Tag Archives: habits

Mothers’ Attitudes Influence Teen Dieting

A survey from the UK teen magazine Sugar has found that 15 percent of girls 13-19 years old are regularly dieting. A young girl may be influenced to diet by comments made by their parents, pictures of exceptionally thin celebrities or models, and their peer group. If an adolescent girl has watched her mother try several new diets, she is 35 percent more likely to diet herself. Girls are also more likely to be concerned about their weight when they hear their mothers make positive statements about the attractiveness of slim celebrities. I am sure similar comments about slender friends and family members would have a similar impact. The editor of Sugar, Annabel Brog, summed these results up well with the statement, “Mums want the best for our daughters, but we live in a world preoccupied with body size, and inevitably daughters are picking up on, and assimilating, anxieties their mums have.”

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Posted on November 22, 2023 by Brooke Randolph

England Discusses Paying Citizens to Change Unhealthy Habits

In England, The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has come up with a groundbreaking concept to improve the health of the country. They have proposed paying those with unhealthy habits, including those who are obese and smoke, to quit their addictions.

On 20-22 May 2024, NICE’s Citizens Council met to discuss the following question: In what circumstances are incentives to promote individual behaviour change an acceptable way of promoting the health of the public?

From the September 27, 2024 press release :

While this approach is not commonly used in the UK to improve areas of public health, the Council heard of examples where local incentive schemes had been piloted. These included an initiative to encourage pregnant women to stop smoking by offering supermarket vouchers, people receiving cash for losing agreed amounts of weight, and children being rewarded with toys in exchange for eating more fruit and vegetables. (more…)

Posted on September 29, 2023 by Carmen

3 Non-Exercise Techniques Necessary for a Successful Workout

Josie Maurer, creator of YumYucky.com, spreads the message of finding balance between fitness and your greedy side. She lost over 40 pounds after the birth of her fourth child through sensible eating and exercise, yet she still maintains her love for large slices of cake.

Please don’t get happy for all the wrong reasons. These non-exercise techniques do not involve floor-napping, lazy-dazing or sun bathing. They will, in fact, require some effort on your part, but it’s literally no sweat. Even if you’re gung ho about exercise, there are still some nuisance stumbling blocks that might prevent your workout from ever getting off the ground.
Guard your workouts with these three non-exercise techniques. They will help set you up for a great fitness session with limited hindrances, distractions and disturbances.

Technique #1: ORGANIZE

Got messy clutter everywhere? Can you find your running shoes? Are you pressured to skip your workout because the laundry needs attention? Lack of organization is a beastly little culprit that sneaks up slowly and nibbles at your chance for an effective workout. Disorganization can be overwhelming and is many times at the root of the “I don’t have time to exercise” excuse. Organization helps to remove the noise in your life that distracts from your fitness goals. When you slay the disorganized chaos like you’re wielding a ninja sword, you’ll be freed up and better prepared to workout without the need to tend to other matters first. Problems like a messy workout space, “lost” fitness gear, or a pile of dirty exercise clothes will no longer be part of the issues that hinder you from a great workout. (more…)

Posted on August 14, 2023 by GuestBlogger

Seven Sins of Unhealthy Eating

Unhealthy EatingAt the most basic level, weight loss comes from cutting calories and exercising more. But there are certain unhealthy eating habits that also factor into our ability to do these two things. Here’s a list of six unhealthy eating habits that can ruin a diet or make weight loss even more difficult.

1. Bad breakfast. It’s old news that skipping breakfast is bad for your metabolism. But eating an unhealthy breakfast is nearly just as bad. A sugary doughnut or a fatty muffin sets the nutritional tone for your day. Instead, get a healthier and more filling breakfast with plenty of protein and healthy carbs.

2. Eating too little during the day–and overeating at night. If you deprive yourself of too many calories during the day, not only will you be cranky at night, you’ll also be more likely to overeat. Instead, eat several small meals throughout the day.
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Posted on August 4, 2023 by Health Buzz

It’s National Public Health Week!

Did you know that this is National Public Health Week? With the tagline of A Healthier America: One Community at a Time, the nationwide initiative that encourages everyone to promote healthier choices one-by-one seems like a no-brainer. One person, one change – the incremental amounts of positive effort that each of us makes can turn into big changes in the world around us.

In a study commissioned by the American Public Health Association, entitled A Healthy America Study, 21 percent of subjects responded that they were interested in making changes to their lifestyle in order to become more healthy. Tops on the list of changes that intrigued them? Changes to dietary habits.

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Posted on April 6, 2024 by Carmen

Base Your Wellness Solutions on the Reasons Behind the Problem

The analogy of an iceberg is not new in describing problems. You may see your child throwing a tantrum because he is not allowed to have a cookie; however, it takes more analysis to recognize that the source of the tantrum is really how tired he is because he stayed up to watch the end of a movie the night before. You may see your child squirming and being silly, but do you realize that she is really just nervous that the doctor may give her a shot?

A client came in the other day and was able to clearly describe what brought him into counseling, as well as recognize the issues in the background that were likely contributing and that needed to be addressed and processed. Although the part of his iceberg above the water did need to be addressed right away, he was aware that the layers beneath the water posed a danger to him also.

