Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this

Bella20102010
Bella20102010 Posts: 32 Member
in Motivation and Support
Whenever I lose a little bit of weight I start being careless with what I eat. Instead of seeing it as a motivating factor, it's like a green light to "reward" myself or think I can get away with it because I'm losing weight. So. Stupid. Like tonight - my pants are a little looser and without thinking I almost started pigging out on my kiddo's V-day treat bag. I don't know which is worse: losing 8 pounds and thinking I can eat whatever I want or thinking about Bogarting my kid's V-day candy.

Beth
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Replies

  • hope643
    hope643 Posts: 10 Member
    i do that too. I hate it. bc then i end up not making any progress at all.
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
    I did do it, now I buy myself music, a book, a game, clothes, something not edible.
  • nancycaregiver
    nancycaregiver Posts: 812 Member
    Get a jar and write "REWARD" on it. Every time you lose a pound put a predetermined amount of money in it ($5-$10, whatever you can afford). When you lose 10 pounds, take the money out and reward yourself with non edible reward, like a new outfit, shoes, workout clothes...) then start again for the next 10 pounds. While you are watching the dollars grow in the jar, be thinking about you may want. When you get there you will be so excited about it, hopefully your kids will get to keep their candy! Goid luck!

    P. S. And, no, you are not the only one! It's a mind game!
  • hope643
    hope643 Posts: 10 Member
    That's a really good idea. :-)
  • Dicecatt
    Dicecatt Posts: 8
    That is a great idea.

    What I do is make reward goals when I've lost a certain amount. When I reach 50 pounds, I'm getting a tatoo:)
  • MumOfADuo
    MumOfADuo Posts: 294 Member
    Whenever I lose a little bit of weight I start being careless with what I eat. Instead of seeing it as a motivating factor, it's like a green light to "reward" myself or think I can get away with it because I'm losing weight. So. Stupid. Like tonight - my pants are a little looser and without thinking I almost started pigging out on my kiddo's V-day treat bag. I don't know which is worse: losing 8 pounds and thinking I can eat whatever I want or thinking about Bogarting my kid's V-day candy.

    Beth

    Oh TRUST me...this will be a huge thread!!! You are NOT the only one....mine is so totally mental...for some reason, I start to lose weight and either get cocky and start to 'play the game' or I am truly afraid of being happy and healthy so I sabotage myself...been feeling GREAT about myself, getting down to numbers I havent seen in a while but now its been about 2 weeks of TOTALLY being off track...so I GET it......gotta work my way thru this.....
  • MumOfADuo
    MumOfADuo Posts: 294 Member
    Get a jar and write "REWARD" on it. Every time you lose a pound put a predetermined amount of money in it ($5-$10, whatever you can afford). When you lose 10 pounds, take the money out and reward yourself with non edible reward, like a new outfit, shoes, workout clothes...) then start again for the next 10 pounds. While you are watching the dollars grow in the jar, be thinking about you may want. When you get there you will be so excited about it, hopefully your kids will get to keep their candy! Goid luck!

    P. S. And, no, you are not the only one! It's a mind game!
    Great idea Nancy!!!!!
  • calibriintx
    calibriintx Posts: 1,741 Member
    Yup. I've spent the last two weeks trying not to do it.
  • roblow65
    roblow65 Posts: 156 Member
    I tend to quit after someone notices and tells me I'm starting to look really good, not when females do it, it's usually when a guy does it. I like the attention, I don't know why I do it.
  • irishblonde2011
    irishblonde2011 Posts: 618 Member
    I remember once seeing the quote...
    I'm not a dog I don't reward myself with treats lol
    I like treating myself to getting my hair done,manicure,pedicures etc.

    The jar is good idea too :)
  • brownmousemama
    brownmousemama Posts: 49 Member
    That is a great idea.

