Non-Food Rewards for Eating Well

Kristy4022

I'm not new to the site, but I am new to the community. I have a desk job that means I am inactive 8 hours a day and they always want to reward us with food so I have been yo-yoing to maintain my weight. I am now engaged and need to lose those few pounds that I gained when I first started my desk job to look my best for my wedding. I began a reward system where, in addition to logging in MFP, I write in a calendar any bad foods I eat that day. If I don't eat anything bad then I will just get a big smiley face for the day. I want to reward myself if I get a certain amount of smileys in a week by treating myself to something. First thing I always think of when rewarding is food, but I do not want to do that. Any ideas on how I can reward myself for healthy eating?

GottaBurnEmAll

A new nail polish or lipstick, a bubble bath with candles and soft music, money put aside into an account for a fitness tracker.

dustedwithsugar

Bath
Shopping
New book
New workout clothes (lol I guess both of those are "shopping")
Trip to cinema
Massage

dustedwithsugar

Oh and you could set aside some amount of money for each pound lost, for example ten dollars for each pound lost and then spend it on something fancy, something you wouldn't buy everyday

__TMac__

Something for the wedding, honeymoon, or home that you wouldn't otherwise splurge on?

Rebecca0224

I get myself a new pair of cute socks, lingerie, a candle, a wii game. I have lost 20lbs so I rewarded myself with a membership to a wild life park.

jinxco

I would reward myself by
-ice skating
-amusement park rides
-going to the zoo
-botanical garden
Basically fun stuffs

ogtmama

But..."good" and "bad" foods don't mean anything if you go over your calories...maybe the smiley face for being under your goal instead of avoiding foods?

Don't get me wrong, I think that eating healthier foods makes losing weight easier as you feel better while you're doing it, I just know that I am totally capable of blowing my calorie budget on really "good" food.

For treats I treat myself to a pedicure, see a movie, buy a new top, or maybe get your hair done?

Machka9

ogtmama wrote: »

But..."good" and "bad" foods don't mean anything if you go over your calories...maybe the smiley face for being under your goal instead of avoiding foods?

Don't get me wrong, I think that eating healthier foods makes losing weight easier as you feel better while you're doing it, I just know that I am totally capable of blowing my calorie budget on really "good" food.

+1

There are no "bad" foods! If you're aiming to lose weight, it's all about the calories. And yes, some foods have more staying power ... they keep you full longer ... which makes it easier to stay under your calories.


As for rewards, I reward myself by doing things I couldn't do when I was heavier.

ronjsteele1

I have a close friend who is following a different route to lose weight but is still focusing on nothing being off limits, just portion size it. She bought me a pretty box from a craft store just slightly bigger then a shoe box. In it she put nail polish, socks, lotions, soaps, earrings, and all kinds of other little things. She gave it to me as a gift and told me she found when she did that for herself it made a huge difference (for some reason the pretty box really does add to it). I put it where I can admire the box everyday (in this case, my bedroom). I set a goal of staying within my calorie allotment one week at a time. If I meet the goal, I get to take something out of the box as my "reward." It really ends up being fun and I'm so glad she did this for me. As the box empties out I will refill it with more stuff. I highly recommend this method of reward! I chose not to tie mine to "x" amount of pounds lost but you could do that too. I'm saving pounds lost for the big stuff (like remodeling my kitchen when I get to goal - wait until my husband finds out! LOL ).

kommodevaran

Weight gain is a mindset problem and an environment problem, not just a behavior problem. Rewarding people with food, that's not good. Dividing foods into good and bad, that's also not good. Healthy eating should feel good and make you feel good, and be a normal activity. The whole situation sounds wrong.

CattOfTheGarage

kommodevaran wrote: »

Weight gain is a mindset problem and an environment problem, not just a behavior problem. Rewarding people with food, that's not good. Dividing foods into good and bad, that's also not good. Healthy eating should feel good and make you feel good, and be a normal activity. The whole situation sounds wrong.

I agree with this to some extent. At the same time, conditioning works, and destructive habits (like overeating) come about because they create some kind of reward. It's much harder to extinguish old conditioning than to establish new conditioning.

So if you can establish a contrary habit (meeting your calorie goal) and associate a reward with it, you should be able to extinguish the negative behaviour faster than just stopping it and letting it die.

Imo that is how mfp and similar methods work. Apart from the intellectual awareness calorie counting gives you, our brains like video games - in fact, anything interactive on a screen - and the act of logging food and getting the number to stay green sets off the reward centres. That reward conditions behaviour which is the opposite of overeating, and so over time can help to extinguish the overeating habit.

You are right about mindset and environment as well, though. All these things can work together.

And OP, I like your reward chart idea, but I really do counsel you to change the goal to staying within your calories rather than avoiding "bad foods". If you're anything at all like me, calling some foods "bad" will only make you want them more!

Makeitso39

I've made a chart for the wall. Each row has 5 boxes that represent a lb lost. At the end of each row is a reward; they increase in value (not necessarily £) as I lose weight. My husband can see the chart and he motivates me like 'hey, you can buy some new shoes, you've lost 10 lbs'. I'm really strict with myself too. I saw some boots, but I was stuck at 1 lb too heavy. By the time I shifted it, they were half price! Double win!!

I have a friend who is also on a weight loss journey, she liked my chart so she copied it but has kg boxes as she has more to lose. We have a shared reward, which is a spa day together when we reach a certain loss.

beerfoamy

Love these ideas!
Made me think and just decided I am going to go shooting when I get under 200lbs! have wanted to for ages so will be good motivation. 22lbs to go.

mitch16

While rewarding yourself is perfectly ok, the fact that you are labeling foods as 'bad' and recording them in your calendar seems a teensy bit disordered.

CattOfTheGarage

Clothes are a good reward - relevant, too, as your size will change.

Kristy4022

Thanks for all the insight everyone!! Maybe I should have explained a little better. It's not everyday that I don't want to eat bad foods. I intend on treating myself. I just want to limit the days that I treat myself. The only days that I usually go over in calories are the days that I treat myself. Also, I am not looking to lose tons of weight. At 5'6 and 135 lbs I don't have much to lose, I just do have a few areas that have expanded since I got a desk job and I would like to see that decrease for my wedding. Also, I cannot escape the bad environment. That is also why I want to reward myself for not indulging. Work is always trying to reward us by getting us bagels and donuts multiple times a week. With a machine that spits out hot chocolate too, my sweet toothe finds it difficult to walk by the kitchen without checking out what we have because they are saying "I deserve the reward for my work". I need to counter their reward with a reward for myself.

Lounmoun

Get something you like.
Maybe you like music, dancing, movies, games, pedometer, sports equipment, make up, date nights, new stapler, cookbooks... whatever, get something related to your interests and lifestyle.
I like e-books.

hapa11

I buy a nice body scrub and if I work out that day (for you it could be for eating well) then I use it. Otherwise, just boring bar soap.

callsitlikeiseeit

being healthier IS the reward.

being a grown up and doing what you should, does not equate to gold stars. This isnt kindergarten.

If you want to go buy yourself something, go buy yourself something. Its one of the perks of being an adult....

hashtagPJ

I've found that recording the positive things in a page on my phone helps. Everyday I've been writing all the positives in a short paragraph, like, hit x amount of steps, ate under my calorie goals, seen friends, etc. It's much more effective and healthy to focus on the positives. If I have negatives I take a new page and discuss with myself why it happened and how I can improve in future, but I try not to scold myself because negative things and foods do happen.

As for rewards, I'm thinking of getting myself a candle I really like, a type of tee I've wanted for years, and a cheap set of Bluetooth headphones. It comes down to what you want really.