Wait, what? Seriously? Yup. It was one of the best things they could have done for me during my struggle of getting back in shape. I always tell people about this and they typically react poorly but sometimes you just need a little incentive when you're in a tough place.
My tough place was at a point in my life when I sought out food as comfort. It became one of the only things I looked forward to in a day and it started to physically show. I started gaining weight, fast. My parents are some of the most loving and compassionate people and it hurt them to see me destroy my body. They wanted to help.
One day, I got a phone call from my mom approaching the subject of giving me something to work forward to. If I lost 10lbs, I would get a certain amount of money as an incentive. Obviously, it had to be done in a healthy way by working out as well as eating better. At first, I was not well-receiving of this idea and got mad at my parents for even suggesting it. I couldn't see how bad I had let myself get like they did.
I have no idea what I would do without my mom and dad. They always provide me with endless support and love. They knew that I needed something to motivate me or else I would never put in the work, it wasn't worth it to me. It was a good parenting move on their part and I'm extremely grateful they care enough to help me. They made it beneficial and exciting because if I worked hard enough, it would pay off. Literally.
After pondering it for some time I took them up on their offer. They wanted to help me and I definitely needed it. It was all on my own terms and in my own time frame. I didn't need to complete it in a set duration and I wasn't monitored by them other than me sending them updates. They also generously bought me a Fitbit to help track my progress. It took me about six months from when we had originally made the deal to lose the weight.
I'm now 25 lbs less than I was during that time of my life. It was a serious struggle to get to this point. But once that first 10 lbs came off it only got easier and I couldn't have gotten to that point without my parent's incentive to put in the work. After I got the money I had earned I wanted to keep going, but this time it was for myself. They didn't need to give me anything else, they had already gotten me far enough.
Thanks, Mom and Dad.