    What I do is make reward goals when I've lost a certain amount. When I reach 50 pounds, I'm getting a tatoo:)

    Heyyy, this is my plan too! I've decided once I reach my goal weight (which is actually 145 not 135, my ticker is wrong) I am going to finally get the big side tattoo I've wanted for a long time but have been to chubby to get. :)
    Though, that isn't to say that I won't be getting a tattoo before then, I need to finish the outline I have had for almost a year. Tattoos are expensive!
  • wldrose75
    wldrose75 Posts: 128
    I so do this. Its how I've gained my weight (and then some) back every single time. It seems like my brain is programmed around food. Do something good, reward myself with food. Having a crappy day, comfort myself with food.
  • mmddwechanged
    mmddwechanged Posts: 1,687 Member
    Me too! I reached my goal weight then decided to eat over 2000 calories the last two days.
  • Heather_Rider
    Heather_Rider Posts: 1,159 Member
    Idk why.. i guess maybe because ive always had really high self esteem even when i was big. but i never felt i needed to reward myself. My husband forced me to get my hair done just lately & it was strange! LOL... i dont even cut my hair but like once every 2 years.. i just dont do those things for myself. I dont need them, im not materialistic at ALL. I was always VERY happy & content in who i was & where i was in my life. Rewards never worked in anything i did.. i wasnt "reward motivated" even as a child. My mother even said bribery didnt work for potty training! LOL! I did it when i was ready, which happened to be at an early age!

    I agree its a mind game, but its also mind-set. How can you ask someone else to believe in you, when you dont believe in yourself? Give yourself the benefit of the doubt! trust and believe in yourself! Thats how I quit smoking, and how im losing weight! YOU CAN DO THIS! I have faith in you! Have a little in yourself! How you feel about yourself goes a LONG way! :flowerforyou:
  • Dicecatt
    Dicecatt Posts: 8
    That is a great idea.

    What I do is make reward goals when I've lost a certain amount. When I reach 50 pounds, I'm getting a tatoo:)

    Heyyy, this is my plan too! I've decided once I reach my goal weight (which is actually 145 not 135, my ticker is wrong) I am going to finally get the big side tattoo I've wanted for a long time but have been to chubby to get. :)
    Though, that isn't to say that I won't be getting a tattoo before then, I need to finish the outline I have had for almost a year. Tattoos are expensive!

    It has been years since I've gotten one so I have no idea of the cost...I want one I think on my foot, I want an Ankh with four points in the color of my four children's birthstones. I've been to Egypt and wanted an Ankh ever since! I figure that is an amazing incentive. For my final weigh in I'm going to get my wedding ring fixed, I had to have it cut off, my finger got too big:(
  • lambchoplewis
    lambchoplewis Posts: 797
    I like the money reward. I am at my goal weight and it just dawned on me that I can reward myself each week that I maintain!!! I can then look forward to a new item of clothing or a mani/pedi. I need some motivation NOT to go back up on scales!!
  • stsd2013
    stsd2013 Posts: 6
    I do that too and that is my problem. Once I lose weight,. YOu start saying well a littler her won't matter or I can eat this it won't matter or that. IT ALL MATTERS, because a year later and 35lbs later...it all mattered because it all adds up. Thats the part I want to conquer is to change that way of thinking because I don't reverting back to old habits when I feel better about myself, because then I feel worse again.
  • nomoremuffintop42
    nomoremuffintop42 Posts: 129 Member
    yup i always sabotage myself that way...doing better this time around with less cravings since i gave up wheat but normally as soon as i lose a few pounds i get careless and think I can eat what i want..your not alone.
  • chelledawg14
    chelledawg14 Posts: 509 Member
    I soooo started doing this at the end of last year. I was down 54 lbs and held it from Sept - two weeks before Christmas & thought "wow, I have done so well, I won't watch so much over the holidays". End result - gained 9 lbs, updated my weight on MFP to reflect the gain and feel like a loser everytime I see my ticker. I keep kidding myself that I can go over by this or that everyday because I'll still not be as heavy as I used to, blah blah blah.... I said that to myself as I ate all five pieces of chocolate that hubby gave me on Valentine's day IN ONE SITTING! Every day I tell myself tomorrow I start over, like today I was going to walk outside early in the morning like I used to do, but it snowed overnight & the windchill is in single digits so my day now feels blown. Can't seem to get back into the groove.... I've also missed zumba classes for five weeks now. Hubby said last year when I started this, if I lost the weight I wanted that we would go on a cruise. I just booked that cruise for March 2014 and now I keep playing the mind game of "I have a year and two weeks" to lose my minimum goal of 28 more lbs" but REALLY aiming for 45 more.... We just gotta fight smart with our inner evil food craving selves!!
  • FlannelMothman
    FlannelMothman Posts: 193 Member
    THIS IS ME.

