Weight loss: Rewarding Yourself Wisely

Back in the days when you weren't watching your waistline, you may have indulged in your favorite food as a reward for a job well done. Today, however, celebrating your accomplishments with an ice-cream sundae, Godiva chocolates, or a big plate of nachos is antithetical to your weight-loss quest. Yet, rewarding yourself for reaching a milestone on or off the scale remains a great motivational tool.

The challenge is finding some non-food rewards that make you feel good about your achievement as well as your body. Non-food rewards can be tangible or intangible, and there are scores of creative possibilities to choose from.

Tammy Baker, M.S., R.D., a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, says there are two types of tangible rewards for weight loss: small rewards for reaching incremental weight-loss goals, and big rewards for reaching longer-term goals. An incremental goal might be losing 5 or 10 pounds or dropping an inch from your waist or hips. Examples of long-term goals are meeting your target weight; maintaining a healthy weight for a year; or fitting into a pair of size-10 jeans.

Baker, author of the forthcoming book, "Energize your Mood with Food," recommends funding your reward system with the money you are saving at the grocery store. After all, fruits and vegetables are cheaper by the pound than cake and cookies.

Here are some examples of "small" rewards:

• A subscription to a magazine that focuses on a favorite hobby or physical fitness
• A piece of costume jewelry, such as a choker or ankle bracelet
• A new pair of shoes
• A pedicure or manicure
• A massage
• A makeover
• A digital bathroom scale

“Big” rewards could be:

• Spending an entire day at a spa
• Spending the weekend at a yoga retreat
• Using a fashion consultant to help you buy clothes that flatter your new figure (some large department stores provide this service free of charge)
• Putting a full-length mirror in your bedroom
• Getting a totally new hair cut that compliments your new body
• Buying a new bathing suit, sleeveless shirt, shorts, and other revealing garments that you never would have worn before losing weight

Membership in a fitness center is an ideal reward for meeting a short- or long-term goal, Baker says. “The most common denominator among individuals who have lost weight and kept it off is that they exercise regularly.”

Jill Shaffer, R.D., co-director of a weight-loss program called The Solution, says she encourages her clients to focus primarily on the intangible rewards of adopting a healthier lifestyle. Some examples:

• A reduced cholesterol count
• Reveling in the fact that you feel more energetic
• Enjoying an improved self-image and greater self-esteem
• Increased intimacy in romantic relationships
• Finally doing something to relieve joint pain that was preventing you from exercising
• Patting yourself on the shoulder after getting up from the dinner table as soon as you feel satisfied instead of gorging yourself like you used to do

The Solution’s training program, which takes about a year to master, also offers “the unexpected reward of balance,” Shaffer says. “Our clients report less extreme highs and lows; they have a more stable emotional life,” she says. “To me, that is biggest earned reward of doing this program.”