If I have something to look forward to, I'll work harder and focus on short-term goals rather than the long-term ones.
I'm wanting to lose 6 stone this year (a stone is 14lbs, international comrades!) and I'd like a reward for every stone.
I'm comfortable, finance-wise, but I haven't got money coming out of the ears, so I'm not planning anything too expensive, but things that will spur me on and get me going.
So far I'm thinking:
1 stone - "Hello Gorgeous" Lush Gift Set
2 stone - facial
3 stone - haircut
4 stone - pole dancing classes (I REALLY want to try this, but feel too self-conscious atm. 4 stone is where I think I'll start looking hot!)
6 stone - shopping spree!
I'm the worst one to ask this - rewards don't work at ALL for me -- or rather, work as a 'carrot' to get me to do something. If I want a facial, I get one, I can't wait til I lose 10 lbs. The only thing that works for me that way is CLOTHES. I know there's no point in buying stuff NOW when I'm on the way down, so once I feel my clothes are looking too baggy and therefore sloppy, I splurge and get a few form-fitting things. Try clothes! yay!
clothes are a fun way to reward yourself. On a smaller scale, I use calorie shifting as an award system. Eating fewer calories one day means I get to eat more the next (and keep my metabolism up by doing it this way.)
Interesting idea kelly315, but I'm doing the Alternate Day Diet - heavy restriction one day, and more calories the next day, so I kind of do this anyway.
This is my 10 pound reward. I bought the wash creme and lotion and am keeping it on my desk for an occasional whiff....but, I can't use them until I lose the 10!
I gave this some thought also. Since I am not paying for any weight loss program, I feel good about splurging some for rewards.
Clothes are good but they *cross fingers* will get too big as I shrink. So far, I have been able to shop in my closet. But it does feel so good to go down a size!
I have decided that I am going to use jewelry as my reward. My husband does not buy jewelry as gifts very often and I have always felt guilty about spending money on unnecessary things for myself. Jewelry is a real treat that I can continue to use at any size.
To celebrate 25 pounds lost, I got a London Blue topaz ring. It was inexpensive but I like it. I will have it resized as my fingers shrink. I am enjoying looking at jewelry, planning future rewards. I think that I am getting some type of pendant for 50 pounds so that it does not need resizing. When I get to 199 pounds, I am going to celebrate big and get the emerald ring that I have wanted for years!
Also somewhere down the line, I want to get a massage. I have never had one (except from DH). I have always been too embarrassed about my size to get one. Has anyone else felt that way?
Yeah, I felt that way about massages and didn't get one until I was about 75-80 pounds down. Ah! Beautiful! Wonderful! Then I got one from some creepy guy masseuse and I've never been back.
I was using a reward systemds, but they're weren't large goals, or large rewards andd I didn't plan them very far ahead. I haven't used my system in a while and I wonder if maybe it would be a good thing to start up again.
I made charts that sort of looked like bingo cards, for my day planner. 4 rows of 5 boxes on each page. In the boxes I put my weight in one corner of the box and the number of pounds lost at that weight. For example, the top left(because I started at 394) would have 393 in the top corner, and 1 (for one pound lost) in the next. The next box in the top row would be 392 in the top corner, and 2 in the bottom.
Whenever I reached the weight in the box, I would put a sticker in (yes, very grade school, but I figure I'm about as mature as an 11 year old, so it was fun). At the end of each row, I left a space to write a reward (so I'd gett a tangible reward for every five pounds lost.) Usually, I would choose something small, and my "rule" was that if I wanted it, once I'd named it I couldn't buy it for myself, for any other reason. So, if I chose a book or magazine, or MP3 downlowd, I always specified the title or exact item, and I couldn't buy THAT item until I'd lost that number of pounds. Usually for every 20 lbs (the end of a page), I'd choose a more substantial reward. My biggest reward was for losing 60 lbs (an MP3 player).
I just realized that when I stopped writing the rewards in advance, and had decided that I'd leave the reward slopts blank and when I lost the 5 lbs, then I'd choose my reward. I don't think that's WHY I haven't been losing much weight, the bigger problem is that I had allowed myself to become distracted on many levels.
However, since the sticker chart was helping me focus, and remind myself of my goals, I think I'm going to go back to the original way I was doing it.
