What is your reward system to stay motivated?

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  • jo_nz
    jo_nz Posts: 548 Member
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    I'm really liking these ideas - I have just made myself a list of weights and rewards on my way to goal. I think writing it down made it feel more "real" than just the thinking about it I have been doing.

    Also putting in a few non-scale ones (I've just started a 9-week program, so a couple related to that, as well as hitting some distance milestones on my new bike).
  • MyFreakingNameIsScott
    MyFreakingNameIsScott Posts: 199 Member
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    This may not help but as a coach, extrinsic rewards aren’t terribly helpful for the long haul. The reward for executing is feeling good whether it’s helping score a point, scoring a point, or simply achieving a personal goal. Intrinsic value always outlasts extrinsic rewards and it’s better for maintaining long term habits.
  • Evelyn_Gorfram
    Evelyn_Gorfram Posts: 706 Member
    edited October 2018
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    I have a whole long list of rather silly scale-based goals:

    When I lose three more pounds, I will weigh 289, which is 17 squared. I haven't thought of a proper prize for that, so it will just probably amuse me.

    One pound below that, and I'll be halfway through the "mordibly obese" weight range. I'm celebrating that by buying some Deadman's Reach coffee and an accompanying "Served in Bed Raises the Dead" coffee mug.

    The next big reward comes at 285, where my BMI will be exactly 42. I'm going to get my full geek on and buy myself the coolest towel I can find. ;)

    278 is the next biggie: that's how far my last weight long journey took me before being very badly Overtaken By Events. Not sure what I'm going to do for that - it's a big one for me.

    I won't bore you with the whole rest of the list, but highlights include:

    264 - BMI = 39. I plan to (re-)watch and/or re-read "The 39 Steps."

    250 - halfway to goal, and also the weight on my driver's license(!). Haven't decided how to celebrate yet.

    233 - 13th Fibonacci number (e.g. a total math-geek-out number). I plan to do something elegantly proportionate.

    220 - Voltage used by heavy duty household appliances in the US. I plan to do something (non-electrically) shocking.

    204 - BMI = 30. There are 30 of Bach's Goldberg Variations. I plan to buy myself the Glenn Gould CD.

    199 - I plan to buy ten things that cost $1.99

    188 - Goal. Not sure yet, but it's gonna be good. :):):)


  • jo_nz
    jo_nz Posts: 548 Member
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    Evelyn_Gorfram wrote: »
    I have a whole long list of rather silly scale-based goals:

    When I lose three more pounds, I will weigh 289, which is 17 squared. I haven't thought of a proper prize for that, so it will just probably amuse me.

    One pound below that, and I'll be halfway through the "mordibly obese" weight range. I'm celebrating that by buying some Deadman's Reach coffee and an accompanying "Served in Bed Raises the Dead" coffee mug.

    The next big reward comes at 285, where my BMI will be exactly 42. I'm going to get my full geek on and buy myself the coolest towel I can find. ;)

    278 is the next biggie: that's how far my last weight long journey took me before being very badly Overtaken By Events. Not sure what I'm going to do for that - it's a big one for me.

    I won't bore you with the whole rest of the list, but highlights include:

    264 - BMI = 39. I plan to (re-)watch and/or re-read "The 39 Steps."

    250 - halfway to goal, and also the weight on my driver's license(!). Haven't decided how to celebrate yet.

    233 - 13th Fibonacci number (e.g. a total math-geek-out number). I plan to do something elegantly proportionate.

    220 - Voltage used by heavy duty household appliances in the US. I plan to do something (non-electrically) shocking.

    204 - BMI = 30. There are 30 of Bach's Goldberg Variations. I plan to buy myself the Glenn Gould CD.

    199 - I plan to buy ten things that cost $1.99

    188 - Goal. Not sure yet, but it's gonna be good. :):):)


    This has got to be the best list I have ever seen.
    And also, coffee as a reward - why didn't I think of that? Or there is a roastery near me that does tours which could be fun.
  • AudreyJDuke
    AudreyJDuke Posts: 1,092 Member
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    Skinny jeans!
  • kdbulger
    kdbulger Posts: 396 Member
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    I've rewarded myself a few times for my hard work and success, but it hasn't been planned. My biggest one so far was a lululemon sweater because I always loved my LLL sweaters before I got too big to wear their size range.

    Other than that, my best strategy has been to work out because then I have extra wiggle room for indulgences day by day. I'll have one "treat meal" or item per week, the same day as my weigh-in. So that day we might get pizza or fast food, or I'll get a giant chocolate croissant or something.

    Other than that, I find the best reward is just seeing the changes in my body, the scale, and my abilities. There hasn't been anything more valuable or tangible to me that matters.
  • twatson4936
    twatson4936 Posts: 121 Member
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    There is a gourmet cupcake place close to work. If I am good for two weeks and I have exercised so I have some extra calories I go and get a cupcake, today it was a pumpkin spice cupcake, 330 calories. I still have over 1200 to eat for dinner. :-)
  • Jennloella
    Jennloella Posts: 2,286 Member
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    getting stronger is a reward for me. Each time I increase weight on any lift I'm stoked and satisfied.
  • jaynee7283
    jaynee7283 Posts: 160 Member
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    In general rewards don't work for me - I give up and get easily frustrated after just a few weeks of not earning the reward. This time around, I'm getting serious about losing weight, but I'm also doing it in a completely different way. No longer am I telling myself I can't have that oreo, that ice cream, that chocolate. In the past I've tried to say NEVER AGAIN only to fail and stuff my gourd with as many sweets as I can. Result? In September I hit the highest weight I've ever been.

    This time around, if I want the stupid oreo, I have it. If I want the piece of chocolate - I have it! This way I don't overindulge down the line and end up in the cycle of defeat. Eating an oreo is not a FAILURE now, whereas that's how I saw it before.

    And the result is that I've lost 15 pounds in five weeks. I am doing low-carb (50-100 a day MAX) and sticking to 1200-1500 per day. My main reward is each day I succeed in sticking to those ranges.

    But I am giving myself one tangible reward this time around - but it's for a BIG goal, not a small one. I'm giving myself the winnings from HealthyWage if I reach the goal I set today: 30 pounds in the next 6 months. I did the bet at HealthWage because by then I'll need some new clothes, and the $450+ I'd win would allow me to get some.

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