Engineers tend to think of things in terms of equations. I like intermediate goals as it helps to keep me on track. I had a side bet on the first weigh-in with my daughters for total pounds lost. The first "loosing" in the equation was when I was blindsided by them and lost the bet. This ended up being a win win situation for me. (Winning * Winning) Since I lost I bought and we went to a movie together last Saturday (winning #1). Before the movie we went out to lunch together which was "Winning" #2. A double win by loosing the bet. The added benefit is that by loosing I increased my rate of "Loosing" weight since the weigh-in, which is really winning again.

Therefore it is really Loosing = Winning * Winning + Loosing = Winning
Bet = Movie * Lunch + Weight loss = progress towards goal!

Neal (an engineer in case you did not figure that out!) :)