Different modalities of therapy address different levels of the iceberg; however, good client care addresses the entire problem. Perhaps a better analogy would be a weed because if you try to cut it off at ground level, it will grow back and continue to cause problems until you address the root. (more…)

Posted on March 28, 2024 by Brooke Randolph

Lose Weight With a Kitchen Spring Cleaning

For many of us, it has been a long snowy slog this winter. But the end is near, and spring is just around the corner. While it may not match the annual New Year’s resolution everyone makes, spring is also a time of renewal. The scent of flowers begins to fill the air, and we start shedding our layers of clothing… which reminds us that by hibernating for the winter, we now have a few extra unwanted pounds.

Do you have some extra weight that you need to shed before bathing suit season arrives? Then, it’s time to do some spring cleaning in your kitchen. Here are five ways that will shape up your eating habits, and your waistline:

1. Grocery Shop Wisely

If it’s not in your kitchen, you won’t eat it. That may be a simple mantra, but its importance is profound. If you are even the least bit weak when buying snack foods, don’t shop for food when you are hungry. Better yet, go grocery shopping right after a meal. That may be a little difficult – who wants to grocery shop at 7 p.m. after a long day of work? But if you can do it, you may cut thousand of calories a month. (more…)

Posted on March 11, 2024 by Jason

5 Healthy Habits to Start on Spring Break

“Nothing changes until you do.” This is probably one of my favorite sayings. If you have ever complained about not eating healthy enough, working too much, not having enough time for exercise, or not taking care of yourself the way you should then you have probably spent some time wishing things could change. Here are five ideas to help get you started and make more productive use of your spring break.

1. Take time to plan. Without a plan, you’re stuck with good intentions that you can’t execute. If you have extra time over spring break, do some personal reflection and goal setting. Think about one behavior at a time. What would you like to change about nutrition? Write it down. Continue this until you have a list of changes that have been on your mind. Which few do you believe are the most important behaviors to change and easiest to change? Start there. Be consistent. Don’t think about how far you have to go, think about what you will do today to work on that change. Here are a couple examples: I will eat two whole fruits a day. I will not snack in front of the TV or computer. (more…)

Posted on March 9, 2024 by Rebecca

How to Motivate Behavior Changes in Someone You Love

women hugFebruary is American Heart Month. It’s a time to bring awareness to heart disease and stroke, the number one killer in the United States, so you and people you love don’t become a statistic. I’ve been blogging about important topics like lowering your cholesterol, reducing heart disease risk and identifying heart healthy foods all month, and I want to continue the conversation with you by discussing how you can influence change in those you love.

My mom has heart disease and I’ve spent countless hours helping her with nutrition and exercise. So I’m coming at this post as a daughter with experience in trying to get a loved one to change more so than rattling off “book smarts.”

First, let me just say one important thing: it doesn’t matter how much you want someone to change, they have to want it too. Make no mistake. Change is not easy for many people. But I’m concerned that too many well-intentioned people are struggling and frustrated that their loved one doesn’t seem to be able to change. Above all else, they have to want it and secondly, they need support… and that’s where you can come in and can be successful.

So, if you aren’t sure if your loved one wants to change, you need to start there. Here are some tips to help you out. (more…)

Posted on February 18, 2024 by Rebecca

20 Healthy New Year’s Resolutions You Should Make

Happy New Year! Now that 2024 is safely behind us it is time to embrace the newness of 2024. Not only does today mark the start of a new year, but also the start of a new decade. new year 2010

There are many New Year’s Day traditions, including eating a bowl of black eyed peas for luck, watching college bowl games, taking down the holiday decorations, and even resolving to make some grand change in the coming weeks and months.

The bowl games sound like the most appealing, but you’ll no doubt find yourself mulling over a resolution. The thing is, most people make some bold decision to make drastic changes in their lives, and no matter how much commitment to that goal they wind up falling short. It’s not because they aren’t capable, but instead that we just aren’t programmed to accept that much change so quickly. Especially when it comes to our favorite food, cigarette, TV show or other vice. (more…)

Posted on January 1, 2024 by Natalie K

Dieting 101: Setting Realistic Goals and Reaching Them

We’re working on a plan for healthy weight management without dieting. If you’re just joining us, you need to catch up. Read the last post, Dieting 101: Getting Started, and make sure this is a journey you want to be on. If you’ve rejected dieting and prepared yourself for changes, it’s time for goals.weight loss goals

Setting realistic goals is so important. You build success upon success. By starting small, you will repeat the easy changes and they add up to big results. So first thing, give yourself permission to set easy goals. Take the struggle out if it!

Goal-Setting Tips

  • Think short-term: What is a small change you can do today and repeat tomorrow? Maybe you do no exercise at all. How about measuring how active your lifestyle is with a new, inexpensive pedometer. Wear a pedometer and see how many steps you take. If you have a desk job, I’d be surprised if you get more than 3,000 steps a day and you need 10,000. Does this motivate you to walk 30 minutes at lunch or after dinner? (more…)
Posted on December 30, 2023 by Rebecca