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02/25/2008: "Change..."

Behavioral change experts generally agree on several tips for habit-changers from 18 to 88:
* Figure out why you want to change. An internal motivation is preferable to an external one (my doctor told me to lose weight). But to start with, even cosmetic goals will do.
* Use your life experience to your advantage. Catalog the attempts you’ve made at change and why they’ve failed. Then apply what you’ve learned. Don’t plan to work out at six each morning if you haven’t risen before eight for the last five decades.
* Substitute a new behavior for the old one. Exercise is a great replacement for smoking or eating. And even a less-than-virtuous substitute is better than a plainly bad habit.
* Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. If the prospect of trying to lose 20 pounds paralyzes you, start small. Walking for 20 minutes a day and consuming just 100 fewer calories daily—that’s one tablespoon of mayonnaise—adds up to a 20-pound weight loss over the course of a year for an average-size person, according to Baylor’s John Foreyt.
* Get support. Having friends and family on board is critical for most successful behavior change. Let those close to you know what you’re planning to do and how it might affect your behavior. Conversely, stay away from people (including spouses!) who have an interest in undermining your efforts.
* Anticipate obstacles. Develop a plan for what you’re going to do when the bread basket arrives at the restaurant table. Take a walk, order a veggie plate, or ask the waiter to take it away once others have been served.
* Don’t quit trying. Most people don’t succeed in changing on their first try, says Wilkins of Cedars-Sinai. “You never want to give up because you don’t know if it’s the third time, the fourth time, or the fifth time where you will succeed.”

Replies: 2 Comments

Talk about change, I've got some major change happening this week! The move from VA to NY happens Friday and then I'm taking what I can fit in my car to NH until I find a place to live.

beth said on Wednesday, February 27th @ 01 :08 PM CST

Now that we are in a new office there's a grocery store and restaurant only a block up (and it's a slight hill) so I try (on nice days) to walk to the store to get my lunch and have either sushi or their salad bar. I think this will help me on a small level just to keep in better shape.

Erin said on Wednesday, February 27th @ 11 :38 AM CST