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Keep a log of your lapse experiences. Find patterns in your behavior so that you can modify your environment and plan ahead for the next time you are faced with a similar situation:

• What were you feeling?
• Where were you?
• With whom were you keeping company?
• What was the time of day?

It also might be helpful to jot down a behavior chain in a journal. This involves nothing more than writing down the series of events, situations, feelings, emotions, or experiences that led to the unwanted behavior. Your behavior chain might look something like this:

• I was having a decent day at work.
• My supervisor asked whether she could speak with me in her office.
• She proceeded to tell me that our department would have to make some changes and that my colleague and good friend would be leaving.
• It would be my responsibility to perform his job duties until we could find a more suitable arrangement.
• I was overwhelmed and angry.
• I drove home in a “stew.”
• When I got inside, I went directly to the kitchen to decide what to have for dinner.
• Nothing looked good.
• A package of cookies was on the counter, so I ate a few of those while I pondered what to fix.
• Still couldn’t find anything that looked good, so I had some chips, too.
• Settled on a frozen pizza but was really hungry, so I took the bag of chips into the living room and turned on the TV while I waited for the pizza to bake.
• When it was done, I was already engrossed in the TV program, so I took the pizza into the living room, too.
• By the end of the show, I had eaten six slices of pizza and felt sick to my stomach; I was too tired to go for a walk.
• I cleaned up and berated myself for being such a glutton; then resolved to “do better” the next day.

Sound familiar? I’m sure you could share countless similar stories. Why go through the agony of writing it down? Because seeing it on paper demystifies the unwanted behavior. It’s easy to understand why you ate six slices of pizza when you take the day’s events into consideration. If you can get a handle on the purpose your behavior was serving, you can identify alternatives that meet the real need. Seek the help of a counselor, minister, or therapist if you need help identifying or determining how best to meet these needs.

Lapses occur in almost every person’s journey to a healthier lifestyle. We all have ways of coping with life’s challenges, but our methods aren’t always conducive to physical health. From food binges to long periods without physical activity, lapses have been the downfall of many a New Year’s resolution. How can you prevent a lapse in healthy behavior from progressing to an all out relapse? The key is a new approach to everyday challenges. If and when a lapse occurs, seize the opportunity to examine the situation and develop a specific intervention for the next time the same situation arises. There is no one “correct” way to prevent unwanted behaviors from recurring. The best intervention is one that fits your needs, lifestyle, and personality!

People in the fourth stage of change typically

• Have been practicing new behavior for less than six months
• Feel in control and empowered much of the time
• Are at the greatest risk for lapse and relapse

Congratulations, you are doing it! (Well, maybe not quite yet, but you will be!) This is the most visible stage in the entire process.
Friends and family members may be asking about your new behaviors; you may be getting compliments about your appearance or energy level. Enjoy it! However, be aware that temptations are going to hit you like freight trains, and it’s up to you to treat setbacks, or lapses, as learning experiences rather than failures. Now is the time to be patient and to critically and objectively examine any lapses in behavior to develop strategies that meet challenges in a more appropriate fashion.

One of the most common mistakes people make when changing health habits is setting only a weight goal. There are several reasons why goal weights can be selfdefeating:

• Numbers never tell the entire story. You know those annoying height and weight charts, or the newer body mass index tables? Talk about feeling like a lost cause! Some of you may never fit neatly into the charts and tables. Does that mean you can’t be healthy? Not necessarily! Most research shows that it’s better to be “overweight” and active than at your “ideal weight” (if such a thing exists) and inactive. Another caveat of using the scale to measure success is that body weight doesn’t correlate well with body composition. In other words, you can be a slender person who carries a lot of body fat, or a heavy person who carries a lot of muscle tissue.
• Body weight fluctuates on a daily basis. Changes in body weight over the course of a day or two reflect nothing more than water balance. If you’ve eaten a salty meal or snack (remember the pretzels you had yesterday afternoon and the tasty little grains of salt you licked from the bottom of the bag?), you might be retaining fluid and weigh a couple pounds heavier than normal. If, on the other hand, you decide to hop on the scale after a brisk walk or jog in hot, humid weather, you’re likely to be dehydrated and weigh a pound or two less than normal. Does this mean you burned two pounds of fat in the last hour? Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. You’ve lost some water through sweat and evaporation, and it’s time to drink up! More specifically, you’ll need to drink 16 ounces of fluid (about .5 liters) for every pound of body weight lost during exercise (this guideline is accurate only if weighing “conditions” are similar before and after exercise—in the buff is best!) Women also experience fluctuations in body weight throughout the menstrual cycle, mostly due to fluid retention.
• Weighing can be very emotionally charged. If you weigh yourself on a regular basis without feeling guilty or righteous after seeing the number on the scale, more power to you. For most of us, that’s probably not the case. If you’ve ever starved yourself before going to the doctor’s office (or any other “official” weigh in), or feasted afterward, it’s probably best if you weigh yourself as little as possible. It’s too easy to let a number sabotage your best efforts. The fit of your clothes or even your undergarments can serve the very same purpose without carrying the same emotional “weight” as the number on the scale.
• If weight loss is your only motivation, what happens when you reach your goal? Many “successful” dieters can’t stay motivated when they aren’t experiencing the excitement of weight loss—the compliments, the new clothes, or the drama of seeing an old friend in their new body. Don’t become a dieting casualty. You are in this for the long haul, and chances are good that your weight is going to fluctuate given your life circumstances. Focus on the things that matter, such as feeding yourself well, walking whenever you can, and balancing your physical health with other priorities! Have I convinced you not to make body weight per se a goal? I hope so! But the question remains: How do you formulate positive, effective, action-oriented personal goals?

