Navigating Your Journey the Right Way: How Understanding Your Stage of Change Can Propel You Forward
November 13, 2023 • 24 mins
Imagine grasping the reins of your relationship with food and body, effectively navigating your journey through change. That's exactly what we're offering in this episode. We'll guide you in comprehending where you stand in your change journey, and how understanding your stage of change is crucial for success. We explore tailoring your approach, setting realistic expectations, and how personal insight plays a role in heightening motivation and commitment.
Delving into the five stages of change, we provide insightful questions to help you identify your current stage and discuss the significance of each stage as a tool for behavioral modification. Beyond that, we shed light on how to anticipate challenges, develop coping mechanisms, and commemorate your progress through the stages. Moreover, we highlight the importance of self-acceptance, acknowledging that it's natural to oscillate between stages and stressing on the significance of awareness and reduction of obstacles prior to taking action. By the end of this captivating episode, you'll be armed with the knowledge to confidently traverse your own change journey.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Why is it so important to know where you are
in the stages of change in thedifferent areas that you are
exploring and wanting to improvewhen it comes to your
relationship with food and body?
Understanding what stage ofchange you are in is crucial
(00:21):
because it can significantlyimpact the success of your
growth, of the behaviormodification and achieving your
goals.
Today, we're going to talkabout the importance of
understanding your stage ofchange and what it can do for
you, how it can set you up forsuccess in those areas, and how
(00:42):
it can set you up for lessdisappointment and help you to
continue to hold hope and bepatient for yourself along the
journey.
We're also going to talk aboutwhat are the stages of change
and how do you know which stageof change you are in.
And then, lastly, we're goingto go through a few different
(01:02):
questions that can help you toidentify and assess where you
are at and understand where youare at in your journey.
And then, to close out, we'regoing to talk about where you
should be putting your focuswhen you are in the different
stages of change and why youshould be putting your focus in
those areas, because there'smovement in all the areas of
(01:25):
change.
There's things we need to do inall the stages of change, but
we need to make sure we'refocusing on the right action
steps and the right things thatare actually going to help us to
move to a higher stage ofchange, rather than spinning our
wheels feeling like we'refailing.
So, without further ado, let'sget into it the importance of
(01:46):
understanding your stage ofchange.
Now, the first reason why it'sso helpful is it helps you to
create a tailored approach towhat you're working on.
So let's say you are working onyour relationship with a
certain food.
It can allow you to tailor yourapproach and how you interact
(02:09):
with that food and the goals youset with that food by
understanding what stage ofchange you're at.
This stage of change requiresdifferent strategies and
interventions.
So knowing your stage is goingto help you and support.
It's going to help you and it'salso going to help your support
system, like your therapist,your dietitian, your coach, to
(02:30):
tailor the approach and supportto match your specific needs at
that time, at that particularpoint in the change process.
So let's go back to our example.
If we're working on arelationship with Oreos, by
knowing your stage of change youcan have a tailored approach to
how you go about creating moretrust with that Oreo.
(02:54):
If you are in an early stage ofchange, you might not be able
to bring Oreos into the houseand have them around.
You might need to have a foodexposure with your team where
you are exploring Oreos, maybesetting up a goal to have an
Oreo, two Oreos, where you're,and then you plan some coping
(03:16):
afterwards so you can be in avery different place.
And so if we say hey, we'rejust going to get a box of Oreos
and we're going to have them athome, that's going to set you
up to feel like you're failingif you're not quite ready for
that and you end up binging andshaming yourself and then saying
I'm never eating Oreos againand it's going to.
(03:38):
It's going to kind ofnegatively affect you, right,
because it may impact how youfeel about wanting to move
forward in the process.
So we really want to make surewe understand our stage of
change so we can tailor theapproach to your journey.
The next reason for why it's soimportant to understand your
stage of change is because wewant to set realistic
(03:59):
expectations for where you are.
Recognizing your stage ofchange helps set realistic
expectations.
Change is very.
It's a gradual process, andthat is okay.
That's how it's supposed to be,and being aware of where you
are can prevent frustration anddisappointment if progress is
slower than you may haveanticipated.
(04:20):
Right, we really want to setourselves up to be able to
continue the process.
Allow it to be slow, allow usto be where we need to be, and
one of the ways we can do thisis through realistic
expectations and knowing wherewe are in our change process.
The next reason is personalinsight.
So the next reason why it'simportant to know your stage of
(04:41):
change is personal insight.
Understanding your stage ofchange is going to foster more
self-awareness of the journey.
It's going to allow you toexplore the factors influencing
your behavior and motivation,which can reveal underlying
beliefs, underlying barriersthat need to be addressed by
understanding your stage ofchange.
