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Gary,
Battle Creek
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The information contained in this newsletter is not intended to replace the advice of your healthcare provider.
If you
have any questions about managing your health and/or seeking medical care, please contact a medical
professional. |
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February 2007 - Making a Change:
There's No Time Like the Present
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For some of us, a
specific experience,
perception or insight
may be the trigger that
inspires us to make a
healthy lifestyle change.
We're not only talking
about the common ones - such as wanting to
lose weight before a
wedding or high school
reunion - but also those
that provide true insight
into who we are and
what's most important
to us.
Consider these stories
of individuals who
have taken important
first steps to leading
healthier lives: |
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| A new grandma, 70 years old and a smoker, is delighted she can care for
her grandchild a few days a week in her home. Preparing for this happy time,
she becomes aware that by smoking she is not only putting herself at risk
but is also compromising the health of her new grandson. |
A 63-year-old man, recently retired, decides to join the local YMCA as he now has free time to resume the sports activities of his youth. He signs up for racquetball and senior basketball. During his first attempt to play, he becomes short of breath very quickly and realizes just how out of shape he has become. |
A 59-year-old woman realizes, while trying to get comfortable at a concert, that she can no longer cross her legs because they are getting so big. |
But just wanting to
change, and even
taking the first steps, may not be enough. Equally
difficult - and perhaps more so - is "sticking with it."
Here are some common
themes from the stories
of people who have been
successful. Consider using one
or more of them in your quest
for better health:
- Do what works for you.
Everyone changes differently.
- Be well-informed
about the change
you are making - and ready to
outsmart the
behavior in your
efforts to overcome
it.
- Be ready. Like
everything else,
don't go into the
effort unprepared or
lacking confidence.
- Set goals. Setting
measurable goals provides
a "yardstick" against which
to chart progress, and it
affirms your commitment to
achievement.
- Make a total commitment.
While different people move
into their changes with
differing amounts of speed and energy, we all must be totally
committed on some level.
- Take it one day at a time.
- Plan ahead for situations
that you may find threatening.
Thinking ahead to what they
may be, and having a plan to
deal with the threat, can help.
- Control your environment,
using techniques such as
not going to places where
temptation could occur, getting
rid of "fat clothes," keeping
only healthy food
in the pantry or
designating your
home a nonsmoking
area.
- Take small steps.
Most changes don't
occur overnight.
- Seek support
from others. Family
members, friends, health promotion programs and other means of support can
all be helpful.
- Don't let a short-term
relapse negatively impact
your potential for long-term
success.
- Know that one successful
change often leads to another.
- Reward yourself for success.
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Insight:
The Science of Change
Believe it or not, there's science behind the explanation of how individuals change.
Most of us go through the following stages, documented by a professor of health psychology at the University of Rhode Island:
- Precontemplation: At this point, we have no intention to take action within the next six months.
- Comtemplation: We intend to take action within the next six months.
- Preparation: We intend to take action within the next 30 days and have taken some behavioral steps in this direction.
- Action: We have changed our overt behavior for less than six months.
- Maintenance: We have changed our overt behavior for more than six months.
- Termination: Overt behavior will never return, and we have complete confi dence that we can cope without fear of relapse.
We may move through these stages only once - or may cycle though them several times before we really feel successful. Some "successful changers" - and perhaps most - feel that they always need to guard against relapse.
The bottom line is to make the effort. There's no time like now. |
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