Those of you worried about losing weight and getting in shape should remember this important key point: He’s not a dog, so don’t reward yourself with food. The reason I bring this up is because often when people try to improve their daily nutrition, many times when they can get through most of the day in a healthy way, they feel like they got an edible reward. For some strange reason, they convince themselves that they “won” a treat, so unfortunately they stuff their mouths full of their old favorite treats.
Do you also frequently participate in this type of reward system?
When someone does this, they are essentially trading a few euphoric minutes of munching for their weight loss goal. Achieving weight loss comes down to calories. If you eat (or burn) fewer calories than your body needs, you will lose weight. If you eat or drink too many calories, your weight will go up.
When you choose to reward yourself with food, unless you have extreme control over quantity and portion size, you’re likely to go overboard in the calorie department for the day.
First things first, if you have food cravings at any point during the day, that means either you’re thirsty (for some water, not soda) or it’s been too long between your last meal and you need some sustenance to stay afloat. until your next meal. The longer you wait to feed yourself, the stronger the hunger pangs will become and the more likely you are to give up and indulge in some sort of edible treat.
Let’s get one thing straight: You definitely should snack between meals, but they should be healthy snacks, not pieces of cake paired with glasses of soda.
Instead of dealing with this dilemma over and over again and essentially stalling your weight loss progress, here are some alternatives you can choose from when contemplating rewarding yourself for your daily healthy efforts.
Three ways to reward yourself without using food
Reward yourself #1: Start a weight loss savings
This is a great way to reward your weight loss efforts without using food. Instead of spending money buying some kind of food or drink as a “reward” (which is actually a punishment when you consider the big picture here), you can start saving money. Give yourself a monetary reward after completing positive habits that benefit your weight loss efforts.
For example, if you finished a whole day of healthy nutrition (without snacking too much) you can put two dollars in a jar, or box, or container, or whatever you decide to use. After each workout you complete, put a dollar in the bin. Every time you lose a pound in weight, five dollars goes into the box.
You will be surprised not only how much more inspired you will be to continue with the weight loss process, but also that you will be able to accumulate a considerable amount of money after only a few months. Give it a try and see how much these weight loss savings can inspire you to stick with your commitment.
Reward yourself #2: Treat your body to something special
Another way to reward yourself without using food is to treat your body to something special. This is a very thoughtful gesture, especially since your body will be the one to endure all the workouts, so it deserves to be treated well. Maybe after two weeks of healthy nutrition and consistent workouts you’ll reward yourself with an hour-long massage that you can probably find for around $25 in your area.
You can also reward yourself with a day at the spa which will likely cost a bit more, but may be worth it. Again, this is another reason to start a weight loss savings to help pay for these special “body days.”
Reward yourself #3: Buy yourself a new exercise tool
Since weight loss is the main concern here, another way to reward yourself without food is to buy something for yourself that will not only help improve your results but keep you motivated at the same time. A bicycle, for example, can open up a whole new world of exercise opportunities to add to your repertoire. Joining a local fitness class, like Boot Camp or CrossFit, can be another way to reward yourself without using food. Think about what will further inspire your commitment to exercise and reward yourself that way.
Remember, your desire to lose weight has likely moved to the forefront of your mind because of how you’ve overindulged in food and drink over the past year or more. Don’t reward yourself with more food if you did something healthy! That is defeating the entire purpose of all your weight loss efforts. Find an alternate outlet that works for you and you’ll find yourself achieving success much more quickly.