Goals and Rewards

Hi, All!

I know, I know; it's been a few days since I posted anything.  The end of the month is a hectic time for me, so please forgive me.  Here we are at the beginning of August, the hottest month of the year around these parts, usually.  I'm really hoping that isn't the case this year, because WOW, that would have to be CRAZY!

On this Thursday in August, I wanted to share with you all our goals and the reward system that we've set up to help keep our motivation up.  I have to admit that this blog is helping quite a bit with motivation already.  Just knowing someone else is reading the updates can keep the pep in your step, so to speak.

(I ramble a lot.  Have you noticed?)  Anyway, goals.  I need to lose 70 lbs.  Yep, to be at a healthy weight range for my height, I need to lose 70 lbs.  That's a LOT.  My husband needs to lose about 55 lbs.  We've read a bit about how rewards keep motivation up.  And haven't we seen that to be true with our children?   Yes, yes, we have.  So, here's our plan:

Weight Loss	Pat’s Reward	Shirley’s Reward
Down 10 lbs	Ear buds	????
Down 25 lbs	Web cam	Shoes
Down 40 lbs	RAM (for PC, not the animal.  That’d be weird, even for Pat.)	Manicure
Down 55 lbs	WOO-HOO! Goal reached! ????	Monitor
Down 70 lbs		WOO-HOO! Goal reached! Weekend Road Trip!

We'll start with very small rewards for our small amount of progress.  We're not denigrating the loss of 10 pounds - that's something to be proud of - but we wanted to start small and have a sense of progression that parallels the progression of our weight loss.  After the first 10 lbs, every 15 pounds lost equates to another reward.  Again, the first ones are cheap (or can be), ending with the bigger prizes.

If you want, do something similar for yourself.  Let us know about it. I'd love to hear your ideas.  (Particularly for those ??? areas... We haven't decided on those yet.)  One warning:  Don't use food.  Don't reward yourself with a meal at your favorite restaurant.  That can really hurt the weight loss because seeing food as a reward tends to lead to overeating.  Food is something to give us energy, and I am all about enjoying it.  But don't use food as your reward during weight loss.

How do you keep your motivation up when it flags?  Do you have boundless motivation?  Are you one of those internally motivated people that makes those of us who need external rewards jealous?  :)  Leave a comment about motivation below.  Start the chatter and let's start motivating!

Be on the lookout for Munchie Monday Menu, Workout Wednesday, and Freestyle Friday, my soon-to-be weekly posts.  I'll post about my menu plans for the week on Mondays (and how well I stuck to the previous plan).  I'll talk about my workout plans on Wednesdays (we all need a pick-me-up in the middle of the week, don't we?).  I'll also discuss tips, failures, and how I've progressed in endurance.  And that leaves Fridays to cover anything else I want, like remodels, DIY projects, school stuff, decorating, shopping, couponing, etc.