Glucose Level Rewards

Justin Mares ran an experiment using continuous glucose monitors with financial incentives to help people maintain healthy glucose levels. Here's how it worked and what he learned.

Core Program Structure

• $950 buy-in for 30 days
• $25 daily reward for staying within glucose range
• Makes unhealthy choices more expensive (e.g., a $4 brownie effectively costs $29)
• Uses Levels continuous glucose monitors worn on arm
• Organized in cohorts of 50 people
• Includes WhatsApp group for accountability

Results & Growth

• Launched in February
• Consistently fills 50-person cohorts monthly with no marketing
• One participant completed 7 rounds and lost 50 pounds
• Available at wearablechallenge.com
• Currently run by Aaron, an early participant who got excited about the concept

Business Model

• Not currently a primary business focus
• Makes roughly $20-30K annually
• Could potentially expand into "Weight Watchers 2.0"
• Key differentiators:
  • Time-bound challenges
  • Cohort-based accountability
  • Financial incentives
  • Real-time monitoring

Key Learnings

• Small financial incentives ($25/day) highly effective for behavior change
• Competitive element helps drive engagement
• Time-bound nature of challenge is important
• Accountability more important than knowledge for health outcomes
• Program works well enough to maintain consistent participation without marketing