A Unique Treat

Sometimes, I just have to treat myself! I used to use food as a reward, a lot. If I had a good day, then I deserved that Oreo. If I had a bad day, then I deserved that Oreo. It’s ridiculous the ways I would find to justify why I deserved a treat. I’ve worked really hard to find other ways to reward myself (amazingly, working out is one of them).

But sometimes you just want a treat!

Today I went to give blood. For me, giving blood is important but not particularly fun. They always want you to eat something afterward, but all they have is not-so-great cookies and pretzels. I decided to take a 3 Musketeers bar with me—if I’m forced to eat some empty calories, I want it to be something I like! (Thus, my above illustration.) That 3 Musketeers bar was so good…

Now I can’t wait until my three months are up and I can give blood again! I think I’m going to go with a Twix then. I’ve turned an occasion that I don’t necessarily look forward to and used my own weakness to make the situation better! This obviously wouldn’t be a good idea if it was something that happened every day (or even every week). But, for me, I can use giving blood as a kind of requirement to motivate myself to not eat a candy bar in between.

Do you have any tricks or rules like this that help you abstain from treats sometimes but allow you indulge at other times? Please feel free to share in the comments! I’m sure there are tricks I haven’t thought of or rules that might work better for people than mine.