How do you reward yourself?
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Promised myself a treat at every 10lb lost. First 10 I got a fitness tracker which I LOVE, second 10 it was a whole new workout outfit (bought my first early as I was having to pull my leggings up during my workouts which was distracting...and my feet were "sloshing") . I'm 3lbs into the next 10 & already have my eye on yet more gear haha!
I also started putting a pound coin in a jar for every 1lb lost. If I succeed, I should have about £110 at goal to do something super nice. Not quite sure what it will be yet, but it's fun watching them stack up all the same!1 -
Seeing that scale drop numbers, being able to set new weight loss goals, fitting into old outfits and having old ones grow loose, truly and honesty excites me! Building the strength to finally look at myself in the mirror face to the reality of what my body looks like after yrs of avoiding my reflection and the hard truth is my reward!2
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A new trench coat, spiked collar, slave bracelet, and art supplies. Wait.. I get that anyways..2
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amusedmonkey wrote: »I don't. It creates an unhealthy thought pattern for me. It shifts the focus from the process itself to numbers. I don't like that, the process is too important to fade out of focus. I need to build habits not achieve a number by any means necessary. I want to normalize eating to be just a part of how I conduct my life normally. I don't reward myself for brushing my teeth, and I hope with time I will achieve a similar habit-driven nature for eating.
Rewards also create a contrast for me, where for every period of time where "I've been good and deserve a reward" there is a contrasting period of time where I will be tempted to label myself as "bad and deserve a punishment", along with the useless guilt that comes with it instead of seeking answers why I'm having a hard time. I've had some haywire last few months, and I'm glad I caught these destructive reward-punishment patterns early on because instead of looking for the source of the problem and tackling it I would be sitting in a corner feeling sorry for myself. I wasn't being "bad", I just faced a new situation that I hadn't yet encountered and learned to handle. It's a good thing because now I know what happened and how it would possibly happen in the future and I'm ready with strategies, weight gain notwithstanding. Every "good" dieting situation is a step in the right direction, and every "bad" dieting situation is an opportunity to learn how to counter a similar situation in the future, and is a step in the right direction no matter what my weight is doing.
These are my own hangups, of course. Others may do better with a reward system. And with that said, I do reward myself with nice stuff every now and then for no reason at all because they make me happy and I deserve to be happy.
I totally get this and relate very much to it as well. Great insightful post!
I did mention a few times during my weight loss when I "rewarded" myself (like at 199 lb with a bunch of new makeup) but for me I think it was more like celebrating a milestone I reached, than "reward for good behavior". I didn't view it quite the same way.
Like you, I also feel I need to be kind to myself give myself things for no reason because I deserve happiness. Even if I binged and gained 20 lb and whatever else. I would deserve happiness.
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kommodevaran wrote: »
It hasn't always been like this for me. I used to struggle a lot with my weight, and trying so hard to "be healthy". The problem was that what I perceived as "healthy", was in fact unnecessarily exhausting and restrictive, so in reality - it was unhealthy. Healthy eating and exercise habits aren't what it's hyped up to be, it's really very mundane - not very exciting, but easy to fit into our lives, and pleasant to stick to.kommodevaran wrote: »Living a healthy lifstyle makes me feel good every day, and weight management is just something that happens, easily, when I live a happy and healthy life - so I don't reward myself for weightloss/maintaining weight. I do praise myself whenever I've resisted a particularly tough temptation, though.
This is good.. I do wish it worked like that for me.
That's why I plan meals I want to eat every day.I like something to look forward to.
Yes, that ...
And also activities that I enjoy doing.
After I had lost 15 kg (33 lbs), I took a 3-week trip to Canada. I was going anyway, but it was more enjoyable at a lighter weight. For one thing, the 15+ hour flight was so much more comfortable, and for another thing, I was able to cycle a century (100 miles in one day) there and hike to the top of a mountain with my husband and cousin.
Ok I am deviating from my own post, but.. I would really like some tips on cycling from you. I have been looking at your cycling posts and I have started cycling myself (I am very very bad at it though).
Look, I am having a little fangirl moment..
What would you like to know?
I've been cycling since I was 6 (grew up in a cycling family), and have been cycling "seriously" for 27 years now, since my early 20s.
Tip 1 would be to make sure your bicycle fits you properly ... makes cycling so much more comfortable!
Tip 2 would be to change your saddle if it is making you uncomfortable.
Cheers!
ok as for tip 1- i got a cycle frame that fits me (according to my height) and the guy who fit it adjusted the seat height. The saddle is good.
I think my problem is with my energy level. should I start eating a little more on cycling days?