Another habit, I had gotten out of was writing down my weight every day. I have still been weighing daily (which is why I think I'm maintaining my loss), but I haven't been writing it down. That was also helping me stay focused.
I don't think rewards are about paying yourself for accomplishments (I was doing it for exercise too), but I think they help you stay focused. Anything that can help prevent you from losing enthusiasm and focus is a good thing.
A rewards system for weight loss has never really worked at all for me. For one thing, I don't always have the money to afford the things I'd really enjoy as rewards, such as new cosmetics or clothing; and a reward delayed or merely promised is really no reward at all. For another thing, rewards just don't motivate me at all, at least not on a daily, nose-to-the-grindstone, routine kind of basis...which is where all the real work of weight loss is done. For a third thing, I'm already pretty prone to putting off basic beauty maintenance like haircuts due to my loathing of making and keeping appointments or doing shopping, and a rewards system just makes me postpone necessary stuff even longer than I should.
But if rewards work for you, there's no reason not to implement a little system for yourself.
I'm lucky enough that my dad is rewarding me. (he used to offer me money when i was young to lose weight and I never did, so when I decided to this time I asked if he still would. My dad doesn't go back on his word. Especially when he says NO lol.)
So he's giving me ten dollars a pound, when I lose 50 i get an extra 500.
I was thinking about this after I read the thread originally. I have a sister who petite. She is cute and little and shops in Victoria Secrets and Banana Republic. I have ALWAYS wanted to be able to shop with her. Going through the racks and trying on different clothes would be very exiciting for me. I think that can be my June reward. When I get back to the states and we do our usualy trip in to New York City I can make one of them a shopping day. Not to say I would buy everything in site but I would love to be able to try on anything in either of those two stores and feel fabulous.
The other reward is a journey neclace. I saw this necklace in St. Maarten last summer at a store which is also located in NYC and it was blue diamonds, white diamonds and white gold. I would really deserve it when I make it there. Losing weigh tis incrediblly hard and I wish I could do it magically. I am learning a little more everyday so that is my own way of rewarding myself.
Anyway....if I make it to Banana Republic.....I am going to make my sister take pictures of me there coming out of the dressing rooms in every outfit I love.
How about a really cool trip? Or some new furniture? New bedding (I LOVE to get new bedding, especially with some very nice sheets!)? A complete makeover? (I guess you should do the makeover BEFORE the shopping spree ). A nice bike? Personal training to tone that fab bod?
The little rewards I choose, aren't about money at all (because I often have none); and I personally believe they shouldn't be about things you should do for yourself anyway (a reward should be something that is completely unnecessary, so I don't think it should be things like haircuts or basic clothing).
Most of the "rewards" I chose cost less $5. Some of them were even items from the dollar store, or during really tight times completely free (books from the library, or doing something special, but basically free like going to a free summer concert in our city park, or even listening to a CD, I already owned).
It may sound stupid to use listening to a CD I already own as a reward, but it wasn't the reward, it was choosing to do something special for me, because I'd done a good job. I didn't choose listening to any CD's as my reward, because that's not really a reward but a punishment - saying that I can't listen to CD's until I lost 5 lbs wouldn't work for me at all.
My husband and I are both on SSDI disability and on medicare with humongous medical expenses (and this year is going to be worse, as our medical costs, it looks like, are going to double because of this year's changes to medicare). So this year, I'm going to have to make sure that most of my rewards are of the free or nearly free variety. I don't think this will diminish the fun of my reward system, though.
Ironically, the stickers themselves were the largest part of the reward for me. And not even the sticker itself, of course, as if I couldn't afford stickers (thankfully, I've never been that broke) I could just as easily drawn little flowers or birdies or hearts in the boxes, or even just a boring old checkmark (not as fun though, I don't think). The sense of joy and accomplishment was in meeting a goal.
Losing weight can often be such a boring, monotonous chore if you let it be. However, if you can make it challenging and even fun, I think that can definitely help motivation.
I was going to suggest jewelry as well. Only as a charm bracelet. For every XX pounds lost, buy yourself a charm for it. then you can still see the success as you go along.
I Need Some Rewards!
). A nice bike? Personal training to tone that fab bod?
