I promise I will stop banging on about this soon however, if you have been reading the blog this year you will have read by now that I am making my fitness and weight loss journey a main priority throughout 2024 as I am unhappy with where I am at with it currently. The plan is to go bigger & better in 2024 with plenty of workouts, a better diet and just generally pushing on to hit those goals sooner rather than later as I am really determined to see this weight gone for good rather than it creeping back on like it did over the course of 2023. The scales and size are going to be in a downward spiral in 2024 I am sure of it as my determination is higher than ever and I have those steps in place to make sure I am working towards my goals in a successful way.

With 2023 really not going to plan for 2024 I am going to be throwing some incentives into the mix. I know that a little reward every now and then will really help motivate me to keep going as I know that those little milestones will be celebrated for all the right reasons. The plan is to reward myself every 7 lbs which means every time I lose half a stone I will be picking up a little treat however, once a stone milestone is achieved I will be picking up a big of a bigger reward. I have tried to make the rewards items that are going to be used throughout my journey to keep me going and there is definitely nice mixture of things on the list, all that are going to be super fun to work towards. I am really hoping to get to at least the 3 stone reward mark in 2024 however, as I am trying to have a big push towards this I have made the rewards go up to the 5 stone mark just in case and let;s just say if I get to this I won't be far off my end goal either which will make the year even better for me as it will mean I am able to start going on that big wardrobe restock trip. So here are those rewards I am going to be picking up on those milestones in my journey throughout 2024...

7 lbs - New shin pads

The first rewards is going to be something I really need to ensure a big push towards the first target... I have been needing new shin pads for a while now as mine are a mess, stink and I have actually lost the sleeves that are meant to hold them in place. As I know that I really need this item I am hoping that it keeps me pushing to hit the 7 lbs lost goal as soon as possible and get the year off to a good start.

14 lbs (1 stone) - New football shirt

Once I hit 1 stone lost I will finally be treating myself to a new football shirt hopefully in a size below what I am currently in, as that increased again in 2023. I will be saving for this shirt as I am working towards that goal and hopefully by the time I hit it I will have enough to treat myself. I haven't bought half as many shirts as I would like this season so hopefully knowing a new shirt is on the cards will push me to drop that stone and give me that extra motivation.

21 lbs (1 & 1/2 stone) - New earphones for the gym

With me being back in the gym and being in the process of working out more my current earphones just aren't cutting it and could do with upgrading. Rather than just going out and buying a pair like I usually would the plan is to save up the money for a better pair whilst I am losing the weight and have a shiny new pair as a reward for pushing on with my journey. I am definitely going for a more expensive pair this time around so with me needing to drop 21 lbs before purchasing I should hopefully have given myself plenty of time to get the money together however, with all this motivation who knows how long it is actually going to take for me to get to this point.

28 lbs (2 stone) - New Gymshark outfit

By the time I am 2 stone down I have a feeling some of my clothing will need replacing and I feel like I might need a nice new workout outfit for hitting the gym in to throw a bit of confidence into the mix. I love Gymshark clothing however, I haven't had anything new from them for a while as I have found them to be a bit on the expensive side plus I haven't really been in workout clothing as much as I would have liked. I am really looking forward to hitting this 2 stone lost mark though as I have seen so many items I would love to own so at least I have time to narrow it down to just the one outfit to treat myself to, keep an eye on the site though as I might be posting about another way I can treat myself to a Gymshark order in an upcoming post...

35 lbs (2 & 1/2 stone) - Supplement haul

Now of course I am going to be placing orders to keep vitamins & protein bits stocked up throughout the year however, they will just be small occasional orders from MyProtein every time no doubt. Once I hit that 2 & 1/2 stone lost mark though I will be placing a bigger order than usual with some items I might have been previously holding off from, this order will also be from brands I haven't yet tried like Soccer Supplement so will open the door for different products I hope. I might even pick up something from Pure Sport as part of this order but we shall see when the time comes.

42 lbs (3 stone) - New workout outfits & football shirt

My aim for the year is to be 3 stone down by my 30th birthday in September so my reward for this milestone is going to be a bit of a bigger one but it will only be this big if I hit it in September, if not I will only get half of this reward which I guess gives me a bit more motivation to hit that 3 stone mark sooner rather than later. 2 new workout outfits will be purchased from Gymshark once I hit this goal as my size will definitely have changed by then and my workout clothing will definitely be needing an upgrade to fit me much better, I will also be trying to pick seasonal outfits as no doubt the weather will have changed a fair bit by the time I hit this one. If I hit this by September I will also be rewarding myself with a new football shirt ready for the new season, I have plenty of time to scout out my options for this one too so let's see which I end up with, if any at all. 

49 lbs (3 & 1/2 stone) - New base layers

If I do manage to hit this milestone in 2024 it will definitely be as the weather takes a turn towards the end of the year so my reward for reaching that milestone will reflect that. It might be a bit silly but my reward for hitting this is actually going to be some new base layers for football. Granted I might pick up some cheap Sondico ones as the year progresses just to make sure I am not wearing ones too big however, once I hit 3 & 1/2 stone I will finally be treating myself to some Nike Pro layers as a bit more of a treat.

56 lbs (4 stone) - New football boots for training

I am really thinking it would be a miracle if I hit this milestone in 2024 however, I am really going to push for it and see what happens. I will definitely be treating myself to some more expensive boots for training if I hit this milestone. At the moment I am in some £28 Adidas that cripple my feet so I will be getting a new cheaper Nike pair soon however, I will be putting money to one side to treat myself to a more expensive pair once that 4 stone is gone as a bit of a treat. I know I will get my wear out of them too as I have a training pair & match day pair but let's see if I can reach that 4 stone mark in 2024 first.

63 lbs (4 & 1/2 stone) - Sports massage

By the time I hit this milestone (if I hit it) my body will definitely have been put through its paces so to try relax a bit and loosen up the plan is to have the reward for hitting this goal as a sports massage. This will just give me a chance to have an hour getting rid of any niggles in my body and allow me to reset ready for pushing on with the final stretch of my journey and the rest of my football season as no doubt this will be achieved half way through my football season if I do achieve it in 2024. It could be the start of me getting regular sports massages too but we shall see.

70 lbs (5 stone) - Start the new wardrobe shopping trip

If I hit this milestone in 2024 it really will be a miracle however, it is on here just in case and as a bit of added motivation to really push on to achieve as much as possible over the course of the 12 months. If I do manage to hit the 5 stone mark I won't be too far off my overall target so I will be allowing myself to finally dip into the goal shop money to purchase some items that have been on my wish list to rebuild my wardrobe in clothing that fits correctly. I don't thinking sizing wise my body will change too much between the 5 stone lost and the end goal so why not start treating myself it will be deserved after putting a lot of hard work into the year. This will involve shopping for work, day to day and workout clothes as a lot of items will hopefully need replacing from the start of the year. 

Even if I only manage to get to the 3 stone lost mark in 2024 I will be happy as it will be a lot more progress that I made in 2023. With all this motivation and making the journey a priority though who knows just how much I will manage to lose in the long run, all I can say is I am really looking forward to keeping track of how much progress I can make in the year and just how many of these rewards I can pick up.

Now less of the planning and let's get to work on seeing those pounds drop off. 2024 I am coming for you...