Begin by listing some of the reasons for changing your habits. List as many as you can. Try for more than 25! In general, the most powerful personal motivations will emerge at end of your list. You may begin by listing “fit into my clothes better” or “have more energy” and work your way down to “improve my relationship with my spouse/children/grandchildren” or “get the confidence I need to change careers.” Now you’re talking! These internal motivations for change will provide the foundation you need to set concrete long- and short-term goals and begin to take action on a daily basis.
After you identify your key internal motivations, honestly evaluate what it will take to get you there. This process will allow you to develop simple, effective long- and short-term goals, as well as pinpoint the action steps necessary to meet those goals.

Beyond your support network, you’ll need to start holding yourself accountable for your behaviors. One of the most reliable predictors of success in lifestyle management is self-monitoring. Self-monitoring by keeping accurate records of your actions and attitudes can be as simple or as complex as you care—the important thing is to be consistent. By recording this information, you gain self-direction, motivation, accountability, and a means of monitoring progress. The following is a laundry list of everything you could potentially record, but don’t feel obligated to go into this much detail. I have many clients who scribble their food and activity choices in a little pocket notebook, and that works just as well.
Your food choices:

• What you eat
• How much you eat
• When you eat
• Your eating location/environment
• Your level of hunger and fullness before and after eating
• Your emotions, feelings, and/or thoughts before, during, and after eating

Your activity choices:

• What type
• How long
• What time of day
• Level of difficulty
• Your heart rate
• Your emotions, feelings, and/or thoughts before, during, and after the activity

Your personal goals:

• Personal motivations
• Long-term goals
• Short-term goals
• Daily steps to success

The importance of developing a strong network of support in achieving healthier habits cannot be overstated! This is not the time to be an island. Think about individuals who can provide support, encouragement, and guidance on your path to improved physical health. Nothing is more discouraging than feeling like you are swimming against a tide of resistance to healthy behaviors in your home, work, or other environment. And the fact of the matter is that the people surrounding us on a daily basis can influence our health behaviors in both positive and negative ways. Have you ever tried to order a soup and salad while your dinner companions are pushing the Mega-Burger and home fries? What about the relative who consistently places seconds and thirds on your plate after you’ve politely refused? Has a loved one ever openly chastised you for having dessert or commented on your weight gain? Try going for an afternoon walk when your supervisor scrutinizes every move you make. These individuals, though usually well meaning, often present some of the greatest challenges you will face in changing your habits.
On the other hand, the people we choose to keep in our inner circles can also be powerful motivators for positive behavior change. Try to appoint several “key figures” for your support network—a family member, a friend, a coworker, a spiritual advisor, and a health professional—to help you stay on track. Ask these people whether they would be willing to be your accountability partners in weight management. They are not responsible for your decisions, but they are willing to be your cheerleaders, exercise partners, advisors, and counselors. They may or may not be trying to make similar changes.
For example, even though your best friend of 20 years may never struggle with his weight, he could be a perfect walking or running partner. A co-worker who mentioned that she is trying to eat more healthfully would make an excellent lunch date. A registered dietitian can help you devise a sensible meal plan that works for your particular lifestyle. The most important thing is to tell these people what you are trying to accomplish and ask whether they’d be willing to help.

People in the third stage of change typically

• Acknowledge that the pros of change outweigh the cons of not changing
• Intend to make a change within one month
• May be making small changes already

Many of you are currently in the preparation stage, so I’m going to devote a little extra space to some tools you can use to take it to the next level. At this point, you have already made the decision to change; it is now imperative to have a support system of trustworthy friends, relatives, coworkers, and health professionals to help you advance from preparation to action. Stick with one or two small changes at a time, allow those to become habit, and then move on to new or more challenging areas.

