Weight loss is hard work with amazing rewards. Working out regularly and eating a healthy diet yields great results. There will always be a hard day so, it’s natural you want to treat yourself for making a lot of effort and working hard to achieve your goals. A common mistake that people make is that they celebrate weight loss with food rewards, commonly unhealthy ones – junk foods, high sugar foods like sweets, dessert, chocolate bar, or a candy bar. Please, do not do this. Scroll down to see how to treat yourself with non food rewards. Never jeopardize your diet and workout regimen and keep a good behaviour.
1. Get a high-speed blender
One way to celebrate your weight loss is to choose a reward that will help you keep the lost pounds off. For example, if you use a regular blender you may want to treat yourself and invest in a high-speed blender. You can use that high-speed blender to create super delicious smoothies. Their sturdy construction allows you to use all sorts of fruits, veggies, and herbs to make a healthy, yet delicious beverage. Since fruits, vegetables, nuts, and other natural ingredients are abundant in vitamins and minerals, your high-speed blender could help support your health and weight loss. While more research is necessary on smoothies and weight loss, they could help you as long as you don’t exceed daily calorie needs (1).
Yet another advantage of a high-speed blender is that you get to consume more fiber. Both weight loss and its management need adequate fiber intake (2). You see, fiber suppresses appetite and makes you feel full for longer. As a result, you don’t overeat or consume too many calories. Additionally, fiber is necessary for digestive health (3).
2. Travel to your favorite (or new) location
All that hard work in the gym and careful selection of foods you eat should be rewarded. If you want to do something really special, instead pf using food as a reward, you may choose to travel. Choose your favorite location or decide to visit a place you’ve never seen before. It doesn’t have to be a different country or continent, any location you want is perfectly okay. Traveling is a soul-enriching experience. Vacations have a positive impact on mental health and may even reduce symptoms of depression (4).
Yet another reason to travel is that you can still support your weight loss. Just think about it; if you choose a place with a lot of landmarks you can opt to walk and visit them all. That’s a great physical activity. When you go to eat you can always order delicious, yet healthy meals. Keep in mind food isn’t the focus here, the emphasis is on celebrating your achievement by traveling and trying out new things.
3. Watch your favorite movie or show
Here’s yet another non-food reward to celebrate weight loss – watch your favorite movie or show. Or maybe you can catch up with new releases. Nowadays streaming services are popular and you don’t have to wait for a TV schedule. Binge-watching a show or movie can help you relax and entertain yourself. This is important for your mindset and mood. The more positive your mood is, the more motivated you will be to maintain your results. If you don’t want your regular schedule to suffer, you can always do exercises while watching a show or movie on TV/laptop.
4. Get a massage
Let’s be honest; the modern lifestyle is hectic and the journey toward successful weight loss is no different. You deal with a lot of negative emotions like stress. You struggle and fight against your old habits. For that reason, you may want to reward yourself with a nice massage. Sure, you can ask your significant other for a massage but to celebrate weight loss, strive to schedule an appointment with a professional.
Reasons to get a massage are numerous and you’re bound to enjoy every second of it. Massage improves blood flow, reduces stress while increasing circulation, and decreases pain, tension, and soreness. You can expect your energy levels to go up. At the same time, the immune function may improve as well. Massage can also regulate blood pressure (5).
Let’s say you want a massage, there are tons of options for you to choose from. Here are a few examples (6):
- Swedish – full-body massage, promotes relaxation
- Hot stone massage – can ease muscle tension, improve blood flow, and alleviate pain
- Aromatherapy massage – may boost your mood, decreases stress and anxiety, alleviates muscle tension
- Deep tissue massage – useful for persons with chronic muscle problems, useful for persons who work out regularly too
- Sports massage – beneficial for persons with repetitive use injury to a muscle
Other types of massage you may want to try include trigger point massage, shiatsu massage, Thai massage.
5. Soak in a hot tub
Soaking in a hot tub is yet another relaxing “activity” you can do to celebrate your weight loss. Everyone needs a little bit of me-time and you should, definitely, make it a reward for your amazing achievement. If you don’t have a hot tub in your home, you may want to set up a spa day.
So, why soak in a hot tub? If you’ve never done it before you’ll be amazed at how relaxing it is. Plus, it has a lot of benefits such as stress relief. Research shows that warm water has a soothing effect while the massaging action can alleviate physical, mental, and emotional stress. Additionally, a hot tub can improve your quality of sleep (7,8). Lack of sleep depletes your energy levels and thereby reduces your motivation to work out. Since your goal is to maintain weight loss, you need your energy at the optimal level so that you can stay motivated and make wiser eating choices.
Hot tubs can improve cardiovascular health, insulin sensitivity, and burn calories (9,10,11).
6. Get your nails done
As mentioned above, me-time is necessary. It helps us feel better about ourselves. Most of our days revolve around running errands, going to work, and other engagements. Sometimes we forget about our needs and this can take its toll on our mental health.
So, to celebrate your weight loss you may want to focus on yourself. Schedule an appointment and get your nails done. You’ll feel instantly better and more confident. Needless to mention this is also a relaxing thing to do. Even the slightest change in appearance, such as a new manicure, can mean to our mental health.
7. Get a bike
If you don’t already have one, you may want to get a bicycle. It doesn’t have to be expensive, a basic bicycle will do. Not only will the bike take you back to carefree childhood days, but it can contribute to your fitness. Regular cycling can lower body fat levels and strengthen muscles in your legs. Moreover, riding a bike is also a great core workout because maintaining the body upright and keeping the bicycle in position requires engaging core muscles. Bicycles are also beneficial for mental health (12).
