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"Fit for Summer Challenge" - Rewards and Motivation


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I am reward driven. I need to know there's some kind of reward at the end of all of this.* Yes, losing weight is its own reward; we all know the drill about better health and all of that. I mean the real carrot - (or carat, as the case may be) - the blow out dinner at Maestro, the killer shoes you found on zappos.com, a new le Creuset dutch oven? What, if anything, are you dangling in front of yourself for motivation?

I'm planning to reward myself at each 5 lb. mark, with increasing rewards as the pounds roll off. At the beginning it will be some food/drink that I've been avoiding; fun stuff tbd in the middle; and a significant item for my clothes closet when I've reached my eventual goal. Which I will do!

*I do not mean to suggest that Don's offer of a meal is not a reward, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it will take place at Elevation Burger.

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This is a hard one for me. My overall goal is so far off that it is often hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. And as for my short term goal of getting to the 10% by the end of May, I couldn't wait until then to reward myself because I would never make it that long depriving myself. My one day a week of limited splurging is, in a way, a reward for work well done during the week.

I have been looking for something bigger to inspire me long term other than "better health". Of course that is the goal, but I'm not in poor health now.

I need to think more about this.

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One of my old directors called me recently - they're apparently interested in doing a "Then And Now" flashback/fast-forward-type film later in the year, complete with ... yes, you guessed it. I said I'd let them know in a few months.

Heading to the gym,

Rocks.

Shouldn't your body double be the one headed to the gym?
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It's probably a chick thing, but my reward is new clothing. Once I hit my 10% mark, I'm going to let myself buy new stuff. It'll be enough weight lost that I'll be down a size, maybe two, and I'll feel comfortable buying nicer things.

I've got another, bigger reward in mind if I get below my 10% mark, but that's too far off to even think about...it is nice to have something to work toward, though. Plus, getting Brad Pitt to agree to my "reward" may take some time... :lol:

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I still have no idea how much I actually weigh (20 lbs just seemed like a good start, since the doc said I was up 15 over last year, and this was before Christmas), but my real goal is to make minimum weight in the race car (1670 pounds, including driver). When I make that goal I'm going to treat myself to a new, custom-sewn Nomex suit.

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Actually, Bill, your dilemma represents my motivation. The clothes I like that don't fit anymore are not packed away, they're in my regular bedroom closets.

I'm embarrassed by how girlie it sounds, but I actually bought a silk skirt reduced from $500 to $100, in a size I haven't worn for a decade. That was the only time I've ever done anything like that--two years ago. By the time this challenge ends, even if I'm successful, I won't be able to wear it. However, the zipper will go up another inch or two and I can proceed from there and trust that this town is so conservative, no one will notice it's not even retro.

The whole idea is to prove to myself that as I age, I don't have to become a round, little old lady with latent diabetes, the latter a disease my grandmother, a nurse, developed due to years of cooking excessively and well for her family. The "little" and "old" are beyond my powers of control, but I can do something to avoid getting any rounder before my health is affected aversely.

So, even 10 of my 18 pounds would be a good step, since I've already facing the probability that I won't make my quota of 4 pounds for the first month. I've managed to stay a good 3.5 pounds below my highest weight, but have seen myself go up and down for these past three weeks, losing only 1.5 pounds over and over again. More changes are obviously necessary, and each week I make them. Just need to pick up the pace.

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One of my old directors called me recently - they're apparently interested in doing a "Then And Now" flashback/fast-forward-type film later in the year, complete with ... yes, you guessed it. I said I'd let them know in a few months.

Heading to the gym,

Rocks.

Apparently, you're not the only one in the, er, industry for whom this might be an issue.

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Incentive: I have a few big events coming up this spring. (Note to Al Dente: the coast is clear, I am *not* going to be sleeping with Paris Hilton). First, my brother will be releasing a new cd in March, and I intend to go to a number of his gigs. I hope to fulfill my role as his groupie in a slimmer state. Also, I have a big college reunion in June (not that the '87 in my screen name is a give-away or anything) and I'd like to be in decent shape for it. My class will be staying in the dorms again, and this year our dorms will be located at the bottom of a big hill, while many events will be taking place on the main campus at the top of the hill. When I was in college, I used the hill as an excuse to avoid going to class (e.g., hmm, it's very icy today, I might slip if I tried to walk up the hill. Better stay here.) I've heard that there's now a bus that will take you up the hill but that seems wrong. Third, I have some summer clothes I'd like to wear again. So at the moment I don't have my eye on a particular "thing" to buy in the event that I make it to my goal weight (which would require more weight loss than my fitness challenge goal), but I'm sure I'll find something(s) along the way to use as a reward or two.

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I have both potential embarrassment and reward in mind. My staff who participate in prescribed burns have a new safety requirement to take what is known as the red card test. They need to be able to walk 2 miles in 30 minutes while wearing a 30 pound vest. If they can't pass, they can't burn. I want to be ready to take it with them and I definitely don't want to come in last.

I go for pampering rewards that escalate the more weight I lose. First will be some bath fizzies from Lush. Then I'm going for massages at the nice spa on the beach about an hour from here.

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Like Bill, I have a closet full of clothes and want to wear them, rather than the oversize clothes I have now. Losing weight is its own reward for me. I want to feel better, get off some meds, be able to get more active again, and in general live a healthier lifestyle.

I am starting to see that I want to weigh myself less and use a measuring tape to determine my waist size. That is my real goal, to get my waist under 36 inches (have not been there since high school).

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I'm planning to reward myself at each 5 lb. mark, with increasing rewards as the pounds roll off. At the beginning it will be some food/drink that I've been avoiding
It was a bunch of chopped bacon and shaved parmesean to put on top of my winter squash soup at dinner last night. And later, a long bubble bath with a good book after coming home from the gym.
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How's the motivation going? Now that we're over a month into the challenge, how have things changed?

Like crackers, I now have a reward set up for each five-pound milestone. They don't make staying on-plan easier most of the time, but they do provide a little willpower boost when the milestone's getting close (e.g. the fewer of these chocolate-covered almonds I eat, the sooner I can have that burrata.)

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I'm doing ok on motivation re: eating less but I haven't been exercising in any kind of "real" way. Work has been difficult and I haven't felt so great but if I had pushed, I certainly could have made it to the gym three times this week. That is my real goal for next week and into the future. As for rewards: I will treat myself to a massage if I exceed my fitness challenge goal and/or when I reach my actual goal weight. I haven't really come up with interim rewards .

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I'm doing 'so-so', I guess, due to stress at work, cold weather, & things falling apart around the house, but I think my luck is changing-I'm trying to motivate myself to exercise more by making it more convenient (moved my rebounder in front of the TV so I'm using it more, using some yoga & stability ball DVDs I haven't pulled out in awhile, & got some resistance bands). I also borrowed my daughter's jump rope the other -boy, when you haven't done it in some time, it's harder than it looks.

As far as food goes, I've starting keeping a food journal, to keep myself honest, & I'm trying to radically increase the amount of fruits & vegs that we're eating-to make sure that my kids are eating well, also...

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