People in the second stage of change typically

•  Think about changing
•  Consider ways to make the change
•  Know a change would be good, but don’t feel ready or able to change right now
•  Do not plan to change within one month

You may identify closely with contemplation at this time. Some people linger in this stage for years, waiting for the right time to begin the process. You think, “after I get through this busy time at work,” or “I’ll just follow this diet to lose weight for (fill in the blank: wedding, class reunion, interview, and so on), and then learn how to eat more healthfully,” or “when the kids don’t require so much from me at home…” Guess what? There is no perfect time to begin the process! Certainly, it is wise to take care of overwhelming or chaotic situations first, but life is probably always going to be full. The bottom line is this—we all have 24 hours a day, and making health a priority is going to make the difference. At this point, try to connect with people who have already made a change similar to the one you are considering. Talk to them; learn more about their methods, setbacks, and successes. Become aware of alternatives in your own environment. Join a support group.
Seek an exercise environment that appeals to you. Visit fitness centers in your area to get a feel for the atmosphere and philosophy of each. Many fitness centers have temporary or trial memberships so that you can experience them yourself. If the thought of spandex and exposed flesh gives you nightmares, and you can’t find a “friendly” gym in your area, create your own home fitness center with simple hand weights, a jump rope, some stairs or any other innovative “equipment” you can find! Brush the cobwebs off your old clunker bike in the garage. Look for walking or biking paths in your city. An aversion to using fancy equipment is not an excuse to be a couch potato!

People in the first stage of change typically

• Have no interest in making a behavior change
• Might not be aware a change needs to be made
• Do not intend, or are not ready, to change
• Deny that a problem exists
• Might have previously attempted to change the target behavior and “failed”

With regard to nutrition and physical activity, it is unlikely you are still in this stage. You’ve read this far, right? If you know someone in precontemplation, the most important thing you can provide him is empathy. Ask her how she feels about the target behavior, and truly listen to the answer. Invite him to a seminar or class he may find enjoyable. Nagging, though common, is not the best method for helping a person move beyond this stage! If you feel you must take some kind of action, you might leave magazine articles or informational brochures in conspicuous places as a nonthreatening way of broaching the subject. Sometimes the hardest step is letting your loved ones come to a stage of readiness on their own instead of pushing them toward change.

“Why should I put myself through the agony?” you ask. First, you need to know where you are at this moment in time. Second, it’s cool to see how far you’ve come after you’ve implemented some changes. And last, sometimes these are the numbers that can help you stay on track! Contact the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) to determine which facilities offer quality assessments by reputable health professionals in your area. ACSM professionals are found around the globe. An individual fitness assessment should include measurements described in each of the following sections.

Cardiorespiratory Fitness
Cardiorespiratory fitness represents the heart’s ability to pump blood, the lungs’ ability to handle increased volumes of air, and the muscles’ ability to utilize oxygen for energy. As your cardiorespiratory fitness improves, your heart becomes more efficient, and you might notice that activities that seemed difficult at first become a little easier. Are you out of breath at the top of the stairs? This is a sign you’ve challenged your cardiorespiratory system!

Muscular Strength
Strength is the maximum amount of force that can be exerted by a specific muscle or group of muscles. When you heave a large bag of groceries onto the counter, you are displaying muscular strength. Many injuries occur partly because of weakness in either the “working” muscle or its opposing muscle. Incorporating strength training in addition to cardiovascular exercise provides a total approach to fitness.

Muscular Endurance
Endurance is the ability of a muscle or group of muscles to contract repeatedly over a period of time long enough to cause fatigue. Muscular endurance is important for posture and performing everyday tasks, such as carrying objects, raking leaves, and leaning, all of which require prolonged muscular exertion.

Flexibility
Flexibility is an indication of your range of motion and an important component of physical fitness. Lack of flexibility in some areas of the body can lead to injury and back pain.

Body Composition
Body composition is simply a measure of how much of your body is lean tissue (bones, muscles, organs, and so forth), and how much is fat tissue. Although our culture seems fixated on body weight as the sole measure of success, body composition may be even more telling. For example, just because a person is at his “ideal” body weight does not automatically mean that he has a healthy level of body fat. And body fat, it seems, is not a static tissue as once believed. Researchers are discovering that our fat tissue sends all kinds of chemical messages to other cells in our bodies, so the amount of fat and that fat’s location in the body play a pivotal role in our total health profile.
There are many different ways of measuring body composition, some more accurate than others. The gold standard method involves being weighed underwater after you’ve blown all the air out of your lungs! Sounds fun, doesn’t it? Most fitness centers use much more comfortable methods—just be sure that you keep your method consistent when evaluating your progress using body composition. In other words, if you have your body fat measured with skin calipers by a fitness instructor, try to have the same instructor perform the test again six months later when you’re ready to see how far you’ve come.