You can also suggest your friend, significant other, or someone else gets a bicycle too. Besides the fact you’re going to get your cardio training, you’ll also enjoy the fresh air. This is especially the case if you ride your bicycle outside of the town.
8. Buy a new outfit
Now that you’ve lost weight, the clothes you wore before are too loose and don’t fit properly. Is there a better way to reward yourself for lost pounds than a little bit of retail therapy? Meet up with your friends and go shopping. Celebrate weight loss with a new outfit. Get sweaters, pants, skirts, or other clothing items for several outfit ideas. Not only will a new outfit boost your confidence, but it will perfectly show off your weight loss. When you wear clothes that fit properly, your body’s silhouette is more emphasized and you’ll love the results. Another thing you can do is to find a good tailor who will modify loose clothes. That way you don’t have to get rid of the clothes, but you can still wear them and ensure they fit properly.
9. Get an expert bra fitting
One study found 52% of women don’t wear the right bra size and 74% of these women find the existing sizing system quite confusing (13). As your body changes, your breasts change as well. In most cases, the change is not dramatic, but it may influence their bra size. However, the proper bra is crucial. That way, you’re less likely to experience discomfort. Plus, the right bra size flatters your figure and shapes your silhouette. That’s exactly what you need after weight loss. Besides these advantages, the proper bra can also boost your confidence. So, instead of trying to do everything yourself, you may want to get an expert bra fitting.
You’ll be surprised how nurturing this experience is. Bra fitting allows you to learn more about yourself and will change your bra shopping habits. You can combine this reward with outfit shopping and do everything in one go.
10. Get new workout clothes
The body changes with weight loss. That also means your workout clothes should change as well. Investing in new workout clothes is useful in more ways than one. First of all, it feels good to buy something for yourself. At the same time, new workout clothes will help you look better because they will fit perfectly. You will be excited to try it out and wear it regularly. This leads to better athletic performance and weight loss maintenance.
When you go shopping for workout clothes, you should let your creativity shine. Instead of standard pieces, you may want to opt for colors and designs you love, something new and bold. You’ll notice how amazing it makes you feel.
In addition to workout clothes, you may want to invest in other fitness gear such as dumbbells, resistance bands, and other items.
11. Treat yourself with flowers
We buy flowers for other people, but rarely treat ourselves that way. Weight loss celebration is the perfect opportunity to reward yourself with favorite flowers and bring a dose of freshness to your home. Evidence shows buying yourself flowers can make you happier and more energetic (14). To make these effects more emphasized, you should put those flowers on a nightstand. This hack is particularly useful for people who don’t consider themselves “morning people”. Waking up to see the flowers by your side can boost your happiness first thing in the morning.
Make it a habit to treat yourself with flowers for weight loss and other victories you achieve on this journey. You will make yourself happy, give more life to interior décor, and celebrate your achievement.
12. Get a nice water bottle
Staying hydrated is important for our health and wellbeing. Water keeps us fresh and energized. It can also increase your metabolism and thereby contribute to weight loss (15). You need water for healthy skin and basically every single aspect of your wellbeing. However, most people don’t drink enough water during the day. They usually wait to feel thirsty, but by then the body may already start exhibiting some signs of dehydration including tiredness.
The trick is to drink water throughout the day. To make that happen you need to carry a water bottle with you so that you can have access to water when necessary. Plastic bottles aren’t the best idea since they’re not good for the environment and may harm your health.
Investing in a fancy water bottle is a great way to treat yourself for achieved weight loss, but also to stay motivated and drink water. Who wouldn’t love to sip water throughout the day from a bottle with a nice, unique design?
13. Get a coloring book
You teach kids how to color or do arts, right? Coloring books are not for children only. Adults can use them too. We’re not talking about child finds, of course. There are books for adults! They are characterized by highly detailed and intricate designs that require great focus and creativity. The act of coloring quite complex designs improves your cognitive abilities and promotes relaxation.
While you’re coloring different objects and drawings, you don’t think about problems and concerns you may have. It’s a wonderful activity for people who are under a lot of stress. Celebrate your weight loss by rewarding yourself with something that will benefit your mental health.
Even though it’s easy to download various designs and print them out, an actual coloring book is a much better idea. These books usually have a specific theme and tell a certain story. So it’s even more fun to use them.
Also, this can be a great bonding for parents and children. Reward kids with some family time while keeping your weight loss journey.
Conclusion
An achievement such as weight loss is an opportunity to treat yourself and celebrate hard work and effort. After all, it takes good behavior, a lot of willpower, and motivation to push yourself to slim down. However, many people celebrate with certain foods; some of which are unhealthy. Such eating behaviors root out of hunger or cravings because of very strict diets. Unfortunately, this is the wrong approach. Search for something healthier.
You see, food shouldn’t be a punishment or reward. Healthy food is an integral part of a person’s lifestyle, not a punishment they have to endure. For that reason, you may want to reward yourself with non-food ideas from this post. Asked a registered dietitian to help you make better plans.
References:
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/are-smoothies-good-for-you#weight-loss
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31174214/
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/short-term-increase-in-fiber-alters-gut-microbiome
- https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111887591?storyId=111887591
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/massage/art-20045743
- https://www.healthline.com/health/types-of-massage
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8736588/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23223696/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5023696/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26049635/
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23328940.2017.1288688
- https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/cycling-benefits
- https://thefoxmagazine.com/fashion/new-study-52-of-all-women-wear-the-wrong-bra-size/
- http://community.passiongrowers.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/flowersinthehome1017061.pdf
- https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/88/12/6015/2661518
