Five Simple Ways to Reward Yourself and Lose Weight

We are a society who eats, not only for nourishment, but for a variety of emotional reasons. Another reason we eat is for the reward. Some of us favor sweets, others comfort food and still others are major meat eaters. Don't keep snack food in the house. Don't eat in front of the TV. Now we are back where we began, emotional eating. When you follow on

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, melancholy or stress. plus 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 think of us to indulge our emotions without to our waistlines.

1. Analyze your weakness and control portions. Some of us favor sweets, others peace of mind 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 thicken instead of one large bar.

2. 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 sport 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."

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

4. 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 wish those calories, make it worthwhile.

5. 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 being as how we feel that we deserve it or have earned it. It is not a habit.