Now that Food is off the table, how do you 'treat' yourself

On thing that I am thinking about as my surgery date approaches is how I use food to 'treat' myself when I have had a busy day, or when I feel I deserve a break it often involves a food 'treat'.  I know that part of this is due to how I was raised and food always being a treat, and I'm sure that I am doing this to my children too...
So here's my questions:

  1.  What are some low cost/no cost ways that you treat yourself in place of food?

  2. What are some low cost/no cost ways to 'treat/reward' children in place of food?

I have some ideas like bubble baths, and 'me' time reading a book in peace or something for me, but what about things that can be done quickly or on the run?

For the kids, I have thought of tokens for chuckie cheese, time to play a board/card game, or stickers...
 

Your help in this is as always much appreciated! 

Sarah

I'm not sure how I treat myself now.  But I don't do it with food, simply because I have no desire to do so.  After a busy day, I unwind by relaxing with the computer, or if I'm tired, I have a nap.  Or I read a book.  I don't just eat for the sake of eating.

I think you'll find that right after your surgery, you won't want to "eat as a treat" - you'll be struggling to get enough protein IN. :)  And months of that will hopefully serve as a ha*****anger in itself.  It has for me - I don't automatically reach for food when I'm bored, want comfort, or want to treat myself.

I have one suggestion and you can take it or leave it: I wouldn't reward kids with tokens for Chuck E. Cheese.  It's a restaurant that serves junk food to kids and associates fun games with eating that junk food.  So rewarding kids with tokens is rewarding them with a visit to a fast food restaurant, which is indirectly rewarding them with food (even though the tokens are for games).  Love the board game and stickers idea though!

treating yourself and kiddies can center around exercise too, going for a laser tag game (not cheap nor quick but every now and then), going to a local humane society to help walk the dogs, going to a new playground every weekend, and whatever else your kids want to do that means you all move.  So many museums and kid friendly events go on each weekend!  

Food doesn't have to not be a treat, trying a new food type, adventuring into new country's cuisine can be fun, means a little research before you do to see what's high in protein and low in fat/carbs but so worth it.  Making low fat treats can be fun especially if your kids are involved.  An outing in the kitchen can be a family event.  I went to allrecipes.com and typed in low fat desserts and there are pages and pages of choices.  Go through them with your kids, have them make the grocery list, go with you to pick the items up and make it together (you might have a budding chef in your midst)!  http://allrecipes.com/search/default.aspx?qt=k&wt=low%20fat% 20desserts&rt=r&origin=Home%20Page

GR8 suggestions Ian! 

It depends how old your kids are, but I might recommend doing crafts with them, even just drawing with them if they are younger.  You could buy a sheet of bristol board at the dollar store, and they could make their own board game, modeling it off one like Monopoly, or Snakes and Ladders, or Clue.  I had fun doing these things when I was a kid and was thrilled when my Father joined in.  For younger children, my Father made up a game: he drew a line or squiggle, and then you had to turn that into something recognizable, then it was my turn to draw the squiggle, etc..

Michael's usually has lots of holiday-themed craft ideas on their website which you could adapt to the supplies you have, or just buy some of them, and so do other websites, but I'd try to buy the craft supplies at the dollar store instead of Michael's.

I also loved it when my parents took me to the park, and I really loved it when my Father and I played hockey, just the two of us with a soft ball and two hockey sticks.  Your kids would probably love it if you played baseball, soccer, or basketball with them too.

Jenn.  :)

I don't know about kids, because my kid is grown, but I reward myself with a tall skinny latte. I'm not of the school of thought that food is evil. You just have to be mindful of what you're putting in your mouth and what you have already consumed for the day. Everything in moderation!

I treat/reward myself with a new piece of clothing :)

I treat myself by looking in the mirror and realising that by not eating something I am now healthier. I also go for a walk. Treat your ids to your time.

All the ideas above are great! You can also (along with the dollar store idea) is give them a couple of dollars to buy anything they want at the dollar store (junk food not included of course) Or play some video games with them (my kids love me to play video games with them, we have a Wii, and i don't play a lot so when I do play with them that means they have been good and that is their treat/ reward).

If you don't have a pool in your back yard (or if you do and it's winter like me right now) , then you could bring them to the public pool (summer or winter) for a reward/ treat.  To swim is something like 2.50 each so not that expensive where I am. What we do when the kids go to bed with no problem is they get their back/ arm rubbed if they act up or make up excuse after excuse, then they don't get their back/arm rubbed.  (this really works with my kids ages 7 and 12)

As for some rewards for you, you could by yourself a book (paper or download) not to bad for price.  Or treat yourself to a day with NO HOUSEWORK, (except the thing we have to do like dishes/ cooking of course.)  this is my favorite, if I have a hectic day or did something I have been planning on doing for a long time and finally did it, this is how I like to reward myself, along with any way I DON'T have to cook...like getting the family a pizza (I only have a small slice with a bit of Greek yogurt and I am full and happy)  you see it is not the pizza that is the reward, it is the fact that I don't have to cook, (I hate cooking) lol. 

Think outside the box, you can probably come up with lots more ideas (especially in the summer i bet like outings to the park or a game of baseball or something along those lines since you will be able to actually play!) for treats for yourself and the kids.  Your life changes from living to eat to eating to live.  But you still have to resist the temptation that is everywhere! I was still in the hospital after surgery, watching TV, and the food commercials that come on were one after another, and I was actually craving that food, even though I was no where near hungry! That is where the saying "You want something more when you know you can't have it" comes into play. 

Good luck on finding more treats if you think of some other things let us know! lol

PS: another favorite or mine is the daytime nap too, I love that one also! Then I regret it when I can't sleep that night...lol

My daughter is 18 and still likes her arm "tickle" rubbed as a reward.... they never outgrow that