ANA Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation® Blog: Shift the Focus Away From Food
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How (and why) to celebrate and reward yourself without food
Eating is pleasurable. So, it’s no wonder we often reach for our favorite treat to reward ourselves. Food is also almost always present when we gather with friends and family.
Food-centered celebrations are often part of our traditions and something we’ve come to expect. It’s a coworker’s birthday? Make room for cake. Your child won the baseball game? Let’s go get ice cream or pizza. You were good on your diet all week? You deserve a cheat meal.
Rewarding yourself for an accomplishment and celebrating with loved ones are important rituals and offer many benefits, such as:
It’s important to remember that you gain those same benefits even when food is not involved. Social gatherings and rewards without food offer additional benefits because they:
Why Do We Reward Ourselves and Celebrate Achievements?
Whether you are rewarding yourself or acknowledging someone else’s achievement, celebrating feels good. It raises your confidence — it’s motivating and inspiring. And all that results from a burst of dopamine, the neurotransmitter in your brain commonly associated with pleasure.
Eating foods containing sugar, salt, or carbohydrates can trigger dopamine release. But it’s certainly not the only way — or the best way — to get a pleasure boost. Anytime you talk with others, it alters your brain by triggering the production of hormones and neurotransmitters that change how you feel. Socializing with close friends and family typically creates “feel good” conversations. As a result, your brain increases chemicals, such as dopamine and endorphins, that promote positive feelings.
A University of Oxford study found that people who eat with others have higher self-esteem and an improved overall sense of connectedness. While people clearly bond over a meal, more than 75% of participants felt that the food was simply a good way to bring people together. It was the bonding that was the real benefit.
The good news is that socializing isn’t the only non-food way to feel good. Any pleasurable experience can boost dopamine. We tend to reach for food as a reward because it’s easy to grab. Food also offers instant gratification, and research shows that immediate rewards increase enjoyment and motivation more than delayed rewards. But if you’re prepared to give yourself a non-food reward and don’t delay it, you’ll reap the benefits.
Food-free Social Celebrations
Sharing a meal and celebrating with food is rooted deep in our culture. While we might enjoy whatever’s on the plate, the social connection is often a more significant source of pleasure.
Some food-free ideas for connecting with friends or loved ones and celebrating their accomplishments include:
Non-food Rewards
You deserve to feel good when you reach a goal. Recognizing your accomplishment — and getting the burst of dopamine that accompanies a reward — is also essential to staying motivated. That feel-good chemical is part of your internal reward system. Your brain uses dopamine as a motivator to reinforce that behavior. When you reward yourself, the brain connects your achievement with the positive outcome of feeling good.
Ideas for rewarding yourself without food include:
Wellness for the Win
Non-food rewards are a fun and healthy way to celebrate. Embracing alternate ways of celebrating and treating yourself also teaches your brain that being healthy is enjoyable — and makes you feel good. In time, you may even stop thinking of food as a treat or reward at all.
When you choose rewards and festivities that promote wellness, you’ll have yet another reason to celebrate.
What’s your favorite way to celebrate without food? Share with us in our discussion below.
Not a member of Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation (HNHN) yet? Join today!
Sign up for our monthly challenges!
Food-centered celebrations are often part of our traditions and something we’ve come to expect. It’s a coworker’s birthday? Make room for cake. Your child won the baseball game? Let’s go get ice cream or pizza. You were good on your diet all week? You deserve a cheat meal.
Rewarding yourself for an accomplishment and celebrating with loved ones are important rituals and offer many benefits, such as:
- Boosting life satisfaction and self-esteem
- Enhancing social connections and relationships
- Providing motivation and a sense of accomplishment
- Reducing stress
It’s important to remember that you gain those same benefits even when food is not involved. Social gatherings and rewards without food offer additional benefits because they:
- Create an inclusive environment for people with food allergies or aversions
- Help reduce the risk of chronic diseases, since most celebration and reward foods are processed or high in sugar and fat — think cakes, cookies, and soda
- Support a healthier relationship with food by reducing the association of food with good feelings
Why Do We Reward Ourselves and Celebrate Achievements?
