Your Motivation is the Key to Progress
Motivation is a condition of the will to change. It is about finding an openness towards change and seek the help that can keep you on track and support you through the stages you must pass before new good habits are established as something entirely natural.
The stages you go through are also called the wheel of change that consist of 6 stages:
THE WHEEL OF CHANGE
1. Before the stage of considerations
You have not really recognised the problem and have many good reasons to live as before.
2. The stage of considerations
The leap to this stage is the big leap in the process of change. In the stage of consideration you really wish to consider the possibilities for changing your behaviour, but you are still doubtful whether you are ready. In this stage it can be crucial to fill of the tables of balance that precisely makes you focus on advantages and disadvantages by changing behaviour.
3. The stage of preparation
Now you have decided to make a change. Here it is important to strengthen your confidence and believe that you can what you want. In this phase it is also important that those changes you implement are realistic; E.g. that the run is so long that you will do everything to avoid running it again. Small steps in the right direction are better than a big step that is never taken. The decisions in this phase must come from the inside, it must be something you have decided for yourself.
4. The stage of action
The changes in behaviour have started and you are motivated. You look forward to seeing the results of your efforts – lower weight, smaller waist, positive feedback from the surroundings and greater well-being. During the regular controls in the health centre it is important that you feel that they also care about the problem and provide encouraging feedback.
5. The stage of maintaining
The results have appeared, the weight has decreased but it does not remove the cause of the overweight that is caused by bad dietary habits and lack of exercise. In the stage of maintaining it is about getting help to putting focus on the risk there is of falling back into old habits. Here, it is important to talk about pitfalls, e.g. how to avoid the very calorie rich snack you used to have in the afternoon.
6. The stage of relapse
Everyone has a relapse and the question is how you in a positive way catches the situations and temptations that brings the relapse and have an open dialogue about it. If you can say it, you can do it. If you dare put precise words on what makes you want to skip the exercise it will take more from you to skip it the next time. In other words, in the stage of relapse it is about gathering tips about how to avoid ‘falling off the wagon’. When you have found the motivation for changing your diet and change your physical activity the questions arise:
- Then what should I eat?
- How much should I exercise?