You’ve probably heard—or even said—things like, “If I’m good all week, I can have some ice cream on Sunday,” or “once I lose 10 pounds, I’ll treat myself to pizza from my favorite place.” While there’s nothing wrong with indulging in your favorite foods once in a while, try to avoid using food as a reward. When you turn food into a reward for a job well done, it can contribute to an unhealthy relationship with food.
Eating food as a reward sparks a relaxation response and a resulting release of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which makes you feel good. If you do this regularly, you start to associate relaxation with food and you’ll be more likely to seek that food out as a way to feel better when you’re stressed out or having a bad day. To add to that, rewarding yourself with food can make it harder to overcome cravings and bad habits and leave you feeling guilty after you indulge.
That being said, there is a benefit to rewarding yourself when you accomplish your goals. There are two major types of motivation: intrinsic (or internal) and extrinsic (or external). Giving yourself a reward for meeting a goal is a form of extrinsic motivation and it can be effective in helping you stay on track for the long term. Of course, you also don’t want to overdo it. If you treat yourself with excessive rewards, it can actually lead to a decrease in intrinsic motivation, which is the type of motivation that comes from within.
The best thing to do is reward yourself when you reach major goals, instead of when you hit every little goal along the way. That doesn’t mean that you can’t celebrate the small goals and be proud of yourself, but save the external rewards for the bigger stuff.