So many times in my life I have wanted to lose weight for a particular event.  Examples: a weekend in Palm Springs, being a bridesmaid in a friends wedding, a vacation, a 4th of July pool party, a class reunion…the list goes on.  Sometimes what would happen is I would procrastinate “losing weight” until there was only a few weeks until the event.  You know how the saying goes, Desperate times call for desperate measures.  We turn to fasting, green juice cleanses, the Master Cleanse, water pills, appetite suppressants, whatever new pill/supplement Dr. Oz is taking about, slimfast shakes (throwing it back!), nothing but salad, coffee and cigarettes… you name it! We try it.  And you bet your sweet a$* we lose weight and we lose it fast!  BUT, 4 months later is that weight still off?  Not for me.

The fact of the matter is this.  If you want to have a low body fat percentage…you have to work damn hard and make sacrifices.  If it was easy, everyone would have a perfect body.  Maybe you aren’t trying to have a “perfect body” maybe you just want to be “healthy” that’s awesome, but the same thing applies.  It takes time and discipline to both decrease body fat and maintain a healthy weight long-term.

So, what happens when we go a week of eating clean?  Pat on the back & high five? No, we reward ourselves with a cheeseburger and fries!  Or, when we get in an awesome cardio sesh at the gym, we go out with our friends and have one too many cocktails and fried appetizers…because “hey, I deserve it!”  This is a habit we need to break.  We need to stop telling ourselves we deserve a “treat” everyday.  And, more importantly, we need to STOP USING FOOD AS A REWARD.  Change your habits and you change your life.  Treat yourself to a mani-pedi after a week of clean eating.  If you workout 16x in a month, go buy yourself a new top at Anthropologie (or Forever 21).

My 12 day total weight loss is 3.4 pounds.  Slow weight loss is the goal.  Yes, it’s tempting to want rapid weightloss. (Rapid weight loss means losing more than 3 pounds a week).  It didn’t take me 3 weeks to put on 15 pounds, so what makes me think I’m going to lose that much FAT in 3 weeks?!

Tomorrow will be my 14th day of

• No Wheat
• No Alcohol
• No Dairy
• No Processed foods
• No Sugar

I am rewarding myself with and appointment for eyebrow shaping + tinting at Zoey Van Jones – Brow Studio (the best eyebrow place in Pasadena!)  Below, I listed other ideas to help us get away from food rewards.

40 Non-Food Weight Loss Rewards

1. Mani-Pedi
2. Eyebrow shaping
3. New perfume
4. New nail polish or lipstick
5. get a spray-tan
6. buy a new Sports Bra
7. get a good bikini wax!
8. splurge on some designer yoga pants
9. rent a movie on demand
10. go to Huntington Library, or Norton Simon, The Getty (or your local art museum)
11. buy yourself a glass straw from simplystraws for your morning smoothie
12. get a massage
13. get a facial
14. give yourself a facial at home!
15. buy yourself a bouquet of flowers
16. sign up for a charity walk or running event
17. take a bubble bath!
18. buy yourself a new book
19. buy yourself a fancy water bottle
20. take a cooking class, or a sewing class, or golf lesson!
21. go to a concert or comedy show
22. buy a new candle
23. get a wash & blow-out at a local salon
24. play hookie from work for a day
25. buy a new pair of running shoes
26. buy some new panties or a bra!
27. buy a new healthy cookbook
28. buy a kitchen gadget you’ve been wanting!
29. get yourself some comfy slippers
30. subscribe to a magazine
31. Download a new app for your phone
32. Get your teeth whitened
33. go horseback riding
34. buy a cute throw pillow for your couch
35. buy yourself a piece of jewelry
36. get a gym membership, or yoga studio membership
37. take a calligraphy or photography class
38. go to the beach with a best friend and take a long walk
39. buy some fancy shampoo or a beauty product you’ve been wanting
40. take a progress selfie!

What’s your favorite Non-Food Reward?? I’d love to know!

XO, Siobain