(05:01):
Let's give this an exampleUnderstanding where you're at in
your stage of change, you canget some personal insight which
will help you to move in thedirection that you need to be
going.
So let's say you are in anearly stage of change and you
are wanting to conquer wearing abathing suit again and not
(05:25):
being super overwhelmed andsuper uncomfortable.
Well, we might need to explorewhere we are there and it's
going to be helpful to get thatinsight to if we can move
forward with wearing a bathingsuit and that's going to be most
helpful or if there's otherthings we need to do first, like
wear something that's lessoverwhelming or understand why
(05:49):
it's so scary and maybe breakdown some of those beliefs we
have in our body, or maybeprocess through some unprocessed
things that are going to helpopen up the opportunity for us
to be more accepting of our bodyand to practice wearing a
bathing suit.
So you need to have thatpersonal insight, and knowing
where you're at and why you arethere is going to help you to
(06:14):
move successfully in yourjourney and continue to feel
hopeful and motivated right,which brings me to the next one,
which is knowing your stage ofchange helps you with motivation
and commitment.
Knowing the stage of change canhelp you bolster your motivation
to change.
It allows you to weigh the prosand cons of changing and
(06:36):
reinforces your commitment toprogress toward your goals.
Let's do an example ofmotivation and commitment.
If I understand that I'm inpre-contemplation and that's one
of that, we'll go over here ina second with the stages of
change.
If I'm in this place where I'mkind of thinking about changing,
but I'm not quite ready tochange.
(06:57):
If I'm aware of that, I havethat awareness, so I'm not
setting my expectations too high.
But it will also help me tounderstand that I can be
committed to this progresstoward my goals by addressing
this first area first, which isto think about it, understand
(07:21):
the barriers and know that.
That is going to help me tomove to the second step, which
is going to keep me motivatedand keep me committed, because I
know where I'm at and I knowwhere I can go, and I know this
is where I need to be first.
The next reason why we want toknow where we are with the
(07:44):
stages of change is for relapseprevention, with whatever
behaviors we're struggling with.
Awareness of the stage ofchange enables us to anticipate
and plan for potentialchallenges and triggers that
that specific stage of changebrings.
So this can help you developeffective coping strategies,
(08:06):
prevent relapse and help you tobe more grounded in
understanding where you're atduring the change process.
And, lastly, knowing your stageof change is going to really
help you to celebrate all theprogress you're making
throughout the stages of changeand be able to see yourself
walking through those,understanding that's a normal
(08:26):
part of your journey.
Recognizing your progress andachievements at each stage
really encourages this positivemindset, this hope, and
reinforces your ability tocontinue moving forward and it
empowers you.
It empowers you to takeresponsibility for your growth
and your well-being and it putsyou in the driver's seat More
(08:49):
aware, more knowledgeable, moreunderstanding and more grounded
with where you are at in yourchange journey, empowered to
move forward.
So I probably should havewalked through the stages of
change first, but we're justgoing to go ahead and do that
right now, and sorry if this wasmaybe needed to understand the
importance of the stages ofchange.
(09:10):
Okay, so what are the differentstages of change?
There are five stages of change.
The first one ispre-contemplation.
So pre-contemplation is thestage of change where we don't
have awareness of the need forchange.
So this is when we're not evencomprehending or contemplating
(09:33):
change because we are not thereyet.
We're not even in a place wherewe have any awareness that
there might need to be a change,that might need to be made
right.
So let's say, if you are achronic dieter and you're on to
your next diet and someone isconcerned for your well-being on
(09:54):
these diets and they say, hey,I think this is harmful to you
because you're very hyperfocused on food, you're saying
no to social outings and this istaking up all your energy and
you're no longer doing thethings that you love, right?
Okay, someone inpre-contemplation would have no
awareness of the need for changeand they would say what?
That's ridiculous, I don't haveany problem.
(10:16):
I don't have a problem, it'stotally fine.
In fact, this is a good thing.
It's a good thing.
I didn't like those hobbiesanyways.
This is important, right?
Whatever it might be, whatevertheir response might be, but
they're not going to have anyawareness that there may be a
need for change for themselves.
The next stage of change iscontemplation.
In contemplation, where is?
Where you are recognizing theissue, you're able to recognize
(10:39):
it as an issue and you'restarting to maybe consider
change, right?
So that's the contemplationstage.
You're not quite in the actionand doing anything about it, but
you're raising awareness, whichis a really important step.
That's awesome to be incontemplation, because you're
able to recognize that there'san issue, and if you're not able
to recognize it, you're notable to do anything about it.
(11:01):
So this is going to create somemomentum by recognizing that
there's an issue and consideringsome change.
