On Sat, 13 Dec 2003 13:38:44 -0800, Fred <[email hidden]>
Quoted message said:Hey, they could give us booze for a reward (G)
Yes, stay thin and switch to booze. There's a support group for that too. Or you could spend a month
in Minnesota at one of our 10000 treatment centers to recover from all those rewards <G>
Quoted message said:I don't know if WW actually does anything for Maintainers over time. I will have to ask my
secretary. I don't know anything about other "abstinance" programs and how they work. I would
expect that WW might have something but then again, I think people who reach goal either go to work
for them or possibly fade out of the public program. By the way, has WW offered you a job?
I guess VIRTUE should be its own reward, huh? (G)
Well, I do have that chocolate cake and now fruit cake in the freezer and I guess I probably did
buy it so I could eat it but I'm not sure it was planned as a reward (as you indicate food reward
is not necessarily a great idea) but more as I want those things on occasion and should be able to
fit them in to the program.
This whole thing came to me when I could not hike because of the rain and the friend I was with (we
turned back at the trailhead before leaving the car) also has a weight problem and so we discussed
how it is going for me and I just mentioned this reward issue. Wondered if it was needed - was the
scale my substitute and was that HEALTHY - well, better than food but the crutch or need for reward
as opposed to it's the right thing.
One of topics that used to come rather frequently in OA was whether it was possible to be addicted
to the scale. (OA recommends monthly WIs because of the tendency to weigh obsessively.) Some people
were uncomfortable with the notion of replacing one addiction for another. Others decided that as
long as the replacement wasn't as lethal as the original, they were fine with it.
The idea of scale addiction might be stretching the definition of addiction a bit far. But I've met
lots of people who ended in OA after getting sober in AA. They switched addictions. We all know
people who turned to food to curb their nicotine cravings when giving up the smoking habit.
Quoted message said:Some other thoughts have also popped up. Like as we Maintain more, less people will comment
(congrats or inquiries) and so we get less attention that way (altho, our image might get
attention, I guess) and while being heavy was not necessarily positive attention, it was still
attention????? And while I did not look as heavy as I was (given the comments when I started
losing) - my friends knew and they would express concern about my health. We now lose that
"reward" too???
Oh, boy, just running on................
It's a good topic even if there isn't one definitive answer that applies universally. But I think
the reason any of us remains overweight long after we acknowledge it as a problem is that there were
secondary, hidden needs for our obesity that won out over reason. When those secondary gains are
dealt with, they're no longer obstacles to weight loss. Those secondary needs sometimes find
expression in another behavior, like exercise. Or newsgroup posting and reading. Or knitting. Or
drinking. Or spending. Or obsessing about maintaining.
Oh, was I running on...........? <G>
Good topic. Keep running on about it. You raise good points that many of us need to think about if
we're going to keep the weight off.
Quoted message said:Lesanne said:There should be some recognition of Time milestones for maintenance people. Like people who are
abstaining from *substances* for instance, they get little "stuff" for staying that way for some
months, or years or whatever. I know I have read that if you maintain a weight loss for more than
2 years your chances of continuing to keep it off are much improved. And after 5 years, like
remission from cancer, you are almost assured to keep it off. So the rewards should be for time.
And I think also, that Food rewards should be a thing of the past. I think food, (don't get me
wrong, I am talking Good food) should be for nutrition and fuel. Not for rewards for anything,
unless it is as a reward for Allowing our healthy bodies to actually get physically hungry! I
never used to get physically hungry, always ate to keep from being that way. And boy is food
bliss, when it feeds actual hunger. "Fred" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:Yes, it is sane but.. but.. .(sputtering...)
I need to accept no palpable reward, no visible reward. Just, as you say, "feel great!" And just
accept that as the reward but that is so amorphous.
And then add to that that MAINTENANCE involves some small gains and that is the antithesis of
reward - downright scary even if I should know it is normal.
I guess coming to grips with all of this Maintenance stuff is, well, Maintenance (G)
Finding another reward - I really can't keep upgrading my computer and I got new skis last
week!!!!!
On Sat, 13 Dec 2003 12:19:46 GMT, "Lesanne" <[email hidden]> wrote:
>This looks very sane to me, this w.l. reward substitute for the food
reward.
Quoted message said:>I am 156 on my scale this morning and was frankly delighted because I can
go
Quoted message said:>to the meeting this morning and get a nice low weight for the end of this year on my card. But
>my goal, my real goal, is to stay between 155 and
160
Quoted message said:>so I am there. I think I am going to need to set myself up some sort of positive reinforcement
>for staying Still. I sure do feel great, gotta
tell
Quoted message said:>ya.
>
>
>"Fred" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
>"]news:[email hidden]...
>> You're right, of course.
>>
>> I've had additional thoughts on this, this afternoon while I was walking the lake...
>>
>> I think that _I_ and maybe some of the others have started to substitute the REWARD of
>> weightloss - seeing the scale drop, for food, itself. There is that positive glow when the
>> scale shows a loss. Now, there should be a time when that is not necessary and I should not
>> substitute the "weighloss reward" for the food reward. The reward should be holding steady
>> and feeling good.
>>
>> This is a new thought and (g) not definitely well-thought out just yet. But it did get me
>> wondering. After all, even at WW meetings, Maintainers/Lifetimers no longer get recognition.
>> No little stars or magnets or..... You just plug on along.
>>
>> Just musing............
>>
>> On Sat, 13 Dec 2003 01:01:24 -0000, "krys" <[email hidden]> wrote:
>>
>> >hey hey hey - down is down - and thus good. and what other people think is never the issue -
>> >it's all about how
you
Quoted message said:>feel
>> >about yourself........and no-one can tell you to feel different than
you
Quoted message said:>do.
>> >A million people can tell me I look good as I am - but I still want to
>lose
>> >that weight for me..........
>>
>
Prairie Roots
232/168/WW goal 145 joined WW Online 22-Feb-2003
