When you’re on a fat loss diet, the fact that you’ve started to look and feel better may be their own rewards. But it will help you stick to your plan for the long term if you take the time to reward yourself for sticking to your plan and reaching your weight loss goals.
You should think about adding some incentives into your diet plan. In fact, you can set up the incentives in such a way that they reinforce your new habits. For instance, if you’ve added a half hour of daily exercise to your life, you might reward yourself with a luxurious and relaxing bath with your favorite bath oils. This will not only ease your sore muscles, but will also give you some quality time to yourself.
If you’ve stuck to your diet plan for a whole week and can already see the pounds melting, give yourself an evening out spent doing something you like to do. If you build rewards into your plan right from the start, you’ll find that dieting and exercising becomes associated with pleasures, and not deprivation.
Here are some ideas for setting up a weight loss reward system for yourself:
1. Think about how much weight you want to lose, then decide on a reward at specific steps along the way. You might pick out a reward for yourself after losing your first 10 pounds, for instance, then more rewards for each additional 10 pounds until your weight is where you want it.
2. Once you start dropping sizes, treat yourself to a new item of clothing in that new size. However, if you have a lot of weight to lose, don’t go crazy along the way, or you’ll have a closet-full of clothes you won’t be able to wear when you get to your desired weight.
3. Find a supportive friend or family member and brag on yourself a little bit when you reach a specific goal. Telling others about your goals can help to reinforce them in your mind, but it will also give you a good feeling when you can share your successes with them.
or just chat. Even if it’s long distance.
4. When you’ve gotten through a particularly difficult situation without slipping, such as a calorie-laden holiday meal, be sure to do something extra special for yourself as a reward.
5. When you’ve been steadily losing weight for a few weeks in a row, start adding a specific dollar amount to a jar for every pound. You’ll be able to watch it steadily grow, and you can use it to buy a special reward when you reach your final weight goal.
6. Give yourself a party and invite your support group.
7. When you’ve gone through a rough stretch and don’t seem to be making progress, this is particularly a good time to reward yourself. Even if you go through a time of not losing weight - and it happens to all of us - you need a reward for sticking it out anyway. Weight loss involves plateaus. They are tough to get through. But when you do, you deserve something special.
8. Once you’ve reached your final goal, it’s time to take that money out of your jar and really splurge on a big reward. Make it something extra special that you wouldn’t normally do or buy.
It may not feel like it when you are on a fat loss diet, but taking care of your body by eating healthy, exercising, and losing weight are gifts you give to yourself. Rewarding yourself along the way will not only make the process more pleasant, but will actually insure that you are more successful!
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