So, going back to that example,if someone's in contemplation
and they were to hear thatsomeone's concerned about them
and their relationship with food, they might be able to maybe
not externally say it butinternally say, yep, I do think
(11:21):
there's an issue and I mightneed to consider doing something
about it, but I'm too afraidright.
So they might be starting tohave those thoughts.
The next stage of change ispreparation.
So that's commitment to changeand making those plans for
change.
So preparation is preparing totake action.
They're committing themselvesto change and are starting to
(11:44):
make plans.
So, let's say, going back tothat example, that is the person
who's saying I need help, I'mgoing to seek out help, I'm
committed to taking the firststep to change.
And they might be making plans,like they might be looking up
dieticians in the area to startworking with, to help them with
this, or therapists, right.
(12:04):
And the next stage of change isaction.
So that's where theimplementation starts.
That's where they startimplementing these changes.
They're actively seeing asupport team or they're actively
changing some behaviors orattempting to change some
behaviors around food.
They're creating those changesand the next phase is the
(12:26):
maintenance phase of change.
So, maintenance it's sustainingthese new behaviors that were
put into place.
They're maintaining those newbehaviors.
They're practicing, practicingand they're able to continue it,
and that doesn't mean they'renot gonna have slip-ups, right,
they're learning, they'regrowing, they're rewiring, but
they're sustaining that newbehavior for some time.
(12:48):
The next stage is termination,and this is where behavior
change is fully integrated.
Okay, so, where they arekeeping up this behavior for a
while, or these behaviors, andit's fully integrated into their
life.
So, going back to that example,it might be that individual who
is no longer stressed aroundfood.
(13:09):
They're no longer using theirbehaviors, they don't think
about those things anymore.
It may feel like a distantmemory.
This may feel a bit just easierand part of their life now to
have a healthier relationshipwith food and body.
All right, so next I want to askyou some questions so you can
ask yourself these questions toidentify what stage of change
(13:33):
you are in.
All right, now let's dive intothese questions.
Okay, these are gonna help youto understand which stage of
change you're in, depending onhow you answer them.
So, okay, the first one Am Iaware that there's a need for
change or do I feel like there'sa problem that requires my
attention.
Next question have I beenconsidering making a change or
(13:59):
taking specific actions toaddress the issue?
Have I been considering makinga change or taking specific
actions to address this issue?
If the answer is yes, you arein contemplation.
You're at least incontemplation.
Next question what specificsteps have I taken or am I
(14:20):
planning to take to achieve mydesired outcome or address the
problem?
What specific steps have Itaken or am I planning to take
to address this problem?
If you're able to list specificsteps and think of specific
steps, or think of ones you'replanning or able to even plan,
you're in the preparation stage.
(14:41):
Next question and am Icurrently implementing and
actively working on my plan tobring about change?
Am I implementing and activelyworking on things To change?
If that answer is yes, you'rein the action phase.
Next question how confident do Ifeel about maintaining the
(15:04):
changes I've made and have Iencountered any setbacks or
challenges?
So, how confident do I feelabout maintaining some of the
changes I've already made andhave I encountered any setback
or challenges, which is totallyfine if you're encountering
setbacks or challenges.
If you have answered that,you're able to answer that, you
(15:28):
are feeling confident or notconfident, but you are
maintaining changes but you'reencountering some challenges.
Then you're in the maintenancephase For all of these.
It looks different for everyone, but that would be the
maintenance phase.
So really answering thosequestions honestly can help you
to gain insights into yourcurrent stage of change and
(15:49):
provide a clearer picture ofwhere you are in the process of
your growth and behaviormodification.
And remember that change is notalways linear.
It's normal to move back andforth between those stages.
That is totally okay, andunderstanding your stage can
guide you in setting appropriategoals and developing those
strategies that's going to bestsupport your progress.
(16:09):
So remember you can move backand forth between the two.
Another really, really importantthing that people miss with
stages of change is when you'retalking about relationship with
food.
You can't put your wholerelationship with food into one
stage of change.
You have to break that up Withyour relationship with food.
(16:30):
You may be in preparation withstopping diets, but you might be
in pre-contemplation with evenlooking at body image work.
And you might be in maintenanceof having certain types of
foods in or eating adequately,right, eating enough food, but
(16:51):
you're still struggling with,maybe preparation for allowing
yourself to have all foods.
You might be eating enough food, but not all foods, so you can
be in a lot of different stagesof change with a lot of
different behaviors.
So when you're setting goals,it's important to kind of ask
yourself well, with thisspecific goal, when it comes to
my relationship with food or myrelationship with body, where am
(17:12):
I in the stage of change andhow can I get to that next step?
Okay, what will allow me to getto that next step?
Then when do I need to beputting my focus?
And that leads actually reallynicely into that question of
where do I focus on?
