|
Are You Ready for Change?
Change what? Most women arriving
at Green Mountain for the first time have certain ideas about
what needs to change. For some, it's their relationship
with food, including what they eat, when, how, in what quantities
and frequency, as well as their emotional attachments to food.
Others will say it's their relationship to exercise
and moving their bodies that needs to change. They come to
get ‘back on track' or start a whole new way of
being with their bodies, moving, caring for, perhaps even
learning to change their attitudes about their bodies. Some
are aware they need to make bigger changes in their lives,
but don't know where to start.
Begin Where You Are
This issue of where to begin is central. You can only begin
where you are. To help figure out where that is, the stages
of change theory by DiClemente and Prochaska can be helpful.
In their book, “Changing
for Good,” they identify the six stages of change,
and emphasize that knowing what stage you are in will inform
you about what you need to move forward.
Stage #1: Pre-contemplation
In this stage, a person has no intention or plan to change.
She may not see the need for change, or think it is not possible.
Other people who think she “should” make a lifestyle
change, for example, may begin nagging, suggesting or pushing
solutions, including the latest “diet.” A person
in this stage is not ready for change and such “shoulds”
may have the opposite effect.
Stage #2: Contemplation
When a person does begin to consider a change, she moves into
the Contemplation stage. In this stage, she begins to weigh
the pros and cons, the risks and costs of making a change.
The natural ambivalence that accompanies any considered change
will show up most strongly in this stage, although ambivalence
may of course remain to varying degrees throughout the different
stages.
Stage #3: Decision to change
At the point that a person makes a decision to change, all
sorts of options become available that were not seen or recognized
before. This decision-making phase is important, and the extent
to which one is determined, hopeful and motivated will have
an important impact on the next step.
Stage #4: Action
It's always interesting to learn how this happens for
women who arrive at Green Mountain. For some, months or even
years may have passed between first considering the possibility
of lifestyle change, and actually taking the step to make
the reservation. But it really doesn't matter when you
begin. What matters is that you begin.
Stage #5: Relapse
Change does not occur in a simple linear direction. There
will be lapses, slips, returns to old habits and patterns.
But a lapse does not have to turn into a full relapse—or
collapse—and there can be important lessons learned
in the midst of a backward slide, including how to recognize
the problem early and get back on track.
Stage #6: Maintenance
Replacing old habits with new ones and maintaining them for
the long haul often brings up much fear. “What if I
can't maintain what I started?” is spoken as if
this is the last chance. It is important to remember that
the presence of fear does not predict failure—it is
fear, not fact.
Moving Through the Stages Successfully
On her website BodyPositive.com,
Deborah Burgard speaks about factors that promote motivation
in each stage.
- Practical advice can be extremely helpful, but earlier,
in the pre-contemplation stage, such advice can actually
decrease motivation or foster resistance.
- Courage is required in the contemplation stage because
undertaking change can be anxiety-producing and stressful.
- Creativity and diversity foster successful change in
the action stage.
- Compassion – not criticism or judgment -- is an
important factor in the relapse phase
- Patience, persistence and support are especially important
in the maintenance phase.
Attitudes of mindfulness (see sidebar) also facilitate successful
movement through each stage of change. The attitude of non-judging,
of observing connections without attaching value judgments
and allowing things to be as they are, can be very helpful
as one begins to consider changing old habits. Patience is
needed in all stages. The attitude of Beginner's Mind
allows one to take in new information and start again, being
in the present rather than replaying past experiences. Trust
in one's own worthiness and capability is required to
move through lapses, as is the attitude of compassion.
One of the lessons of mindfulness
is the inevitability of change. We resist change out of fear,
but more frightening would be not changing. That would mean
not growing or even stagnation. Better to embrace the change
and enjoy the ride. Knowing where you are right now in the
stages of change can help foster movement to the next stage.
This FitBriefing was written by Mimi Francis,
MSN, behavioral health therapist at Green Mountain at Fox
Run.
For 37 years, Green Mountain at Fox Run has developed and refined a life-changing program exclusively for women seeking permanent strategies for healthy weight loss and healthy eating. More than just another weight loss retreat and spa, and definitely not a fat camp, Green Mountain combines proven science with what works in the real world, to offer an innovative non-diet lifestyle program. Our core weight loss program offers an integrated curriculum of practical, liveable techniques that helps women take charge of their eating, their bodies and their health. Unlike health fitness spa or adult weight loss camps, our approach is not focused on managing binge eating or just losing weight, but on how to maintain a healthy weight and healthy lifestyle. Our participants' long-term weight loss success is among the highest of any weight loss program, as documented in peer-reviewed scientific literature. Learn more about our women's weight loss program
©2007
Green Mountain at Fox Run, Ludlow, Vermont. This information
is the property of Green Mountain at Fox Run. Permission
to use single copies for personal, noncommercial use is
authorized. For all other purposes, please see details.
|
