What incentive have you given or gave yourself

nicole_eastwood_taurus

.. for when, or if you have reached your goal? I’d like to treat myself when I do I’ve picked out a dress I’m going to buy.. what about you? ..

spiriteagle99

I never even thought of rewarding myself for losing weight. The loss itself was the reward. I also know that there's no such thing as a finish to the process. I'll need to be working hard for the rest of my life to maintain a weight that I'm happy with.

nicole_eastwood_taurus

Do you think it’s easier to maintain than keep losing it?

AnnPT77

nicole_eastwood_taurus wrote: »

Do you think it’s easier to maintain than keep losing it?

No. It's just different. Maintaining, in some ways, can be harder. (Statistically, more people lose weight than maintain that entire loss, which suggests something about the relative difficulty. ).

I think part of which is more difficult is going to come down to an individual's habits of mind, or maybe you'd say personality.

losingbaylee

I'm going to look fantastic on my wedding day! Already saving for skin removal and new boobies

MelanieCN77

Adjusting to maintenance was tough for me. It was probably 9-12 months before I really got the hang of it and it's a bit over 18 months now and I wouldn't say I'm always relaxed about it even now.

sardelsa

I don't think I'll ever reach my end goal. But for this cycle I get to write my blog, as I usually do after reaching my short term goal.

kgirlhart

spiriteagle99 wrote: »

I never even thought of rewarding myself for losing weight. The loss itself was the reward. I also know that there's no such thing as a finish to the process. I'll need to be working hard for the rest of my life to maintain a weight that I'm happy with.

This is pretty much how I feel about it. And for me maintaining has been more difficult than losing. It really took me over a year from when I first called maintenance until I finally settled at a weight that I felt good about. Becoming more active means eating more than I expected, but I also know that if I do become less active I will have to cut back on my calories so I feel I will always need to be aware of my daily calorie intake. Not obsessive or anxious about it, but I don't think it is a good idea to stop paying attention to it when you reach goal. At least not for me.

hesn92

I don't really have a goal lol. I have specific goals like I want to do a push up or run 10k or whatever. I never reached my weight loss goal. About 10 lbs away I decided to quit losing and stay where I was at, which was about a year and a half ago.

LDOby10

I used to give myself a daily goal. If I ate healthy foods and had 40cals to spare at the end of the day (as planned), I'd get 1 piece (40cals) of my favourite Lindt chocolate. mmmmmm yum. -great way to end each day. Success tasted great!

Running2Fit

My husband and I are planning to try for a baby about a year after I’ve predicted I will reach my goal weight - getting to a healthy weight and learning to maintain that weight for awhile so I can be healthier for TTC and pregnancy is my biggest motivator right now.

MadisonMolly2017

spiriteagle99 wrote: »

I never even thought of rewarding myself for losing weight. The loss itself was the reward. I also know that there's no such thing as a finish to the process. I'll need to be working hard for the rest of my life to maintain a weight that I'm happy with.

I agree!

sijomial

"What incentive have you given or gave yourself"
Better health, more good years, increased fitness - plus the sense of achievement from succeeding at something I had failed to do for 20 years. I didn't need an object as a reward.
I'm very goal driven so my weight loss goal was simply ticked off and replaced with new goals.

"Do you think it’s easier to maintain than keep losing it?"
For me it's far easier. Part of the reason I stayed roughly 30lbs overweight for so long was that I didn't have to work hard to stay in that range. I hate dieting and that's another great incentive to stay in my maintenance range.
But for many others maintenance is hard or harder than losing weight - it's very personal.

I gained weight in an unusual way, I lost weight in an unusual way and maybe I maintain weight in an unusual way - it's really important to know yourself and tailor your strategies accordingly. If that includes a reward or incentive being helpful then go for it.

GottaBurnEmAll

I undertook this whole endeavor because I didn't want to face old age being immobile. I was 52 and already using a cane, and it just was too daunting to face the idea that things were progressively going to get worse.

Now at 56 I'm 90 pounds lighter and no longer using a cane and have a much better quality of life. That means everything and is its own reward.

In a way, I've never stopped losing weight because I'm always somewhat working on vanity weight. I alternate periods of maintaining to going back to thinking I want to try for five more pounds. Right now I'm maintaining, though. I find it somewhat easy because my habits are pretty much dialed in.

spiriteagle99

nicole_eastwood_taurus wrote: »

Do you think it’s easier to maintain than keep losing it?

You have to have a strategy to keep the weight off. Which strategies work for you are something you have to figure out.

I'm 62. I don't know how many times in my life I've lost 20-40 pounds and then regained them a year or so later. I started my first diet when I was a teen, so there were a lot of diets. I always lost weight fairly easily, but regained it just as easily. As I got older, the times between diets got longer and longer, not because I didn't need to lose weight, but because I hated dieting. I also was in denial about how much weight I had gained because of the change in clothes sizing. As long as I could wear a size 10 or 12 I didn't feel fat, even when I weighed 175. I was active, which kept me from gaining more, but not active enough to actually lose weight with all the walking and backpacking I was doing. About 8 years ago, I decided to get serious about losing weight. I dropped 45 pounds. Then I started running. With the running and continuing to watch my diet, I lost another 10 pounds. Since then I've mostly kept my weight 120-125 lbs. I know from past experience that if I don't log what I eat, I end up gradually increasing my intake without really being aware of it. Because I run a lot, I can eat a lot, but thanks to the food log, I know exactly how much I can eat without having to worry about gaining weight. If I wasn't as active as I am, I would have to work a lot harder to maintain that loss. So for me it's a two prong effort: tracking what I eat and staying active. It's not difficult, but it also means that there is no end point for me as long as I want to stay thin.

