Congratulations! Let's Eat!

I wake up and look at the clock.  3:46!  My alarm will be going off in 14 minutes.  I have a mini discussion with the voice in my head that sounds a little like Elvis.

Me: I might as well get up.

Elvis: Go back to sleep.  You will do nothing exciting today in real life.  In your dreams, you might be a Jedi or Batman or Danny Zuko.

Me: True, but I could also have that reccuring dream where I'm a vampire and the only neck around to suck is Dr. Phil's.  Even as the living dead, I have my limits.

And so the discussion goes for a few minutes until I get out of bed. 

After a quick stop at the toilet, I step on the scale.  I am very pleased with the number I see there.  Elvis comes back, "Look at that!  You need to celebrate with a Sonic Breakfast Burrito, tots and a Vanilla Fanta Orange!"

I mentally give Elvis a high-five and I start figuring out how I'm going to get that many calories into my budgeted calories for the day.  (Meanwhile, he's gone back to bed.)

That's when I realize how stupid that idea is.  Rewarding weight loss with food - no matter how tasty it is - makes about as much sense as celebrating one year of sobriety with a bottle of Jack Daniels.

I have to admit, this is the hardest thing for me in this new healthier life.  For years I have used food as a reward.  ("I mowed the lawn without cutting off any major body parts.  I think that deserves a Double Double with cheese and fries.") 

I haven't had a problem starting - and sticking to - an exercise plan.  It's been relatively easy limiting the amount of pizza slices I consume in one sitting.  Yet, for some reason, I cannot overcome the tendency to reward myself with food.  ("I spent a lot of time typing this blog post.  I deserve a gyro.")

In the hundreds of health and diet books I have read over the years, it says to reward yourself with some clothes.  This doesn't appeal to me because I hate clothes shopping.

They also say to reward yourself with a piece of exercise equipment.  This I can do, except the piece of "equipment" that I really, really want is way out of my budget and even if I lost 50 pounds in one day, I would have a tough time convincing my wife that I needed to spend that much money on a set of DVDs to reward myself.

So that brings me back to food as a reward.  It's so much easier - and cheaper - to reward myself with Hostess Snowballs. 

I'm not saying that I should never reward myself with food, because there are times you just need to splurge a bit when it comes to calories.  (My birthday, for instance.)

I just really need to train my brain that there are so many other things out there to reward myself with.  (I did just purchase a cheaper workout DVD as a reward for when I lose these next two pounds.)   

When I can stop doing this, I know that my lifestyle has really changed.

(I would love to hear any suggestions from you on how you were able to overcome the "food as a reward" mentality.)