Wild, Wild Weight-Loss Rewards

When Jodi Brown reached her weight goal she wanted a permanent reminder of what she had accomplished. So she went out and did something wild: She got a tattoo on her tummy! "I worked hard to reach that weight goal — I felt like I looked great for a mother of two children," says Jodi, of Bayside, New York. "My tattoo is a moon with a star, and when I show [it to] people, I am showing them I am trim and proud."

The Rewards of Recognition "It's important to recognize milestones along the way," says Palma Posillico, general manager of training and development for Weight Watchers International. "Not just weight-loss milestones but behavioral ones, too." Weight loss is hard, and sometimes it's difficult to recognize the progress you've made because you're busy focusing on the process. "Celebrations of your accomplishments raise your awareness of what you've done," says Posillico. So reward yourself for your victories. No matter how small they seem, if they feel like a big deal to you they are a big deal. For Jodi, it was meeting her weight goal. And for Posillico, it was no longer needing potato chips. "I realized that potato chips were no longer a choice for me, I just didn't want them," says Posillico. "I stepped back and realized that was a little victory. That day, I went out and bought a pair of shoes to celebrate!"

Go Wild! Shoes, tattoos and anything in between. Your reward is up to you. Patty, a lifetime member and leader from Manhasset, New York, chose jewelry as her prize. "For every 10 pounds I lost I would go down to my local jeweler and have a piece made for myself. After five trips I had some awesome rings, necklaces and bracelets!" Those rewards, says Patty, really helped. "I decided I really had to validate the little measures of success, and I had to find something I loved besides food. Well, that's when jewelry came into play. I figured every time I wore my rings, necklace or bracelet it would remind me of my successes." Your wild reward doesn't have to be a "thing." It can also be doing something you've always wanted to do. For Geri, a licensed professional counselor who helps teenagers work with behavioral and psychological components to improve their lives, her wild reward for meeting her weight goal was getting up in front of people and talking about something she believes in. "I'd never have gotten up in front of a group of people when I was heavier," she says, but after she lost weight Geri did the unimaginable: She became a leader, and now she confidently gets up in front of people all the time. That confidence feels like a great reward. "Being a Leader has helped bring out courage and talents I never knew I had," she says. Now that's wild.