Changing a Behavior: Healthy Lifestyle
Having examined various aspects of my life I decided to change one specific behavior that I exhibit on a daily basis: the way in which I take care of my body. This process will incorporate two major goals: the first is changing my daily routine in such a way that would allow me to exercise more often; the second one focuses on changing my eating habits so that I eat more healthy food and less junk food. These two goals shape the kind of behavior that I would like to adopt in the end.Changing a Behavior: Healthy Lifestyle
There are several reasons why the changes that I would like to make have a lot of value for me. First of all, it is rather obvious that a person who exercises regularly and has developed healthy eating habits is likely to be in good health (Gogus, 2011). Given the rising costs of healthcare as well as the potential amount of money that I may fail to earn because of sickness, it is clear that maintaining good health is a sensible investment. Secondly, by going to the gym and by keeping my body in good shape I will feel more confident since that would fall in line with the social norms and customs (Olcott, 2013). Finally, I believe that by changing my behavior in such a way, I will be able to live a more fulfilling life since I will have fewer worries and will be able to focus on what I want to achieve (Flower, 2012).Changing a Behavior: Healthy Lifestyle
The first step in my action plan is to find a gym. The latter should be reasonably priced, it should have a good location, and it should have good staff that is dedicated to helping the clients. I’m certain that I will be able to find such a gym as soon as I analyze the facilities in the area where I live. The next step is to create a schedule of my daily activities and figure out the time where I can go to the gym. In the beginning, I would like to start with just one day a week. Then, it would like to increase it to twice per week. The third step will include placing limitations on all junk food that I consume. Obviously, it will take a lot of willpower to change my eating habits. I expect that the first weeks will be the most difficult for me. This step logically leads to the fourth step: finding out what products are good for me and buying them in advance. This means that whenever I would like to eat something, I will always have a healthy alternative in my refrigerator or backpack. This way it will be easy for me to develop healthy habits. The fifth step will include keeping a special journal where I will indicate whether I had exercised on a certain day or not; what kind of food I ate as well as some commentaries about my progress. I think that these records will help me stay motivated.Changing a Behavior: Healthy Lifestyle
There are several criteria that I will use to judge whether my change turned out to be successful. First of all, if I manage to have at least one exercise per week for 3 months straight, that will mean that I was able to adopt this practice as my regular habit. Secondly, I expect that after I avoid eating junk food, I will lose some weight and will have less sick days. Therefore, if I lose weight and will not experience any sickness within several months, I will know that my plan turned out to be successful.
References
Flower, S. (2012). The healthy lifestyle diet cookbook. Oxford: Spring Hill.
Gogus, U. (2011). A Fundamental Guide for a Healthy Lifestyle and Nutrition. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Olcott, C. O. (2013). Healthy Lifestyle: Top Ten Preventable Causes of Premature Death with Real Stories of Change. London: Routledge.Changing a Behavior: Healthy Lifestyle