The challenges with rewarding myself
Pretty much everyone, everywhere with any fitness expertise will advocate rewarding yourself as part of the dieting process. They propose small but meaningful (non-food!) rewards on a fairly frequent basis that will keep you motivated and excited about your achievements.
This is all well and good, but I’m having a problem: I can’t figure out how to reward myself.
I’ve decided that small rewards are in order whenever I hit a five pound loss and stay below it for seven consecutive days. But what should be the reward?
Food is obviously out. There are plenty of “things” I want, but I can’t afford to buy them for myself (my “fun money” has been in debt since I bought my road bike last summer—the snowboard season pass and the mountain bike haven’t really helped, either).
One idea I like is the idea of rewarding myself with free time or something I enjoy… but frankly, I’m self-employed, and the clients just don’t seem to want to pay me for time when I’m not working. (I think this is where you are supposed to chime in and say, “You have to prioritize caring for yourself, and make time for what matters!” Then I will say, “Have you ever been self-employed?” because I can be snide like that.)
I come seeking your advice. I’m looking for something meaningful that doesn’t cost very much (less than $5 would be great). How do you reward yourself?
I am having hte same problem! Your blog came up when I did a search on “rewarding myself.” So far, I’m thinking things like new makeup (which I usually refuse to buy, on the grounds that I have so much already) and stuff from Bath & Body Works (which I usually refuse to buy, on the grounds that it’s too expensive). Good luck!
I know it’s forever and a day since you posted this, but a reward like a fresh face mask from Lush or something similar won’t set you back too much, will be a fab way to pamper yourself, and is taking care of you in other ways as well!
Great idea, Melissa. I need to think more along the lines of pampering myself…