Rewards

So I've been thinking about rewards for the last week. What is a reward? Well we all know, but I thought I would google the definition.

Reward: A thing given in recognition of service, effort, or achievement.

A thing given in recognition of service, effort, or achievement. Hmmm, okay. So a thing. What about the rewards we automatically get on this journey to health: improved health, an increase in energy, a fit body, knocking down our mental barriers, etc. I think those are pretty great rewards! But, sometimes we need to have something that we can actually see to remind us of our great achievements.

Last summer I was watching Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition with Chris Powell. He calls himself a Transformation Specialist. He has a degree in Exercise Science with concentrations in physiology and biomechanics. WOW! This guy knows what he's doing! One thing that I especially liked was his system. Each participant was given a year. He then broke that year down into 4 phases. Each phase had a specific goal and a reward. Now these rewards were HUGE! I of course don't have the deep pockets of ABC, so my rewards will be on a much smaller scale. I loved the idea of the phases. I thought that this was definitely something that I could use.

So the other day I sat down and thought about what my phases could be with goals and rewards. It's tough for me to put in deadlines as I'm nursing, I'm not quite sure how that would work. So I've set out my goals and rewards.

Here they are:

PHASE 1
Goal: 10% - 228lbs (-25lbs)
Reward: 2 new outfits

PHASE 2
Goal: Onederland - 199lbs (-29lbs)
Reward: iPad

PHASE 3
Goal: 10% - 186lbs (-20lbs)
Reward: Lululemon workout clothes

PHASE 4
Goal: THE BIG ONE - 160lbs (-26lbs)
Reward: Trip to NYC

Mini Phases
Goal: 20lbs
Reward: Massage

I'm looking forward to and very excited to achieve each and every one of these goals. When you have something very specific to work towards, it kind of takes the guess work out of getting there. Put in the work, reap the rewards!

Have you put a plan into place like this with your specific goals and rewards?

We're having a Super Bowl party today and I decided to make lighter versions of popular Super Bowl party foods. Below are the links to the recipes I made:

1) Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe from Skinnytaste.com (1/2 cup - 3+pts) (I will be replacing the crumbled blue cheese with light cheddar - will update if points affected)
2) Skinny Baked Jalapeno Poppers recipe from Skinnytaste.com (2 poppers - 2+pts)
3) Tara's Guacamole (1/4 cup - 4+pts)
4) Mini Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing (1 mini - 2+pts) (I am replacing the sugar with Splenda +1/2 cup skimmed milk powder and an extra 1/2 tsp baking soda. (I actually halved the icing ingredients and sprinkled each cupcake with shredded sweetened coconut (1/2 cup for recipe))

So that's 12 pts for a serving of each of the above. To cut down on the pts to go with the dip, I will be having celery/carrot sticks instead of crackers or chips. As for the guacamole...we'll see. Guests are bringing chili, wings, tortilla chips and hummus. I think I'll stick to my dishes. Oh, I may also have to make a punch! I will probably do that with club soda, crystal light and fruit.

I'm excited for the party! I think this is the first time ever where I've planned ahead to make sure I provided options which fit in with my new lifestyle, but are still delicious and who am I kidding - fun!

Weekly Mini-Goals

I was reading some blogs the other day and came across one post that was on weekly mini-goals. I had forgotten that before I got pregnant that's basically what I was doing! It really, really helped. So while little miss was having her nap the other day, I wrote out my mini-goals for the week:

Hydration: Drink 8-10 glasses of water (64-80oz)
Fitness: 18-20 AP (Weight Watchers Activity Points) - 90 min of which should be cardio
Nutrition: 5 fruit/veg per day and 3 dairy
Support: Blog 4 times (Either WW or Terra Fit)
Home: Don't sit down until everything is done that I need to get done (when little miss is napping)

Scale: 3.4lbs (the remainder of the 10lbs I challenged myself to lose before Cancun)

So I wanted to share this and next Tuesday (weigh-in day) I'll give a full report on how I did!

Have you thought about doing weekly mini-goals to help you get to your end-goal? If not, give it a go! I think you'll find it really helps :)