    Yesterday, I was (maybe still am...) 178.3lbs. My first goal weight is 175... A friend was in from out of town last night.... And last night I had a slice of pizza, 1/3a plate of nachos, 1/3 a piece of peanut butter cheesecake, a beer I've never heard of, 2 Guinness, a whole bag of Crispy Minis... I'm insanely bloated today (understandable) and I'm terrified to get out of bed and step on the scale...
  • SGocka
    SGocka Posts: 33 Member
    Stop thinking about food as a reward. Food is fuel, nothing more.
  • NewCaddy
    NewCaddy Posts: 845 Member
    I started a chart...at 10 pounds I bought myself a new sports bra. At 20 pounds, I get a full body message. Etc. etc.
  • Mexicanbigfoot
    Mexicanbigfoot Posts: 520 Member
    That is what always happens to me, too. Then I end up gaining more than I've lost. It's frustrating. I found that putting myself out in the community and helping other people hold me accountable has helped :happy: good luck with your journey!!
  • pkdarlin
    pkdarlin Posts: 149 Member
    Get a jar and write "REWARD" on it. Every time you lose a pound put a predetermined amount of money in it ($5-$10, whatever you can afford). When you lose 10 pounds, take the money out and reward yourself with non edible reward, like a new outfit, shoes, workout clothes...) then start again for the next 10 pounds. While you are watching the dollars grow in the jar, be thinking about you may want. When you get there you will be so excited about it, hopefully your kids will get to keep their candy! Goid luck!

    P. S. And, no, you are not the only one! It's a mind game!
    t


    What A great idea ! I'm going to try that.
  • gabegrammy
    gabegrammy Posts: 147 Member
    All my past diets were like this. 2 months in, I see a little improvement then Bam, eating bad 1 day then the next then off. Well this is not a diet, it's a life changing eating habit. I still get the notion to eat unhealthy, but I eat an apple instead.
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
    I was even worse. If I lost weight, I rewarded myself with food treats. If I gained weight, I consoled myself with food treats. I got nowhere!

    I have a different reward system now. I keep a notebook to record my workouts, and in it I give myself a 0.5 for logging my food and another for each 1/2 hour of exercise. When I lose a pound, I get to add a 0, so 0.5 becomes 0.50, then 5.00 and so forth.
  • beckyb1031
    beckyb1031 Posts: 19
    I do this too but I call it self-sabatoge. Every time I'm doing well, I feel that loss of control. It's almost like way down deep inside I don't believe I deserve to lose the weight. I'm working on trying to figure out why. It's the only thing in my life I have not been successful at and it's very frustrating. Often after a bout of self-sabotage, I give up completely and then gain all the weight back but this time I am focused on getting back on track instead of quitting altogether. This is not an easy journey!
  • Mountainbiker2015
    Mountainbiker2015 Posts: 129 Member
    I do that too and that is my problem. Once I lose weight,. YOu start saying well a littler her won't matter or I can eat this it won't matter or that. IT ALL MATTERS, because a year later and 35lbs later...it all mattered because it all adds up. Thats the part I want to conquer is to change that way of thinking because I don't reverting back to old habits when I feel better about myself, because then I feel worse again.

    The above was my attitude in the past and it can still sneak up on me but then I think of how awful I felt when I was so overweight. Than I think of how good I felt getting into pants and shirts that did not fit me for years. It puts things in perspective. I think a lot of us do this though. If losing weight and keeping it off were that easy, we would do it, be done with it and that would be it. Not so in life, at least not for me. Be proud you are making a good decision for you and your health. You will have ups and downs for sure but know that each day is a new day and you are SO WORTH IT. That is the great thing about this site. We are/were all in the same boat at one time.
  • JamieG8991
    JamieG8991 Posts: 1,203 Member
    I have done that, but I don't now. I treat myself now with mani/pedis, getting my hair done....I'm going to treat myself with another tattoo when I reach my goal weight!
  • thedrione
    thedrione Posts: 5
    I do this all the time. I hate it. I've been struggling a lot with this as I'm so close to my first 25 pounds, and lately it seems I've been getting all willie nillie with my eating. I'm trying to figure out how to stop that from happening. I think a part of it too is the newness wears off, and it's not our focus anymore. So I'm going to challenge myself to try and avoid any bread, sweets, and most dairy this week to help keep myself in check. Carbs are my biggest weakness. I'm going to be focusing on fruits, vegetables, and protein. I'm hoping this will help me to get over that 25 pound wall and heading towards the 50 pounds mark. Good luck to you! You can do this! It's all a mind game, you just have to outsmart your habits!

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