Five Simple Ways to Reward Yourself and Lose Weight
by Constance Weygandt

We are a society who eats, not only for nourishment, but for a variety of emotional reasons. Some of those emotions are sadness, fatigue, nervousness, boredom or stress. Another reason we eat is for the reward. We’ve had a bad day and now we deserve that ice cream, brownie, etc. While the optimal solution would be to retrain our minds to think of food as only nourishment, it is not a practical one.

The following are simple steps, that taken together or individually, will allow us to indulge our emotions without adding to our waistlines.

• Analyze your weakness and control portions. Some of us favor sweets, others comfort food and still others are major meat eaters. Find your preference and whatever it is, cut your normal portion in half. Keep the number of portions the same, one small bar of candy instead of one large bar.

• Go out to indulge. Don’t keep snack food in the house. If you really want that donut, ice cream, etc., go to the store and buy one serving. This helps to stop the reflexive hand to mouth action of immediate gratification. If you really want that treat and are willing to stop what you are doing to go and get it, then I say "Go for it."

• Have a hot drink with a sweet. Snuggling up with a warm cup of tea or decaf coffee is relaxing itself. Have your sweet with a warm drink and enjoy the feeling of relaxation. This can also be of help in controlling the number of snacks eaten.

• Set a specific place and time for rewards. Don’t grab your snacks on the run. Don’t eat in front of the TV. Do find a quiet place at a time of day when you can savor your treat. If you are going to choose those calories, make it worthwhile.

• Tell yourself that you can have it. If you focus on what you cannot have, you are focused on what you cannot have. This is self-defeating.

There are times when we overindulge. During the holidays, for example, we are surrounded by a cornucopia of goodies everywhere we turn. If you overindulge, you are not alone. Move on. Stay guilt free. Guilt only leads to such emotions as sadness, self-loathing, anger, fatigue and stress. Now we are back where we began, emotional eating. When you follow one or more of these steps, keep in mind that a reward is something that we give to ourselves because we feel that we deserve it or have earned it. It is not a habit.

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