As a general guideline ...
If you're cycling less than 2 hours, you don't need any extra food. Bring a granola bar, just in case. And definitely bring bottles of water.
If you're cycling between about 2 and 4 hours, you might aim to eat about 100 calories per hour while riding. Bring an extra granola bar, just in case. And definitely water.
Over 4 hours, aim to eat about 200 calories per hour.
As for water, aim to drink one 750 ml bottle of water every 1 to 1.5 hours.
These are just guidelines and can depend on things like weather, terrain, exertion, etc.
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amusedmonkey wrote: »I don't. It creates an unhealthy thought pattern for me. It shifts the focus from the process itself to numbers. I don't like that, the process is too important to fade out of focus. I need to build habits not achieve a number by any means necessary. I want to normalize eating to be just a part of how I conduct my life normally. I don't reward myself for brushing my teeth, and I hope with time I will achieve a similar habit-driven nature for eating.
Rewards also create a contrast for me, where for every period of time where "I've been good and deserve a reward" there is a contrasting period of time where I will be tempted to label myself as "bad and deserve a punishment", along with the useless guilt that comes with it instead of seeking answers why I'm having a hard time. I've had some haywire last few months, and I'm glad I caught these destructive reward-punishment patterns early on because instead of looking for the source of the problem and tackling it I would be sitting in a corner feeling sorry for myself. I wasn't being "bad", I just faced a new situation that I hadn't yet encountered and learned to handle. It's a good thing because now I know what happened and how it would possibly happen in the future and I'm ready with strategies, weight gain notwithstanding. Every "good" dieting situation is a step in the right direction, and every "bad" dieting situation is an opportunity to learn how to counter a similar situation in the future, and is a step in the right direction no matter what my weight is doing.
These are my own hangups, of course. Others may do better with a reward system. And with that said, I do reward myself with nice stuff every now and then for no reason at all because they make me happy and I deserve to be happy.
I view rewards a periodic appraisal. I get to review the process, understand what needs to be corrected and identify what worked. There is no scope for punishment. That is too negative a thought. When I reach a goal, I have reached somewhere. I am not in the same place I was yesterday. I made progress. I persisted, through rough patches, through downers and dampners. Do I have punishments? Not really. I dont believe in disincentives.
I will give you an example. Yesterday, my husband asked me if I wanted to go for dinner at my favorite place. I said no. Instead, I have designated going to the said place as a reward once I reach my next mini-goal. Is it going to affect the overall process of reaching the goal. Not really. It might keep me a little more focused. But, it will definitely make reaching my goal a little more enjoyable.
I dont know if any of this is making any sense or its just sounding like gibberish.
I hope you get my point.0 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »I don't. It creates an unhealthy thought pattern for me. It shifts the focus from the process itself to numbers. I don't like that, the process is too important to fade out of focus. I need to build habits not achieve a number by any means necessary. I want to normalize eating to be just a part of how I conduct my life normally. I don't reward myself for brushing my teeth, and I hope with time I will achieve a similar habit-driven nature for eating.
Rewards also create a contrast for me, where for every period of time where "I've been good and deserve a reward" there is a contrasting period of time where I will be tempted to label myself as "bad and deserve a punishment", along with the useless guilt that comes with it instead of seeking answers why I'm having a hard time. I've had some haywire last few months, and I'm glad I caught these destructive reward-punishment patterns early on because instead of looking for the source of the problem and tackling it I would be sitting in a corner feeling sorry for myself. I wasn't being "bad", I just faced a new situation that I hadn't yet encountered and learned to handle. It's a good thing because now I know what happened and how it would possibly happen in the future and I'm ready with strategies, weight gain notwithstanding. Every "good" dieting situation is a step in the right direction, and every "bad" dieting situation is an opportunity to learn how to counter a similar situation in the future, and is a step in the right direction no matter what my weight is doing.
These are my own hangups, of course. Others may do better with a reward system. And with that said, I do reward myself with nice stuff every now and then for no reason at all because they make me happy and I deserve to be happy.
I view rewards a periodic appraisal. I get to review the process, understand what needs to be corrected and identify what worked. There is no scope for punishment. That is too negative a thought. When I reach a goal, I have reached somewhere. I am not in the same place I was yesterday. I made progress. I persisted, through rough patches, through downers and dampners. Do I have punishments? Not really. I dont believe in disincentives.
I will give you an example. Yesterday, my husband asked me if I wanted to go for dinner at my favorite place. I said no. Instead, I have designated going to the said place as a reward once I reach my next mini-goal. Is it going to affect the overall process of reaching the goal. Not really. It might keep me a little more focused. But, it will definitely make reaching my goal a little more enjoyable.
