We reward individuals for a million different things.
It starts when we’re just toddlers, we offer rewards, like stickers or candy if you use the potty. That same process sticks around throughout life, rewards for doing the things you don’t want to do, or in the case of credit cards (for instance), if you use their card, you get cash back. Rewards get us motivated to do something, or making a dreaded activity more desirable.
If you’re a follower of this blog (or if you’re a new reader, welcome! You can read about my journey here), you know that I suffer and struggle with Binge Eating Disorder on a daily basis. Admittedly, over the past week, I’ve felt more in control of myself and my eating, than I have in a long long time. This is due, simply to the fact that I have been taking it one day at a time. I don’t think about what I’ll eat, or what I’ll do tomorrow, I focus ONLY on each day. It seems to be working too!
It’s definitely not easy, I have near constant internal battles, on whether I should eat something or not. Or there will come a time when I’ll tell myself that it’s okay to go ahead and go through a drive-thru, no one will know, plus what’s one extra burger going to harm. That when my “good” side wakes up and I tell myself that I don’t do that any more. That I am no longer the woman who orders enough food for 3 people. That I now eat healthy normal amounts, and it’s working. It’s been 11 days of being conscious of the choices I’m making. And each day that passes makes me feel stronger, more motivated to continue.
Back to those rewards…
So since I am slowly but surely making progress towards a healthier me, I thought I would institute a reward system for myself. In the past, rewards never worked, I’d create my reward chart but I’d never follow it. One of two things would happen, either I’d just buy whatever I wanted before I met my goal, or I’d meet the goal and never follow-through with the reward.
Here’s what’s different
I have a child and a budget, both of which monopolize almost all of our excess money. Now there are things I want and I can’t have because it’s not in the current week’s budget. I just can’t say I want to lose 5 lbs and reward myself with a manicure, and then not lose anything, but get the manicure anyway. I will literally have to meet every goal in order to get my reward. I’m excited because I’m going to be able to get some of the things I’ve been wanting and couldn’t justify buying, plus I’m going to be losing weight – it’s WIN::WIN!
My rewards:
I’ve decided to reward myself for ever 5 lbs that I lose. You can see the list of my rewards for the first 50 lbs below.
I’m really excited to get down to business and lost the weight and EARN my rewards!!
Your turn!
Do you think the reward system works?
What are some of your favorite rewards for when you lose weight?
