goals and rewards

Little known fact.  I was once an ACE certified personal trainer.  Am I qualified for this?  not really.  But I was helping a friend study for the test and decided to take it myself and since I have this super power of being able to take tests and do amazingly well with very little effort (math excluded) well, I passed and boom...a trainer.  This was, of course, Becca BK (before kids!).  Anyway, my point here is that one thing I remember them stressing on the test is that when setting goals you need to make them SMART

Small
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
T- (ummm I forget the T but you get the point!)

In order to be SMART about my goals I have broken down my weight loss into 10lb increments and for each 10 I get something for me.  This is definitely easier than thinking OMG I have 50 lbs to lose.  10 lbs at a time is easier to handle. 

Here are my rewards for each 10 lbs lost:
1st 10- haircut and color :These first 2 rewards were pretty easy.  I needed a haircut and figured it wouldn't take me that long to drop the first 10!

2nd 10- new makeup (visit to MAC) It's been a very long time since I had a splurge at MAC and its a great way to have a look change.

 3rd10-spa day   This was the hardest one. Not ready for clothes because I will still be in a bigger size but since this will be a big goal and I will likely be hitting a plateau at this point it needs to be big to be a good incentive. 

4th 10-new workout clothes Now I know I can do clothes. Because between the 4th and 5th 10 I will be pretty much in the same size range.  Especially for the running/workout clothes.  I think I want to do a really cute running skirt or 2 and some tops.  I will have earned it at that point.

5th 10-expensive jeans  This will bring me to my pre-pregnancy weight.  That is where I was exactly 1 year ago this month.  I tried to think of something that would be a good reward for getting there and I guess it might sound silly but I want jeans.  I'm really a Ross/TJ Maxx girl and never been one to spend a ton on clothes but I've always wondered what the draw is to expensive jeans.  So when I hit my pre-pregnancy weight I am going to go jean shopping and buy a really nice pair of jeans.  Silly, I guess but it will be fun. 

6th10-satisfaction I  added the extra 10lb but really couldn't think of any reward for it other than the satisfaction of getting there.  Thats enough.  I have never really gotten to this weight, even though it is always my goal weight.  I'm not sure how attainable it is.  I think I might have to cut out wine and cake completely to get there and thats just not an option right now.  I will revisit it when I get closer. 

As of last week I was officially down 10.  Tonight I am going to get my hair cut and colored!!

  Its been just over a month since I started actually 'trying' to lose weight so 10 lbs in one month.  Not too bad.  I can't really lose faster than that while still breastfeeding. But I am thinking that 1-2 months to lose 10 is a good time frame.  I would love to at least get to the running outfit if not the jeans by OUC 1/2 (1st weekend in December).  Its definitely a challenge but I don't think its unrealistic. 

Another way I like to keep track of progress is to keep a pair of jeans that don't fit well and try them on every few days.  It helps me to see the inches, especially since I will go down in size faster than in lbs.  It's a way I can measure progress when I get frustrated that the scale isn't changing. 

Does anyone else do goals and rewards?  How do you measure? What are your rewards? I know that some people are reading and following so some comments pleeeeeeease.