You are not a dog, do not reward yourself with food

Those of you concerned with 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 topic 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’ve gotten an edible reward. For some strange reason, they convince themselves that they “won” a treat, so unfortunately they stuff their mouths with 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 chewing 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 increase.

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 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 nourish yourself, the stronger the hunger craving becomes, and the more likely you are to give in and indulge in some sort of edible treat.

Let’s get one thing straight: You should definitely snack between meals, but they should be healthy snacks, not pieces of cake along 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 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 full day of healthy nutrition (without over-snacking) you can put $2 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 of weight, five dollars goes into the box.

You’ll be surprised at how much more inspired you’ll be to stick with the weight loss process, but you’ll also be able to accumulate a considerable amount of money after just a few months. Give it a try and see how much this weight loss savings can inspire you to continue your commitment.

Reward yourself #2: Treat your body with something special

Another way to reward yourself without using food is to treat your body to something special. This is a very considerate gesture, especially since your body will be the one to bear all the workouts, so it deserves to be treated well. Maybe after two weeks of healthy nutrition and consistent training 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 spa day which will probably 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 yourself something that will not only help boost 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 in that way.

Remember, your desire to lose weight has likely come to the forefront of your mind because of how you’ve overindulged in food and drink over the past year or more. Don’t treat yourself to 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 will find yourself achieving success much faster.