You know the feeling. You've hopped on the scale and — wow — the number is significantly lower that you expected. Or you catch sight of yourself in a shop window and barely recognize yourself, you look so good.
Or maybe you've won a prize, been promoted, come first place in a contest, beaten the opposition, or just got lucky in love. It's a human response in situations like these to want to celebrate; you feel like letting your hair down, painting the town red.
With most of us though, sooner or later our celebrations lead to food and drink. Of course! But rewarding yourself this way can be counterproductive over the long haul, especially when you're trying to get — and keep — your weight down. So what can we do to celebrate our achievements that feels great but doesn't involve thousands of calories? Here are some suggestions:
Quick Buzzes
A facial done by a salon, or even by yourself is a great way to feel pampered and special. The smell of those special cleansers, toners and lotions, and that dewy youthful skin can really lighten your mood.
Go for glamour with a photo at one of those studios that makes you look like a movie star or a top model. Or have an "olden days" photo taken, one you can pass on to your grandchildren someday.
A new hairdo is always a huge morale booster and a great reward. Try a new color or get your hair waved, straightened, or braided.
Give yourself flowers. Have them delivered or pick up a bunch at your favorite florist or farmer's market and put them in vases throughout your home.
Rent a video that you've always wanted to see. If it's a sad movie, invite over a friend or two for support.
Buy yourself a new outfit. If you're in the process of losing weight, buy it in your goal size as a major incentive to go the final distance. Or please yourself today with one that fits and flatters now.
Don't always wait for overseas trips to get things duty-free — buy an expensive perfume and splash it around. You're celebrating, right?
Float for half an hour or so in a huge bubble bath. Grab that book or magazine you've been dying to read, light some candles, and keep topping up the hot water.
Time Treats Of all our assets, time is perhaps the most elusive. There rarely seems to be enough of it to do the things that really give us pleasure. So what better way to say "Congratulations" to yourself than by finding time to do the things that you especially enjoy?
Read that new book. You know, the one that has been gathering dust beside the bed. Give yourself an entire evening to read, not just 15 minutes at bedtime.
Spend time with a friend with whom you've been promising to get together for ages. Go shopping, take a hike, even talk for an hour on the phone if he or she's out of town.
Visit that museum, art gallery or new craft store you've been dying to get around to.
Scrap your datebook and seize a whole day just for you. No plans, no pack drill. Take your watch off and just play it by ear.
Be a kid for an afternoon. Go fly a kite, buy a bunch of balloons and give them away as you go, get a yo-yo and practice all those silly stunts again. Or pull out an old boardgame that you love but never play anymore. Monopoly, anyone?
Organize your photographs. Write descriptions on the backs or have some fun making up silly captions. Stick them in an album or buy some inexpensive frames at a yard sale or a drug store and fill an empty wall with loved ones and fond memories.
Once you start thinking of special ways to treat yourself, dozens more will come to mind. Soon, rather than routinely slipping into a bakery the minute you feel a yen to treat yourself coming on, you'll think again. You'll find yourself automatically popping open a bottle of bubble bath rather than the bubbly, passing the chocolate store on the way to the florist, and dialing the theater for tickets to a show rather than ordering in pizza.
And even if you choose to do none of the above, as the poet Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "The reward of a thing well done, is to have done it."
You might have heard your Leader or other meetings members mention that inspiration is an important component of weight loss. Without a longing to achieve something that you really want (to drop pounds), you might not ever take the necessary steps to reach that goal. Motivation can come from someone who makes your own efforts to slim down seem possible. This person could be a relative, friend, celebrity or peer. Perhaps it's another meetings member or your Leader. Whoever it is that inspires you to lose weight, using them as a model is a smart idea. Here's how to do it:
Determine one person who really exemplifies something about weight loss that you want to excel in; say, determination or will power.
Pinpoint the behaviors that your role model uses to remain determined.
Try to apply those very same practices to your own life. When you feel like you lack determination, think of how your role model might handle the situation and try to act in that manner.
Most important: Remember that you too could be a role model for someone else. So keep at it, and remember that others are looking to you for motivation just as you look to your role models. Conveying positive behaviors can be contagious—in a good way!
Milestones: The Key to Weight-Loss Success
If you ask successful people how they achieve so much, many will tell you that the secret is to break your goals down into smaller, less intimidating steps. When you're going after a degree, for example, you work toward the next term paper, not toward the graduation ceremony. Sure, you dream of the day you'll wear that cap and gown, but your immediate attention is on what's next.
