I have asked myself this question several times over the years. I feel like it can be both a reward and a punishment but it shouldn’t be either.
What I mean is, if you do well on something you tend to get a treat that is food related. If you require a physical reward for doing something well, does it have to be food? Can you get something else at the dollar store or something else at the impulse counter?
Food can be a punishment like if you don’t end up eating all of your vegetables and you are required to or to finish all of your plate before leaving then it’s a punishment. It can also be a punishment if you get caught with your hand in the cookie jar and you are not that hungry if you already but still you are required to eat dinner and there may be more food that is made that doesn’t need to be made because well you have eaten something already. Food shouldn’t make you happy or sad. I think that it shouldn’t be one or the other or neither of them.
Food is fuel, I don’t think that you should ever over or under eat but get all that you need in your life.
Do you use food as a reward or a punishment? Do you think about food all the time? Do you tend to eat your feelings? What is your favourite treat you like to reward yourself with? What food do you find to be a punishment food? Should food be a reward or a punishment?
Food has always been a funny issue I think that a lot of people have. You don’t need to be eating all of the time and you don’t need to be eating less. I find that food is both a reward and a punishment for me but I am thinking that instead of instead of food that I can get a little trinket for myself, or something that I need in my life, don’t want to have a lot of clutter around the house you know. I think that I will fill my cart with items and when I am at a certain dollar amount I can check out. I have a lot of different options that I can do.
Do you find that you always treat yourself with food? How do you treat yourself?
Find something that works for you. Only do you. What do you find to be an appropriate reward or a punishment? Do you feel that you should be punished for the things that you do? what is your relationship with food? Do you have an addiction to food? What is your diet? How do you stay fit? How often do you eat in a day? Do you treat yourself with food on a daily basis or punish yourself with food daily? What types of things do you do to punish yourself with food?
No matter what you think or do, I hope that you do not have a complex with food that it is a reward and a punishment.