What should I do in each stageof change, because there are
(17:33):
specific things you need to door can do and can address,
depending on what stage ofchange you're in.
So let's dive into those.
When you're in pre-contemplation, this is the area where you
want to be building awareness.
So this is where you arejournaling, you're checking in
with yourself, you're learningmore about yourself, you're
(17:55):
really building that awareness,because without awareness we
cannot change.
So in pre-contemplation, we'renot yet ready to plan, we're not
yet thinking of planning, butyou're just building awareness
around the need to change.
So, for example, this is whereyou, in pre-contemplation, you
just might start to think that,oh, maybe this is a problem or
(18:18):
maybe this is something I needor want to change.
So you're going to be justasking yourself why do I want to
change?
Let's make a pro and cons list.
What is it impacting in my life?
How is my relationship withfood impacting my relationships?
How do I feel about that?
So you're asking yourself a tonof questions, you're tuning in,
you're listening, you're tryingto not avoid paying attention
(18:42):
to those important things.
You're really building a lot ofawareness.
The next stage of change iscontemplation and in this area,
you're starting to increase yourpros for change and decrease
your cons.
Okay.
So contemplation let me saythat again, contemplation is
where you're able to.
(19:03):
With the awareness you havebuilt, you're able to see that
there are more pros to changeand the cons are more understood
.
So the balance is kind ofturning to I might want.
I think I should change for allof these reasons, or I want to
(19:23):
change for these reasons.
Okay.
The next one is preparation, andthis is where, of course,
you're preparing.
This is where you should becommitting and you should be
planning and you should bepreparing for the change to come
right, whether that's getting asupport team and actually
drawing up a plan, learning moreabout a plan, researching,
(19:45):
education, whatever that mightbe.
And then action prettyself-explanatory.
Here is where you're going toimplement and revise, and revise
and practice and implementsomething new, right?
So that's the action phase, andyou can be another side note
you can be in these differentareas for different amounts of
(20:06):
time, so there's no right amountof time to be in each area.
Okay, there's no right way ofmoving through these stages of
change.
All right.
Anyways, back to it.
The last one, the last stage ofchange is maintenance, and this
is where what you're doing, whatyou're focusing on, is
integrating the change into yourlife cycle.
(20:26):
So I'm going to give you anexample here.
So, for maintenance, let's sayyou are in eating disorder
recovery and you go to get somehelp at a residential facility
and you're building thesebehaviors where you're stopping
body checking, you're eatingconsistently, you're eating all
types of foods.
Right, maintenance might begetting home and doing it in
(20:47):
your own life.
I would say that's kind ofaction too, because you're
implementing it at home, you'retaking these new actions.
But yeah, that might be anexample of what maintenance is
All right.
So I'm going to wrap it up withjust a little bonus activity.
I want you to try and this is apros and cons list.
(21:08):
So, with whatever stage ofchange you're in, it would be
helpful to make a pros and conslist for these different areas,
specifically in the preparationand contemplation stages.
Making a pros and cons list foryour behavior change is going
to be helpful because it bringsmore clarity and it creates more
you can become more groundedand informs you of this decision
(21:33):
making.
What motivates your action.
It can anticipate challengesand it provides a reality check
right.
It fosters the self-reflectionand strengthens your commitment.
It just does so much.
It really can serve as a tool,a supportive tool, a
decision-making tool to decidewhere are my pros and cons,
(21:53):
where am I at here and what do Iwant to do, what's my next step
, what's my next action step.
So create a list of pros of notchanging your behavior and the
cons of not changing yourbehavior.
So the pros of not changingyour behavior and the cons of
not changing your behavior.
You can also do the pros ofchanging behavior and the cons
(22:14):
of changing behavior as well andthen think of the short term
and the long term as well.
So don't just think short termand don't just think long term.
I want you to really sortthrough short term and long term
cons and pros of not changingyour behavior.
And this is going to be helpfulbecause you might have a lot
(22:36):
more pros in the area of notchanging behavior in the short
term but in the long termthere's a lot more pros in
changing your behavior in thelong term.
So it might satisfy you shortterm but not in long term.
So you want to look at both ofthose when you're making a pros
and cons list.
That's very, very important tonote, alrighty.
(23:00):
Well, that's kind of wrapping itup with stages of change.
I find this so, so helpful formy clients and students, because
it really could cause a lot ofdistress and feelings of failure
and lack of hope becausesomeone is in a
pre-contemplation orcontemplation stage, trying to
take action and feeling like whyam I failing?
(23:21):
Why am I failing?
Well, that's because we have togo back to the stage of change
you're in, which iscontemplation, and we need to
increase those pros for changeand decrease those cons and
build more awareness before wecan take action.
And there's nothing wrong withthat, that's just your skipping
steps, right.
