Seven Steps
To More Positive Eating Habits

Sticking to a healthy eating plan can be a challenge for many women.  Use these seven simple steps to regain control of your eating habits or to begin a healthy eating pattern.  

1. To achieve a one pound weight loss per week, 3500 calories should be subtracted from your normal weekly caloric intake.  To do this, reduce your normal daily caloric consumption by 200 to 300 calories per day and increase your physical activity with a goal of burning an additional 200 to 300 calories per day.  Avoid dieting and the typical mind set that surrounds such thinking.  Instead of the mindset "I'm on a diet," start dwelling on this fact... "I'm eating healthy."

2. Pay attention to physical cues and signals that can help you determine when your body is cuing you to eat due to hunger, verses mental or external cues which cause you to believe that you are supposed to be hungry. Ask yourself, "Am I hungry in my nose because of what I just smelled?"  If you are only hungry because your nose smelled something good, your hunger is probably caused by external cue verses hunger.

 3. Trainers have a scale they use with their clients called RPE (rate of perceived exertion). This scale helps you gauge how intensely you are exercising may be how hard you perceive your exertion to be. Take that idea, and apply the same scale to food by using RPH, also known as the Rate Of Perceived Hunger.  A rating of one means you are not hungry at all and rating of ten means you are very hungry.  When you feel that you are between a 4 and 8, it is time to feed the body.  Don't wait until you feel famished before you eat. If you do, your body will kick into starvation mode and won't efficiently burn calories. 

4. Do not restrict foods! Everything can be okay if it is eaten in moderation.  If you neglect certain food groups, you'll only end up craving other foods and risk missing some critical nutrients. 

5. Don't skip meals and eat often.  Eating 2-3 meals and 2-3 snacks per day will stimulate your metabolism.  When you skip meals your metabolism will slow down. 

6. Change your reward system. Instead of rewarding yourself for a number change on the scale, reward yourself for positive behavior.  For instance, reward yourself for eating three meals and two healthy snacks for a week straight. Now you deserve those earrings you have been eyeing or that manicure you've been putting off.  

7. Be positive. Cheer yourself on.  Recognize irrational thoughts.  The more positive you are about yourself and the more positively that you behave,  the more likely you are to reach your goals. 

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