How to motivate yourself

50 Non-Food Rewards for Fitness and Weight Loss

Create your own reward system that had two components: one to reward healthy behaviors, which are the only things you can truly control, and another to mark weight-loss progress.

Healthy Choices Reward System
1 star for going to the gym
1 star for going to the gym three times in one week
1 star for walking at least 30 minutes
1 star for walking outside in temperatures below 20 or above 80
1 star for drinking at least six cups of water per day
2 stars for drinking eight or more cups of water per day
2 stars for staying below my daily carb range
1 star for meeting my daily calorie goal
2 stars for not weighing myself more than once a week
100 stars = you get a reward from your list

Reward List Example


1. Give yourself permission to take a nap.
2. Visit the library or bookstore all by yourself.
3. Have a guilt-free home spa afternoon.
4. Sleep in!
5. Take a selfie to celebrate your progress.
6. Spend an hour away from your phone or computer.
7. Eat lunch outside or at least away from your desk.
8. Clean out your closet and donate all your too-big clothes to charity.
9. Post your progress on social media (or SparkPeople) so your friends can celebrate with you.
10. Take a bubble bath.
11. Drive to a beautiful neighborhood or park to walk instead of taking your usual walking route.
12. Use smiley face or star stickers to note milestones on a wall calendar hung in a prominent place.
13. Make your own ribbon or trophy.
14. Make or buy a refrigerator magnet with a motivational quote.
15. Take a vacation day from work to do whatever you want!
16. Unwind with a movie of your choice.
17. Plan a night out with your friends.
18. Buy a lottery ticket.
19. Subscribe to a fitness or healthy cooking magazine.
20. Get a new driver's license photo. (Don't lie about your weight.)
21. Download a new fitness app for your phone.
22. Buy a new workout song.
23. Get yourself a bottle of fancy shower gel or lotion.
24. Pick up a new plant for your garden.
25. Invest in some moisture-wicking workout socks.
26. Get fitted for a new sports bra.
27. Try a new shade of nail polish.
28. Get some new shades for outdoor exercise.
29. Come home with a bouquet of flowers.
30. Try a fresh hair color.
31. Buy a small personal blender for smoothies and protein shakes.
32. Order a pair of high-end wireless headphones.
33. Invest is a fitness tracker to motivate you even more.
34. Sign up for a charity walk or running event.
35. Splurge on some nice yoga pants.
36. Go for a mani/pedi.
37. Treat yourself to a massage!
38. Take a cooking class to up your game.
39. Get a new hairstyle.
40. Get fitted for workout shoes at a running store.
41. Go for a flashy piercing or tattoo!
42. Start a charm bracelet.
43. Get your rings resized to fit your smaller fingers.
44. Plan a weekend getaway with your significant other.
45. Adopt a dog so you'll always have a walking buddy.
46. Hire someone to clean your house so you have more time to hit the gym.
47. Try a fun exercise class like Zumba or pole fitness.
48. Book a session with a personal trainer.
49. Schedule a professional portrait shoot.
50. Two words: Dream vacation!

45 Life Lessons, written by a 90 year old

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short not to enjoy it.

4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.

5. Don’t buy stuff you don’t need.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for things that matter.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye… But don’t worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.

18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It’s never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words, ‘In five years, will this matter?’

27. Always choose Life.

28. Forgive but don’t forget.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give Time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d
grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have, not what you think you need.

42. The best is yet to come…

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

Jennifer Bricker was born with no legs, but she didn't let that stop her from following her dreams of becoming a gymnast. An absolutely amazing and inspiring story with a surprise ending--everyone should watch this!!

Non-Food Rewards for Fitness and Weight Loss

Healthy Choices Reward System
1 star for going to the gym
1 star for going to the gym three times in one week
1 star for walking at least 30 minutes
1 star for walking outside in temperatures below 20 or above 80
1 star for drinking at least six cups of water per day
2 stars for drinking eight or more cups of water per day
2 stars for staying below my daily carb range
1 star for meeting my daily calorie goal
2 stars for not weighing myself more than once a week
100 stars = I got a reward from my list

