Weight Loss Support - How do you reward your mini goals?

I was just wondering how other people motivate and reward themselves for reaching mini goals. I don't want to do anything counterproductive (ie. dessert), or that requires spending a lot of money, just little things to look forward to.

When I reach my mini goal, i want to get a manicure and pedicure. With the last mini goal, I decided to get a dress for when I reach my goal/ideal weight. Almost like a ribbon at the finish line. LOL :-)

I had to do the same thing - I used to use food as rewars, now I've got some new rewards planned for along the way:
1. Massage
2. Manicure/pedicure
3. Jewelry (doesn't have to be pricey - something fun)
4. Clothes
5. Trip! This is for my final goal reward.

I purchased ($45?) a Brighton charm bracelet. I add a spacer when my total loss ends in a 5 and a charm when it ends in a 0.

Oooh, great idea! I like how it motivates you every day. That's awesome :)

I have some clothes that I used to be able to wear tucked away in under-the-bed storage bins. My rewards as I lose weight will be to be able to bring them out into the light!

My main goal of 170 is actually only a first goal. I know I will want to lose more than that, but I don't know how much. And I don't want to get daunted by a large goal, so when I hit 170 my reward will be to get a navel piercing, and I will then reassess my weight loss goals. I have a feeling I'll want to go about 20 pounds more from there, but it all depends on how I look and feel, not how much I weigh!

For every 10 pounds I lose I plan on putting $50 in savings. That will get me started on my ultimate goal of having my entire back tattooed with a piece my husband designed.

I do not want to get this done before I lose my weight because I want my body to be where it ought to be for the rest of my life.

My mom and I went shopping this weekend and she told me for every 10 pounds I lose she'll take me shopping for a new outfit. :carrot: Can't argue with that!

I buy lots of new clothes that end up too big for me. I think I need a new reward. ;)

depending on the goal, i buy myself something cute to wear. a small minigoal (5lbs) might get me a cute pair of earrings or a headband. a larger minigoal (20lbs) is a new pair of jeans!

- massages
- new workout clothes
- trip to the thrift store (a way to get fun, new clothes without spending a lot of money since they won't fit after a while)
- new songs from itunes downloaded on my ipod (which I listen to while working out)
This are when mini-goals are achieved, when I make goal I want to take a trip to a day spa and get not just a massage but other pampering treatments as well. It's all about the rewards! Yes, weight loss and health and feeling and looker better is it's own reward, but having something specific and tangible for a specific weight helps me to focus.

For my last mini-goal I got a pedicure.

I am also treating myself to a massage every four weeks. This is not a reward for hitting a goal but rather a reward for doing the work. If I'm eating healthy and exercising I think I deserve a reward if the scale moves or not. So I think it's also good to reward actions too, not just results.

I am also treating myself to a massage every four weeks. This is not a reward for hitting a goal but rather a reward for doing the work. If I'm eating healthy and exercising I think I deserve a reward if the scale moves or not. So I think it's also good to reward actions too, not just results.
This is a really good point.

I just got a day at a fancy spa from my husband, but not for the weight I've lost, but for running 2K this week. I used to run 5K every other day years ago. I am trying to tie my rewards to fitness milestones, not pounds. I want to be fit, not just skinny.

Not really a reward but out of necessity, during my weight loss, I had to go out and buy new clothes from time to time. I generally don't have rewards-I feel like losing the weight is reward enough.

I purchased ($45?) a Brighton charm bracelet. I add a spacer when my total loss ends in a 5 and a charm when it ends in a 0. I have 5 spacers and 4 charms (sounds like an algebra problem from middle school!) because I've lost 45 pounds so far! In the end, I will have 12 charms and 13 spacers! WhooHoo. The charms run about $8-16 and the spacers are $7 (if I remember correctly). It's a great daily reminder of the journey I'm on. My two sisters, Mom and two friends are doing the same thing! It's been a fun aspect of our weight loss efforts. When we make a minigoal we'll call each other and say things like..."I'd like to come see you, but I have to go to the Brighton store!" LOL
Good luck!

I *love* this idea! I think I will incorporate it in my plans, too :yes:

My rewards all have to do with little things, too. Most of which have already been mentioned. My 100 lb lost reward is a new swimsuit & a spray tan (will be next summer when I get there). Ultimate reward around Jan. 2011 will be a clothes shopping spree. :)

I gained most of my excess weight quickly in recent years, so I have a lot of clothes in varying sizes that I still like but are too small. I'm looking forward to getting each "new" wardrobe back as I progress. At my height each ten pounds puts me in a new size.

