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

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.

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 :-)

You've lost 72lbs. This is great, just keep swimming. This moment will pass.

if i go to your youtube video will there be ads?

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?

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.

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.