A simple and small motivator
is helping me better eating decisions.
Do you remember when you were a kid and you could "earn" stars in school? For me, the mother lode of earning potential star loomed large on my list of to-achieve: a chart of gold stars for good behavior that could see the entire class.
Now, what, you may be wondering, could that have something to do with my review of Weight Watchers?
When you use the tools for the detection of good health meeting guidelines set out as part of the Weight Watchers program (e.g., eating enough fruits and veggies, getting in your daily dairy products) you can check off the newspapers as you meet them. He ate an Apple? Check. Enjoyed an 8-ounce serving of yogurt? Check.
I don't use healthy controls, when I started to truth. I thought that I would like to know how many healthy choices I make through the day and still be able to meet them without checking them in this way. Well, on a whim, I decided to start their out of control. And you know what? It Works.
When you meet the minimum recommendation for any given control, it was "awarded" a smiley face next to the box. Now, I know that I'm a little long in the tooth to be motivated by the star system takes the gold, but I must admit, I get a thrill when a special smiley face.
Not ashamed to admit that at least one occasion I chose a food over another, in order to be rewarded my emoticon (snacks, I put down a reduced-fat cookies and switched to yogurt, so could realize my two servings of dairy per day.) My "good behavior" rewarded again ... just like the first grade!
The moral of the story? Sometimes the smallest things can help keep you motivated in your weight loss efforts. For me those little boxes and smiley faces are making my new habits a bit easier (and more fun!) to stick to.
Note: Weight Watchers has provided me with free access to the online version of their program and other tools, for me to complete my review of the new program PointsPlus. I am in no way be compensated by Weight Watchers.
Image: Clipart.com
