I have been rewarding myself along the way. I too am the type that never cared about myself and so this is a new thing for me. Most of my rewards have cost under $5, but I think I get more than $5 in feeling better about myself. I usually reward myself for each 5 pound loss, but I have a dream of a big reward when I reach onederland. I would like to go horseback riding- I have never been on a horse becasue I have always been soooo heavy. I'm really looking forward to it!
I reward myself for SV and NSVs. After walking my first 5k I got a pedicure, when I lost 10 and every 10 there after I bought a new work out dvd to keep myself motivated. After I lost 50 I bought myself a new pair of shoes and two new pairs of pants (because I have no old pants that fit- when I hit size 20 I figured I would never get to 14 again so I gave all my 14s away. oops!)
I hadn't really thought about rewards exactly, but moving my ticker on this site is really exciting (although I haven't been able to do it lately). And I keep track of my exercise on a site called Fitlinxx and I really enjoy posting my info on it and getting points for that. The Y gives shirts for certain levels and I have just earned a red tee shirt--and I need some shirts that fit me--my old ones are too big!
Rewards keep me focused and feeling like I am being good to myself, not punishing myself for being fat.
I'm on a very tight budget, so my rewards are cheap or free. I made a chart of boxes for each pound lost, and put a sticker in each box. The boxes have two numbers in them - my weight and the # of pound lost for example the first box had 393 lbs written in one corner, and 1 in the other. Each successive box counts down my weight and counts up the pounds lost. If I regain a pound, I don't peel-off a sticker, but I can't add a sticker until I reach the weight listed in the next empty box. For every five pounds I write in a reward. It has to cost less than $5, but can be free, like a book or video checked out from the library.
I've also created a reward sticker chart for exercise (and non-weight related - writing time on my novel).
I like the sticker charts for the feedback more than the reward. Seeing the stickers accumulatate on tasks I'm likely to put off, does seem to cut down on the procrastination.
I've been "rewarding" myself with time off from work. I have paid time off, and when I reach "X" goal, I allow myself to actually USE some of my time off. I plan it around DH's days off (we don't have days off together otherwise). It's helping me stay focused because I won't allow myself any time off until I reach the mini-goal.
I like rewards, I won't lie! Last time I bought myself a really nice handbag when I lost 30 lbs. I have a really cute pair of shoes in my shopping cart at Zappo's right now, and even though they're more than I normally spend I think I might get them.
I am planning to reward myself when I break through into Onderland. I don't know what the reward will be, but a girl can never have too many handbags, can she?
I used to reward myself every 2kg, but now it's more of an on-going thing, as sometimes it could feel like I was punishing myself if I didn't achieve my goal.
Eating for me used to be what I would do when I needed comfort or a reward, and so I'm very careful now not to let myself feel deprived or punished. I realised last week that my lack of decent fitting clothes was making me feel like I was being punished, so I went out and bought some more. I also still get takeaway (though it's healthy now), and I buy diet soda or a cappucino if I'm out. I also buy things that I need/want a bit more readily. For example, I bought an electric blanket on the weekend - the old me would have probably put off buying it for longer, suffering through the intensely cold nights that we are having, but eating chocolate in the evening to make me feel better. I also go to the doctor and the dentist more readily, and I'm getting my hair cut slightly more often. I'm also paying someone else to do my eyebrows, as I hate doing it.
Luckily I have enough disposable income to do this, as I find that if I'm treating myself well, it great reduces my impulse to eat "because I deserve it".
I am like some of the others in that if I need or want something, I generally just get it, but I do like rewards and will probably give them to myself as I lose the weight. My first reward will be for losing 10% of my weight when I started WW - I will get another tattoo.
I have decided to reward myself - when I`m small enough with clothes and for as long as my current stuff still fits with other beauty stuff. Of course, the weight loss itself should be reward enough but I feel it`s also worth marking the occasion when I lost another kg. It`s stuff I need anyway, and rather than just going and buying it I can as well use it as a treat when another kg is gone! :-) (It would feel like even more of a reward if someone else was buying it for me, but this is not going to happen... :-()
i really didn't treat myself very well in the past, so for me rewards have been good motivation. i don't set specific weight goals or by a specific time, because i lose so slowly, and that would set me up for failure. instead, when it all of a sudden hits me that i have lost another sizable chunk of weight, i think about what would feel like a fun reward for myself, and then come up with something affordable, but something which i know will make me smile. for me, somethimes that might be a new book, music, trying a new color or style of clothing that may be a bit out of my usual comfort zone, etc. so for me, rewards have definitely been a positive, and will continue with them. thanks for the topic, alana! really have enjoyed reading the different posts.
I have a huge reward planned for myself when I get to size 14...a vacation. Other than that, I pretty much by small indulgences all the time just for staying on plan...new nail polish, etc.
I do reward myself.....I had neglected myself far too much before and doing the rewards for my mini-goals has certainly opened the door to not feeling guilty about buying things for myself
My last reward is a whole new wardrobe...only 20lbs to go!
really have enjoyed reading the different posts.