It's smart to look at weight loss in the same way. The temptation to obsess over your ultimate weight goal is strong, especially when you're excited about the prospect of being slim and healthy. But that can make the slow and steady pace it takes to get there feel frustrating. Better to break your goals down into chunks — then you can congratulate yourself as you meet each milestone. And there's no better inspiration than success.
Celebrate Small Achievements "It's important to break overarching goals into smaller ones, because the big ones are going to seem overwhelming if you don't meet them right away," says Misty Hook, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at Texas Woman's University in Denton, Texas. "Setting milestones and recognizing when you meet them lets you reward yourself for small changes. It helps you pat yourself on the back."
After all, why put off rewarding yourself until months down the road? "Celebrating milestones allows you to experience success," agrees Jackie Raha, manager of group service development for Weight Watchers International. "It's encouraging and is positive reinforcement. It means 'I can do this, I am doing this.'" And that feels much better than "I haven't done it yet."
One effective way to make your ultimate goal less overwhelming is to visualize and write down your first step, then your second, and so on, to plot your path ahead of time. Then every step can be a milestone!
Three Major Milestones Your journey is about you, and the milestones you set should reflect your challenges and successes. Members of the Weight Watchers community share a few common goal posts, though. Here's what they say about them, plus some tips and warnings for each.
Milestone: 10% of original weight lost.
"Hitting my first 10 percent was such a great feeling," says Ann. "Everything about that goal felt good; I was down at least one clothing size, people were noticing, etc."
Reasons to pat yourself on the back: Studies show that losing 10 percent of your original weight has incredible health benefits — lower cholesterol and blood pressure, decreased risk for type-2 diabetes, and more. Plus, losing 10 percent shows that you're capable of doing this. "If you can do 10 percent," says Raha, "you can do another 10 percent."
Things to watch out for: "The closer I get to goal, the harder it has become," says Ann. "I'm still a good 11 pounds away from my ultimate weight goal, but the weight is coming off much slower!"
Milestone: Halfway there.
"I'm at the halfway mark and I'm getting compliments left, right and center … but I'm starting to struggle," says one community user. "Now I have to remember what my big goal is and head to that."
Reasons to pat yourself on the back: Look at what you've done so far! "Every time you reach a milestone you're that much closer to your goal," says Raha.
Things to watch out for: "About halfway through my weight loss, I had to restructure the foods I was eating in order to continue losing," says another Community user. "But I'm happy to say things are on the right track now!"
Milestone: 10 pounds to go.
"When I made it to 10 pounds away from my weight goal, I just really wanted to get there," says Tiffany. "I played with the idea of staying 10 pounds above it, saying 'You've gone down 4 sizes and that's great.' But I didn't — I kept [tracking my food intake] and waiting."
Reasons to pat yourself on the back: "When you get this close to your final weight goal, you can really see clearly how you've progressed," says Raha. You've come a long way!
Things to watch out for: "It was taking me a lot longer to lose the last 10. I realized my physical activity wasn't really there, though, so now I've incorporated walking into my evening after work," Tiffany adds.
I shall not be, I shall not be moved I shall not be, I shall not be moved Just like a tree that's growin' in the meadow (down by the water) I shall not be moved.
So today's WI revealed a .2 lb gain. I have decided that Karrie's WIs will forecast my week's WI. LOL. So Karrie, you better lose this week, girlfriend!
Anyway, I'm not discouraged. I know that a 3.8 lb loss in a week is AMAZING and therefore, I cannot expect to lose like that every week. I am going to increase my exercise to 35 minutes, though. I would like to go for 45 minutes, but I will increase it a little bit at a time. I know that 35 minutes of high intensity exercise is FIVE AP. Amazing that 5 more minutes gives me 1 more AP.
So there you go. I'm still going strong.
I'm a LOSER, BABY. . . and it's not gonna kill me!
The scale showed a big loss last week and you stuck to your weight-loss plan diligently this week. You're so confident you did well that you're actually looking forward to weighing in! You step on the scale–and it registers a gain. How could this happen after a week of making healthy food choices, meeting your daily water requirement and staying active? How do you pull yourself back up after a letdown like this? Our Community Users have some great advice for how to hang in there and move on.
What to Do Right Now After a gain, you may be frustrated with the scale, but that's no reason to lose your motivation. Congratulate yourself for your hard work and remain positive about the coming week.
You have two options: You can go back to the way you were eating before Weight Watchers, or you can stay on plan, eat healthy foods and keep your chin up. If you choose the second option, "You'll likely have a gain here or there, but eventually the scale will budge downward and your hard work will pay off."
