We all know that losing weight and improving overall fitness are things that don’t happen overnight. But, did you know that in order to be truly successful important mental steps need to be taken before you even start a diet or exercise program? The first thing you should do is identify where you fall on the behavioral change spectrum. There are five distinct stages of behavioral change based on the Transtheoretical Model (TTM). Do you know what stage you currently fall under?
In my last entry dated 12/30/08, I stated that change is not easy and you really have to make a commitment to yourself that you are starting a journey for the long haul. Knowing what stage you are in will help you to create a road map to the subsequent stages and ultimately help you to be successful in your fitness goals. Below are the five major phases:
Precontemplation: This is the point where you don’t feel that any change in your lifestyle is necessary. You may think exercise takes too much time or fast food is too convenient to even consider giving up. Starting a fitness or diet program during this stage could probably result in failure. The best thing you can do during this stage is to educate yourself further about health, diseases and risks.
Contemplation: During this stage you may start to think change is necessary. So, you consider cutting back to eating fast food three times a week is not so bad and you might be able to at least take a walk once in awhile. This is a good time to learn more about the benefits of healthy eating and regular exercise.
Preparation: At this point you are getting more serious about taking action. You’ve penciled in a walk with a friend for next week and are planning to grocery shop to cook healthier meals at home. You may want to research exercise equipment, gyms, personal trainers, diet programs and online media to learn more about what you can do (with the help of a professional and/or equipment) to get in better shape.
Action: Here’s where you actually take the first step. The first step may be as simple as taking a daily walk, reducing your fast food visits to twice a month or just cutting back on high sugar drinks. You also could hire a personal trainer to assist with motivation or join a gym. During this stage it is very important to learn coping mechanisms that will help you to avoid re-lapse into your old behaviors. One way to avoid being a part of the high exercise dropout statistics is to start slowly with a new program and make permanent lifestyle changes versus temporary ones.
Maintenance: This is, of course, the phase that everyone should strive to be at. This means that you have been doing a regular fitness program consistently for quite some time and that you continue your new lifestyle. It’s important throughout this stage (which should last a lifetime) that you include a variety of workouts that change frequently. You should also seek social support of family and friends.
So what stage are you in? You may find that you are in the contemplation stage for nutritional habits but that you are in preparation stage for exercises. That’s okay. It is not critical for you to force both areas into the same stage. You can work on changing your nutritional and exercise habits separately.
The key to success is first identifying your stage and then take steps to advance to the next level (unless you are already at the Maintenance stage). Use the suggestions mentioned above in each stage to help you move to the next phase.
For example, if you are in the precontemplation stage, research and read as much as you can on the subject of health risks and how they relate to an individual’s lifestyle. From there you will probably want to learn more about the consequences and benefits of specific lifestyles. Education is a powerful thing. The more you fully understand and can relate directly to the causes and effects of your action, the more inclined you will be to change.
It is also important to tune-in to your fears, past struggles and expectations. Making nutritional and exercise changes is challenging and should be approached slowly. Remember to make small changes. Avoid jumping from a completely sedentary life to an hour a day of continual exercise in just a few weeks. Build up to increments starting with just 10 minutes at a time 3 times in a day for 30 minutes a day. Lastly, be sure to inform your family and friends of your plans and enlist their support. Support is extremely important for your success.
2 comments:
I definitely agree that making your family and friends aware of your goals and giving them a sense of where you are in obtaining these goals is very important. I had been fluctuating somewhere between contemplation and action for a while before really putting my weight-loss plans into action. I found that I was most productive when I had my friends and family in my corner helping me to stick to my goals.
right now i'm on maintenance. i'm comitted to remain there. however, i need to find things to keep me motivated. it's really easy for me to fall all the maintenace wagon.
Post a Comment