We want to be careful thatwe're not skipping steps,
because if you skip steps you'regoing to be pushed back.
(23:44):
You're going to have to go backand move through the previous
stages of change.
If you're forced into a stageof change, you are not ready for
Alrighty.
So with that, I just want tosay best of luck to you.
I am so excited you are here.
You should be very proud ofyourself for being here.
I'm sure proud of you.
(24:05):
I will chat with you next timeand until then, keep fighting
for that relationship with thehuman body that you deserve.
Why is it so important to know where you are
in the stages of change in thedifferent areas that you are
exploring and wanting to improvewhen it comes to your
relationship with food and body?
Understanding what stage ofchange you are in is crucial
(00:21):
because it can significantlyimpact the success of your
growth, of the behaviormodification and achieving your
goals.
Today, we're going to talkabout the importance of
understanding your stage ofchange and what it can do for
you, how it can set you up forsuccess in those areas, and how
(00:42):
it can set you up for lessdisappointment and help you to
continue to hold hope and bepatient for yourself along the
journey.
We're also going to talk aboutwhat are the stages of change
and how do you know which stageof change you are in.
And then, lastly, we're goingto go through a few different
(01:02):
questions that can help you toidentify and assess where you
are at and understand where youare at in your journey.
And then, to close out, we'regoing to talk about where you
should be putting your focuswhen you are in the different
stages of change and why youshould be putting your focus in
those areas, because there'smovement in all the areas of
(01:25):
change.
There's things we need to do inall the stages of change, but
we need to make sure we'refocusing on the right action
steps and the right things thatare actually going to help us to
move to a higher stage ofchange, rather than spinning our
wheels feeling like we'refailing.
So, without further ado, let'sget into it the importance of
(01:46):
understanding your stage ofchange.
Now, the first reason why it'sso helpful is it helps you to
create a tailored approach towhat you're working on.
So let's say you are working onyour relationship with a
certain food.
It can allow you to tailor yourapproach and how you interact
(02:09):
with that food and the goals youset with that food by
understanding what stage ofchange you're at.
This stage of change requiresdifferent strategies and
interventions.
So knowing your stage is goingto help you and support.
It's going to help you and it'salso going to help your support
system, like your therapist,your dietitian, your coach, to
(02:30):
tailor the approach and supportto match your specific needs at
that time, at that particularpoint in the change process.
So let's go back to our example.
If we're working on arelationship with Oreos, by
knowing your stage of change youcan have a tailored approach to
how you go about creating moretrust with that Oreo.
(02:54):
If you are in an early stage ofchange, you might not be able
to bring Oreos into the houseand have them around.
You might need to have a foodexposure with your team where
you are exploring Oreos, maybesetting up a goal to have an
Oreo, two Oreos, where you're,and then you plan some coping
(03:16):
afterwards so you can be in avery different place.
And so if we say hey, we'rejust going to get a box of Oreos
and we're going to have them athome, that's going to set you
up to feel like you're failingif you're not quite ready for
that and you end up binging andshaming yourself and then saying
I'm never eating Oreos againand it's going to.
(03:38):
It's going to kind ofnegatively affect you, right,
because it may impact how youfeel about wanting to move
forward in the process.
So we really want to make surewe understand our stage of
change so we can tailor theapproach to your journey.
The next reason for why it's soimportant to understand your
stage of change is because wewant to set realistic
(03:59):
expectations for where you are.
Recognizing your stage ofchange helps set realistic
expectations.
Change is very.
It's a gradual process, andthat is okay.
That's how it's supposed to be,and being aware of where you
are can prevent frustration anddisappointment if progress is
slower than you may haveanticipated.
(04:20):
Right, we really want to setourselves up to be able to
continue the process.
Allow it to be slow, allow usto be where we need to be, and
one of the ways we can do thisis through realistic
expectations and knowing wherewe are in our change process.
The next reason is personalinsight.
So the next reason why it'simportant to know your stage of
(04:41):
change is personal insight.
Understanding your stage ofchange is going to foster more
self-awareness of the journey.
It's going to allow you toexplore the factors influencing
your behavior and motivation,which can reveal underlying
beliefs, underlying barriersthat need to be addressed by
understanding your stage ofchange.
(05:01):
Let's give this an exampleUnderstanding where you're at in
your stage of change, you canget some personal insight which
will help you to move in thedirection that you need to be
going.
So let's say you are in anearly stage of change and you
are wanting to conquer wearing abathing suit again and not
(05:25):
being super overwhelmed andsuper uncomfortable.
