I Tried Setting a Goal Reward for Onederland, but...

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weezgrrl
weezgrrl Posts: 26 Member
in Motivation and Support
So I've been wanting to experiment with rewarding myself for achieving weight-specific goals on my weight loss journey, and Onederland is so SO close... but it seems to have had a negative effect on me. Full details can be found on my YouTube video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM_jSyzF6sU

Anyone else have issues with getting tangled up in disordered behavior surrounding weigh-ins when rewards are involved??

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  • FFfitgirl
    FFfitgirl Posts: 369 Member
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    Cant watch the link

    But anyways..
    Rewards cause me to sabotage myself. I told myself I would by new shoes for crossfit when I got under 200. Great reward right? You can custom design the colors, Well ive gained 2 pounds since then.
  • weezgrrl
    weezgrrl Posts: 26 Member
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    It's interesting, I'm actually reading a book right now (The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal) and in the chapter I'm on she's talking about how setting goals can actually backfire and cause us to slack off. Research suggests just coming up with the goal or reward makes your brain think, in some way, that you've already done the work. Neuroscience is cray cray, lol! I'm in that exploratory stage where I'm still trying to figure out what works for me, but it's clear now that assigning rewards of things that I *really* want to goals directly related to my weight or the scale are unhealthy for me.
  • UncertainAngel12
    UncertainAngel12 Posts: 30 Member
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    I agree with this being a bad thing and making you slack off. I think the rewards should be constant and un-goal related but simply consciously indulged in for positive thinking and simply the joy of life and spontaneity. That way we are less likely to develop unhealthy obsession or be so distracted by planning a reward that we slack off :-)
  • UncertainAngel12
    UncertainAngel12 Posts: 30 Member
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    McGonigal = Harry Potter = :D
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    You've lost 72lbs. This is great, just keep swimming. This moment will pass.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
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    I hovered around onderland for like 6 weeks and drove myself nuts! But, I finally made and am now well below it....Just keep at, you'll get there too!
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
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    if i go to your youtube video will there be ads?
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
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    So I've been wanting to experiment with rewarding myself for achieving weight-specific goals on my weight loss journey, and Onederland is so SO close... but it seems to have had a negative effect on me. Full details can be found on my YouTube video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM_jSyzF6sU

    Anyone else have issues with getting tangled up in disordered behavior surrounding weigh-ins when rewards are involved??

    No, I did not have this problem when I was rewarding myself the first time around. Probably b/c I was not rewarding myself for goals reached in lbs. The scale number did not dictate my reward. My rewards system was based on perfomance.

    I set out eating goals and workouts goals. If I completed those to a certain percent of what my goals were, that's the percent of my leftover monthly budget I could spend on my reward. My reward was jewelry. Something I could use no matter what size I was at the time and I could continue to use no matter what happened to my weight. I've gained since then major life events derailed me, but I still get enjoyment out of that charm bracelet and it's a reminder that I know how to lose weight and was successful at it just a few months ago so no giving up now.
  • oxers
    oxers Posts: 259 Member
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    Rewards are a huge problem for me. I had a lot of disordered thought and some disordered eating when I was younger (ballet, go figure) and I think that really impacted the way I approach goals and rewards. Something about it just kinda makes me seize up? I put so much pressure on myself and I start to restrict and I get SO hung up on the numbers and if something doesn't happen on the precise timetable I set, I've failed and I'm a failure and.. eugh. So I avoid it all together.

    It's easier for me to just focus on fitness goals and sticking more or less to a baseline calorie goal. If I'm under by a little, that's okay. If I'm over by a little, that's okay too. If the scale ticks back up a little, **** the scale. What does it know? I STEP on that thing. I try to do nice things for myself now not because I've done something right or hit some arbitrary goal, but because I want to be nice to myself all the time. If I want a treat and it fits in my macros, why not? If it doesn't, eh, I'll get it tomorrow. New purse, video game time, taking myself to the movies... I'm just a LOT happier when I'm nice to myself for the sake of being nice. You know?
  • crumbtinies
    crumbtinies Posts: 29 Member
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    It's interesting, I'm actually reading a book right now (The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal) and in the chapter I'm on she's talking about how setting goals can actually backfire and cause us to slack off. Research suggests just coming up with the goal or reward makes your brain think, in some way, that you've already done the work. Neuroscience is cray cray, lol! I'm in that exploratory stage where I'm still trying to figure out what works for me, but it's clear now that assigning rewards of things that I *really* want to goals directly related to my weight or the scale are unhealthy for me.

    I read this book over the holidays and found it both fascinating and endlessly helpful. I happily managed to keep up my routine and actually lost a few pounds over Christmas/New Year's. I find that rewards do not work for me either. In fact, planning a reward for myself, no matter how big or small, is pretty much equal to self-sabotage for me.
  • weezgrrl
    weezgrrl Posts: 26 Member
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    Thanks for all the feedback! It sounds like performance-based goals (ie eating, working out, persevering) are the way to go. I decided to join Roni Noone's step challenge starting today (100,000 steps in 7 days!!), and if I complete it above 100,000 for the week I'm buying myself some loose-leaf tea (the new Oprah Chai) and a teapot. There's no randomness that can prevent me from reaching for and achieving a goal like that!

    PS I think someone asked about my YouTube video and if there would be ads. I don't monetize my vids, and I never see any ads when I watch them back, but your mileage may vary with that... I'm sure YT reserves the right to place ads wherever they please!!
  • Cookie_4
    Cookie_4 Posts: 152 Member
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    Interesting topic! I always tell myself if I get below a certain poundage, I'll reward myself with something (like a mani/pedi). I always sabotage myself somehow when I'm super close to that goal and wondered why. I think I'll just see getting to my feel good goal is a reward in itself.
  • Heirgreat
    Heirgreat Posts: 262 Member
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    Great post I've dipped in and out of oneder land for the last 6weeks near
    giving up but I. Think I placed so much importance on a "number" rather than the effort I was making that I ruined it for myself- great work you've done and excellent post - thanks from a fellow WAtoninan

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