"Reward" question

I've been surfing about and saw that rewards for yourself shouldn't be food!
Which sucks, because that would motivate me.

I was wondering if it would be okay for me to splurg on a good food, such as Sushi, I love sushi and.. I can't stop at 1 roll, ever.

There's nothing wrong with a reward, especially sushi.  I had sushi today for lunch (but it wasn't a reward).  I reward myself every day but still stay within my limit of 2,400 calories.  Reward tonight equals Taco Bell (just about every night).  I don't know about you but one of the reasons I became overweight is because I love food.  That is never going to change however much I would like it to.  I eat some healthy stuff but not exclusively.  For me, the positive thing about counting calories is that you can eat whatever you want but in limited quantities.  If you go over your daily limit, start again tomorrow.  Remember, one meal or one day does not make us fat.  A lifetime of poor choices makes us fat.

hmm, yeah I do want to stick the main point of counting cals.

I've found the snacking on veggies and using salads for lunch is an easy way to cut calories, so I have a bunch left over for yummy foods if I so decide to eat them.

Since this is my first week, I'm going to be extra good to get a feel for it.  I'll probably go over a few times a week after a month of doing this.  I just have to be careful not to get off track.

I eat generally 3 rolls, easy.  Most of those have fish in the middle and on top.  It's probably equal to the amount of calories that I'm consuming right now in one full day.  So I'd consider that a reward splurge.

One of my rules is no fast food, permitting... only Chipotle.
Which I would probably count as another reward sometime later this month.

I respect that you set rules for yourself.  My personal philosophy is "no rules".  The reason I failed in the past so many times was because I set rules and found that in time I couldn't follow them.  After breaking my "rules" I would almost always just give up.  Now I don't feel guilty for eating taco bell almost every night for dinner because I'm still losing weight.  I do eat healthy alot more than I used to but it is because I want to, not because I am following the "rules".  I've kept it up for 2 months and 1 day and lost over 20 lbs, 60 more to go.  I don't plan to quit, ever. 

if food works for your rewards than I'd say use it. A lot of people do. I'm like slcooper and don't have forbidden foods. As long as I can stay in my calorie range, I'm okay. Usually if I keep really strict during the day and have a lot of calories leftover for dinner, I'll let myself have a "better than I normally would have" dinner. It's all about what works for you.

slcooper--how long did it take for you to start seeing the weight loss on the scale? It's been a week for me and I've stayed the same. I'm just wondering how long I should wait to see results before I start making changes.

ktcort13 - I had to look it up in my log.  I weighed 307 on Jan 2, 2007 (starting day) and 303.5 on Jan 11, 2007 so 9 days.  You can't expect to lose more than 1-2 lbs. per week on average.  Are you using the "tool" to determine how many calories you should eat to reach your goal? 

Sushi is a fantastic protein, very healthy.  Why not?  

Well I decided to go out tonight to get some sushi, since I'm ravenous like a wolf (TTOM).  It's an early reward to go along with my new hair cut.  I feel pretty enough to eat eel XD yumyum

While I dont think a reward should be stuffing yourself with every treat food you ever wanted, a reasonable treat is fine. When I reach my goal weight, you know what I am going to get? Cheesecake! mmm...  but I would set some non-food rewards as well.

I don't have too many rules about eating. But I keep counting everything what I eat for 6 days in a week and I try to stick to my goals. And also I keep exercising as much as I can. And than one day a week (usually Sunday) is vacation from counting...so I can go to any restaurant or any friend/family member to relax and to enjoy food.

I love rewards myself with food. So my system works for me, maybe it will work for you!. I lost 50 lbs since Septemebr 2006!

Good luck with your goals!

I'm glad that a lot of people feel that rewards with food is acceptable!
I didn't stuff myself tonight, infact, I was really full with 1 roll less than usual.
I did some extra exercising when I got home to help off set it too.

My splurg which will be in about an hour is a Dr.Pepper.  Not diet I don't do diet.  That 250 calories or more depends if I go fountain or bottle.  <hehehe> Will be sooo good.  I started CC Jan 13 and today I was finally down 10 pounds.   Another splurg will be going to the Melting Pot next Saturday for my anniversary.  I am always accountable for my splurges.  You still count those calories and put them in your food log.  That keeps you in perspective.  Have a great day!

Oh yeah I still logged my splurg, god I can't wait to be down 10 lbs, I've been 157 for toooo long.

I realized when I went to set my elliptical the other day, I was setting it at 157lbs, even though I'm 154/155 now, lol. I got a kick out of that, guess it's time to change my mind set. =)

I am now counting calories, and to succeed I've decided that every day - even every meal - food needs to feel like a reward. By replacing most of the foods you eat with healthier, yummier options, you can honestly tell yourself that you are rewarding yourself every meal.

Feeding yourself better will take more time. For example, for breakfast I will sometimes sautee vegetables and then add a scrambled egg, and then eat it on toast or a whole wheat tortilla. Eating a salad with mango salsa instead of ranch dressing is so sweet and yummy to me that it feels like a treat. Sometimes it seems time consuming to prepare every meal with wonderful flavors and really good nutritional value, but I have reached the point that it will be easier to spend the time and change my entire life than to continue living like I have been. If I am going to stick with this change and keep it for the rest of my life, I have to feel like my life (including my enjoyment of food) will be better because of the change. For me personally, if I am depriving myself, I know I can't stick with it.

Nocturne, each to their own but I splurge with food. I love food and I dont deny myself anything. Instead, I am teaching myself to control how much and when I eat certain foods. I see no harm in rewarding myself with a chocolate fudge sundae or a bag of chips. There is no way that one of those treats is going to destroy a week or two of healthy living. For the most part, I plan when I am going to splurge and I try to get in some extra exercise as well as keep my calories down a bit to make room for the treat. Its all about being happy and healthy as well as finding whats comfortable and works for you.

There are some healthy choices I've changed to that absolutely feel like I'm treating myself.

The salad dressing I use, is spicy thai peanut, omg so yum ^^, I don't think I'll ever get tired of salad.

And whole wheat bagle toasted with crushed up canned chicken from costco in the middle, is so homey and delicious, I think it beats out a huge thing of speghetti or mac n' cheese.

I'm sure there's more, but it doesn't keep me from wanting some of the old things I use to eat.  Maybe that will fade over time.

I really think that a reward for doing something good, like passing your driving test or making that deadline at work, espeically meeting weight loss goals should ABSOLUTELY NOT be food.

We have to steer clear from the mindset to use food as motivation.  We'll be setting ourselves up for a big fall, because when you associate food with emotion, you will eat it when you are depressed as well... as a reward... for going through crappy times.

Food like sushi, fries, poutine, burgers should be eaten on special occasions or as treats and not associated with emotion.