Posted January 20, 2011 - 11:12pm by Kate Kinne
Reward yourself (but not with food)
How are you planning to reward yourself for keeping your New Year's Resolution, or meeting your fitness and health goals? Do you have a reward in mind? You should, it's great motivation! When you set your goals, define the reward you will give yourself for accomplishing them - you'll be more likely to get there. Rewards will vary for short and long term goals.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately, as I work towards potty-training my toddler. He has used the potty once, when my husband and I promised him a new "Batman guy" if he went in the potty. No problem, he did it - what great motivation for a 2 1/2 year old! We got off the potty and went straight to the store. But, he hasn't gone in the potty since, because nothing has tempted him that much, and we can't possibly provide a new Batman guy everytime he uses the potty. Lots of people have told me "try gummy bears" or "M&Ms worked for my kid!" I believe that would probably do the trick, but I do not want to use treats or food as a reward. I work with clients all the time who spent their whole lives rewarding (and punishing) themselves with food. Not that my friends' kids will end up with weight struggles just because they got a Tootsie Roll for peeing in the potty, but thanks to my profession, that's just somewhere that I prefer not to go.
So...I recommend the same for you! Food and indulgence is so embedded in our culture, that it is often the center of any sort of celebration that we have. It's easy and "normal" for us to use food as a reward - for a promotion, for a good grade, for sealing a big deal at work. However, if your goal is health and wellness, it defeats the purpose to reward yourself with a sundae or piece of cheesecake, and it may not feel as good as you had hoped.
What else is there? Think about using everyday things that you like to do as rewards for short term goals. For example, if watching The Bachelor is your guilty pleasure, make a deal with yourself that you can only watch it after you exercise for 30 minutes. The TV time is then your reward for the workout. You could make an arrangement with your family that if you accomplish your food goals for the week, then maybe everyone (especially you) gets to take a break from typical Saturday or Sunday chores and go see a movie together instead. Your family is pretty likely to help encourage you that week! Agree to buy yourself new shoes or workout clothes once a goal is met, or get a massage. For accomplishing longer term goals, like losing 20 pounds in 6 months or getting your cholesterol down into the normal range, plan a getaway weekend for yourself or your family. Rewarding yourself with things that will decrease stress (massage, vacation, relaxing with a new book), or help you get even further with reaching your goals (a heartrate monitor, workout clothes, new cookbooks) can be fun and very effective with keeping you headed in the right direction.
Another thought - if you have friends with similar goals, plan some rewards together so that you automatically have the additional support and encouragement from that person.
Have any other ideas for rewarding yourself? We'd love to hear them!
Healthy Regards,
kate
Comments (5)
It seems that new restaurants are trending towards incorporating healthy menu options much more these days. While the completely health-conscious restaurants don't always survive I think the alternative menu is a great way to serve everyone. I use to frequent a healthy cafe above my Lincoln Park apartment for a couple of years and then they closed down.
February 1, 2011 - 12:20pmThe timing of this post is perfect. On Friday, my husband got some great news at work. It seemed like the thing to do was celebrate by going out to dinner, but when we met up that night, we realized that our schedules will be very busy in the coming months (with work, school, marathon training and team sports), so it's really the meals at home that are special and at a premium — not the meals out. So as a celebration for his good news, we committed to having nice healthy dinners together at home all week. It has been great.
January 27, 2011 - 11:13amTRose - I'm so glad to hear that you're enjoying healthy meals together at home! It's not only healthier, but probably great for your relationship and your pocketbook too! Thanks for sharing. :)
February 1, 2011 - 10:54pmWow, what a great concept. When I started thinking about the ways that I celebrate/reward for accomplishments, almost all of them are food or drink related. I'm going to try to follow some of these recommendations. And an extra thank you for the tip re: potty training rewards, as it's very relevant for my daughter right now! Hmm, maybe a new hairclip or crayons or something smaller to reinforce the behavior? I'll work on it!
January 27, 2011 - 10:01amSweet_Jenise - Thanks for your feedback! If you have any potty training breakthroughs, please let me know. :)
February 1, 2011 - 10:56pm