Food as reward

HappyLuna

Its how we are brought up. Food and drink is a reward. We celebrate with meals out, a glass of wine, bribing our kids with chocolate if they are good (yes I have done that!). Its no wonder we have an emotional connection to food.

Breaking it is more than will power! We are conditioned as children. We need to change our subconscience mind which is a long and hard process.

Many of us know that a weightloss journey or healthier lifestyle journey is more than just changing what we need. We need to change our mind. Our whole reward system and that is difficult.

So, how can we reward ourselves other than food? This is the first step I believe. Its something which can help our whole family. By giving our children teh right attitude towards good now, they will have a healthier relationship with food than some of us do now! We can save them this heartache and emotional journey.

So...I am going to reward myself with something I want. Maybe start a savings jar, whenever I reach a mini goal I donate to my jar. Once I reach a big goal I am spend whats in the jar on that new necklece, gadget, book.

Its going to be hard, but its a vital step towards a healthy life.

What could you do? Food for thought

Lyadeia

My rewards include things like going shopping with a friend (since I hardly see them with our conflicting schedules, it's nice to plan a day to get together), getting a massage, getting my hair done, etc. I reward myself with things that will further my "good" feelings about myself. I am feeling great about reaching this goal, and buying something nice, making my hair look pretty, etc. will make me feel even better.

I used to reward myself with food. I was so dumb to do that! Lose weight, eat a Snickers??? I felt AWFUL afterwards. Maybe others have stronger wills and can get away with that, but I feel bad eating crappy foods as a reward for eating healthy foods and working out. Just doesn't seem right that I would reward myself with the very thing that I was trying to stay away from...like, "wow, you did so great saying NO for a year, so it's now all of a sudden ok to say yes."

sugarbone

What I like doing is taking all the money I used to budget myself for lunch (I *always* bought lunch) and take whatever I saved bringing my own healthy lunch, and put it in my savings account. Then when I reached a goal I would buy myself a present with it! So far I've gotten a leg wax, cute new leather lace up shoes, and a dress from asos. My weight loss is slowing down though, I might just save it for when I move out :-)

Sometimes I admittedly WILL reward myself with food, but something that fits in my calorie budget! Just something that might have artificial or nasty ingredients, or puts me over my sugar intake a bit, etc.

1goodymom67

Well, when there are food rewards, it truly is a slippery slope. It can be good but for the most part it can be a means for a fall and binging and so forth. I have intergrated everything in my diet (food intake). For me, this is something I am going to do for the rest of my life so with that said, I eat everything b/c it is not realistic for me not to eat chocolate, pie, cookies or junk in general. Moderation is the key for me. I have not lost my weight in a week or two it has been a long process but with that said I have learn so much in the process and this is a lifetime progress so I am right on track.

stevwil41

I'm going to have to disagree with you to a certain extent. It's totally cool if changing your rewards works for you but I like food. A lot. My goal is to have a healthier lifestyle but I like the occasional sweet or a few beers. I try to plan for this sort of thing and if I know I'm going somewhere where I love a dessert they have or if I'm going to be drinking with friends then I do a little extra exercise and I totally feel like the cake, beer, etc. is a reward. It's unrealistic to think that you'll never have dessert, fast food, candy or whatever ever again. I saw an interview with Jillian Michaels and the guy from Celebrity Fit Club a few years ago and he was very adamant about having a strict diet and she flat out told him that if she couldn't ever have a Reese's Cup or a glass of red wine again she may as well go throw herself off the roof. That paraphrasing but pretty close to a direct quote. I'm definately in agreement with her. Like I said, do what works for you. For me, I like a treat every once in a while and I'm not going to beat myself up over it:)

Amo_Angelus

Since my hobbie include cross stitch and knitting, my reward system is tailored around that. I get new threads or new yarn, or a new magazine or even a new kit depending on what is being rewarded.

HappyLuna

I'm going to have to disagree with you to a certain extent. It's totally cool if changing your rewards works for you but I like food. A lot. My goal is to have a healthier lifestyle but I like the occasional sweet or a few beers. I try to plan for this sort of thing and if I know I'm going somewhere where I love a dessert they have or if I'm going to be drinking with friends then I do a little extra exercise and I totally feel like the cake, beer, etc. is a reward. It's unrealistic to think that you'll never have dessert, fast food, candy or whatever ever again. I saw an interview with Jillian Michaels and the guy from Celebrity Fit Club a few years ago and he was very adamant about having a strict diet and she flat out told him that if she couldn't ever have a Reese's Cup or a glass of red wine again she may as well go throw herself off the roof. That paraphrasing but pretty close to a direct quote. I'm definately in agreement with her. Like I said, do what works for you. For me, I like a treat every once in a while and I'm not going to beat myself up over it:)

I do treat myself, And 'treats' so to speak are part of my diet but I don't use food as a reward. I will have a glass of wine, a bit of chocolate, a cake, but all within my calorie intake for a day, not everyday and in 'moderation'. (Another word I am learning!) However, I don't see rewarding myself with food is going to help me maintain a healthy attitude towards food. I am talking about changing your relationship with food. Not cutting out 'treats'. (I can't think of a better word to describe them!) xxx