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Making Change Happen for a Healthy Diet & Lifestyle

By: Phillip Elder

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Often people intend to make changes to improve their health, but sometimes we may struggle to make the change happen. Changing behaviour may not always be easy but understanding the process of change may help get you through it.
The long-term success of change may depend on your readiness for change. The process of behaviour change can be separated in 5 distinct stages or 7 different elements.

Take a moment to assess your own readiness for change. Read the Stages of Change below and identify which stage relates to your current situation.

Stages of Change (Prochaska, 1997):
1. Pre-contemplation is the stage in which people are not intending to take action in the foreseeable future. People may be in this stage because they are unaware of the consequences of their behaviour or because they were unsuccessful at previous attempts to change and feel they are unable to change.

2. Contemplation is the stage in which people are intending to change in the foreseeable future. People in this stage aware of the consequences of change, and can identify the benefits and costs of change. This can leave contemplators stuck in this stage for longer periods of time. They may not to be quite ready to make a change.

3. Preparation is the stage in which people are intending to take action in the intermediate future, usually in the next month. They have typically taken some significant action in the past year and also have a plan of action, such as talking to a health professional.

4. Action is the stage in which people have made specific evident modification in their behaviour within the past 6 months. The behaviour change is generally sufficient enough to reduce risk of disease.

5. a) Maintenance is the stage in which people are working to prevent relapse, but they do not apply change processes as frequently as those in action. They are increasingly more confident that they can continue their changes. OR

b) Relapse is a form of regression to an earlier stage once some action steps have taken place. OR

c) Termination is when people have virtually no temptation and complete self efficacy.

What Stage of Change are you in?

Did you know that... 61% of Australian adults aged over 18 are OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE! That's about 9.1 million people!
AND 25% of our Australian children aged 5 - 17 years are OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE! (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009)
These are alarming statistics!

There are serious metabolic consequences of carrying excess fat in the body, particularly around the abdominal area, that cause debilitating health problems. These include: hypertension, high cholesterol, high blood fats, low HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) impaired glucose tolerance, type 2 diabetes mellitus, osteoarthritis, sleep apnoea, fatty liver, coronary heart disease, fluid retention, infertility in women, and some cancers. Not to mention social consequences And a Poorer Quality Of Life.

Are you at risk of chronic disease?
Measuring your Body Mass Index and Waist Circumference are simple checks that can tell how much body fat you have and where it is located on your body. Remember, excessive body fat has been associated with a greater risk of developing serious health conditions and chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and some cancers.

How do you measure up?
Waist circumference tells us where the body fat is located on the body. Excessive body fat concentrated around the abdominal area has been associated with greater risk of developing serious health conditions and chronic diseases. Get a measuring tape and measure up for waist circumference and check your risk.

You are at slightly increased risk if your waist circumference is:
Women - Greater than 80 centimetres
Men - Greater than 94 centimetres

You are at greatly increased risk if your waist circumference is:
Women - Greater than 88 centimetres
Men - Greater than 104 centimetres

If your waist circumference is greater than the ranges above seek the advice of an Accredited Practising Dietitian to help you decrease your risk of developing poor health. Screening for risk factors is important to help you prevent health problems. Identifying the problem and increasing awareness is the first step.
The next step is to take action and improve your health.

What is your Body Mass Index?
Overweight and obesity are measured using the Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI is based on a person's weight and height, and serves as a guide to check for a person's risk of disease. The BMI should be used as a guide as some people won't fit into the BMI categories such as muscular people, some ethnic groups, infants, children and adolescents. Calculate your BMI using the formula below and check where your BMI sits using the reference.

BMI = weight (kg) / height (in meters squared)

* BMI 18.5 or less = Underweight: People in this range may not be meeting their nutritional requirements and be at risk of malnutrition. Maintaining a healthy weight is important to support normal body functioning. Consult an Accredited Practising Dietitian to check your diet and nutrition needs, and help you maintain a healthier weight.

* BMI 18.5 – 25 = Healthy weight: People in this range have been found to have less health problems and chronic diseases, so you are off to a good start with your health. The quality of your diet can also affect your health. One of the greatest impacts you can have on your health is to improve the quality of your diet. You can get your diet assessed by an Accredited Practising Dietitian.

* BMI 25 – 30 = Overweight: People in this range have been found to have a significantly increase risk of developing health problems and chronic diseases. Reducing your weight by just a few kilograms can significantly reduce your risk of developing such health problems. An Accredited Practising Dietitian can help you find ways to reduce your weight and keep it off.

* BMI 30 and above = Obese: People in this range have been found to have a greatly increased risk of developing health problems and chronic diseases. Reducing your weight by just a few kilograms can significantly reduce your risk of developing such health problems. An Accredited Practising Dietitian can help you find set realistic and achievable weight loss goals, and support you to maintain a healthier weight for life.

Achieving Behaviour Change:
Commonly people set vague goals which they continue to fail to achieve. How many times have you heard someone or even yourself say 'I will start dieting at the start of the week' and never actually do?

The key to achieving the goals you aspire to achieve is to set clear and specific SMART goals!

What is a SMART goal?
Specific
Measurable
Action-focused
Realistic
Time-based

Example of a SMART goal: I will reduce my waist circumference by 8cm over the next 6 months, starting NOW. I will take action and reduce my dinner portion by using a smaller plate. I will take action and go for a walk tonight after dinner and will aim to do this twice per week on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Planning is an essential part of SMART goal setting and the place to begin. Write-up the activities you need to carry out to achieve your SMART goal. Get your self a diary or calendar and schedule in your exercise and meal planning. Create an environment that enables you to achieve your health goals more simply.

Set up your support network – Seek the advice of your Accredited Practising Dietitian or health professional for specific nutritional advice on how to lose weight safely and keep it off!

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Ines Astudillo is an Accredited Practsing Dietitian in West Ryde, Sydney, NSW. Ines has a special interest in helping people achieve their weight goals in a realistic, achievable and sustainable manner. She is experienced in translating the nutritional science of kilojoules and fat grams into simple but meaningful changes in eating habits to help clients lose weight and keep it off. Ines also has an interest in the area of food allergies and intolerances, helping people to improve symptoms s

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