I’ve decided to create a weight loss challenge for myself to really dig deep into the motivation driving me to reach my goals. I’m already focusing on an overall balanced diet, (mostly) regular exercise, and taking APEX-TX5 because my results were happening so slowly. Now, I’m turning my attention to what is going to make me stick to it until I get there. I have the tools. Now, I just need the mindset.
A Weight Loss Challenge Involving Money Will Make Me Stick to It
I’m using money as a motivator because I know that I’m cheap, so a weight loss challenge that says I could lose money will make me work harder to prevent that from happening.
Here’s the deal I’ve made with myself. I’ll be using a money jar, because being able to see it all the time will remind me to keep it up. Plus, the act of physically adding money to the jar will be more impactful, I think.
The Rules
It’s a 30-day/month long weight loss challenge. I feel that this is a good span of time to work with because at the end of the month, I can restart it exactly the same way, or tweak it and decide if I want to continue in a slightly different way to make it work better.
Here are the rules to my weight loss challenge:
- Set a goal for the month and add that goal to my calendar 30 days from the start. The goal must be reasonable. Not too difficult to be unhealthy or unsustainable, but not so easy that it’s a practically guaranteed win. I’m aiming for 1 pound per week, plus “one for the pot” – 5 pounds total – for the first month of my weight loss challenge.
- Add $2 per day to a clear jar (a clean pickle jar, in my case) for every day that I have not yet reached the goal.
- If I reach my goal, I get to take that money and do what I want with it – save it, buy something with it, or whatever I want.
- If I don’t reach my goal, that money must be donated. I’ve decided to make my donation to the Foundation to Decrease World Suck if that’s the case.
I decided on $2 per day for my weight loss challenge amount because it’s enough that I can afford it to tuck it aside, but enough that it will hurt if I have to let it go. At least it will be to charity, so I will be guilted into actually living up to my promise to myself! I have a strong feeling that if I reach my goal, I’ll still split the amount with the charity, so we both “win”. We’ll see! Want to try it with me? Join me on Facebook and/or Twitter!