When I get all the way down to my goal weight I will need smaller panties/bras and I plan to do some Victoria's Secret stuff...which I love, but need a smaller waist to be able to "show it off"... ;-)

I think VS is extravagant/ a luxery....love walking through the shop and touching sexy things...I usually get their more conservative things, however, still makes ya feel good!!

That is my long term treat..

Short term...I think fitting into clothing that is a size smaller (which I have lots of in my closet!) will be very rewarding. I already feel my pants fit better after only a few pounds less...I was pushing OUT of my size 14s and that's when I said HOLD ON...I'm not going UP a size, I'm going BACK DOWN! I own a lot of size 12 stuff I would like to wear again.

I've only been hanging out a few weeks here.

Birdiegirl

Ack! Busy day yesterday, so I have 2 questions to answer.

Favorite feature- well, I think I have 3. Hubby tells me I have the most perfect ClaraBow lips, so that's one, my blue eyes are #2, and I have great shoulders now that the fat has melted off of them. LOL.

Reward system: I've got some built in goals at milestone weights & pounds lost. When I hit the first milestone, which was tough, hubby bought me an MP3 Player to help keep me motivated. We also plan 1 dinner out a month, so that gives me something to look forward to, and a reason to behave, if I know the "bad" meal is only a week away, etc. Sometimes it takes getting creative with these bribes.

Reward system? CLOTHING, BABY! On Halloween (which is my b-day ), I'm going to buy a new pair of jeans.

reward? I just bought a skirt that is WAY too high. Lose a few inches off the rear and wearing it will be a great reward considering it is very odd for me to wear anything of the sort!

Clothes are mostly my reward though and new exercise dvds or weights. That I love!

The rewards question made me remember my "Dollar Chart"! I haven't been keeping up with it, but I'm going to this month! In fact, I'm going to make a special sticker chart just for that! I was just putting the stickers on my weekly menu/exercise chart! I have too many charts around this house...

Thanks for the memory jog! Reward will be probably an MP3 player...some day!

What is the biggest sacrifice, if any, you have made/are making in order to get healthy?

Wow...good question. I would have to say I'm sacrificing leisure time, and convenience in order to get healthy. The more I exercise, the less time I have to spend doing other things for me. The laundry still needs to be done, the housework, my class assignments, and my job...somehow that doesn't get reduced- only the "me" time. And since everything requires preparation now- cooking healthy meals, freezing things in advance, measuring cereal into portion sizes & bagging them in advance- no more ordering in, or picking up something on the way home. It's much healthier, but the prep time also cuts into my time. I know that probably comes off sounding a little stupid...there are days when I've spent 20 hours taking care of everyone else & when it comes time for me, it's midnight & I'm unconscious. There's got to be some balance somewhere...I just need to find it. Or to consider the time I exercise as the best possible use of my "Me" time.

That is a GOOD question. Well, for starters not having a THIRD slice of pizza, stepping away from french fries and other yummy fried things, no creamy delites, not eating out as much because I am tempted too much.

Implusiveness. I used to eat based on what I felt like. Which would be fine if the feelings were hunger. But I used to think, Hey, it's been a long day, I'll get take-out. Now, I drive home and I cook.

I have sacrificed excuses and laziness. Not to be too harsh on myself, but I just let things slip away. I told myself, Time spent enjoying food and (non) activity is just as valuable as time spent being healthy. I like the former, so why should I go for the latter? Now I know I have the ability to change, so I can't make excuses. I also can't delude myself that eating potato chips is as life-enhancing as eating some fruit.

Let's see, I have given up Dr. Peppers, which is one of the hardest things I have ever done. I have also given up alot of my favorite television shows because I spend that time working out or planning ahead.

Biggest sacrafice has definitely been pushing my calories down lower. Since my normal intake was somewhere around 1300 on a high day, I had to go down to around 800 while I was losing the majority of it. Now, I'm around 1000 per day, and holding steady.

My reward system involves low-fat, low-cal ice cream (my personal drug of choice hehe) and shopping. For anything. Give me a card, a car, a comfy pair of shoes, and set me loose any day of the week, girls. Monday, since I had a new pair of pants that I fit into, I went shopping & spent $30 on a silk shirt & a new pair of dress slacks at Tj Maxx! Woo!

What is the biggest sacrifice, if any, you have made/are making in order to get healthy?

I would have to say time doing other things! Time! Definately! There is just never enough time in the day to workout, take care of family, take care of me, cook, clean, get on the computer to check out the latest with my chickies...Time, for sure! And some days, I don't sacrifice a thing!

I'd have to say I'm with AquaReggie on this one... my biggest sacrifice has been spontaneity/impulsiveness. I didn't used to have to think about what I ate, I just ate whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. Now I have to wonder how things are going to fit into my calorie budget, how long it will be before I get hungry again, etc.

However, before, I used to eat something, whatever it was, and think "Oh my god, I can't believe I just ate that! It's so bad for me! I'm so fat! I'll never lose weight!" Eating was considered to be a positive thing, but it always left me with such negative thoughts.
Now, I still do just as much negative thinking, but I do it before the eating. "That Lean Pocket has 280 calories, you can eat that and this 70 calories worth of rice cakes and nothing else! Man, how I would love some french fries and a cheeseburger right now, but no, I have to lose this weight, so I have to resign myself to Lean Pockets and rice cakes for the rest of my life." But after I eat healthy foods I always feel good about making healthy choices, so I guess it all evens out.

And really the only time it seems like a sacrifice is when I'm stressed out and wish I didn't have to worry about it. My weight sometimes seems like just one more thing I have to fix. More on that on the Feelings thread (prepare yourselves, it's a long one)...

What habits, good or bad, did you have before you started your weight loss journey? Which ones have you lost, or which new habits have to gained?

Question of the day: I was not in the habit of eating breakfast. I would think I could not eat and wait for the evening to pig out! Worse thing to do is put in all those calories in the evening and then not be active to use that energy to burn it off. New habits I have gained now is I am eating more reasonably.