Rewards?

kaleighmorgan

Do you guys think rewarding yourself is a good way to stay on track with weight loss? If so, do you have a series of goals you're trying to meet and corresponding rewards to those goals? I want to hear what you consider a "reward!"

CindiBryce

My reward is good health.
I don't need material goods to motivate me.

picinina

I have a serious undying love of all things related to retail therapy... these include (especially), shoes, bags, new cd's and one of my most recent.... anything related to the progress of my health kick- new exercise clothes, work out shoes, H/R Monitor, fitness ball.

I made a secret promise to myself... for every kilogram I lose (2lbs), I will buy myself one of the above.

I never associate my rewards with food. It's something I've always kept in the back of my mind.

Hope that helps...

Cheers,
Picinina

theradiantbride

Rewards are a great way to help motivate yourself! Especially at the beginning of your journey, when it's difficult to see the end results. For me, the most motivating rewards is giving myself a certain amount of money to buy new clothes once I reach each of my goal weights.

But really, anything you want can be used as a reward. Maybe for every pound you lose, you set aside $5 for you to just spend on yourself. Of course, if you just spend money all the time anyway, it probably isn't going to be very motivating. You just have to find a reward system that works for you.

Oh yes, but never use food as a reward. Not a great habit to get into.

woo1324

I like to set rewards sometimes its a fav meal that i havent been allowing myself sometimes its getting some new clothes or going out for day of shopping , i dont think wanting to get a reward is materialistic i think its just in human nature that when we work hard at something we want to be able to get something to show for it for me i kinda see my weight loss as like a part time job my salary is the better body more energy etc but just like any job bonuses are always good motivation something that can be held and something that can be representative of my efforts ,,,,,,,,,

luvlite2

Well I think you need to set small goals...not so small as to where you are rewarded for every pound lost. anything lost is great though. So, it depends on how much weight you want to lose. I'm a heavy hitter. I would like to lose 100 lbs. But to make it look less frightening I've decided to break it up in quarters. so every 25lbs I will celebrate. Don't know what or how but I will. It's up to you to decide how you want to break up your goals. So, if you need a little something to give you a push i.e. a reward. Then I say go for it. No rewarding yourself with "cheat food" ! LOL! Good luck!!

CindiBryce

Rewards are a great way to help motivate yourself! Especially at the beginning of your journey, when it's difficult to see the end results. For me, the most motivating rewards is giving myself a certain amount of money to buy new clothes once I reach each of my goal weights.

But really, anything you want can be used as a reward. Maybe for every pound you lose, you set aside $5 for you to just spend on yourself. Of course, if you just spend money all the time anyway, it probably isn't going to be very motivating. You just have to find a reward system that works for you.

Oh yes, but never use food as a reward. Not a great habit to get into.

Well, I don't think it is good to develop a dependence on material items to motivate yourself. Isn't the number on the scale good enough? How about rewards that last a lifetime such as health?

picinina

Rewards are a great way to help motivate yourself! Especially at the beginning of your journey, when it's difficult to see the end results. For me, the most motivating rewards is giving myself a certain amount of money to buy new clothes once I reach each of my goal weights.

But really, anything you want can be used as a reward. Maybe for every pound you lose, you set aside $5 for you to just spend on yourself. Of course, if you just spend money all the time anyway, it probably isn't going to be very motivating. You just have to find a reward system that works for you.

Oh yes, but never use food as a reward. Not a great habit to get into.

Well, I don't think it is good to develop a dependence on material items to motivate yourself. Isn't the number on the scale good enough? How about rewards that last a lifetime such as health?

I think it depends on the journey.

Me, for example, I'm only 5ft and only wish to lose a 5-7kgs (12-14lbs), so it's harder to shift smaller numbers. Therefore, if I have a reward in mind, it really helps.

Also, the scales don't move as often as I would like them to. My own personal daily reward is seeing the results in my clothing. The more NSV's the better.

I re-read my entry and feel it does sound very materialistic... but I think it's whatever drives you to achieve baby steps.

CindiBryce

Rewards are a great way to help motivate yourself! Especially at the beginning of your journey, when it's difficult to see the end results. For me, the most motivating rewards is giving myself a certain amount of money to buy new clothes once I reach each of my goal weights.

But really, anything you want can be used as a reward. Maybe for every pound you lose, you set aside $5 for you to just spend on yourself. Of course, if you just spend money all the time anyway, it probably isn't going to be very motivating. You just have to find a reward system that works for you.

Oh yes, but never use food as a reward. Not a great habit to get into.

Well, I don't think it is good to develop a dependence on material items to motivate yourself. Isn't the number on the scale good enough? How about rewards that last a lifetime such as health?

I think it depends on the journey.

Me, for example, I'm only 5ft and only wish to lose a 5-7kgs (12-14lbs), so it's harder to shift smaller numbers. Therefore, if I have a reward in mind, it really helps.

Also, the scales don't move as often as I would like them to. My own personal daily reward is seeing the results in my clothing. The more NSV's the better.

I re-read my entry and feel it does sound very materialistic... but I think it's whatever drives you to achieve baby steps.

If it works for you, great!

engineman312

i have a reward. its finishing my first triathlon with a smile on my face. then i will buy myself a brand new road bike (training on a mountain bike now) and start getting ready for my next triathlon.

kaleighmorgan

i have a reward. its finishing my first triathlon with a smile on my face. then i will buy myself a brand new road bike (training on a mountain bike now) and start getting ready for my next triathlon.

What length triathlon? I'm currently training for a half- and full- marathon (Oct & March) but triathlons are my real goal--I'm doing a couple of Sprint Tri's next year (March & June), a marathon next October, and I'm aiming for a half-ironman in 2013 :-D

NiciS72

I've set some rewards for myself but am not totally focused on them. Really I look at it as regaining my youthful health and getting back into my old professional wardrobe. PLUS along the way I get to buy a few things to fit for a few months that look good on me and garner all kinds of compliments!

DH and I decided that next year we'll reward ourselves with a nice vacation when we hit our goal. Whatever works for you to motivate you more to your goal I say DO IT!!!!!

Good Luck!