Have you ever felt like you’ve been doing so well at achieving your goals that you set for yourself, that you really feel like you deserve a reward for your success? I hope that you have. Most people have felt proud of themselves and wanted to do something to feel rewarded for their efforts. The question is, how do you reward yourself? Are you rewarding yourself with food? Is it really a reward or are you unintentionally sabotaging yourself?
How do you reward yourself? With food?
I don’t know how many times I heard people say, “I’ve been eating so well this week, I feel like I deserve a cheeseburger, piece of cake, ice cream, some pizza etc.” You’ve probably heard this type of comment, or maybe even been the one who said it. If you ever feel this way and reward yourself with food, how do you feel afterwards?
There’s no question that some foods are comfort foods and make us feel happier, releasing that serotonin. That’s the happy hormone which gets released into the blood stream when we consume refined carb/sugars. But, how do you feel in the long run after you’ve come down from your food induced high? It’s no secret that sugar is addictive and most people prefer to feel happy. So, what happens when you get a taste of those “comfort” foods that make you happy after working so hard to eat better? For a lot people, it makes us want to eat more, because it feels good in the short term. Is it really worth it though?
Is rewarding yourself with food really a reward?
After working so hard to eat healthier, is it really a reward to eat the stuff you’ve been trying to cut out, because it’s not part of a healthy diet? No, it’s really not. It’s really more like self sabotage. It’s counterproductive. You’re saying, I’m going to do this unhealthy thing to reward myself for doing the healthy things. Doesn’t really make sense to me, how about you? “Rewarding” yourself with comfort foods just makes you want to fall back into the unhealthy eating habits you were trying to get away from, therefore derailing your plan and your continued progress. So, not a good reward.
Celebrate your successes!
I’m not saying you shouldn’t celebrate your success and reward yourself for a job well done. I’m just suggesting that the reward is actually rewarding and not food focused. There are so many other ways to reward yourself besides food. I had a client once tell me that she was going to reward herself with a purse that she had been wanting if she was able to make it to her weight goal. Your reward should be something that makes you feel good, not guilty, and doesn’t go against what your goal was in the first place. It could be something of material value, like a new purse or new clothes. It could be a trip to a place you haven’t been or love to go to, or going to get a massage. Whatever you pick just has fit you and what makes you feel rewarded. Hopefully, you’ll feel like you got a double reward. The first reward is the way you feel after achieving your goals and the second is the self chosen reward.
I would love to hear about some ways you have rewarded yourself for your successes.
