Personal Rewards

One of the strange things about us, the smartest of all living things, is how sometimes we can make some of the dumbest decisions. We adult athletes, with our super healthy lifestyles are no exception to that rule. How we reward ourselves for being faithful to our healthy life style is a prime example.

We make a good informed decision that something is bad for us so we break the habit of consuming it and take it out of our diet. Then when we have reached a goal we reward ourselves by having some. Soft drinks are great examples of this. However one of the things we discover after being without, for a while, is that the food or drink that we craved, just doesn't taste as good as we expected it to any more.

Rewards should be a step forward just like everything else we strive for in our lives. Taking a day trip, to somewhere interesting, is going to be a much better reward, for reaching a tough goal, than a huge high fat and high sugar meal. From the trip we come away with a nice memory but from the unhealthy meal we just feel guilty and bloated. New clothes are a super gift if your goal was to loose inches and you did. New shoes for going the distance or new shorts to show off those nice definitions, you are starting to get, in your leg muscles. A day trip to a real running store to get your stride and foot type analyzed, so you can be fitted for the proper running or walking shoes, should be one of your first rewards.

A good healthy dinner with friends is a great reward if food is what you are craving, let the atmosphere and the company be the reward not the decadence of the food. A big slab of salmon and steamed veggies are going to make you feel great after and not feeling like you need to take a nap, like a big meal that's high fat or full of sugar would. If you have been eating healthy for a while, you would also feel guilty that you spent the money on food that really didn't taste very good any more.

Going to a destination race is a great goal to train for and also a wonderful reward in it's self. New sights and an amazing experience. Then you have all the good stuff, a reward for your efforts, lots of memories and even a medal to bring home. Put some effort into planning your rewards, that makes them even more special. You changed your life style, that means you also should change the way you reward yourself.

It's not just a step, it's a start.

Dave