I am actively working towards all of these goals, apart from one. I'm not happy with myself and won't be until I do something about it. I've struggled with my appearance for a while and although I do go to the gym and try to eat healthily, I've definitely not been putting in enough time or effort in order to achieve what I want. The hardest thing for me is knowing that if I just work hard 4-5 times a week consistently for about a month, I will start to see the results I'd like, but for some reason, I manage to talk myself out of going to the gym and I over indulge too much, not because I want to, I just do.
I'm definitely one of those people who say "well, I've eaten one bad thing, so I've ruined it for the day now, I might as well eat badly all day and start again tomorrow", which is just totally ridiculous. I know that the best approach to nutrition is "everything in moderation" and I've been doing it for long enough to know that this simply doesn't work for me. As someone who binges, if I eat one bad thing, I'll eat another five, just because. When i'm eating healthily, there is nothing missing from my diet to make me binge, i'm not hungry, I just eat for the sake of it. I think I don't have the drive to achieve my goal because I think "my body isn't that bad. I'm not happy with it but it could be worse".
In my opinion, the most prominent model of change is the Health Belief Model (HBM); this model is typically used to explain and predict health behaviours. It is widely used in interventions to educate people on their health behaviours and give them the tools to change. It can be used to change the way people see their negative behaviours (smoking/drinking) and also promote positive health behaviours (exercise/healthy eating).
The model suggests that a persons level of engagement or lack of in a health behaviour can be explained by their personal beliefs regarding their perceived susceptibility to illness, perceived severity, perceived benefits of behaviour, and barriers to action. The model also says that a cue or trigger is neccessary for prompting an individual to want to change their behaviour. As an example, if somebody smokes:
- Perceived susceptibility to illness- most smokers are aware of the effects that tobacco has on the body such as lung cancer, gum disease etc. If you believe that you will become ill and develop a disease, you are more likely to take stages to stop smoking.
- Perceived severity- as mentioned above, most smokers know that they are likely to develop a smoking-related illness but some are often in denial and think "it won't happen to me".
- Perceived benefits- "by stopping smoking, I am reducing my risk of disease and will save a lot of money".
- Perceived barriers- psychological people may find it very difficult to stop smoking. For some people, smoking is a habit and for others they are addicted to tobacco so a distinction will need to be made.
- Cues to action- this refers to the reasons which an individual has decided that they want to change their behaviour. This may be an internal cue; pain or symptoms of disease. External cues refer to events or information from the environment, this may be from a family member or healthcare professional or an advertisement on TV.
Applying the HBM to myself:
Perceived Severity:
- As somebody who has been on both ends of the scale (I've been both chubby and slim), I know the implications of carrying more weight and I don't want to be overweight. I perceive being overweight and the implications to be very severe; I have seen the effects that it can have and the damaging effects that it would personally have on my life. I want to be able to be fit and healthy for myself and those around me.
Perceived Susceptibility:
- I am not a naturally slim person, I have always had curves and know that if I continue to eat the way I am at the moment, I will continue to put on weight and potentially be overweight in the future.
Perceived Benefits:
- I will (hopefully) feel more comfortable within myself.
- I'll reduce the risk of weight-related illnesses such as diabetes etc.
- I'll reduce the risk of being wiped out in a zombie apocalypse because i'll be able to outrun them ;)
Perceived Barriers:
- There literally aren't really any apart from my mental barrier, I have barely any excuses to not stick to a healthy diet and exercise plan. People who are far busier than me find the time, so I can too.
Cues to Action:
- My "trigger" or "cue" to change is the fact that I feel uncomfortable within myself and I shouldn't.
The idea behind doing this is to understand the reasons I have for wanting to change and the reasons why I am not already.
My Plan of Action
- Create my own gym plan (which is suited to my goals and what I enjoy doing)!
- Create my own meal plan (which fits around my gym schedule and is maintainable without bingeing)!
- Stop seeing a treat as a binge (it's okay to have one chocolate bar- this is the biggest thing I need to work on)!
- Set a goal for the week and reward myself when I achieve them!
- Update my blog with my progress as a way to keep track!
If anybody reads this and is interested in health and fitness, please comment any receipes you have for healthy alternatives to some food. I follow loads of people on instagram and fitness blogs but i'm yet to find any healthy alternatives that I like:(
Goals for this week:
- Create my gym and diet plan and put it into action
- Keep a photo diary of what I eat so I can look back on it and see how well I am doing
- Be positive and patient!
- Think of my holiday!
- Get all of my assignments done!
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