Whether you are rewarding yourself or acknowledging someone else’s achievement, celebrating feels good. It raises your confidence — it’s motivating and inspiring. And all that results from a burst of dopamine, the neurotransmitter in your brain commonly associated with pleasure.
Eating foods containing sugar, salt, or carbohydrates can trigger dopamine release. But it’s certainly not the only way — or the best way — to get a pleasure boost. Anytime you talk with others, it alters your brain by triggering the production of hormones and neurotransmitters that change how you feel. Socializing with close friends and family typically creates “feel good” conversations. As a result, your brain increases chemicals, such as dopamine and endorphins, that promote positive feelings.
A University of Oxford study found that people who eat with others have higher self-esteem and an improved overall sense of connectedness. While people clearly bond over a meal, more than 75% of participants felt that the food was simply a good way to bring people together. It was the bonding that was the real benefit.
The good news is that socializing isn’t the only non-food way to feel good. Any pleasurable experience can boost dopamine. We tend to reach for food as a reward because it’s easy to grab. Food also offers instant gratification, and research shows that immediate rewards increase enjoyment and motivation more than delayed rewards. But if you’re prepared to give yourself a non-food reward and don’t delay it, you’ll reap the benefits.
Food-free Social Celebrations
Sharing a meal and celebrating with food is rooted deep in our culture. While we might enjoy whatever’s on the plate, the social connection is often a more significant source of pleasure.
Some food-free ideas for connecting with friends or loved ones and celebrating their accomplishments include:
- Attending a show or concert: Going to a special event together is a great way to mark an occasion. Let the performance — not the food — be the focus.
- Dancing: Head to a club or a class, or get down in your living room for some dopamine-boosting movement and a good time.
- Embarking on an excursion: Visit a museum, historic site, or botanical garden with others. Go bowling, miniature golfing, river tubing, or skiing in a group. Even planning an adventure or vacation together can be an event in itself.
- Going for a hike: Spending time in nature with friends is good for your physical health, mental wellness, and relationships.
- Playing a game: Board games, card games, and athletic contests can all get your competitive juices flowing while fostering social interaction.
- Taking a class: Stepping outside your comfort zone is easier with loved ones. Whether you’re learning to paint, dance, or play golf, you’ll come away with a new skill, a sense of accomplishment, and a great memory.
- Volunteering together: Pay it forward. Your celebration can be something that gives people in need a reason to celebrate.
Non-food Rewards
You deserve to feel good when you reach a goal. Recognizing your accomplishment — and getting the burst of dopamine that accompanies a reward — is also essential to staying motivated. That feel-good chemical is part of your internal reward system. Your brain uses dopamine as a motivator to reinforce that behavior. When you reward yourself, the brain connects your achievement with the positive outcome of feeling good.
Ideas for rewarding yourself without food include:
- Engaging in a favorite hobby: Take a break from your work or goal to garden, paint, read, exercise, or do whatever activity makes you happy.
- Enjoying a movie or museum: Enjoy the quiet time away from home or work with an impromptu visit somewhere special.
- Getting outside: Lay in a hammock, go for a walk, or float in your pool. Find a way to reward yourself with sunshine and nature.
- Going shopping: Purchase flowers or an item that makes you smile and will remind you of your achievement.
- Meeting up with a friend: Reward yourself with an afternoon or evening of socialization.
- Pampering yourself: Get your nails done, enjoy a massage, or take a long bath. Self-care is often the best reward.
Wellness for the Win
Non-food rewards are a fun and healthy way to celebrate. Embracing alternate ways of celebrating and treating yourself also teaches your brain that being healthy is enjoyable — and makes you feel good. In time, you may even stop thinking of food as a treat or reward at all.
When you choose rewards and festivities that promote wellness, you’ll have yet another reason to celebrate.
What’s your favorite way to celebrate without food? Share with us in our discussion below.
Not a member of Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation (HNHN) yet? Join today!
Sign up for our monthly challenges!
Blog Nutrition
03/04/2025 3:14pm CST
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