My first major goal is to get out of the obese range which is about a 20 pound loss from my heaviest (I lost a few pounds before I joined here), and I've promised myself my first really nice or "designer" handbag (not the hugely expensive kind, maybe a Coach or something similar). As a side benefit, that gets me out walking the malls and department stores at lunch time to look for my ideal bag.

To get my husband to support my weight loss, I committed to a new bra/pantie set for every 10 pounds!

This is helping me feel comfortable in my own skin (and have bras and underwear that fit)... and he's not bringing snacks home anymore, either!

I know this doesn't sound fun but my reward for hitting a mini goal is a good hard gym workout. I love seeing my fitness levels advance and it keeps me going on the right track.

I didn't really do much for mini goals...BUT, when I make it to 143, (190 pounds lost) I AM going to drive 50 miles to the nearest Dairy Queen and get a LARGE Heath Blizzard. Yep, I said it. I'm going to reward myself with food. Not a good idea, but hey, I have craved one for over a year and I'm going to do it!

I buy myself something nice, like a pendant that I can make into a necklace or books or nice scented candles. I treated myself recently to a pair of size 20 pants from the thrift store and they look great on me.

I didn't really do much for mini goals...BUT, when I make it to 143, (190 pounds lost) I AM going to drive 50 miles to the nearest Dairy Queen and get a LARGE Heath Blizzard. Yep, I said it. I'm going to reward myself with food. Not a good idea, but hey, I have craved one for over a year and I'm going to do it!


:dizzy:My husband and I decided to do this over the weekend. Not Dairy Queen but Atz's which is an ice cream shop that we used to frequent when we dated years ago. Both of us had given up sugar, starches, flour, etc. since February. I decided to have a turtle sundae (2 generous scoops of ice cream, hot fudge, caramel and pecans), he ordered a black cow (one huge glass of rootbeer with 3 scoops of ice cream. I had to stop after eating about 1/3 because I couldn't handle the super sweet taste. My husband being the trooper that he is, LOL, finished his and then ate the rest of mine and was sick for 2 days! You may find that the ice cream isnt' as good as you remembered!:D

I mostly reward myself with new clothes, because I need them! Everything I had before is just falling off at this point. I was having a bad day not long ago, and to cheer myself up, I bought new pants! New pants??? That used to send me over the edge, not cheer me up! LOL. I also happen to love wearing pajamas, and all mine are too baggy. So I've been rewarding myself with new jammies too.

I got my ears pierced this weekend as my 30 pound gift to myself (holes 8 and 9, upper left ear) and the piercer stretched my pre-existing upper right ear & threw in new jewelry for free. So psyched!

My next goal is going to be a Giants jersey.

I used to use food as a reward, but then I realized that it didn't matter, if I wanted a Sundae, I'd just cheat and eat it... goal or no goal.

So I've set up other rewards...

160 - Manicure
155 - Shoes or lingerie
145 - Retouch my tattoo
135/140 - Shopping spree!

I have been rewarding myself new music on my IPOD.

It is also a great reward to HAVE to buy new clothes.

I am thinking about getting my ears peirced when I finally break 100.

I love reading what everyone does for rewards! That is awesome. My question is though, how do you choose your mini goals? Congrats everyone on making it to some of your goals.

I don't need mini goals. Just seeing my muscles and bones emerge from under the fat. Needing to get new clothes that actually are starting to look nice are plenty good enough rewards for me. WHen I get to goal (whatever that is), I want DH and I to take the honeymoon we never got to take. We said at 5 years and 10 years and 15 year anniversaries we would do something JUST for ourselves - still hasn't happened and we're at 17.5 years.

I have done new, fancy hairsticks (I have very long hair and am growing it longer) for ten pound milestones, and when I hit 180 and 170 my reward will be a nice purse and wallet, since I need them anyway :)

My first goal is coming up, and my reward is to donate blood. I won't have to pay for it, so that's good. My other rewards for mini goals are: horseback riding, signing up for the bone marrow registry, getting a haircut at one of the nicer salons, an a day long visit to a spa.

Since I'm currently jobless, I may change all my rewards to ones that I can do for free, like donating body parts :devil: and visiting local museums. Then I can get two new exercise DVDs per goal reached.

I didn't really do much for mini goals...BUT, when I make it to 143, (190 pounds lost) I AM going to drive 50 miles to the nearest Dairy Queen and get a LARGE Heath Blizzard. Yep, I said it. I'm going to reward myself with food. Not a good idea, but hey, I have craved one for over a year and I'm going to do it!

Bet you won't be able to finish it!

