In our culture, we’re conditioned to have food or treat rewards - from a really early age, we get rewarded for good behavior. Do any of these sound familiar to you?

• We’re given m&ms for learning to use the potty as toddlers

• Rewarded with ice cream when we get good grades on tests

• The lists go on & continue WELL into adulthood

How The Reward System Works

The reward system is basically rewarding ourselves with mini gifts or services when we accomplish something. It’s a way to motivate us to keep going, or simply something to congratulate ourselves in a way, for doing what we did.

Those rewards can be getting a present for yourself, treating yourself to something nice, or food. Oftentimes, it’s unhealthy food. I know that using a reward system like food can work really well when trying to get people to take on new habits, but it can derail us from our weight loss efforts or fitness goals. It seems crazy to reward good health and fitness behavior with actions that are opposed to it, like chocolate after a run. It simply doesn’t make sense to reward yourself with something unhealthy when you manage to eat healthy. Sure, it’s okay to eat unhealthy from time to time, but seeing it as a reward when you accomplish a fitness goal is counter-productive. Thinking of it like that can alter your way of seeing food. 

Instead!

If you’re trying to lose weight, find other ways to reward behavior so you feel good about adopting new habits. There are definitely better rewards for weight loss.

Rewards should encourage the positive behavior or habit we’re trying to cultivate. Keeping them related to each other can help positively reinforce the habit on your weight loss journey.

So for example, if you’re trying to exercise more often and you’re on a fitness journey, a reward for exercising three times per week for a month could be a new pair of running shoes or workout pants.

How To Keep Track Of Your Fitness Progress

Keeping track of your fitness progress is important for multiple reasons. First of all, it can help you see how much you still need to do to reach your goal. Secondly, and even more importantly, it can help you see how much you’ve accomplished, which will make you proud of yourself. A good tip for keeping track of your goals, is to set mini goals when starting your fitness journey. Mini goals aren’t the long-term ones, but shorter goals which you can accomplish in less time. By doing that, you’ll be so proud of yourself whenever you reach a mini goal, and that will motivate you to keep going.

So, are you looking for some ways to track your fitness habits? If yes, I have a few suggestions.

For water, I highly recommend carrying a large water bottle with you everywhere so you know how much you’ve had to drink and you can track your progress. For exercise, use a fitness tracker to see how often or how much you’re exercising to track your fitness progress. You can find some that are like social media for fitness to help build a community of people working towards similar goals. Those trackers can also be useful for different reasons. They can give you fitness goal suggestions based on your body composition, age, food preferences, etc. Plus, they will tell you how much protein you ate, how many carbs, how much fat, etc. That will help you know if your meals are balanced, and whether or not you need to balance them out more. 

Tracking will help you reach your weight loss goals sooner.

I asked you in Instagram Stories about your ideas for non-food rewards - here is your amazing list! I added a few of my own that I thought could be good. Try a new one this week. :)

I tried to group them by category - but this is not by any means a perfect organization method haha! I’m sure you can think of others that should be on this list too. Make sure you’re rewarding yourself with things that feel good to you.

Non-Food Rewards

Rest & Relaxation

• Take a nap

• Read a magazine

• Listen to music

• Hanging out with your pet

• Calling a friend

• Going on Pinterest

• Reading a blog

• Online “window shopping”

• Getting workout clothes for yourself

• Get a mini massage

• Watching an episode of a favorite show on Netflix, Hulu, etc.

• Driving around

• Going to a park

• Sitting on your rooftop (if it’s safe)

• Putting PJs in the dryer & getting cozy

• Doing your own nails

• Buying nail polish

• Taking a bubble bath

• Buying new clothes or makeup

• Go to bed

• Full body massage

• Getting a mani/ pedi

• Hanging out with friends

• Alone time

• Journaling (try this one sentence pretty journal!)

• Getting a cup of coffee or tea

• Buying a new pair of shoes

• Doing a face mask (try this one!) 

• Organizing a part of your house or room

• Cleaning 1 room or drawer

• Pampering self with nice skincare products

• Take a walk - get outside

• Getting fresh flowers

• Getting a new house plant

• Planning a fun friend date

• Getting out paints or colored pencils - doing an adult coloring book

• Planning a date with your significant other

Hobbies

• Buy a new book on Amazon

• Read a book

• Listen to a podcast

• Buying new pens for journaling

• Buying a new journal

• Taking 15 minutes to learn a new language e.g. on the app DuoLingo

Furthering Health Goals

• Downloading a new meal plan (hehe try mine! 🤩)

• Going for a quick walk

• Going for a bike ride

• Doing a workout class e.g. yoga 

• Walking around the mall, window shopping

• Taking a day off from the gym

• Splurging on a more expensive type of gym class

• Researching some fun new recipes

• Getting a fancy water bottle that has times of day listed on it

• Getting a blender to make smoothies (or something else you can use to prepare healthy meals)

Big time rewards

• Weekend getaway

• Beach day

• Amusement park trip

• A clothing item you wanted to get that’s not super cheap