Well, we might need to explorewhere we are there and it's
going to be helpful to get thatinsight to if we can move
forward with wearing a bathingsuit and that's going to be most
helpful or if there's otherthings we need to do first, like
wear something that's lessoverwhelming or understand why
(05:49):
it's so scary and maybe breakdown some of those beliefs we
have in our body, or maybeprocess through some unprocessed
things that are going to helpopen up the opportunity for us
to be more accepting of our bodyand to practice wearing a
bathing suit.
So you need to have thatpersonal insight, and knowing
where you're at and why you arethere is going to help you to
(06:14):
move successfully in yourjourney and continue to feel
hopeful and motivated right,which brings me to the next one,
which is knowing your stage ofchange helps you with motivation
and commitment.
Knowing the stage of change canhelp you bolster your motivation
to change.
It allows you to weigh the prosand cons of changing and
(06:36):
reinforces your commitment toprogress toward your goals.
Let's do an example ofmotivation and commitment.
If I understand that I'm inpre-contemplation and that's one
of that, we'll go over here ina second with the stages of
change.
If I'm in this place where I'mkind of thinking about changing,
but I'm not quite ready tochange.
(06:57):
If I'm aware of that, I havethat awareness, so I'm not
setting my expectations too high.
But it will also help me tounderstand that I can be
committed to this progresstoward my goals by addressing
this first area first, which isto think about it, understand
(07:21):
the barriers and know that.
That is going to help me tomove to the second step, which
is going to keep me motivatedand keep me committed, because I
know where I'm at and I knowwhere I can go, and I know this
is where I need to be first.
The next reason why we want toknow where we are with the
(07:44):
stages of change is for relapseprevention, with whatever
behaviors we're struggling with.
Awareness of the stage ofchange enables us to anticipate
and plan for potentialchallenges and triggers that
that specific stage of changebrings.
So this can help you developeffective coping strategies,
(08:06):
prevent relapse and help you tobe more grounded in
understanding where you're atduring the change process.
And, lastly, knowing your stageof change is going to really
help you to celebrate all theprogress you're making
throughout the stages of changeand be able to see yourself
walking through those,understanding that's a normal
(08:26):
part of your journey.
Recognizing your progress andachievements at each stage
really encourages this positivemindset, this hope, and
reinforces your ability tocontinue moving forward and it
empowers you.
It empowers you to takeresponsibility for your growth
and your well-being and it putsyou in the driver's seat More
(08:49):
aware, more knowledgeable, moreunderstanding and more grounded
with where you are at in yourchange journey, empowered to
move forward.
So I probably should havewalked through the stages of
change first, but we're justgoing to go ahead and do that
right now, and sorry if this wasmaybe needed to understand the
importance of the stages ofchange.
(09:10):
Okay, so what are the differentstages of change?
There are five stages of change.
The first one ispre-contemplation.
So pre-contemplation is thestage of change where we don't
have awareness of the need forchange.
So this is when we're not evencomprehending or contemplating
(09:33):
change because we are not thereyet.
We're not even in a place wherewe have any awareness that
there might need to be a change,that might need to be made
right.
So let's say, if you are achronic dieter and you're on to
your next diet and someone isconcerned for your well-being on
(09:54):
these diets and they say, hey,I think this is harmful to you
because you're very hyperfocused on food, you're saying
no to social outings and this istaking up all your energy and
you're no longer doing thethings that you love, right?
Okay, someone inpre-contemplation would have no
awareness of the need for changeand they would say what?
That's ridiculous, I don't haveany problem.
(10:16):
I don't have a problem, it'stotally fine.
In fact, this is a good thing.
It's a good thing.
I didn't like those hobbiesanyways.
This is important, right?
Whatever it might be, whatevertheir response might be, but
they're not going to have anyawareness that there may be a
need for change for themselves.
The next stage of change iscontemplation.
In contemplation, where is?
Where you are recognizing theissue, you're able to recognize
(10:39):
it as an issue and you'restarting to maybe consider
change, right?
So that's the contemplationstage.
You're not quite in the actionand doing anything about it, but
you're raising awareness, whichis a really important step.
That's awesome to be incontemplation, because you're
able to recognize that there'san issue, and if you're not able
to recognize it, you're notable to do anything about it.
(11:01):
So this is going to create somemomentum by recognizing that
there's an issue and consideringsome change.
So, going back to that example,if someone's in contemplation
and they were to hear thatsomeone's concerned about them
and their relationship with food, they might be able to maybe
not externally say it butinternally say, yep, I do think
(11:21):
there's an issue and I mightneed to consider doing something
about it, but I'm too afraidright.
So they might be starting tohave those thoughts.
The next stage of change ispreparation.
So that's commitment to changeand making those plans for
change.
So preparation is preparing totake action.
They're committing themselvesto change and are starting to
(11:44):
make plans.
So, let's say, going back tothat example, that is the person
who's saying I need help, I'mgoing to seek out help, I'm
committed to taking the firststep to change.
