mini goals, mini rewards??

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erinl84
erinl84 Posts: 90 Member
in Motivation and Support
what are some of your mini goals??? do you give yourself mini rewards???
i want to lose 30 pounds, im down 5 and got to thinking i would like to set some mini goals and have mini rewards when i reach them. so im looking for some ideas. i have no idea what my mini goals should even be!! help me out!!

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  • shvits
    shvits Posts: 249 Member
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    buy a pair of socks. Anything not to do with food. When I go to NYC in May buy something special that is one size smaller!
  • Aerohead21
    Aerohead21 Posts: 333 Member
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    I have 120 to lose. Since that is quite a bit of weight I have set ten pound mini-goals. I started 1-1-12 and decided not to weight
    myself until a month has passed. If I have lost ten pounds I plan to have a meal without considering "diet". Though this is food related, I have decided to do it that way so I don't feel deprived of the things I like to eat. With you having such a small amount to lose (by comparison) I can see a non-food reward being better. Maybe a nice piece of jewelry or a mani/pedi. Or even if you really want a food reward, have a decadent dessert every ten pounds :) Just don't forget to live your life. Don't worry so hard on the actual number. Focus more on your overall health :) which is why I haven't weighed...I don't want to obsess about the number.
  • Nariel
    Nariel Posts: 11 Member
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    This is such a great topic because it so important to stay motivated and keep your self esteem up. It can be so easy to get discouraged. And.....I am actually headed to get my 10lb loss reward today---a massage!!

    Because rewards really work for me and give me something positive to work towards, I am rewarding myself every 5lbs. That's "hopefully" about every 2-3 weeks for me. And I've made some of the bigger rewards(30lb +) items that I really want to stay pumped about weight loss when I'm tired of all the hard work. Here's my list I came up with:

    5lb -- Wii Just Dance 3 (totally silly but it has been fun)
    10lb -- Full body massage
    15 -- Wii Zumba 2 (good time to add another fun option for working out)
    20 -- Mani/Pedi
    25 -- Facial
    30 -- Haircut makeover
    35 -- Sephora shopping spree
    40 -- Pearl Earrings
    45 -- Kate Middleton wrap dress =)
    50 -- A new bikini & a long weekend vacation somewhere tropical to show off my new me!

    I personally think its important to keep it non-food related, but that is just me. I have always celebrated every happy with food and comforted myself during every sad with food. It is time for that pattern to stop. I am working to learn that there are more ways to be social and celebrate than food ways.
  • kelleman1
    kelleman1 Posts: 148 Member
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    My mini goals are:

    174 lbs
    169 lbs
    164 lbs
    159 lbs
    154 lbs
    149 lbs

    You get the idea.

    As far as rewards... I don't really have any because I don't want to spend money, lol. The only 1 I have right now is to try on some old clothes to see what fits. It really helps me see how far I've come. I plan on doing that when I hit 169, and probably again when I hit 159.

    However, when I hit my goal weight, 145 lbs, I do want to get a new outfit!
  • jojonesnz
    jojonesnz Posts: 107 Member
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    mini goals with mini rewards is a great idea, breaking a big thing down into small steps makes it so much easier to stick with your goals:smile:

    okay so mini rewards for me would be things i love doing that doesn't involve food
    - massage
    - facial (ive never had one of these)
    - a new peice of jewellery
    - a new item of makeup
    - a new picture for the wall
    - a night/weekend away

    pretty much all the things for ourselves we don't tend to do regularly :wink:

    3926322.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods
  • kawanna941
    kawanna941 Posts: 135 Member
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    Kitchen Appliances, clothes, shoes, new haircut/style, cooking lessons, mani/pedi, mini vacations
  • Aerohead21
    Aerohead21 Posts: 333 Member
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    The other reason I choose food as a reward is because I have lost the weight before and I got really sick so I don't want to get in the mindset that I can never eat the food I like. Maybe I will switch up my rewards to keep it fresh.
  • kawanna941
    kawanna941 Posts: 135 Member
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    Also I am buying a charm bracelet and for every 15lbs I lose I will add a charm (I have a lot to lose)! Its a visual reminder of my progress.
  • skreal89
    skreal89 Posts: 6
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    I think mini goals are a great idea! I am a guy so mani/pedi's are not really my thing ha so whenever I get under a ten pound (or 5 lb) mark I do a little dance and buy myself something nice. I am a college student so I do not have a lot of money but I always find something like a new pair of shoes, a watch, and sometimes I just look up a really good healthy recipe that is time consuming and do that. I feel that rewarding myself with unhealthy foods is the same as an alcoholic rewarding 30 days of sobriety with a shot of whiskey so I try to stay away from unhealthy food rewards but king crab legs are only 9 lbs away!!!

    Hope this helps~
    Brennan
  • Aerohead21
    Aerohead21 Posts: 333 Member
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    Let me clarify, I didn't say I would reward myself with unhealthy foods. I said I would reward myself with things I would normally restrict on a diet. I am sure a healthy person has a piece of pizza every now and again. It isn't my intention to gorge myself with crap and backslide when I acheive a goal. I think to cut it out entirely will make me want it more and do more harm than allowing myself to have it on occasion.
  • erinl84
    erinl84 Posts: 90 Member
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    great ideas everyone, thanks!!!!
  • skreal89
    skreal89 Posts: 6
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    I realize this Aero. I was not directing my post at anyone inparticular you just said in your original post that you wouldn't count calories for a day which just would not work out well for me. I still eat pizza, ice cream, fried chicken, and chinese food...all those things that people say you aren't supposed to have! the beautiful thing about this is that you can eat whatever the heck you want as long as you know how many calories it is and keep it within your daily goal!! I sometimes am I own worst enemy and have chinese food at noon and only have 400 calories left for the day. It's always a good learning experience though. Best of luck!
  • Aerohead21
    Aerohead21 Posts: 333 Member
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    Well, I intend to count whatever I eat. I just don't want to obsess every second of every day. I want one meal where I can enjoy something that I wouldn't normally eat. I will count it though, as it will impact my weight loss. I just don't want people to realize it isn't bad to reward themselves with food. We have to face it every day so we might as well learn how to incorporate it responsibly. How someone may do that will likely differ from one person to another, but that doesn't mean one person's plan is worse than another. Ultimately the goal here is to improve our health.

    And I realy like the charm bracelet idea. Every goal for weight loss is not just pounds. For me it could be something like taking my son on a walk, going to a theme park and actually being able to ride the rides. Going swimming and not being humiliated by your own self, being able to cross my legs, wear a dress, date someone, and many many more things losing weight will help me accomplish. There are a lot of charms that could signify these things too. Very rewarding. Great idea.

    Edit to add: I already have one goal under my belt if we go by things besides pounds. I can zip my coat. I had to buy the biggest size they offered in the store I was in and I couldn't even zip it :) I realized today as I was shopping in this same store that I not only could zip it, I had room left over!
  • lore2810
    lore2810 Posts: 57 Member
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    My ultimate reward will be to Healthy and for me happier :)
    And to be able to fit into my old clothes.

    Mini goals are:
    186lbs
    179lbs
    170lbs
    165lbs
    ...
    150 lbs

    some mini rewards I can think of are:
    new shoes
    haircut and colour
    mani/pedi
    new jacket
    new handbag

    and once I reach my goal weight....a whole lot of new, cute clothes! :)

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