I don't do the "reward" thing. Losing the weight is reward enough for all the sacrifices and hard work I do. And that's what it's all about for me. I want to BE HEALTHIER and I want to LOOK BETTER. Simple, but effective. :D

I had my husband buy me a charm bracelet when I lost my first 25 pounds, then I get to pick out a new charm for every 5 pounds after that. It is motivating to have that on me as a reminder of my success. It also makes it hard to reach for a cookie seeing it on me;)

Great ideas!

I am going to buy a digital kitchen scale for my next goal. I am trying to pick things I need or are practical, but I would probably otherwise put off buying.

I'm so glad you all shared these ideas! It's hard to think of rewards that are good enough to really incentivize but that don't break the bank. The first time I reached my goal weight, I had an IN-N-OUT party and invited all my friends (I had forsworn my favorite fast food joint until I reached my goal - took me over 2 years!) and it tasted like victory. This time, since I don't have so much to lose, I keep going back and forth about rewards, especially for mini-goals. I think if I hit a plateau I'll think of one to help me get through it!

For my first 10 pound loss i went to the store and bought some mud mask stuff and had a spa night at home..Got a massage from my hubby with some nice oil and then did a mud facial and a bubble bath!

I buy myself something nice for each half stone (7lb) I lose.
1/2 stone = bottle of perfume
1 stone = charm bracelet
1.5 stone = not sure yet, possibly a pair of proper dance shoes for my Zumba class

I want to lose 2.5 stone altogether (35lb), so there's still a couple of rewards to come!

Mini goals are super important for me probably because I have so much weight to lose. Even on my stats, I have 230 listed as my goal. Of course that's not my real goal, but when I see that number it looks realistic for me so I don't get overwhelmed with how much I actually have to lose. Anyway, I reward for every number ending in a zero. So I rewarded at 290 and will reward at 280. I don't do huge rewards or anything that costs a lot. When I reach 280 I will buy a candle that I've been wanting. Reaching 290 I bought some new hair care stuff that I normally wouldn't spend a lot on. So nothing major, but something for me to look forward to. The real reward is feeling better and seeing the small changes.

i have to pairs of shorts size 15 hanging on my wall.(im a size 18 but should 20-22) My goal for the end of this summer is to be able to fit in them. my reward for the end of the summer is to walk around in them and feel good! :)

I stole this idea from a friend of mine. Her mom has lost 100 pounds, so she wanted to buy her a Pandora bracelet with a letter "C" charm - Roman numerals for 100. I decided to reward myself with charms for my bracelet, but I'm not waiting that long. I'm buying myself beads every 25 pounds. I just got my first one - yay me!

When I complete the Couch to 5k I'm getting myself a fancy new pair of running shoes - my current ones are wearing out.

Haven't really thought about weight loss goals - I'm leaning towards thinking just seeing the numbers dip will be enough, but a pedicure or massage does sound fun!

I might reward myself for continuing workouts with nice new workout clothes; have to think about it.

I haven't really thought about mini goal rewards, im just starting my weight loss journey (again :/) and i don't know what to do for it, i cant really spend anything bc i don't have a lot of money, so any ideas to reward yourself without spending too much money?

I've never really been motivated by rewards -- the loss*is* the reward for me.

I go on holiday at the end of August, and for me that's both the target and the reward all in one. I don't expect to reach my goal by then but I do want to feel gorgeous.

Every 5 pounds I buy a new color of nail polish.

Also, when my spirits are flagging I sooth them by taking extra care to look good: wearing nail polish, favorite clothes. That way I can FEEL pretty even if I don't quite look the part yet.

I don't do rewards really. Don't feel the need per se.
However, what I'm trying to do is to take an advice Jillian Michaels gave and that is to surround yourself with things that make you feel worthy, sexy and beautiful. I don't remember verbatim what she said...For instance just wearing my nails in my favorite colour lifts me up a tiny bit.
I've also scooped eBay for cheap clothes to wear while transitioning. When they no longer fit I will give to my local charity shop.

In the past I rewarded myself with food, how silly! Because it was usually a 'trigger' food that would make me want to binge, and I'd go completely off track. I was thinking in the car how much I'd like to reward myself with clothing, but that's no good since I'm not big on clothing... so, I plan on to buy one soundtrack, dvd or book for every ten pounds I lose! Though my first reward may be a new set of headphones for my iPhone so I can jam at the gym!

For my first mini goal (that I've met but not rewarded!) I wanted to buy this hoody:

http://www.joebrowns.co.uk/products/images/medium/lh026.jpg

But I ran out of money to do so! So next time I get paid if I have enough I'll do just that.

As for the other mini goals I've got planned, I'm really not sure! I think I want to get a tattoo for when I reach my final goal, but along the way I might just treat myself to clothes/shoes or something to do with my hobby of filmmaking =)