...the reward is the problem...

About a month ago it occurred to me that I should lose some weight.  Yeah, well, okay, it has occurred to me before, but a month ago I put myself on a work-out & calorie counting routine.  (&, FYI, I am still doing it!).


Anyhow, in my search for calorie counting sites online I stumbled upon a site called (who would have thought?), caloriecount.com.  I have been happy with this site - it does all the calculating for me, plus has other perks as well.  But, I am not here to advertise for them - besides, NO ONE is interested in calorie counting unless they are doing it themselves, so there is no point in me going on & on about it here.  It is just one aspect of the site that I am going to talk about...


The site has a scrolling sort of page, similar to facebook, where members can jot down their thoughts at the close of each day.  Then, people can respond to them - it is really quite nice.  Someone will say, "Oh, I had a horrible day, I went way over on my calories because my mother-in-law would kill me if I didn't eat her banana pudding!" or, "What a wonderful day - I ran for an hour & have lost 10 pounds so far!".   In response to peoples entries other members come along with a supply of commiserations or congratulations.  What a great idea - people say they feel accountable for their actions by having to log everything they eat & that they are happy to be connected to a wider world of weight challenged people for support & guidance.  


That's all good.


What I wonder about, tho, are posts like these:


"I am soooo happy, after 3 long months I can fit into my size 10 jeans.  So, to celebrate that incredible milestone, I went & had a Whopper with extra cheese & curly fries..."


"Boy, I really worked hard today - this is my 17th week of counting calories & so far I have lost 30 pounds!  Obviously I deserved that pint of Ben & Jerry's New York Super Chunk Fudge that you can see there on my log."


"My wife is so pleased with the way I have slimmed down that she took me out to dinner at Outback, where I had not one but TWO Bloomin' Onions, for just 3000 calories each!"


What's wrong with this picture?


If you don't see it, let me rephrase it:


"I am soooo happy, it has been 3 long months that I haven't had a cigarette!  So, to celebrate that incredible milestone, I went & smoked 2 packs of Marlboro Reds!"


"Boy, I really worked hard today - this is my 17th week without a drink!!  Obviously I deserved that fifth of rum & all those jello shots that I had last night!"


"My wife is so pleased with the way I have finally kicked my cocaine habit that she took me out to celebrate!  We went to a happenin' night club where I did lines all night long!"


See what I mean?  When the reward is the problem then it's no longer a reward!  


Now that I've figured THAT out, maybe I should track down some of that Ben & Jerry's New York Super Chunk Fudge (or was it 'Super Fudge Chunk'?)...;)