Healthy Weight for Life: The 5 stages of lifestyle change
Michael Hallinan

So youre determined youre going to do something about your weight. But what? Losing weight is not in itself a behavior. Releasing fat pounds is an outcome of many behaviors that add up to consuming more calories than your expending. (Yes, theres a genetic component too, but you cant change that.)

The good thing is that this gives you lots of places to start moving toward your goal of losing weight. The challenge is sorting through them all and finding what will work best for you. So heres the question: What are you most ready to change?

Behavioral researchers have identified five stages in behavior change:

1. Precontemplation: Youre not even considering it. No way youre gonna give up your pizza and beer. Gym-going is not for you. Why walk when you can ride?

2. Contemplation: Well, maybe you could live without pizza and beer *every* week. Gym is out, but you always liked swimming, maybe a pool. The walk in the park with your friend was pleasant last weekend, maybe you could do it again.

3. Preparation: Next week youre going to skip that pizza. You found out the local Y has a pool and their family rates are affordable. You talked to your friend about doing more walks sometime.

4. Action: Two weeks and no pizza. You joined the Y and youve swum laps there a couple times. You and your friend have gone walking the past three Saturday mornings.

5. Maintenance: The weekly pizza has been a thing of the past for six months. Swimming is so much a part of your daily routine that you dont feel right if you skip it. Those Saturday walks are dont-miss tradition.

In fact, this readiness to change model is behavior-specific. That is, you might be in the action stage with the pizza but still in precontemplation on that exercise stuff. Youre not likely to be very successful if you flog yourself for not swimming laps every day, what you want to do is move yourself to the next stage: List the pros and cons of regular exercise and guess what, youre thinking about it and that means contemplation.

So think about the behaviors you can change to lose weight. What stage are you in for each of those behaviors? In each case, what can you do to move yourself to the next stage? What are you most ready to change.

We explore readiness to change in my free teleclass, The Real Skinny on Weight Loss: Dont Diet, Do It. You can get details and register at www.teleclassinternational.com/catalog.phtml?keywords=MH-RS

About the Author

Michael Hallinan overcame a lifelong obesity, and the midlife discovery of health and fitness so changed his life that he established a coaching practice specializing in helping others find their own healthy way to a healthy weight. For more helpful tips, subscribe to the Healthy Weight Newsletter. For past issues and to subscribe see
www.healthyweightcoaching.com/Ezine.htm

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Introduce A Weight Loss Video To Your Weight Loss Plan

Some people feel self conscious when they work out at a gym–or simply do not enjoy running, walking or bicycling in their neighborhoods. If you would prefer to exercise in the comfort of your own home and not have an audience, then a weight loss video is for you.

In choosing a weight loss video that is appropriate for you, consider how much weight you need to lose, how many pounds you want to lose per week, and how much time you have to devote to exercise. Be realistic and honest with yourself!

You then need to choose the weight loss video or DVD that is right for you. Be aware that there are plenty of videos that say that they are suitable for beginners when in fact they are too complicated. If you are not a beginner, then the search for the right video is simple, but if you aren’t, then it can be more difficult.

Of course, you will need to do your research. One option is to check fitness websites to find out what their recommendations are for novices. Another option is to read reviews in a variety of fitness magazines.

Fitness magazines are a wealth of information. Read the reviews from fitness pros. These individuals know what they are talking about. They review workouts on a regular basis and assess them based on their level of safety and also based on skill levels.

The Internet also has lots of reviews on weight loss videos for you to peruse. Search around to read as many reviews as possible. Did the people who used the videos love it or not? Did they lose weight or not? How much weight did they lose? How long did it take for them to lose the weight?

The longer customer reviews are, the more beneficial they will be to you. Be aware however that not every review may be 100% accurate. The more you read the better all around idea you will get about the videos or DVDs in question.

It is extremely important that you are honest about your present fitness and skill level. If you have been living a sedentary life for quite some time, then you run the risk of hurting yourself if you jump right into working out to an advanced video.

On the other hand, do not assume that because you are skilled at one form of exercise that this automatically means that you will be skilled at another. For example, just because you have been running for many years does not mean that you will be as equally proficient at aerobics or yoga.

It is always best to start with an introductory video that matches where you are in your fitness level today. It is also wise to heed the warnings that all weight loss videos mention on the book and at the start of the video. The guideline states “Check with your doctor before beginning this or any other exercise program.” Being safe is always better than being sorry.

Even if you are a healthy person this is important advice! Those who have a history of health problems or conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetics; should never start to work out to a weight loss video before checking with their doctor first.

