Reaching Weight Loss Milestones – Don’t Forget To Celebrate Your Success

If you have more than just a few pounds to lose, it’s not going to happen overnight. It took a while to put on the extra weight, so it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that it will also take some time to take it back off. But that can seem a bit discouraging at times. One way to stay motivated is to set different little mini goals or weight loss milestones. Don’t forget that each time you reach a milestone you should celebrate your success and how far you’ve come on your weight loss journey.

When you set your milestones is entirely up to you. It partially depends on how much weight you have to lose. If you’re motivated by rewards, you may want to set plenty of little milestones along the way. It’s easier to make and meet smaller goals – like 1-3 lbs. The more realistic the goal the easier they are to reach, too.

Each pound lost is a success. Celebrating after every 5 pounds might be a good starting point. It’s a big enough goal that you have to really try to get there, but it won’t take you ages. You don’t want to have too much time between milestones so you don’t lose steam along the way.

I recommend you don’t use food as a reward. You don’t want to reinforce bad eating habits by using food as a reward. Instead, thing of other fun things. Get a new book, buy a new outfit, get a massage or buy some new makeup. Mani/pedi anyone? Even simple things like taking some time to just curl up on the couch with a cup of tea watching a movie can be a nice reward. Pick something that you want and that makes you work for that next weight loss milestone.

Another fun option is to make a poster similar to the ones used at fundraisers. Mark down each pound you lose and have it hanging up in your bedroom or bathroom. It will be a nice visual reminder of how well you’re doing and how much weight you’ve lost already.

Recording milestones and celebrating each one is a powerful motivator. Don’t be shy about sharing your success with others. Having your loved ones celebrate with you and cheer you on can be very helpful. Making your weight loss journey “public knowledge” also helps to hold you accountable. You’ll be even more motivated to keep going and stick with the program if you have to admit to your family that you’re giving up.

Keep going, stay motivated, set some milestones and celebrate your success.