MrSunshinez

$750 in a new smaller wardrobe is my incentive. It's about time too!

apullum

I didn't have a separate reward because getting to my goal and getting to eat a little more in maintenance were both reward enough. However, being able to have dessert on a regular basis rather than settling for just a little bite of something sweet has been pretty darn great too.

lorrpb

I bought a pair of hiking boots when I reach goal. This was a celebration reward, not an incentive. Losing weight was its own incentive (and reward) for me!

elisa123gal

i found that buying new clothes was a huge incentive for me. But once i got to that point.. i had a real hard time knowing what to buy. Years of buying black V neck clothes and tops that didn't tuck in.. frumpy styles 'don't buy frumpy any more.' it was hard to develop a new style.

As for maintaining... it has been up and down as i am coming up on my one year anniversarry when i started for the last time....Dec. 28th. This time, i got it done. But twice now, i've had to go back to dieting to get off 5 or so pounds i've gained. I'm ecougraged by posts in this thread that say it takes time to master a consistant weight.

i will add... that exercise and being active is more key to maintaing than for losing.

garystrickland357

I've never thought about it in terms of rewarding myself. That said, since I am now fit and active again I have enjoyed getting some new gear. Just yesterday I ordered a new Trek gravel bike. Is that a reward? I didn't think of it that way, but some might.
I am new to maintenance but it hasn't been too difficult. I find that it requires a new mindset. I use Happy Scale to keep my weight trend and log my weights in MFP. When I bounce above goal I get a lower calorie allowance. It helps me. I am back today to my weight from before the Thanksgiving holiday. I just realize that maintenance is going to require lifelong commitment for me. It's better than taking meds and feeling like *kitten* though.

ahoy_m8

MelanieCN77 wrote: »

Adjusting to maintenance was tough for me. It was probably 9-12 months before I really got the hang of it and it's a bit over 18 months now and I wouldn't say I'm always relaxed about it even now.

I feel this way, too. And I’ve been maintaining a couple decades. For me, maintenance is regaining and re-losing the last 5 pounds repeatedly. When it’s time to cut, I do it with a 250kcal/day deficit (.5 lb/wk), so it’s not fundamentally different from maintenance—same way of eating, same macros, same habits, same exercise... just a few more calories every day. Sometimes maintaining seems like more mental effort than it should be (emotional eater), but it’s still easier for me than cutting simply because there are more calories to work with.

ETA: sorry I didn’t respond to OPs question re rewards. Managing my health feels similar to managing my house or bank account or family responsibilities. It’s just something you do. It’s not necessarily fun all the time, but failing to manage has bad consequences and managing well feels great.

Coloneyhatch

You don't really need to give yourself any incentives, weight loss and weight maintenance are actually quite easy,
the difficult bits are 1. How badly do you really want it? 2. Are you in that happy spot in life?

Orphia

spiriteagle99 wrote: »

I never even thought of rewarding myself for losing weight. The loss itself was the reward. I also know that there's no such thing as a finish to the process. I'll need to be working hard for the rest of my life to maintain a weight that I'm happy with.

I thought about it, but couldn't think of anything that comes close to the feeling of achievement, and the happiness that's resulted from managing my weight and exercising regularly. Maintaining 2 years and nearly 8 months now.

derbygraham

I have 80 pints of "homebrew" on the go. When I drop below 80kg I plan to enjoy some of it. I am currently at 83kg and hope I can lose 3kg over the next few weeks which is, incidentally, when the beer will be ready. My end goal is to drop below 75kg and maintain that. I think I will need to buy new clothes - not a reward but a necessity

me0231

I actually do reward myself. When I was actively losing I set mini goals and when I reached them I'd treat myself for a massage or get a fancy mani/pedi, etc. When I hit one year of regular gym going I got myself new wireless headphones, when I hit goal I booked a trek to Machu Picchu. And I will get a tattoo when I hit one year maintenance early next year at a stable weight. It works for me.

It taught me that rewards don't have to be food based. Back in the day when I got good grades I got to choose what I want for dinner. Pass an exam? Have a chocolate bar, graduate? Feast for 3 days uncontrollably. So yeah, it's worked for me though I agree that it's not necessary. Being healthy and feeling good about myself is the reward that really counts but I also don't see anything wrong with spoiling myself for a job well done

tbright1965

nicole_eastwood_taurus wrote: »

.. for when, or if you have reached your goal? I’d like to treat myself when I do I’ve picked out a dress I’m going to buy.. what about you? ..

New Carbon Fiber bicycle when I drop below 200#