As many of my blog readers know, I have a minor in psychology which I think is very important when dealing with changing habits and making lifestyle changes. While most of my clients are sick of feeling like crap (tired, sluggish, unmotivated, squishy, poor digestion), only a small fraction of them are really and truly ready to make the commitment and sacrifices to achieve their goals. There is nothing wrong with taking a longer, slower path to get to where you want, but it is important to be aware of where you stand on the road to behaviour change.
            One of the ways the psychotherapy world looks at the road to recovery in addiction or mental health issues is the Transtheoretical Model. For simplicity sake I'm going to copy the model directly from Wikipedia. Please read at the bottom of the page. Most of my clients fall within the Action and Preparation Phase. While many clients may be taking action towards becoming healthy by hiring a personal trainer, they are not following through by working out on their own time, or eating a healthy diet with unprocessed foods (most of the time) and taking their supplements. This means that they are going to have a hard time reaching their goals (assuming their goals are to feel better, lose fat and get healthier) until they make the commitment.
            It is normal to bounce around between the stages of change throughout a time period. We all have set backs which are a normal part of life. Job stress, health problems, etc may lead us back to old behaviours that cause us to fall off the path. The key is to be gentle on yourself. I often hear clients beat themselves up after spending money on training and getting in shape, and then falling back to old ways. The reality is that the health and fitness journey is not steady route, but more of a meandering path. It has taken me 5 years to honestly say that I get my workouts done 99% of the time. Very, very rarely do I skip one. But it was not always like that, and I have the time and flexibility to get my workouts done.
          My food habits on the other hand, and still a major work in progress. If I was to beat myself up over the amount of slips I have had, I would be dead. Really. It is so important to wake up every day and be mindful, and ask yourself daily what you want for yourself and what changes you want to make today, otherwise it is easy to slip into old routines. Change take planning, it doesn't just happen.
            I began to write this post because I have done clients measurements over the last few days. While everyone saw inches lost, some were disappointed because it was not as much as they expected. When I asked them honestly: did you workout on your own? Did you do cardio? Did you show up to all of your sessions? Did you follow the healthy eating program 80% of the time? Are you taking supplements for optimum health? I can tell you that in every case (minus about 2 of my clients) the answer is a big fat NO. Oh. You want BIG results but aren't putting in the work? Interesting.
         There's nothing wrong with small changes. Any working out is great for you, and I see many clients that only work out with me once a week and understand that they will see limited results. Just be aware, you get out what you put in. For anyone looking for extra help or motivation with their eating or workout habits, please ask as I am always willing to give the extra push. I have some clients that struggle with depression and substance abuse, and I am always open to talk these things through, but only when someone is ready, otherwise it becomes nagging when they are stuck in pre-
contemplation.


Stage 1: Precontemplation (Not Ready)^[4]
People at this stage do not intend to start the healthy behavior in the near future (within 6 months), and may be unaware of the need to change. People here learn more about healthy behavior: they are encouraged to think about the pros of changing their behavior and to feel emotions about the effects of their negative behavior on others.
Precontemplators typically underestimate the pros of changing, overestimate the cons, and often are not aware of making such mistakes.
One of the most effective steps that others can help with at this stage is to encourage them to become more mindful of their decision making and more conscious of the multiple benefits of changing an unhealthy behavior.
Stage 2: Contemplation (Getting Ready)
At this stage, participants are intending to start the healthy behavior within the next 6 months. While they are usually now more aware of the pros of changing, their cons are about equal to their Pros. This ambivalence about changing can cause them to keep putting off taking action.
People here learn about the kind of person they could be if they changed their behavior and learn more from people who behave in healthy ways.
Others can influence and help effectively at this stage by encouraging them to work at reducing the cons of changing their behavior.
Stage 3: Preparation (Ready)
People at this stage are ready to start taking action within the next 30 days. They take small steps that they believe can help them make the healthy behavior a part of their lives. For example, they tell their friends and family that they want to change their behavior.
People in this stage should be encouraged to seek support from friends they trust, tell people about their plan to change the way they act, and think about how they would feel if they behaved in a healthier way. Their number one concern is: when they act, will they fail? They learn that the better prepared they are, the more likely they are to keep progressing.
Stage 4: Action
People at this stage have changed their behavior within the last 6 months and need to work hard to keep moving ahead. These participants need to learn how to strengthen their commitments to change and to fight urges to slip back.
People in this stage progress by being taught techniques for keeping up their commitments such as substituting activities related to the unhealthy behavior with positive ones, rewarding themselves for taking steps toward changing, and avoiding people and situations that tempt them to behave in unhealthy ways.
Stage 5: Maintenance
People at this stage changed their behavior more than 6 months ago. It is important for people in this stage to be aware of situations that may tempt them to slip back into doing the unhealthy behavior—particularly stressful situations.
It is recommended that people in this stage seek support from and talk with people whom they trust, spend time with people who behave in healthy ways, and remember to engage in healthy activities to cope with stress instead of relying on unhealthy behavior.