The relationship we have with food is, and always will be, very complex. Every since we were little children we have been taught to associate both rewards and punishment with food.
Here is a quick thought for today:
“Find a way to reward the people in your life (including yourself) that doesn’t involve food’
And at the same time, don’t be afraid to celebrate with food.
At first glance, this may seem like a simple suggestion, but it is actually VERY difficult to do….There are very few things in life that people truly enjoy more than the instant gratification that comes with great tasting food.
However, if you can accomplish this then you create two unique positive benefits.
1) By not rewarding or punishing with food, you avoid creating ques for emotional eating, and
2) By using food for celebration you make what you are celebrating even MORE important..(after all, how exciting would a birthday be if you ate birthday cake every single day of the year??)
Now I know the line between a ‘Reward’ and a ‘Celebration’ can be a blurry one, so I’ll offer my definition:
Rewarding with food is literally when food IS the reward. Celebrating with food is when food is PART of the celebration.
Celebrating is also typically done with friends and family, whereas rewarding (or punishing) is more focused on the individual.
BP
