How do you reward yourself?

af_wife2004

One of my biggest rewards is new bras! Every 20 -30 lbs I buy couple new, good quality bras. When I'm "supported" properly, I feel better, my clothes look better, and I have more confidence.

QuixoticParody

I give myself freebie nights (er days to the non-night owls). One for 10 lbs or sometimes when I really need it. This usually includes a bit of drinking (drinking generally is rediculously high in calories) and a splurge of eating a piece or 2 of junk food I wouldn't eat based on mfp because of the calories.

When I don't go out to the club, my freebie day consists of video games. Aka sitting on the tush and doing very little in the way of movement and relaxing on the mfp program. <-- no money necessary.

These days are not logged but I do leave a note in my feed so I can remember the last one. If it's more then 2 months, I'll do a freebie day anyway.

mymodernbabylon

New muscles showing.

into_fitness

I don't reward myself for weight loss - I just get extremely happy with how well I have done. My ultimate three rewards for myself will be 1. buying a smaller pair of pants when I get to my goal weight and 2. feeling confident in a bathing suit/looking good in one! and 3. being able to sit in shorts with confidence and not having to worry about my cellulite on my legs

Roxiegirl2008

I didn't really think I wanted to do the reward thing but ended up doing it after all. Most of the things I would do were more centered around my workout gear (my pants started to fall off) so when I reached a goal I would get a couple of shirts and pants. I mean running with your "drawers" falling down is really hard.

I would also set fitness goals for example my long term goal was to finish a full marathon which I run in 1 1/2 weeks. I had run many 1/2 marathons but never a full. Some of the other fitness goals were to decrease my mileage time, finish a 5k in under 30 minutes which I did in August, hike into Mirror Lake a Mt. Rainier which was a 14 mile round trip with major elevation increase (done in July). You get the idea.

Good luck and find what works for you. Oh and I love the person's idea with the nail polish.

CupcakeCrusoe

Money is tight, so as a "reward" for a new lowest weight in sets of 5, I go back through all my pictures and see how much I've progressed. Holding them up together makes me feel great about how far I've come, from 216 to 155ish currently.

clambert1273

Roxiegirl2008 wrote: »

I mean running with your "drawers" falling down is really hard.

so that made me LOL and reminded me of a very old thread somewhere buried on these boards about emberassing moments... one girl talked about losing the weight and was wearing a skirt - walking along the sidewalk and literally stepped out of her drawers as they fell LOL she never stopped and just kept walking lol

NewMeSM75

I have 4 kids so rewards aren't as important but how about a manicure and/or pedicure? A little pampering would be cool.

gothchiq

Clothing!

JourneyToWonderWoman

At each milestone like every 25 pounds I lose, I set up rewards on things I do to "treat" myself. My first 25 pounds: I'm getting my hair done, Next 25: mani/pedi, etc. Although I could do that now, I figured if I work for it, I will enjoy these rewards even more

gothchiq

Also, doing something nice for yourself as a positive reinforcement is NOT "gluttony." good lord.

trixie315

I like rewarding myself with me time - relaxing bubble bath, paint my nails or read a book

yoovie

register for tough mudder.

jgnatca

Some of you guys really don't know how to do short-term satisfaction. Sheesh.

The worst advice given my teenage son to stay in school was so he would not "dig ditches" the rest of his life. Heck, a teenager isn't worried about his career. He's worried if he is going to have friends that semester! You have to speak to what drives that person and where they are living.

Small hedonistic rewards along the way are important! I really enjoyed my one-derland party at the local trampoline park. I take landmark pictures and post them. I think my running class was another kind of reward.

jpaulie

I give myself a hug, bonus it stretches the shoulders out a bit too

dorkyfaery

mamapeach910 wrote: »

Ordinarily, I'd buy new nail polish, but my doctor doesn't want me wearing it any more (I have psoriatic arthritis and it effects my nails). Soooo... I've just been patting myself on the back and I did buy some yarn. My reward will be enjoying knitting smaller garments.

Oh man - I'm with you. A sweater quantity of tosh for an XL v a M...looking forward to that!

SamT0824

I found it disappointing people have been so anti-reward so I wanted to chime in! I like to curate wish lists all over the internet, for example I have a wish list on Amazon full of Bento box supplies, or on Sephora I have an ever growing make-up and beauty wish list. I plan to treat myself to one or two items for every big victory. You could also take yourself to the movies or do something fun like bowling or mini golf. I've also seen people just add a dollar or some change into a jar for every loss or victory, then when they reach their goal they have money to get new clothes/treat themselves.

I don't really do big food rewards, I just to treat myself daily. For example in my lunch today I have a chocolate square as a treat, or maybe later I'll have a spoonful of ice cream.

I see the logic in not wanting to reward yourself for basically extending your life span, but for me, these are things I would have bought anyway. I'm just using them as an incentive instead of buying them outright.

SamT0824

af_wife2004 wrote: »

One of my biggest rewards is new bras! Every 20 -30 lbs I buy couple new, good quality bras. When I'm "supported" properly, I feel better, my clothes look better, and I have more confidence.