I dont know if any of this is making any sense or its just sounding like gibberish.
I hope you get my point.
Oh I completely understand how it works for some people. It's just a pattern of thought that gets triggered for me, that's all. I get the "looking forward to something" kind of motivation, I just don't do well with it personally. I do feel happy when I fit into something smaller, but I don't look at it as a reward, more like a pleasant expected result. To add, going out as a reward is particularly dangerous for me. If I'm going to normalize my eating habits they should include the ability to go out by default and not being able to enjoy a night out whenever I want feels like a punishment to me.
Again, these are my own issues. People respond differently to different things, just like some people feel rewarding themselves with food is counterproductive and I don't. I feel food is a perfectly good thing to want to enjoy and include in celebrations, rituals, or even simply "I deserve this" days as long as I know what I'm doing with my calories. I also like seltzermint555's way of looking it at, as celebrating a milestone. I do celebrate various things in my life, and it feels different than a reward, it feels like an organic expression of being happy for something nice that happened, not something I plan and can only have if I reach a certain weight and I can't have it otherwise.2 -
1st milestone hit (dropping below 200lbs) bought a couple new t shirts . Hitting 190 lbs I treated myself to a $15 iTunes gc and downloaded some new workout tunes for my ipod!0
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amusedmonkey wrote: »I don't. It creates an unhealthy thought pattern for me. It shifts the focus from the process itself to numbers. I don't like that, the process is too important to fade out of focus. I need to build habits not achieve a number by any means necessary. I want to normalize eating to be just a part of how I conduct my life normally. I don't reward myself for brushing my teeth, and I hope with time I will achieve a similar habit-driven nature for eating.
Rewards also create a contrast for me, where for every period of time where "I've been good and deserve a reward" there is a contrasting period of time where I will be tempted to label myself as "bad and deserve a punishment", along with the useless guilt that comes with it instead of seeking answers why I'm having a hard time. I've had some haywire last few months, and I'm glad I caught these destructive reward-punishment patterns early on because instead of looking for the source of the problem and tackling it I would be sitting in a corner feeling sorry for myself. I wasn't being "bad", I just faced a new situation that I hadn't yet encountered and learned to handle. It's a good thing because now I know what happened and how it would possibly happen in the future and I'm ready with strategies, weight gain notwithstanding. Every "good" dieting situation is a step in the right direction, and every "bad" dieting situation is an opportunity to learn how to counter a similar situation in the future, and is a step in the right direction no matter what my weight is doing.
These are my own hangups, of course. Others may do better with a reward system. And with that said, I do reward myself with nice stuff every now and then for no reason at all because they make me happy and I deserve to be happy.
I feel this. I have a lot of issues with rewards, not just the ones I mentioned above, and the black/white, good/bad, reward/punishment thing can be a big one (especially with my eating disorder).
I've been working with my boyfriend to remind me that punishment should not be part of the equation. Ever. Basically, the way I'm trying to learn to think of it is, in the unlikely event that I do something bad enough that it actually warrants punishment, my body will do that itself. Which isn't a perfect solution, but it's better than giving in to the impulse to not eat for 24 hours as a penalty for gaining half a pound of water weight.
But then the other side of it is...I have a long history of dealing with situations where "later" means "never" and as a result, slow progress might as well be no progress to the part of my brain that recognizes that pattern. So I have to come up with some kind of positive feedback to keep myself on track. That's where making the process its own reward and creating mini-goals and milestones worth celebrating with other people comes in.1 -
At the end of the year I will have been doing this for a year. So my hubby will let me loose with the credit card! I've always wanted a shopping spree like that but never would. Now I can't wait to get to 1st January and be able to shop to my hearts content.
I also want get an eternity ring with all the birthstones of my family in it when I get to goal. That one is a bit harder though cause I don't have a final goal weight, just a look or a feel. Basic I'm going to keep going until I feel happy. Should be somewhere around 55-60kg I think (I'm 5'3'')1 -
This will be my final reward. The outfit, the hair.. My hair is longer but I can trim it up..
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if i get to the point that i have lost the 18st that i need to lose, (13st lost already), and if i win the lottery, i will get a full body lift!! but as the lottery win is unlikely, ( the weight loss is a given, naturally!!
), i expect i will just buy compression clothing and get a weightloss Tattoo..... 