And they might be making plans,like they might be looking up
dieticians in the area to startworking with, to help them with
this, or therapists, right.
(12:04):
And the next stage of change isaction.
So that's where theimplementation starts.
That's where they startimplementing these changes.
They're actively seeing asupport team or they're actively
changing some behaviors orattempting to change some
behaviors around food.
They're creating those changesand the next phase is the
(12:26):
maintenance phase of change.
So, maintenance it's sustainingthese new behaviors that were
put into place.
They're maintaining those newbehaviors.
They're practicing, practicingand they're able to continue it,
and that doesn't mean they'renot gonna have slip-ups, right,
they're learning, they'regrowing, they're rewiring, but
they're sustaining that newbehavior for some time.
(12:48):
The next stage is termination,and this is where behavior
change is fully integrated.
Okay, so, where they arekeeping up this behavior for a
while, or these behaviors, andit's fully integrated into their
life.
So, going back to that example,it might be that individual who
is no longer stressed aroundfood.
(13:09):
They're no longer using theirbehaviors, they don't think
about those things anymore.
It may feel like a distantmemory.
This may feel a bit just easierand part of their life now to
have a healthier relationshipwith food and body.
All right, so next I want to askyou some questions so you can
ask yourself these questions toidentify what stage of change
(13:33):
you are in.
All right, now let's dive intothese questions.
Okay, these are gonna help youto understand which stage of
change you're in, depending onhow you answer them.
So, okay, the first one Am Iaware that there's a need for
change or do I feel like there'sa problem that requires my
attention.
Next question have I beenconsidering making a change or
(13:59):
taking specific actions toaddress the issue?
Have I been considering makinga change or taking specific
actions to address this issue?
If the answer is yes, you arein contemplation.
You're at least incontemplation.
Next question what specificsteps have I taken or am I
(14:20):
planning to take to achieve mydesired outcome or address the
problem?
What specific steps have Itaken or am I planning to take
to address this problem?
If you're able to list specificsteps and think of specific
steps, or think of ones you'replanning or able to even plan,
you're in the preparation stage.
(14:41):
Next question and am Icurrently implementing and
actively working on my plan tobring about change?
Am I implementing and activelyworking on things To change?
If that answer is yes, you'rein the action phase.
Next question how confident do Ifeel about maintaining the
(15:04):
changes I've made and have Iencountered any setbacks or
challenges?
So, how confident do I feelabout maintaining some of the
changes I've already made andhave I encountered any setback
or challenges, which is totallyfine if you're encountering
setbacks or challenges.
If you have answered that,you're able to answer that, you
(15:28):
are feeling confident or notconfident, but you are
maintaining changes but you'reencountering some challenges.
Then you're in the maintenancephase For all of these.
It looks different for everyone, but that would be the
maintenance phase.
So really answering thosequestions honestly can help you
to gain insights into yourcurrent stage of change and
(15:49):
provide a clearer picture ofwhere you are in the process of
your growth and behaviormodification.
And remember that change is notalways linear.
It's normal to move back andforth between those stages.
That is totally okay, andunderstanding your stage can
guide you in setting appropriategoals and developing those
strategies that's going to bestsupport your progress.
(16:09):
So remember you can move backand forth between the two.
Another really, really importantthing that people miss with
stages of change is when you'retalking about relationship with
food.
You can't put your wholerelationship with food into one
stage of change.
You have to break that up Withyour relationship with food.
(16:30):
You may be in preparation withstopping diets, but you might be
in pre-contemplation with evenlooking at body image work.
And you might be in maintenanceof having certain types of
foods in or eating adequately,right, eating enough food, but
(16:51):
you're still struggling with,maybe preparation for allowing
yourself to have all foods.
You might be eating enough food, but not all foods, so you can
be in a lot of different stagesof change with a lot of
different behaviors.
So when you're setting goals,it's important to kind of ask
yourself well, with thisspecific goal, when it comes to
my relationship with food or myrelationship with body, where am
(17:12):
I in the stage of change andhow can I get to that next step?
Okay, what will allow me to getto that next step?
Then when do I need to beputting my focus?
And that leads actually reallynicely into that question of
where do I focus on?
What should I do in each stageof change, because there are
(17:33):
specific things you need to door can do and can address,
depending on what stage ofchange you're in.
So let's dive into those.
When you're in pre-contemplation, this is the area where you
want to be building awareness.
So this is where you arejournaling, you're checking in
with yourself, you're learningmore about yourself, you're
(17:55):
really building that awareness,because without awareness we
cannot change.
So in pre-contemplation, we'renot yet ready to plan, we're not
yet thinking of planning, butyou're just building awareness
around the need to change.
