Celebrate Life - No Chewing Required!

Let's face it - the reward system we’ve grown accustomed to is probably one of the most dangerous land mines we face in our dietary lives. From the time we smeared our first birthday cake across our faces we've been taught to celebrate through eating and drinking.

Special dinners, holiday meals, even funeral buffets find us hunched over our plates, fork or spoon in constant motion, prospecting for that one bite that will bring us a culinary version of comfort or joy. Some of us seek solace or celebration in liquid form, tossing back glass after glass of beer or booze in an effort to rejoice or relax. But in either case the satisfaction is only temporary and we wind up with an overstuffed belly, a pounding head, and an empty soul.

We experience challenges and victories frequently in life, but we don't always have to default to food or drink. The next time life offers us a reason to celebrate - or chill - is the perfect opportunity to rethink our reward systems and redefine our relationships with food and alcohol.

What do you like to do? What gives you joy? What makes you feel safe, secure and well tended to? Whatever the answer, here's your chance to take great care of your body - and feed your soul!

Here are some ideas:

1) Get a mani/pedi - not express; the spa kind that gives you get the full royal treatment
2) Get your hair done - a new cut or color, highlights, straighting, deep conditioning
3) Take a Yoga class - Bikram for sweating out toxins; restorative is almost better than a massage
4) Buy those cute red (or whatever color your covet) shoes you’ve been eyeing
5) Make a date with your vibrator (very healthy!)
6) See a foreign flick
7) Spend an undisturbed hour with a good book
8) Take a walk
9) Get a makeover - bring some new colors into your makeup palette
10) Try a new perfume
11) Take a dance class - tap, salsa, pole; whatever gets your juices flowing
12) Get a wax - brows, upper lip, Brazillian, arms
13) See a concert
14) Get a massage
15) Go to the zoo
16) Tackle a Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle - all day
17) Watch an old movie
18) See a psychic
19) Paint a room a new color

20) Get a cushy pair of slippers and wear them all weekend