They Like Us, They REALLY Like Us!

We've been meaning to talk about this for a while, but both Big Ran & myself have been getting SLAMMED with a pesky little thing called work. Anyway, I logged into our "Gmail" account that's connected to this blog, and I was as giddy as a kid at Christmas when I read the following email:

Hi The takeover,

I was reading your blog today and wonder if I could get your opinion on a diet/fitness app I am working on ?

For me, I think the main problem with being healthy is motivation. It's an abstract, overwhelming goal. I think the best way to counter this is to turn it into winnable games and small victories.

So… my app makes living healthy, and fitness into a RPG game, where users earn points, and "level up' as they accomplish their health goals. Everytime they add something healthy like veggies to their diet, they earn points. Everytime they complete a workout, they earn points. As they achieve more and more, they'll level up and unlock badges, and discounts/coupons to rewards like spas, health foods, etc.

There'll be challenges, which will get harder as people level up. And it'll follow a certain structure. First will come changing your environment such as getting rid of all junk food. Then, reducing stress, as stress leads to eating comfort food.

The whole point is to turn it into a game so people will rely less on willpower, and more on fun, achievement, and changing our environment.

What's your opinion on this idea? Would you want to know when I'm done with it? If this sounds too silly, or absurd, just ignore what I just said, hehe =)

Best, Christine

If you are sitting there, scratching your head right now, reading, and re-reading this email and trying to make some sense of it, you are certainly not alone. I had no idea what was going on when I saw it, and when I shot Big Ran an email, his response was simply, "Is this for real? Is this a real person asking this?". To the best of our knowledge, it's legit....too legit to quit...and while we are flattered that someone tangled in the World Wide Web would WANT our opinion, we're not sure if we're in the position to supply it in regards to this particular issue. 

However, as we always, we'd like to take turns supplying come commentary....

1. First off, I'd like to say that the salutation is pretty awesome...scroll back up if you missed it....wait for it...wait for it...YUP! "Hi The Takeover". Ummmm....we blog under pen names (to protect the innocent & the guilty, namely, ourselves), but apparently that little factoid was missed in our postings. So Christine, "The Takeover" says "hi!" to you as well.

2. Next, the topic of the email is awesome in that this blog is just about us being jerks, and having good times. We're not necessarily technologically savvy, and I for one can barely run the apps on my Blackberry, let alone comment or weigh in about the development of apps! I'm left wondering if maybe she was reading a different blog and then somehow got confused and emailed us instead.

3. The topic "diet and fitness" is another thing that I find to be quite ironic because, although I do go to the gym, I bitch about it continuously and only go to support my billy goat-like eating habits. So, while I agree with your statement that "the main problem with being healthy is motivation. It's an abstract, overwhelming goal. I think the best way to counter this is to turn it into winnable games and small victories." there's absolutely NOTHING I can offer here. And when you look at the fact that my "small victories & winnable games" include one pumpkin muffin at Dunkin Donuts instead of two, and eating a salad WITH my 4 pieces of pizza, I'm sure I'm not the best spokesperson for this app and/or idea. However, when you get it up and running, I could probably benefit from it greatly.

4. I will state, that in my humble opinion, winning abstract points in a fake game will do nothing for me in my quest to adjust and control my eating habits. Now, if you can REALLY follow through with your plan to develop an app that will reward me with Spa Days, (and may I suggest  Naps, Cash Prizes, & a ruggedly handsome new boyfriend) then I'm all in. I derive no satisfaction in life from simply "doing it for myself". Like a dog, I rely on positive reinforcement, complete with treats. It's most likely because I have almost ZERO willpower....which is again why I have no business weighing in (no pun intended), on your idea.

5. Lucky for me, the only thing that DOES stop my ravenous feeding frenzies is a good stressful spell in my life. I know a lot of people are stress eaters, but unfortunately, I'm a stress skeleton. This being said, it makes me even less equipped to supply my thoughts/opinions.

So Christine, while I sincerely thank you for reaching out to us and valuing our opinion (on purpose or by accident), I'm sure we, myself specifically, are the worst people to be asking about this. However, I do hope that you will continue to read, knowing that everything we write is intended to be funny, AND, when you get your app up and running, please let us know and maybe we can give you a little shout out here at "The Takeover"!

Big Ran, you're up next dude....

-KC Jones