How To Create An Effective Weight Loss Road Map

We all know that losing weight and improving your overall fitness are
things that don't happen overnight. But, did you know in order to be
truly successful that important steps need to be taken before you
even start a diet or exercise program? The first thing you should do
is identify where you fall on the behavioral change spectrum. There
are five distinct stages of behavioral change. Do you know what stage
you currently fall under?

Knowing what stage you are at will help you to create a road map to
the subsequent stages and ultimately help you to be successful in
your fitness goals. Below are the five major phases.

Precontemplation: This is the point where you don't feel that any
change in your lifestyle is necessary. You may be thinking that
exercising just takes too much time or that fast food is just too
convenient to even consider giving up. Starting a fitness or diet
program during this stage would probably result in failure. The best
thing you can do during this phase is educate yourself further about
health, diseases and risks.

Contemplation: During this stage you may start thinking that a change
is necessary. So, you think that maybe cutting back to eating fast
food only three times a week is not so bad and you might be able to
at least take a walk once in awhile. This is a good time to learn
more about the benefits of healthy eating and regular exercise.

Preparation: At this point you are getting more serious about taking
action. You've penciled in a walk with your friend for next week and
are planning to go grocery shopping to cook a home meal. You may want
to research exercise equipment, gyms, personal trainers, and diet
programs to learn more about what you can do (with the help of
professionals and/or equipment) to get in better shape.

Action: Here's where you actually take the first step. The first step
may be as simple as taking a daily walk, reducing your fast food
visits to twice a month or just cutting back on daily sodas. Or, you
may go as far as hiring a personal trainer or joining a gym. During
this stage it is very important to learn coping mechanisms that will
help you avoid re-lapse into your old ways. One way to avoid being a
part of the high exercise dropout statistics is starting slowly into
a new program and making permanent lifestyle changes versus temporary
ones.

Maintenance: This is, of course, the phase that everyone should
strive to be at. This means that you have been doing a regular
fitness program consistently for quite some time and that you
continue your new lifestyle. It's important throughout this stage
(which should last a lifetime) that you include a variety of workouts
that change frequently. You should also seek social support of
friends and family.

So, now can you identify what stage you are at? You may find that you
are in the precontemplation stage for nutritional habits but that you
are in the preparation stage for exercises. That's okay. It's not
critical for you to force both areas into the same stage. You can
work on changing your nutritional and exercise habits separately.

The key to success is first identifying your stage and then taking
steps to advance to the next level (unless, of course, you are
already at the Maintenance stage). Use the suggestions mentioned
above in each stage to help you move to the next phase.

For example, if you are in the precontemplation stage, then research
and read as much as you can on the subject of health risks and how
they relate to an individual's lifestyle. From there you will
probably want to learn more about the consequences and benefits of
specific lifestyles. Education is a powerful thing. The more you
fully understand and can relate directly to the causes and effects of
your action, the more inclined you will be to change.

It's also important to tune-in to your fears, past struggles and
expectations. Making nutritional and exercise changes is not easy and
should be approached slowly. Remember to make small changes.
Don't try to go from a completely sedentary lifestyle to an hour of
continual exercise in just one day. Build up slowly starting with
even just 10 minutes. And lastly, be sure to inform your family and
friends of your plans and enlist their support. Support is extremely
important for your success.

Lynn Bode, author and certified personal trainer, offers her services
online through WorkoutsForYou.com. Workouts For You provides
affordable online exercise programs to help even the busiest of
people lose weight, tone-up, build muscles, increase stamina and more
via the Internet. We'll provide you with weekly customized workouts
designed just for YOU plus all the tools necessary to reach your
fitness goals! Visit: http://www.workoutsforyou.com for a free sample
workout or to subscribe to our newsletter.

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