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Food as reward and punishment

When was the last time you told yourself you’d have just one more cookie, since you had such a bad day? Or maybe you went through the drive through on the way home to treat yourself because you were exhausted. Whatever the reason, do you use food as a reward?

Food is not a reward

Whether it’s a relatively recent development or something you’ve been doing since childhood, it’s important to re-train yourself to recognize that food is not a reward.

Food is food, nothing else.

I think sometimes we get caught up in the “deserving” mentality. I had a hard day, so I deserve the ice cream. My boss yelled at me, so I deserve to not have to cook tonight. The first step, I think, is to realize those statements are partly true. You had a tough day, and you do deserve to be rewarded, even pampered. Of course you deserve some special treatment to help get over the rough day you’ve had.

But food isn’t a real reward. Yes, you may feel better temporarily, but don’t you feel worse after bingeing? Won’t you feel bad after eating that ice cream, cookie, hamburger, or whatever you chose? Instead, choose a reward that will make you feel good about yourself. Give yourself time to do something you enjoy, or take some time out to really pamper yourself. Think of all the things that you want to do and don’t have enough time for. Now’s your chance to give yourself a chance to take the time for them.

Food as punishment

If anything is worse than using food as a reward, I think it’s using food as punishment. Maybe you didn’t work out, so you’re skipping dinner. Or you ate a big lunch, so you’re allowing yourself only water and salad. Again, food isn’t a reward or a punishment, just food. If you can think of food as that, just fuel your body needs, you can go a long way to giving up your unhealthy eating habits.

Patterns often start as children

Whether you were sent to bed without supper or treated to ice cream as a reward for good grades, you may have been taught since childhood to see food as a reward or punishment. It’s terribly difficult to change your outlook, but the first step is to be aware of your perspective. When you’re aware of what you’re doing, you can start to take steps to change.