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Seeing a loss on the scale is reward in and of itself for me. But, i did pay good money to start taking great care of my skin. i knew if i was going to lose 30 to 40 pounds it could show on my face. So, i invested in high end skin care and treatments. i also am diligent about the skin on my body too. i also bought eye lash serum, and started working on an updated hair care and style ..the goal is to get thin, fit.. and look my best. The clothes obviously will come.0
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amusedmonkey wrote: »I don't. It creates an unhealthy thought pattern for me. It shifts the focus from the process itself to numbers. I don't like that, the process is too important to fade out of focus. I need to build habits not achieve a number by any means necessary. I want to normalize eating to be just a part of how I conduct my life normally. I don't reward myself for brushing my teeth, and I hope with time I will achieve a similar habit-driven nature for eating.
Rewards also create a contrast for me, where for every period of time where "I've been good and deserve a reward" there is a contrasting period of time where I will be tempted to label myself as "bad and deserve a punishment", along with the useless guilt that comes with it instead of seeking answers why I'm having a hard time. I've had some haywire last few months, and I'm glad I caught these destructive reward-punishment patterns early on because instead of looking for the source of the problem and tackling it I would be sitting in a corner feeling sorry for myself. I wasn't being "bad", I just faced a new situation that I hadn't yet encountered and learned to handle. It's a good thing because now I know what happened and how it would possibly happen in the future and I'm ready with strategies, weight gain notwithstanding. Every "good" dieting situation is a step in the right direction, and every "bad" dieting situation is an opportunity to learn how to counter a similar situation in the future, and is a step in the right direction no matter what my weight is doing.
These are my own hangups, of course. Others may do better with a reward system. And with that said, I do reward myself with nice stuff every now and then for no reason at all because they make me happy and I deserve to be happy.
This was eloquently put. 0 -
kommodevaran wrote: »Living a healthy lifstyle makes me feel good every day, and weight management is just something that happens, easily, when I live a happy and healthy life - so I don't reward myself for weightloss/maintaining weight. I do praise myself whenever I've resisted a particularly tough temptation, though.kommodevaran wrote: »Living a healthy lifstyle makes me feel good every day, and weight management is just something that happens, easily, when I live a happy and healthy life - so I don't reward myself for weightloss/maintaining weight. I do praise myself whenever I've resisted a particularly tough temptation, though.
This is good.. I do wish it worked like that for me. I like something to look forward to.
I split the difference: I reward myself for things like logging for 100 days or meeting fitness goals. When I can bike for an hour, I am going to upgrade my bike with a new gear and slightly long pedal arms, so that I can go faster/further. Or get a new bike if they decide they can't do that.0 -
My reward system is quite simple As long as it is not food and something I really want then it is a reward for weight journey losses. From it was trying to get out of the habit of seeing food as a reward for good behaviour. But also I don't try to see it as getting stuff because let's face it we have enough stuff
My biggest reward/gift to myself was to enter a post grad course to change my career where I was stuck. It was my MFP journey that gave me the confidence boost to change more in my life (PS it worked) Before my journey I wanted to change I wanted to invest in myself but did not feel the confidence I needed.
More simple rewards I use
Nice bathstuffs (yes this is getting stuff but it sort of dissolves quite quickly)
A facial or other pampering
Go to a play/movie/museum etc Something I enjoy.1 -
I plan to reward myself.....cause this losing weight business is effin hard lol. For my first 10 lbs down...I went and got a massage. For my next 10 down I'm planning to get a pedicure. Not really buying stuff...investing in some self care
I totally get others saying no rewards because this really is about a lifestyle change.
I do have some criteria i plan to use when choosing a little reward.
Not food related
Must be healthy
Ideally helps me among my journey and in a good way
Even better if it helps me feel good at the time and
Super bonus if it helps help me feel good about myself over the long run
Much love and respect for all those who have shared their opinions, ideas, and suggestions
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I've never been one to stick with anything for a long period of time. This time, tho, I was and still am in the right mindset. I'm becoming a better version of me and that in itself has been rewarding enough.
I'm giving myself one large material treat and that is a Garmin watch and heart rate strap. My iPod is super old and not much good other than being used for music at this point and my mode of preferred exercise is running. I'm a bit of a data geek so like to see the time ran, distance and pace improvements. And it's also a 15 year wedding anniversary gift.
My husband did all the research legwork (he's a tech geek so was a treat for him to do). He wants one also as he's an avid off-road bicycle rider and the Forerunner has all kinds of bells and whistles that would benefit us both.
I have treated myself to a much shorter haircut and giving my eyebrows some professional love (I've been letting them go so they'd fill in more to have a nicer, fuller shape) because I was starting to look/feel a little feral
Congrats to all of you for where you are in your journey and wish you continued success.0
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