Non-Food Reward Ideas


1. Give yourself permission to take a nap.
2. Visit the library or bookstore all by yourself.
3. Have a guilt-free home spa afternoon.
4. Sleep in!
5. Take a selfie to celebrate your progress.
6. Spend an hour away from your phone or computer.
7. Eat lunch outside or at least away from your desk.
8. Clean out your closet and donate all your too-big clothes to charity.
9. Post your progress on social media (our forum) so your friends can celebrate with you.
10. Take a bubble bath.
11. Drive to a beautiful neighborhood or park to walk instead of taking your usual walking route.
12. Use smiley face or star stickers to note milestones on a wall calendar hung in a prominent place.
13. Make your own ribbon or trophy.
14. Make or buy a refrigerator magnet with a motivational quote.
15. Take a vacation day from work to do whatever you want!
16. Unwind with a movie of your choice.
17. Plan a night out with your friends.
18. Buy a lottery ticket.
19. Subscribe to a fitness or healthy cooking magazine.
20. Get a new driver's license photo. (Don't lie about your weight.)
21. Download a new fitness app for your phone.
22. Buy a new workout song.
23. Get yourself a bottle of fancy shower gel or lotion.
24. Pick up a new plant for your garden.
25. Invest in some moisture-wicking workout socks.
26. Get fitted for a new sports bra.
27. Try a new shade of nail polish.
28. Get some new shades for outdoor exercise.
29. Come home with a bouquet of flowers.
30. Try a fresh hair color.
31. Buy a small personal blender for smoothies and protein shakes.
32. Order a pair of high-end wireless headphones.
33. Invest is a fitness tracker to motivate you even more.
34. Sign up for a charity walk or running event.
35. Splurge on some nice yoga pants.
36. Go for a mani/pedi.
37. Treat yourself to a massage!
38. Take a cooking class to up your game.
39. Get a new hairstyle.
40. Get fitted for workout shoes at a running store.
41. Go for a flashy piercing or tattoo!
42. Start a charm bracelet.
43. Get your rings resized to fit your smaller fingers.
44. Plan a weekend getaway with your significant other.
45. Adopt a dog so you'll always have a walking buddy.
46. Hire someone to clean your house so you have more time to hit the gym.
47. Try a fun exercise class like Zumba or pole fitness.
48. Book a session with a personal trainer.
49. Schedule a professional portrait shoot.
50. Two words: Dream vacation!

Do's and Don'ts of Goal Setting



DO create a plan. DON’T wait for "someday" to roll around.
Setting the goal is just the first step. Know where you’re going, what resources you’ll need, who can help and – most importantly – what Plan B is when life throws a monkey wrench into Plan A.

DO start small. DON’T focus on too many things at once.
Try focusing on one goal at a time. Use a small goal that you know you can do each day for the next two weeks, like getting up without the snooze or drinking eight cups of water. Build that first habit to boost your confidence and pick up speed.

DO write it down. DON’T forget to give yourself a deadline.
Deadlines turn wishes into goals. The act of writing down your goal is powerful enough to keep you committed and focused. Better yet, find a visual that represents your goal or how your life will be different. Seeing it makes it seem more possible.

DO be specific. DON’T deal in absolutes.
Avoid the words ‘some’ and ‘more’, as in "I will get SOME exercise" or "I will eat MORE veggies." It leaves too much wiggle-out room. Deal in measurable things that you have control over. And never say ‘never’ or ‘always.’ All or nothing is a common attitude that leads people back to bad habits.

DO leave room for failure. DON’T expect perfection.
Persistence is key. Accept the fact that you might not make it on the first try. In a recent study, only 40% of people who successfully followed New Year's resolutions did it on the first try; 17% of resolution achievers took six or more tries before they got it right – but they did get it right.

DO track your progress. DON’T fool yourself into failure.
Memory can be pretty selective. It conveniently forgets that extra brownie while remembering activity that never happened. The only way to know for sure is to track goals regularly with a checklist or journal.

DO reward your success. DON’T beat yourself up over failure.
This is the step that trips up most people. Negative thoughts are usually in our heads, telling us every day what we’re doing wrong. This is not the approach to take to succeed with your goals. Why not focus on what you’re doing right instead? If you take a step back, learn from it and take two steps forward.

DO find a support system. DON’T try to do it alone.
A goal buddy can make all the difference this time. People that can help are all around you – on the SparkPeople support message boards, at work, even in your own family. Just add one person to your support group, and you double your motivation, double your energy, double your commitment – and double your FUN.

DO make a commitment. DON’T ever forget that you can do it.

Top Ten Benefits
So, what are the top ten health benefits you can expect after dropping 10 percent of your weight? In no particular order, they are:

10. Better blood pressure
9. Improved heart health and lower cholesterol levels
8. Decreased risk for diabetes
7. Enhanced sex life
6. A better night’s sleep for those with obstructive sleep apnea
5. Less pain associated with arthritis, joint disease, and lower back pain.
4. Better breathing
3. Decreased risk for colon and breast cancer
2. A healthier gallbladder
1. More energy

This Girl Can