Rewarding yourself...Good or Bad!?!

All my rewards are on my profile, but I do reward myself, my kids are too small to share shoes with them, plus I work so I have nice,comfy shoes to wear. A few of my past rewards have been a fitness watch, new clothes, weights for working out with, new shoes, getting my hair done at the salon. etc.

You're human, having children & a husband, doesn't have to be the only joy of your life; just your priority. As long as they have what they need from you & enough wants to be comfortable (as in living, not just existing), then anything leftover is yours. Enjoy your own life too, not just theirs.

If you can afford it, then buy yourself a new pair of shoes right now, to exercise in. And then periodically buy yourself things that you can afford because you want them. I don't think you have to justify it as a reward for anything. Better health is its own reward. P.S. I really love your profile pic.

I reward myself with a small steak dinner at a local chain when I log for 30 days in a row. Actually, I bribe myself, but it works out the same. XD

If planning a reward for certain milestones works for you, then I say do it. Pick your reward, write it down and stick it on your fridge. Or mirror, or something you'll see every day.

yes! manicure, new clothes, new workout stuff, a movie, whatever price and item you decide you want.

absolutely! rewarding is so so important. you need to live life also and enjoy the ride!

I do not reward myself for meeting goals because I believe that I deserve to take good care of myself anyway. I work hard for my money and I deserve to spend some of it on myself, regardless of anything else going on in my life. As for children, unless they are not getting enough food or other necessities, everyone in the household should share the resources and have some discretionary spending.

I used to set up these elaborate schemes for "rewards" for losing a certain amount of weight, but they never seemed to work for some reason. Maybe because they were too few and far between and if I was having trouble getting motivated a bracelet or whatever was never enough to change my behavior. If I were to do that now I might focus on logging or something else like "hitting complete" at the end of the day, but just seeing how many days I've logged is fairly motivating so I haven't felt the need.

I do reward myself with new fitness stuff things for achieving certain fitness goals now because that stuff adds up and is often not strictly necessary (except for good running shoes, though, I think those are essential so I buy those without any guilt or needing to earn them first).

What is the most motivating for me and has worked better than any other reward systems I've used is seeing my ticker move here on MFP! Nothing beats that, in my opinion, and it's totally free!

Yes, definitely, absolutely reward yourself.

EmmaFitzwilliam wrote: »

I reward myself when I hit a "0" (every 10 pounds lost). For a while I was rewarding myself on the 5s as well but I've been at or above my latest 5 for 10 weeks without making it down to the next 0. I don't have deadlines for my rewards. Just 3 days' weigh-in at xx5.0 or below (or xx0.0). Weight loss is not linear. I went 10 weeks at (###) (or above!) - then dropped 5 pounds in 10 days.

I am a firm believer in "carrots" and rewards - I'm lucky; my housemate, who is also on MFP, bought several inexpensive presents to surprise me with for each 5/0.

For bigger things, I'm planning to have a blowout party with my friends once I hit my target, but it will happen when it happens. I'm not going to stress or pressure myself by setting a "due date".

This just warms my heart. You're indeed lucky! I hope you have a blast all the way to your goal and beyond

For background I'm single/no kids. I pretty much buy what I need when I need it, but I did decide to use two rewards for motivation when I was having difficulty breaking a certain 5 and 0 (LOL, love those terms). The ring was for the 0 and a computer for the next five down. At the 0 I said screw the ring - I'm not a jewelry gal anyway and whatever was so exciting about it had worn off. So I chose to enjoy the money in my bank account instead. At the five I happily got the computer. It was something I needed, anyway, but could live without. Just delayed it a little almost to build the excitement and anticipation, and have that sort of spill over into working towards my weight/fitness goals.

OP, I'm not sure if/how to talk you into wanting the extras. If you're happy, which it appears you are, they may not be necessary. But if you want the shoes, a date with the hubby and to catch up with your girls, by all means do it. Even if you wind up not doing one or more of those, the excitement building up to it could really be quite the something. And yep if it's not taking away from your kids, I'm sure they'd love to see Mom let her hair down and enjoy life a little (more) On a lighter but somewhat serious note, I think it's important for teenagers to see how an adult might do this in a controlled, responsible manner without completely losing their head :laugh: