Page 34 - Anna Doxie first new format

Earning a Gold Star

Learn how to reward yourself for eating healthy

By Jennifer L. Sachs, RD
You may have had great intentions to start eating
healthier in 2008 but now, several months later
you’re back to your old habits. Positive thinking
and trying to pep yourself up failed to keep you on
track.

Think years back to those days as a young child
when your parents and teachers were trying to
educate you to establish healthy habits; impor-
tant things you needed to learn to survive in our
society today; things like reading a book, washing
your hands before eating dinner, saving money in
your piggy bank and learning how to work as you
completed your chores.

How were you motivated to make
these changes? Was it a spanking or
a stern look? More often than not you
were probably motivated to learn this
new behavior because you would
receive a reward, not because you
34 were born disciplined.

You may have received a star or
sticker on the chart each time you read
a book or completed a chore. You may
have earned an allowance and you
saved up to buy that special toy. Or
even better yet, you may have gained
the right to play with the neighborhood
friends after completing your chores or
homework for the day.

Have you really changed that much over the
years? I think most of us would admit that we
would be willing to climb a mountain to get something we Certainly you will be able to adjust your busy schedule to fit
really wanted. that in.

Getting up in the morning for work when our alarm goes off As a child our reward system was managed by an adult so
can be excruciating but think about how easy it is to pop unless our parent or teacher referee wavered easily, we
out of bed at 5 am when you know you’re on your way to were obliged to follow the rules. Today, as an adult, most
catch a flight to Hawaii for a vacation. often times we are in charge of our own lives. We set the
rules unless we sign over the authority to someone else
How about trying to find time to look through a cookbook for with our consent. This leads to a problem when it comes
healthy recipes and compile a grocery list to make nutri- to trying to establish healthy eating habits. Most of us can
tious meals? Who has time for that? What if your favorite easily convince ourselves to bend the rules “just this one
reality series is on two nights this week instead of one? time”. One compromise can easily lead to two and
eventually we are back to our old ways.
March/April 2008