Discussion Board

Hi. I did a search and saw that this has been discussed before, but not for awhile, so I started a new thread.

I find it very motivating to reward myself (non-food, of course!) for meeting milestones along the way. I have a reward in mind for when I reach my goal (trip to Hawaii and surfing lessons!), and I have a few ideas for other big milestones, but I would love more ideas for the littler goals that I meet. I can't spend more than $20-30 for the most part, and I have already integrated regular pedicures into my regular budget as sort of an ongoing reward for sticking to MWL (and thereby saving tons of $ - no more Weight Watchers dues, rarely any processed foods, etc). Plus, it makes me feel groomed and, well, pretty!

Would love any great ideas!

Thanks!

I haven't rewarded myself with any sort of material prize or trip. I have made a list of goals that I am working towards. For me, achieving those goals is reward enough. Maybe though, being able to fit into clothes I previously wore or maybe buying something new to wear would come as a nice, affordable reward.

My every-10-pounds-lost reward is a new dress. I love them and wear them to work daily, so it works for me.

ETA: I shop a lot at resale stores, Target, Ross, etc., so can often find a cute dress for around $20-30 or less, so that helps to fit these rewards into my budget.

ETA #2: Hi, neighbor! I'm in North TX, too!

Hey! Nice weather we are having, huh?

It's been way too hot for me, actually. I am nervous this summer is going to be as bad as it was last year. Ugh.

What are some of your larger rewards that you have planned?

Tattoos, mostly.

I actually don't think I'll be in Texas this summer, since we are moving to Chicago. I hope we move before it gets crazy hot, but I have to wait until I find a job. Anyway, lot of my rewards may end up having to do with having a new house (well, apartment/condo).

Have to say that for me, the journey is its own reward. But I do save the picture of the prettiest dress from the J. Peterman catalog and keep it on my fridge to remind me what I'll be able to wear someday.

Hi Katey,

I lost over 200 pounds - and I had all kinds of rewards on the way down and most were free. Funny, it's been almost 2 years since I've lost the weight and I can't even remember being that heavy. I barely remember rewarding myself but I know I did something about every 10 pounds. None were food based. In the past DH and I would reward ourselves with a fancy meal - and LOL fall of the diet - not this time, never used food. Most of my rewards were not planned, I just took advantage of things happening around me at the time to turn them into rewards.

One of the best was trying on my largest sized clothes as I lost weight. Now being super morbidly obese I had to lose about 50 pounds before it was clear that I had lost even a little bit of weight - and that was when it first really started to feel extra special because by then I could pull the pants on without unzipping the zipper LOL After awhile I stopped doing this because the clothes were just clearly too huge and it became meaningless - I donated everything.

Concerts/events - ranged from free in the park to some very pricy ones when I hit huge milestones like 100 pounds lost.

New clothes - and you will have to buy new clothes often if you eat this way - I was very strict on MWL and for awhile the weight dropped off quickly - don't spend a lot of money, you won't wear some very long as your shrink down.

New shoes - you will need to buy new as your feet will shrink too.

DH and I started walking for exercise and I bought a great book - it's a series called 60 Hikes within 60 Miles -they have them for many cities and towns - we would find some place interesting and drive there to hike on a weekend

Picnic in the park.

Rent a kayak, rent a bike etc.

Day trips to nearby cities

Played "tourist" in our own city doing things visitors would do.

Vegankit -

Great ideas, thanks!! Huge congratulations on all your success.

I have heard many people say their feet got smaller as they shrank, but I don't think mine will, since my feet were this size in 6th grade, when I weighed 130 lbs (I'm 5'9", I think I was 5'8" then), so it seems unlikely that they will get smaller than they were then.

Yeah, I definitely don't want to spend too much on clothes until I get way down there. I have SO MANY clothes in the next 4 or 5 sizes down, that I think I can just get a few things here and there from Old Navy (not totally happy with their dubious manufacturing practices, but they have plus and regular size stuff that is cute for very cheap...so, I am probably going to be a hypocrite for a while...).

Curious how long it took you to lose the 200+ lbs.

I agree that buying new clothes that fit after shedding the excess fat is very rewarding! Some even find their shoes are too big after they lose 50 or 100 pounds!

McDougalling is so rewarding!!!

I love massages as rewards. Luckily I live in a city where there's a lot of variety so I can find cheap massages. You can try a massage school which might have a clinic for the students to practice and you get a discounted massage.

Trips also make great rewards. You can save for the trip while you lose the weight. It doesn't have to be expensive or very far, just a city or place nearby you want to visit. You can camp or couch surf (www.couchsurfing.com) to save money.

Another thing I thought about was investing in getting the plant food health certification that T. Colin Campbell offers as a reward. Right now I'm still too broke for that though.

Great ideas on this thread!

It took about a year and a half - as I got closer to my end goal the weight loss slowed dramatically - but I was prepared for that. I originally had considered Gastric by pass surgery - but after looking into that I realized that there was nothing wrong with the digestive tract, but I saw all the problems that these poor people faced post-surgery - it's not worth it. I lost my weight at about the same rate I would have if I had gastric by pass- pretty rewarding results. I will repeat though, I was very strict about staying on the MWL plan - it took about a month to fully learn the program and to get rid of some addictive food behaviors - after that it was smooth sailing. You can do it to. After reading The China Study I just completely understood what I had to do to change - found McDougall's MWL and found success. Do whatever it takes to get fully committed - I read everything I could get my hands on and watched all the DVD's, podcasts etc. You can do it to.

Every Sunday I go to the mall early and walk for 2 hours. I call it my indoor 10K. When the stores open I go on the hunt for deeply discounted dresses, pants and suits for work. Since October I've gone from a size 12 to a size 6 so the hunt is always on . I NEVER pay full price for anything.
Kate

If you are looking for ideas for material rewards...

shoes
natural/organic skin care or high end make-up
a new bed pillow/organic cotton bed sheets
pretty work-out clothes from Athleta
a new puppy/rescue dog to walk
a new plate/bowl/utensils to eat your healthy food with
a brand new non-stick skillet or other kitchen tool
a high quality cutting board

One of the things I enjoyed as a reward was good costume jewelry. I always wore earings, but I found that the more weight I lost, the more I liked to wear necklaces. I really got into Lia Sophia jewelry, but that can get a bit on the expensive side, so it became my reward system. When you lose over 100 lbs., that's a nice jewelry collection in the end.

PS - my weight loss ticker only shows where my weight was when I started McDougalling.