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Behavior modification
Behavior modification is the idea of changing personal habits through repetition
of desired behaviors. Behavior modification is generally used in weight loss
programs in Spas.
Habits, good or bad, are formed by repetition and eating habits are not an
exception to this rule. Any habit that you continually perform will eventually
be reinforced so finally it becomes a part of you.
Habits are hard to break, but the irony with them is that we must not only
break old habits, but we must make our goal to form new ones in the same manner
through repetition. Making some daily commitments will help you form good habits.
Resisting temptation is difficult, however succeeding in resisting a temptation
the first time makes it easier to resist the next time. After a while the ‘good’
habit of resisting temptation happens every time. The opposite is also true,
If you give into temptation, you will find it easier to yield the next time.
Behavior modification techniques work only if you consistently repeat them,
so that they become a part of you. In order to modify behavior new ‘good’ habits
must be formed. Good habits for weight loss include:
- Eat three meals a day. Have two or three planned snacks daily
- Prolong your meals by eating slowly
- Choose a specific place to eat all of your meals
- Do not do anything except eat when you sit down for a meal
- Do not keep food in any room in your house except the kitchen
- Do not buy junk food. Neither your mate nor your children needs it
- Serve yourself on a smaller plate
- Develop a habit of leaving at least one bite of each item on your plate
All of the above eating techniques aid behavior modification, however other
behavior modification techniques also work, and are not related to eating food,
but are to substitute eating for an activity. Delay going into the kitchen until
the desire to eat is gone. When you are tempted to eat, try to use one of the
following: Going for a walk, taking a long bath, call a friend, write a letter
or read a book.
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Biofeedback
Biofeedback (also called applied psychophysiology) is a training program (not
necessarily a fitness program) through which people are trained to improve their
health or performance by using physiological signals (heart rate or blood pressure)
from their own body. The goal of this Biofeedback training program is to gain
conscious control over them
Biofeedback signals can include: respiration, heart rate, muscle tension or
brain activity. All Biofeedback signals during the training program are made
audible/ visible, i.e. there are shown on a computer and used by a therapist
or personal trainer to help a person become more aware and conscious of what
goes on inside when they go about their normal activities, work out or train.
The aim of the Biofeedback program is to link behavioral patterns to health
problems so that the person can become aware (through biofeedback) of how these
health problems are linked to physiological processes and therefore learn how
to prevent or improve them.
A good example of Biofeedback in action is in times of stress. Stress can lead
to health problems such as tension headache, high blood pressure, migraine or
hyperventilation. When a health problem has been caused by behaviour (in this
example stress) a behavioral change or lifestyle change could undo that problem.
Biofeedback increases the awareness of the body functions and can dramatically
speed up the learning process required for making the behavioral change needed
to alleviate the health problems.
Biofeedback is a friendly non-invasive technique with no known side effects.
Biofeedback can be used for a multiple of problems including:
- Neck and shoulder pain
- Anxiety
- Epilepsy
- Attention deficit disorders
- Reynaud's disease
- Neuromuscular reeducation.
Other uses of monitoring and biofeedback include performance enhancement (sports)
and other forms of research.
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