So I don't believe in diets or punishments or restrictions so I decided a rewards system is much better. I know there are many systems like this out there but someone else made it up and I wanted to make one that reflected the lifestyle I wanted and the values I have.
So I made a challenge. Everyday, my goal is to real 21 points. I chose 21 because I am 21 years old. Pretty random I know but all other standards in other programs out there are also just as arbitrary. I wrote down things that I thought were important in the lifestyle I wanted, then I wrote down scores that I thought were appropriate. There is a possibility of earning multiple points during the day doing a specific activity. For example, if I eat salad twice, then I get the points for salad, twice.
This method works for me because I am constantly playing a game or challenging myself in a rewarding way. Everyday, I have the opportunity to be happy if I am able to reach 21 or higher. I will tend to make better choices because I want to win for the day. If I had the option of junk food, or a balanced nutritious meal, I would go nutritious because it would give me points towards my end of the day total.
Also, the goals I believe are realistic. For example, I can eat out, but I get extra points for eating out well. This means, I WILL go to Chipotle, I will just reduce the sour cream/cheese/tortilla options and my meal would be actually an amazing healthy and yummy meal!
The one thing I need to develop is a long term point goal and reward system. What do I gain from doing well? I am thinking of a none-food related reward like for every 1000 points, you can buy clothes--or something like that. I don't know yet but I think it is important for me to consider incorporating that because otherwise, I would likely get over this game.
I also need to consider difficulty and ease levels. At first, I thought this game would be too easy and that I awarded points to easily. But I admit at the beginning, I would only be scoring 13, 11, 15 points. In the last few days, however, I have been scoring 21, 22, 26 points, almost easily. I think this is great because it shows I am getting more used to the lifestyle of doing well and now doing well is becoming easier and more natural to me--SUCCESS. Now that it is so easy, I feel like I should up the difficulty or add more extreme challenges like run certain number of miles or something. Or maybe I will reduce the value of certain activities. I haven't decided but I will update you all with that info soon!
jojo xx