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If you have been searching for some quick weight loss methods, but have been unable to find any thing for you, then perhaps you will find something in this article that will help you find something for you. There are a variety of different ways to lose weight, from dieting to exercising to using dietary supplements. By looking at your different options, you can determine which quick weight loss method is right for you.

The most tried and true method of losing weight is diet and exercising. By finding a well-balanced diet for you and exercising on a regular basis, you can help ensure that your body stays in top shape, as well as helping to reduce your overall weight. By eating right and exercising, you help your body stay healthy, making sure it is able to burn all of the fat that it needs to in order to operate well. Drinking cold water helps your body to burn off fat because your body has to work harder to raise your temperature back up.

Another type of method for losing weight is by using dietary supplements. These supplements aim towards helping lower weight gain by a variety of methods. Some of these supplements work by decreasing your appetite, while others work by increasing the number of calories that your body burns. A combination of dietary supplements might provide you with the best weight loss methods, and combining these supplements with exercising and dieting can help to ensure you lose the maximum amount of weight you can.

If you are looking for more powerful methods of weight loss, then the over-the-counter weight-loss drug known as Alli may be what you are looking for. This is the highest strength weight loss drug that you can buy that does not require a prescription. If you are unable to find the weight loss that you need from other methods, then this drug may be exactly what you are looking for. Remember, dieting and exercise can help go a long way, even when using weight-loss drugs.

For those with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above, prescription strength weight-loss drugs may be the way to go. These drugs are extremely powerful weight loss methods and should not be used by anyone that does not truly need them. If you are seeking to lose a couple of pounds, the other methods mentioned will be more than sufficient in your goal. But for those seeking to truly turn their life around and get back on a healthier track, then these drugs can be the gift you have been looking for.

So search for the variety of different methods which will fit your lifestyle and needs best. If you are looking for a quick method to lose weight, then a combination of these methods can help to ensure that you lose the weight you want. With these quick weight loss methods, you are sure to reach your ideal weight.

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Teens can get into a variety of fun activities in order to lose weight. With overweight teens getting increasingly more common nowadays, finding more enjoyable ways of getting rid of excess weight.

Unique ways may appeal to more teenagers as they not only want to look at losing weight as something that they have to do instead of being something that they really want to do. Once they enjoy doing it, they have an increased likelihood of keeping it up and become more successful in trying to lose weight.

But how can you make losing weight more fun? Well, exciting activities that appeal to the teenager will likely do it. There is a story of a certain teenage girl who lost weight simply by playing a video game. Now, what can be more exciting and fun than that? Losing weight while playing a video game? This is some story that is worth listening to.

This typical teenage girl makes use of her time at the arcade to lose weight. She started playing a popular video game called “Dance Dance Revolution (DDR)” at the age of 17. At that time, she was a senior in high school and weighed about 235 lbs, pretty overweight for a teenage girl. But after four and a half years of playing the said video game, she now weigh about 140 lbs.

She couldn’t even imagine just how much a video game would come to affect her health and weight concerns with positive results. The said video game even helped her grow to be a better and more self-confident teen. Before discovering the video game, she was a rather inactive person not used to go about doing such activities.

Although she was active as a member in different bands, orchestras, drama, and had already played video games, she didn’t regularly get out for exercise. She became really unhappy when she realized that she was at an unhealthy weight. Just as what happens with most obese people, she started losing hope that she will ever be a normal person again when faced with the fact that she had so much weight to lose. The Internet became a form of escapism so that she didn’t have to face people in person because of her overweight condition.

In college, she became increasingly unhappy being in a new environment and her weight continued to yo-yo, usually staying at around 235 lbs. Sometime around October of 2002, a fun new game version of a game called DDR USA was released that contained a ton of new songs to dance to. She tried the game out and soon became addicted to the video game with a high activity rate. Not long after, she began frequenting the video arcade almost everyday playing the video game for hours and hours.

At one point, she came to discover a website which had a Bulletin Board where people would meet online and talk about DDR and music games and she quickly became friends with the regulars. She was able to get to know friends who were able to motivate her to play more frequently and for hours at a time. It was during around this time she began losing most of her weight.

In her first six months of playing, she was able to lose 45 lbs with no change in her diet whatsoever. Once she discovered that she can find herself at a more comfortable weight again, she decided to make healthy changes in her life such as following a more healthy diet. She became more conscious of what she ate and as a result, lost an additional 20 lbs.

Playing the game regularly and coupled with a healthy diet has allowed her to maintain a healthier weight than she ever thought possible. All because she was able to enjoy losing weight by playing a video game that changed her life.

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