For those of us who are not only overweight but also emotional eaters, we need to find a way of rewarding ourselves and getting a “feel good” feeling from something other than food.  I would guess that most people like me went through a rough patch in their early lives when food rewards made us feel better and we’ve never been able to get past that.

So what can we do?  What reward system would give us a pat on the back in the same way that food has historically done for us?  The only difference would be no guilt or remorse for overeating at the end.

1. Give  yourself a compliment.  Go ahead, go to the mirror and look at yourself and give yourself a compliment.  Maybe you’ve been kind to someone today.  Maybe you really like the arch of your eyebrows.  Maybe you like the way you smile.  There’s always something about us to be complimented on.
2. Get some sticky notes and write a message that’s meaningful to you and stick it to the fridge or the bathroom mirror.   For instance; “I have gone 2 days without binge eating!”
3. Pamper yourself.  I know we’re all really busy with our lives and there’s never enough time to take care of ourselves properly but today, just do it.  Put yourself first.  Don’t mow the lawn.  Don’t go shopping.  Don’t do anything that you don’t feel like doing.  It’s a great buzz to do this every once in a while.  You will feel special through and through.
4. Set small goals for your weight loss.  When you reach one — reward yourself.  I use a piggy bank and when I’ve lost a kilo (2.2 lbs) I put in $5.   What will I do with it?  I have no idea but just knowing it’s there and I got it by losing weight makes me feel good.
5. Start a new hobby.  Sure, none of us have time for that but what’s the real reason you wouldn’t do it?  You feel that you “should” spend your time doing for others.  That’s crap!  I’m guilty of that too but I’m trying to wean myself from it.  You don’t have to live for your new hobby but take some time every day to do something you enjoy.  Golf, tennis, knitting, cards, gardening – you name it.  Permit yourself some time during every day to your hobby.  It might be as little as making a date for tennis.

That’s my thoughts for the day.  Do you have ways to reward yourself that you’d like to share with others.  I know I’m not the only emotional eater out there.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 6:05 pm and is filed under emotional eating, losing weight. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.