact weight-loss program. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 56(1), 142. link
I’ve participated for as long as I can convince at least 1 friend to continue with me. At max. we had 11 people, and the final “con” listed (difficult to stick with…) simply meant for me that others didn’t want to continue following rules so dropped out. I never felt better, physically or psychologically. It was a thrill to realize that I could reverse the ageing expectations that I’d figured would just keep eating (forgive the pun) away at my health and energy.
My SuperWomen BootCamp classes just started this plan on Tuesday. It sounds really interesting and along the same lines of what I have been practicing for a year now. My class is really into this and my coach gives it two thumbs up!