Celebrating Weight Loss Success (Without Food)

Written by Matt McDavid, Mayo Clinic Dietetic Intern

Weight loss can prove to be a difficult endeavor, but it is important to pause and take time to recognize the progress you have made along the way! Goal setting is a great way to keep yourself on track with your weight loss journey and provides predetermined times to celebrate the success you have achieved.

It almost seems like second nature to celebrate with some sort of meal with friends and family. Look at many holidays we celebrate by eating large meals together. Large meals or sneaking a treat you have successfully gone without over your weight loss journey is a counterintuitive way to celebrate. There are plenty of other ways to celebrate reaching your goals, that can also help your weight loss journey in the long run. These ideas are just scratching the surface and can hopefully get you to think about even more ways to celebrate weight loss success without food!

Explore something new

• Plan an active vacation to somewhere you have been wanting to go, but felt unprepared due to the physical requirements.
• Take a long weekend and explore a National Park you’ve always wanted to visit. Maybe hiking around Yellowstone and seeing Old Faithful after a day of observing the natural scenery and wildlife.
• Find your winter jacket and take a ski trip or trip to a nearby mountain for a fun experience that you can better manage and enjoy now.

New physical fitness equipment or accessories

• Buy the pair of leggings you have been dreaming of fitting into as a future goal to aim for, and making yourself look good and stand out at the gym or on your walks
• New pair of shoes to wear to work or the gym or on your walks, showing yourself some love and showing others the emphasis you continue to place on personal health and your weight loss journey.
• Fitness tracker or smartwatch to help you track your progress on a daily basis
• New bike for trips around the city and local trails, while keeping the focus on consistent exercise and continued dedication to physical wellness/weight loss
• Upgrade your gym membership for a month and try out some additional amenities. You’ve been spending more time than usual at the local fitness club, maybe give the spa a try or find a fun class to enroll in and try something new.
• New form of fitness class that you haven’t tried because you didn’t feel prepared. Take that new found confidence and capability and try out that Zumba class or HIIT class while making new friends with similar goals that can help you continue on your path of wellness and weight loss.

Relaxation

• Take a day at the spa and get a massage, manicure, pedicure, facial, etc. You’ve put in the work physically with exercise, and mentally with the increased focus on healthy choices and avoiding bad habits and persevering through difficult times of temptation. Take time to relax both mentally and physically and prepare for your upcoming goals.
• Get a group of friends and family together and have a fun, relaxing night out on the town. Go to the movie theater, catch a comedy show, concert, new exhibition at the museum or art gallery, catch a play or musical, sporting event, or whatever sounds fun.
• Invest in a cleaning service for a day at your house while you go out and have fun for the day. A fresh clean house can help your mind feel clear and revitalized for future goals and embody the new life you’re creating for yourself.
• Buy a new book, candle, and bath supplies and take a day over the weekend to relax and enjoy the progress you’ve made.

Lifestyle purchases

• Upgrade your fitness/food journal and start a new one to keep documenting your progress and future success. Hold on to the old one to keep a reminder of the progress you’ve made and the distance you’ve come so far.
• Maybe it’s time to get the new water bottle and coffee thermos everyone seems to be carrying around in the office or at the gym. Or a new lunch box for your healthy meals being brought to work everyday.
• New cooking utensils for the kitchen. You’ve been putting in the additional work in the kitchen, helping you reach your healthy food goals and weight loss. Maybe it’s time to improve the knife set you have, or buy some useful culinary tools that will make weekly meal prep or daily cooking tasks a little easier, allowing more time for family, friends, and other hobbies.
• Subscription to health related magazine or a new book related to weight loss success and maintaining a positive mindset through your journey.

Way to mix up the different celebrations with a fun twist

• Create a physical list of all of the rewards you would like for yourself and list them next to goals related to your weight loss journey. Every time you reach one of those goals, reward yourself with the paired reward. Smaller rewards for smaller goals. These goals and rewards should occur more often near the beginning of the journey, celebrating small successes. As goals get bigger, so do the rewards, but also spreading them further apart.
• All goals are equally spread apart in time and difficulty in attaining, but rewards are written on pieces of paper and folded up and placed in a jar. When a goal is met, cross it off, and grab a reward paper from the jar and see what it will be. This provides a little bit of surprise to the reward.