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
- Mani-Pedi
- Eyebrow shaping
- New perfume
- New nail polish or lipstick
- get a spray-tan
- buy a new Sports Bra
- get a good bikini wax!
- splurge on some designer yoga pants
- rent a movie on demand
- go to Huntington Library, or Norton Simon, The Getty (or your local art museum)
- buy yourself a glass straw from simplystraws for your morning smoothie
- get a massage
- get a facial
- give yourself a facial at home!
- buy yourself a bouquet of flowers
- sign up for a charity walk or running event
- take a bubble bath!
- buy yourself a new book
- buy yourself a fancy water bottle
- take a cooking class, or a sewing class, or golf lesson!
- go to a concert or comedy show
- buy a new candle
- get a wash & blow-out at a local salon
- play hookie from work for a day
- buy a new pair of running shoes
- buy some new panties or a bra!
- buy a new healthy cookbook
- buy a kitchen gadget you’ve been wanting!
- get yourself some comfy slippers
- subscribe to a magazine
- Download a new app for your phone
- Get your teeth whitened
- go horseback riding
- buy a cute throw pillow for your couch
- buy yourself a piece of jewelry
- get a gym membership, or yoga studio membership
- take a calligraphy or photography class
- go to the beach with a best friend and take a long walk
- buy some fancy shampoo or a beauty product you’ve been wanting
- take a progress selfie!
What’s your favorite Non-Food Reward?? I’d love to know!
XO, Siobain
So inspired by this post. Im starting the 40 day green cleanse Wednesday (i plan to take it 10 days at a time ) love these reward ideas. Thank you.