So, for example, this is whereyou, in pre-contemplation, you
just might start to think that,oh, maybe this is a problem or
(18:18):
maybe this is something I needor want to change.
So you're going to be justasking yourself why do I want to
change?
Let's make a pro and cons list.
What is it impacting in my life?
How is my relationship withfood impacting my relationships?
How do I feel about that?
So you're asking yourself a tonof questions, you're tuning in,
you're listening, you're tryingto not avoid paying attention
(18:42):
to those important things.
You're really building a lot ofawareness.
The next stage of change iscontemplation and in this area,
you're starting to increase yourpros for change and decrease
your cons.
Okay.
So contemplation let me saythat again, contemplation is
where you're able to.
(19:03):
With the awareness you havebuilt, you're able to see that
there are more pros to changeand the cons are more understood
.
So the balance is kind ofturning to I might want.
I think I should change for allof these reasons, or I want to
(19:23):
change for these reasons.
Okay.
The next one is preparation, andthis is where, of course,
you're preparing.
This is where you should becommitting and you should be
planning and you should bepreparing for the change to come
right, whether that's getting asupport team and actually
drawing up a plan, learning moreabout a plan, researching,
(19:45):
education, whatever that mightbe.
And then action prettyself-explanatory.
Here is where you're going toimplement and revise, and revise
and practice and implementsomething new, right?
So that's the action phase, andyou can be another side note
you can be in these differentareas for different amounts of
(20:06):
time, so there's no right amountof time to be in each area.
Okay, there's no right way ofmoving through these stages of
change.
All right.
Anyways, back to it.
The last one, the last stage ofchange is maintenance, and this
is where what you're doing, whatyou're focusing on, is
integrating the change into yourlife cycle.
(20:26):
So I'm going to give you anexample here.
So, for maintenance, let's sayyou are in eating disorder
recovery and you go to get somehelp at a residential facility
and you're building thesebehaviors where you're stopping
body checking, you're eatingconsistently, you're eating all
types of foods.
Right, maintenance might begetting home and doing it in
(20:47):
your own life.
I would say that's kind ofaction too, because you're
implementing it at home, you'retaking these new actions.
But yeah, that might be anexample of what maintenance is
All right.
So I'm going to wrap it up withjust a little bonus activity.
I want you to try and this is apros and cons list.
(21:08):
So, with whatever stage ofchange you're in, it would be
helpful to make a pros and conslist for these different areas,
specifically in the preparationand contemplation stages.
Making a pros and cons list foryour behavior change is going
to be helpful because it bringsmore clarity and it creates more
you can become more groundedand informs you of this decision
(21:33):
making.
What motivates your action.
It can anticipate challengesand it provides a reality check
right.
It fosters the self-reflectionand strengthens your commitment.
It just does so much.
It really can serve as a tool,a supportive tool, a
decision-making tool to decidewhere are my pros and cons,
(21:53):
where am I at here and what do Iwant to do, what's my next step
, what's my next action step.
So create a list of pros of notchanging your behavior and the
cons of not changing yourbehavior.
So the pros of not changingyour behavior and the cons of
not changing your behavior.
You can also do the pros ofchanging behavior and the cons
(22:14):
of changing behavior as well andthen think of the short term
and the long term as well.
So don't just think short termand don't just think long term.
I want you to really sortthrough short term and long term
cons and pros of not changingyour behavior.
And this is going to be helpfulbecause you might have a lot
(22:36):
more pros in the area of notchanging behavior in the short
term but in the long termthere's a lot more pros in
changing your behavior in thelong term.
So it might satisfy you shortterm but not in long term.
So you want to look at both ofthose when you're making a pros
and cons list.
That's very, very important tonote, alrighty.
(23:00):
Well, that's kind of wrapping itup with stages of change.
I find this so, so helpful formy clients and students, because
it really could cause a lot ofdistress and feelings of failure
and lack of hope becausesomeone is in a
pre-contemplation orcontemplation stage, trying to
take action and feeling like whyam I failing?
(23:21):
Why am I failing?
Well, that's because we have togo back to the stage of change
you're in, which iscontemplation, and we need to
increase those pros for changeand decrease those cons and
build more awareness before wecan take action.
And there's nothing wrong withthat, that's just your skipping
steps, right.
We want to be careful thatwe're not skipping steps,
because if you skip steps you'regoing to be pushed back.
(23:44):
You're going to have to go backand move through the previous
stages of change.
If you're forced into a stageof change, you are not ready for
Alrighty.
So with that, I just want tosay best of luck to you.
I am so excited you are here.
You should be very proud ofyourself for being here.
I'm sure proud of you.
(24:05):
I will chat with you next timeand until then, keep fighting
for that relationship with thehuman body that you deserve.
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