How do I give myself treats and rewards as I lose weight? How do I do it without feeling like I'm hanging on by my finger-nails?

Many people’s ‘reward’ themselves at the end of a hard day by self harming.  A cigarette, too much alcohol, a chocolate binge or a combination of all three.  This may emotionally feel rewarding momentarily but it is not rewarding your body - it is abusing yourself.  Like all addictive behavior’s the after effects mentally and emotionally are probably more destructive than the actual 'acting out'.

(5 ideas for healthy rewards at the bottom of the page)

[[posterous-content:pid___0]](Above - lunch in Cornucopia today - my treat for updating The Energy Coach Website and hitting my target weight before Ironman in 2.5 weeks)

 

Learning to treat yourself with dignity and respect takes time.  In my opinion regaining ones self-respect is the most fulfilling, dignifying and rewarding part of the weight loss process.  For both men and women, feeling like you are worth it and treating yourself accordingly, feeling worthy of respect and treating yourself according is an infinitely more enjoyable outcome than just being three stone lighter.

 

When people are trapped in addiction they feel like there is nowhere to go.  That they are ‘damned if they quit and damned if they don’t.’  One of our objectives in my Mentoring Groups is to  to establish a new way of thinking which is polar opposite to ‘damned if you quit and damned if you don’t.’  Our objective is that you feel that this process, the results, the speed of results, the steps themselves all feel; ‘too good to be true.’

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(Above: Today's lunch which was a green juice, raw cold soup which sounds awful but tastes fantastic, salad, fruit salad, veggie pate with crackers. Total €11.95)

 

The key to sustainability is in finding ways to enjoy the new journey so that you wouldn’t dream of going back to your old behaviors.  We do this by ensuring the new way of living is fun.  What you initially anticipate as a painful activity (like exercise) may end up becoming the highlight of your day.  Beginners who start running but don’t know what they are doing can suffer initially (especially if they don’t have a mentor) but they cross the ‘pain barrier’ eventually.  One day they go out for their monotonous run and they get a ‘runner’s high’ and their mindset shifts forever - they love running!

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If I’m totally honest I’m still learning healthy ways to reward myself. Let me know if you have some great ideas yourself!

5 things I use as a healthy reward are: 

• Time to chill out in the sauna and do some stretchs
• Expensive organic delicious herbal teas. We go to Les Palais Des Thes on Wicklow St and it is fantastic.
• A gorgeous meal in Cornucopia vegetarian restarurant which is also on Wicklow St
• Massage
• Damage control: If I'm desperately craving chocolate then I buy high quality dark chocolate like Butlers (Guess where there is a store?  -Wicklow St conveniently enough!). I find that I don't want to eat as much dark chocolate and it is a lot lower in sugar and dairy than milk chocolate.

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