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Abdominals - Part 1
Abdominals - Part 2
Abdominals - Part 3
Fitness Mistakes
Getting In Shape
Exercise Intensity
Top 10 Health Tips
20 Ways to Lose Weight
Weight Training Benefits
Why Work Out?
Tone Up Flabby Arms
Free Fitness Tips
Workout Plateaus
Interval Training
Workout At Home
How to Get Sexy Abs
Water Workouts
Weight Loss Lifestyle
Is It Safe To Run While Sick?
Tips for Healthy
Eating Habits
Wedding Fitness Questions
Wedding Day Tips
Workouts That Travel
Top Fitness Questions
Common Fitness Pitfalls
Play Ball To Get Fit
Working out Through Menopause
Women's Strength Program
Getting In Shape With The Internet
10 Steps To Fitness Motivation
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HOW TO DETERMINE AND CHANGE YOUR WEIGHT LOSS LIFESTYLE STAGE
If you are overweight then you probably want to do something about it. You may even have started to do something to lose some weight. But, before you can successfully lose weight you need to think about the stage of weight loss you are at from a psychological point of view.
Do this by looking at the behavioral change spectrum, which has five stages. Knowing what stage you're in will help you devise the best weight loss program to help you succeed. Let’s take a look at the five stages here:
1. Precontemplation: If you are at this stage then you probably aren’t thinking about doing anything to lose weight. Exercise might seem too time consuming and a healthy diet like too much work. To be honest there’s little point starting a weight loss and exercise program if your head is here – you need to move it on a stage by working out what being overweight will do for your health in the future.
2. Contemplation: If you’re here then you are probably starting to realize that – from a health perspective – you need to do something to lose some weight. Maybe you’ve started to change your diet and cut back on fast food and junk food. Maybe you’ve started walking more rather than taking the car. You need to consolidate your thoughts here and work out what a good diet and exercise program could do for you.
3. Preparation: You’ll be more serious about losing weight here. You may have arranged to go for a swim with a friend or planned a trip to the store to cook a healthy meal from scratch. At this stage you should also think about the kinds of exercise equipment you could use, local gyms and personal trainers that you could visit and healthy diets plans you could start cooking up.
4. Action: This is where you really make a start. You don’t need to go overboard here – a slow start is great! So, you may walk to the store instead of taking the car, you may cut your fast food meals down to one a week and you may go a little further and talk to a personal trainer or join the local gym. Do remember that you need to be prepared for the hard times here to avoid a quick relapse into bad habits. So, take things one day at a time and commit yourself to changing your life for the better rather than wishing you had your old life back.
5. Maintenance: This is the stage we all want to get to. Here, you’ll be taking regular exercise and you’ll be eating a healthy diet. You’ll have lost weight and you’ll feel good about yourself. To keep it up remember to keep it varied. Doing the same workout week in week out will get boring so mix it up a bit. Try exercising and/or dieting with people you know so you can build up a support network.
Don’t worry if you find that you are in two stages at once here. It’s quite common to be in Stage 1 for your diet and Stage 2 for your fitness plans, for example. You don’t ever need to be in the same zone for both at the same time as you can work on both aspects of your life separately. The vital thing here is that you should look at where you are – then, and only then, will you be able to prepare yourself to move on to the next level. And, use our tips for each level to help you get ready for the next. For example, it’s real easy to move from Stage 1 to 2 if you research and know the health risks that could happen in your life because you are over weight!
One last tip – don’t expect things to improve overnight. You’ll get better long-term benefits if you take things slow and let your body and mind get used to the changes you make.
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