It's all about rewards. Do they work for you? When do you find it useful? Have you ever given yourself the reward even though you have not acheived your goal? What are your favorite rewards?


I have issues with rewards. I have always rewarded myself with food. If I exercise everyday then I can go for italian food . I am trying to entice myself with non-food rewards. Everytime I think about something that is not actually food it tends to be something for the kitchen. My passion is cooking and baking. So far rewards have not been a great source of motivation for me. I have cheated and treated myself to the reward even though I did not realy earn it.

I am looking forward to hearing about your experiences.

What I find interesting is that I love work related contests and rewards, but I am not motivated by rewards for losing weight. I think something that may motivate me would be giving myself permission to by an item of clothing in a smaller size once I acheive a weight neccessary to get into the clothing. I know last year when I had lost weight and was able to fit into a missy size I was ecstatic!

Robin

I have had to work hard at the food reward program also. My rewards include a hot bath with no interruptions, or a pedicure at a salon. Maybe a new pair of shoes or a pair of ear rings. It works for me now!!

It took me a long time to get myself out of the using food as a reward mode. Sometimes I will use food as a reward - a treat of sushi or for something very special, a lobster. I've also been known to reward myself with cooking related items - a new vegetarian cookbook or a gadget.

Rewards that require advance planning (the big stuff) don't seem to work well for me. For example, I had set up a reward for finishing my certifications last year of going horseback riding. It's been almost a year and I still haven't done it. Same with going indoor rock climbing - still haven't gotten there.
Small and simple seem to work best for me.

Specific rewards don't work for me. I think it's because if I don't make it, I don't get the star, and some accomplishments are based on too many variables, that my not making it may not have any bearing on the prize. For example, loosing 2 lbs this week has so many variables that I may not get, and not getting the reward is defeating to me.

What I do do for me, is to reward myself for keeping on track. If I notice that I've done well with water drinking for a month say, I may reward myself with a thing...never food. If in my WW book I see that I have been on track the whole month of October, I will reward myself with something nice. If I came within a reasonable distance of that goal, I will reward myself because I was working on it. It's all in what motivates you.