No, that's not a typo. STEPtember is actually an awareness campaign started by America On the Move which focuses on obesity prevention in the United States. America On the Move (AOM) is an evidenced-based nonprofit group which provides information to help people take small steps toward a healthier way of life. They offer many ideas for increasing daily activity with the goal of taking an extra 2,000 steps per day (the equivalent of ~1 mile for most of us).
Learn more about STEPtember 2010 and discover ways to be more active and eat a well-balanced diet to help manage your weight. Their website also offers various food tips, recipes, and ways to achieve energy balance (calories in = calories out) for weight maintenance. This concept has many benefits; however, after years of watching people track calories, I began to realize it's not always that simple. Not to mention counting every calorie can make people crazy!
As a result, I actually encourage the people I work with NOT to count calories. Instead, I help people experiment with ways to eat more mindfully and enjoy a variety of foods in portions appropriate to fuel their bodies (whether the goal is to gain weight, lose weight or maintain weight). Learning to focus on health and fitness instead of a daunting scale number can be difficult, but it's essential when developing a healthy relationship with food and your body. Another helpful concept is working to identify and relearn hunger/fullness cues. As adults, most of us lose this ability over time, and instead of eating when we are hungry, we sometimes learn to eat when we are bored, stressed, angry, tired, lonely, anxious, etc., etc. For more on this topic or to become more aware of your own hunger/fullness cues, view this handout by Dr. Michelle May. Her book, Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat, has helped many break the unhealthy cycle of "dieting" behaviors.
This post was written by Kristine Van Workum, Registered Dietitian and owner of Brevard Nutrition, Inc. Kristine provides outpatient nutrition counseling for groups and individuals to help manage a wide variety of medical conditions. She specializes in the treatment of eating disorders, weight management and sports nutrition. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 321-327-7948, or visit her website.
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