Yes this is a great idea! Though if you don't want to shell out the money for nice nice bras, TJ Maxx and Marshalls usually have decent bras for a good price.

Reenie527

Perhaps it would be easier for people to understand/accept if we referred to them as a celebration rather than a reward. I personally think it is important to celebrate milestone weight loss, activity levels, or other major events in your road to health. Of course having run a marathon is rewarding enough in itself, but they still give out medals!!!!! Anyway, my suggested celebration is flowers. Buying yourself even a single rose for meeting a goal is a great way to remind yourself for the rest of the week to keep up the good work.

clambert1273

stindall0824 wrote: »

af_wife2004 wrote: »

One of my biggest rewards is new bras! Every 20 -30 lbs I buy couple new, good quality bras. When I'm "supported" properly, I feel better, my clothes look better, and I have more confidence.

Yes this is a great idea! Though if you don't want to shell out the money for nice nice bras, TJ Maxx and Marshalls usually have decent bras for a good price.

oh no.... if I am going .. I am going all out

TheVirgoddess

I don't for small goals along the way. But if I thought it would help motivate me I would.

But for my ultimate "you fing did it" goal, I'm getting this:



Which will be my first ever tattoo

The_Fitness_Foodie

Each time I lost a stone (14lb) I promised myself another tattoo, I've lost just over 11stone (154lb) up to date & I've had 8 new tattoos, so I still owe myself 3 inking sessions.... Sadly these rewards are not exactly cheap, hence the reason for the I.O.U's....

xXx

elphie754

Thank you to everyone who provided some great ideas .

For others, I don't typically get pissed off by responses, but do you really have to look down upon someone who uses a different type of motivation than you do? Yes- losing l the weight will be awesome, but when you had over 130 lbs to lose, the end can seem very far a way. Doing small things for certain milestones is how I done get discouraged at the big number I still have left to lose. Yeah, I get it, you don't reward yourself and don't think you should. That is great, but posting in a condescending way is helpful how? Geez. Part of me is sorry I asked.

clambert1273

elphie754 wrote: »

Thank you to everyone who provided some great ideas .

For others, I don't typically get pissed off by responses, but do you really have to look down upon someone who uses a different type of motivation than you do? Yes- losing l the weight will be awesome, but when you had over 130 lbs to lose, the end can seem very far a way. Doing small things for certain milestones is how I done get discouraged at the big number I still have left to lose. Yeah, I get it, you don't reward yourself and don't think you should. That is great, but posting in a condescending way is helpful how? Geez. Part of me is sorry I asked.

don't be.. ignore the haters lol I learned some cool ideas on here too for many different things... I really like the wish list one

adge1475

I read the OP and realized...I don't? That's kinda weird. The first year I started trying to lose weight, I reward myself with little purchases for every 5 pounds lost or so. But the rewards never did any good. Now, I'm just in a place where it doesn't occur to me to reward myself for participating in my normal fitness and nutrition routine without complaining. That's not reward-worthy, it just what I expect from myself. I don't know, that'd kinda feel like rewarding myself for showering or brushing my teeth or going to work. It's just what I do now?

But dude, if rewards work for you, please use them. They're insanely motivating for some people.

kaseyr1505

I had small rewards in the beginning, like a new lipstick or bottle of nail polish, then as the loss grew, the rewards did as well. My big reward was a few designer pieces.

First 5 lbs, new nail polish
15 lbs, designer lipstick
25 lbs, new shoes
35 lbs, new clothes (things that were a bit more forgiving with weight loss)
46 lbs, designer jeans, and blouse

jaykal001

I appreciate a lot of the comments about the progress being it's own reward, but in the true spirit of the question I have a couple thoughts that have worked for others (that i know of anyways).

Put $1 or $5 for every pound lost and spend it at the mini goal or big goal. (We did a similar concept, like a "swear jar" and spent the money on a bed n breakfast trip).

For me, for it to be a 'reward' it has to be something i wouldn't otherwise buy.
*new sunglasses, or designer frames
*wallet/purse (because you see it every day)
*I thought about running shoes, or something fun that would help with the next leg. You could look at a bike, kayak, etc - all those healthy type hobbies.

Lots of fun ideas so far!

yourradimradletshug

Here's mine:
5 pounds-Treat myself to a mani & pedi
10 pounds- Either a massage or some other type of spa service
If I hit 20 pounds before June I am buying myself a dress from this one website that the stuff is rather pricey BUT for hitting that goal I deserve something very special.

AllAboutThatPace

I don't know if you consider wine food, but I love wine, so I do reward myself with a glass every once in a while. I also try to keep an eye on the clearance section of my favorite stores and buy a new shirt, pant, etc in the next size down.

yoovie

jgnatca wrote: »

Some of you guys really don't know how to do short-term satisfaction. Sheesh.

lots of us are turned off or discouraged if we get rewards too often.

for me, the rewards only really mean a lot to me if I have to put in several years.

or at least almost a whole year.

BUT - this might be because I had so far to go - not just losing 100 pounds, but also years of physical therapy, grief counseling, all kinds of mental and physical health problems - I needed to find a way to stick it out for a very long time and very long term goals are where I shine

embrace what works best for you