Don't beat yourself up. If you are sticking to the plan, give it some time and your body will catch up. "Remember to pat yourself on the back because you're doing what needs to be done to improve your health and live a longer life. Be proud of that."
"Try taking a walk now. Exercise makes me feel empowered."
"This weight-loss journey has taught me so much, one of the [most important] things is not to quit and your losses will catch up with you,. There's power in perseverance."
Have a Strategy for Next Week If you stuck closely to the plan last week and still gained, remember that any number of factors could be the cause: starting a new exercise regimen, not eating enough of your earned activity POINTS® values, or consuming too much sodium (which can cause water retention). Some ideas to mix up your routine to help tip the scale back down:
"Be varied in what you eat – get plenty of protein and carbs. Learn to eat real food now so you'll be able to do it when you reach your goal weight."
"What helped me was lowering my salt intake, eating lots of high-fiber foods and drinking plenty of water."
Measurements are an important gauge when it seems like the scale is not cooperating. Take measurements once a month "keep running calculations of your average weight loss per week. Even with the gains you should be losing at a pace that is considered steady and healthy."
You could always switch food plans to shake things up. "I switched to the Core Plan® and it's helping me deal with my hunger issues better. Give it a try."
Remember Non-Scale Victories Don't just measure your success by what the scale showed today. Evaluate your overall progress and move past this bump in the road.
Chart your weight-loss accomplishments on the Weight Tracker and Progress Charts.
"Eating better and exercising are major steps in becoming a healthier and happier person."
"It's easy to give up," says BUNNYDICKSON, "but think of how empowered you will feel in two weeks if you stick to the plan. Dig in your heels, drink your water and hold yourself high."
Remember, "Are your clothes looser? Did you make it through an evening without mindless nighttime nibbling? Did you handle a stressful day by doing something other than pigging out afterward? Non-scale victories are the ways to measure your success and build up your confidence."
Don't give up. ""Meetings and weigh-ins are for good days and bad. Stick with it. Slow and steady wins the race."
Okay. . . I really have to ask this, after seeing many people who exercise for more than 30-45 minutes. . . committing to the 60 minutes of exercise or more thing. . . do you really enjoy exercising that much? I mean, I remember a time in my life when I could swim for an hour, but I don't really think of swimming of real exercise (even though it's great and high intensity). I just cannot imagine myself on ET for an hour, or running, or walking, or skipping, or hopping, or any other activity other than swimming. Do you really LIKE to exercise? And when will I LIKE to exercise? LOL
Why do I get thrown off course by the weekend? My week is so routine, but then Saturday comes, DH is home, and I just don't want to cook. We've eaten out all weekend. . . totally blew the budget. I've tried to make wise choices, but I still just eat more than I need to.
Yesterday, I didn't even get to exercise. I just didn't make the time to. I went shopping for some new tops (size med, if you're wondering) and spent the evening with my family.
Today, I went to a story time with DD and then came home and took a 3 hour nap. . 3 hours. My head was pounding and I needed sleep.
I did manage to get dairy in yesterday and today, as well as my veggies and oils, so it's not a complete loss. And I made myself exercise today. . .and I drank only water and coffee. . .no soda, so I am continuing to make good choices.
I just don't know why the weekend isn't routine. Why don't I want to cook? Why, why why?
I just don't get it.
Anyway, I still plan on losing this week. Exercising 6 days a week which means even tomorrow. I ran for 25 minutes on ET going .75 of a mile. . . is that running? Is that High Intensity? I have no clue.. LOL I think it's high. . . I was calling it moderate, but I really think it's high. . I sweat like a pig after 5-6 minutes. . so I'm calling it high.
Anyway, I know that swimming is high and that's what I do majority of my days.
Okay, so I'm on a board for ladies who are nursing and doing weight watchers. It is recommended that those who are nursing get 3 dairy a day. Well, since I'm doing the Karrie Challenge (No Soda and Get Your Dairy), I posted about my loss (3.8 lbs) and about how the only changes I made were getting my dairy and exercising. The thing is that I've BEEN exercising for 30 minutes every day. . just not high intensity all the time. I really believe that my loss had to do with the dairy. Now, I'm not about to stop either because I finally broke through the plateau, but now I'm getting things like:
"Remember, you can eat Veggies, take supplements, and drink Calcium Fortified OJ to get your Dairy" as well as "well, I see losses when I follow program by staying w/in my points).
I'm ticked. No, great for you. . I didn't realize that. . or wow. . . dairy really IS important.
Sorry. . just ticked off. . and need to vent. I'll get over it, I'm sure.
