Change is hard, especially behavior changes that improve our health. As we start a new year, many of us begin thinking about what our new year’s resolution will be. Oftentimes that is some form of diet, exercise program, or other health change. If you are looking to make a change to better your health, it is best to make small changes that you can live with for the long term. For example, if you are looking to lose weight, rather than forbid yourself from eating any dessert, instead agree to cut back to having dessert only once or twice a week. Once you have success with this, you can decrease your desserts further or move to another small change such as decreasing the amount of butter, dressings, or sauces you use. Or if you plan to start an exercise program, begin with activities you enjoy and aim for a reasonable goal such as exercising twice a week. Once you have success with exercising two times a week, increase to three or more times per week.
Changing a health behavior is a process and one that takes time. The Transtheoretical Model (also known as the Stages of Change Model) suggests that an individual will move through six stages of change, and may move backward to repeat a stage before moving through the entire cycle. Here are the stages of the model:
- Precontemplation – people in this stage are not yet thinking of acting. They may feel that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages of making a behavior change, or may be unaware that their behavior is problematic.
- Contemplation – people in this stage have intentions of starting a change within a six-month period. They recognize that their behavior may be problematic; however they may still feel hesitant toward making a behavior change.
- Preparation – people in this stage are ready to act within the next month. They will begin to take small steps toward making a behavior change and have a belief that making a change will have a benefit.
- Action – this is the stage in which people have acted and intend to continue moving toward their goal. In this stage behaviors are modified, and new habits are acquired.
- Maintenance – People who have maintained their new behavior change for 6 or more months are in this stage. People in this stage work to prevent relapses and reverting to earlier stages.
- Termination– in this stage people have reached their goal, have no desire to return to their previous behavior, and have no concern about relapse. This stage is rarely reached, and for this reason most people remain in the maintenance stage.
Hopefully this helps you determine how ready you are to make a change and moves you closer to your goals.
All Blogs are written by Professionals in the fields of Nutrition, Human Development and Diabetes.