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Posted on Jan 11th 2010 1:00PM by Jonny BowdenFiled Under: Jonny's Take, Diet & Weight Loss
Most people reading this blog already know what healthy dietary choices look like. They just need some reminders to make them. That's where community and connection come in handy. Even e-mail can help!According to recent research in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, simple e-mail reminders to eat the right way or to work out more had a huge effect on behavior. In the study, 351 office workers received weekly e-mails and midweek reminders to do such things as boost physical activity, increase fruit and vegetable intake or decrease sugar. The e-mails talked about simple, easy goals like going for a walk during lunch or avoiding cupcakes in the conference room.
By the end of the 16-week study, participants who received e-mails about physical activity increased their exercise by about an hour more each week than those in a control group who didn't get the e-mails. Those who received e-mails about fruits and vegetables increased consumption of these foods by about one third a cup each day.
"These quick alerts remind your brain of the goals you've set for yourself," Barbara Sternfeld, a research scientist at Kaiser Permanente who has led previous studies about the relationship between e-mail intervention and diet, told TIME magazine.
That's one reason why programs like "The Biggest Loser" and "The Diet Boot Camp Challenge" work so well -- people are reminded to keep their word to themselves, and are held accountable for doing so. And there's a ton of emotional support for the huge changes that can take place in a life when you really transform your body.
My old saying -- "transform your body, your health and your life" -- is as true today as it was when I used it as the subtitle on my first book. Change your body and you change your health; change your health, and you change your life. Body, mind, spirit and all!
For more tips on health, weight loss and nutrition, visit Jonny Bowden Solutions.
Jonny Bowden, author, nutritionist and weight loss coach cuts through all the misconceptions about diet and fitness to help you transform your body, your health and your life.
