Contemplation circle
So it’s been the first full week back at work and despite being the gloomiest month of the year this week has gone pretty quickly and with relative ease. People always say to me “gosh you must be so busy in January everyone getting in the gym trying to lose their Christmas pounds?!” But despite the gym, streets and hillsides being flooded with eager people, I’m usually just back in the swing with my regular clients. Peoples new found enthusiasm and new year resolutions sees them full of motivation for the first month of the year. However that motivation usually dwindles at the start of February, that’s when I get even busier with people finding it hard to keep pushing themselves alone. The key to success in the new year is a slow build, setting realistic goals and not expecting miracles just because it’s a New Years resolution. I would say 75% of people lose interest and give up by the end of January. Nearly all my clients come back after Christmas saying they lack motivation and can’t seem to get themselves back into the right headspace. I say “don’t put yourself under pressure, don’t expect too much”, then before you know it a few weeks have passed, you’ve started to get back into a routine and then all of a sudden that mountain doesn’t seem so big and actually you do feel better and you do feel more motivated. The ones who fail set themselves unrealistic new year goals, over do it and then resent the fact they haven’t achieved what they set out to do, finding themselves actually in a worse place come February than on New Year’s Day.
So first of all think about how you will start and maintain a routine, then implement an exercise regime and a diet plan. It’s a journey so you need a plan or a map of how you will make your way along this journey to reach your destination. Make sure you plan before you act. All outcomes follow the contemplation cycle. Pre contemplation is where you have no conscious thought of your actions and their consequences, so during the holiday period when everything goes out the window. Contemplation is when you are aware of your problem but have not yet considered how you will go about changing your current situation or commit to taking action, post holiday period as normality returns. Followed by the preparation phase, you have considered the fact it is about time to address your issues. Then the action phase, where you implement and put into place your strategy to achieve your goals, here you are actively modifying your behavior. After this stage you will enter a maintenance phase, adapting to your new behavior and structure. Ending with relapse phase resulting in a collapse of the entire circle sending you back to pre contemplation. The whole circle can happen very quickly or over a period of time. Usually post Christmas it will last a few weeks for most people who don’t make solid enough plans and changes.
So my advise to help avoid the relapse phase are as follows.
Remember we are all individuals what’s most important is remembering this, you are unique and there’s only one of you. Be the best possible version of you!
So first of all think about how you will start and maintain a routine, then implement an exercise regime and a diet plan. It’s a journey so you need a plan or a map of how you will make your way along this journey to reach your destination. Make sure you plan before you act. All outcomes follow the contemplation cycle. Pre contemplation is where you have no conscious thought of your actions and their consequences, so during the holiday period when everything goes out the window. Contemplation is when you are aware of your problem but have not yet considered how you will go about changing your current situation or commit to taking action, post holiday period as normality returns. Followed by the preparation phase, you have considered the fact it is about time to address your issues. Then the action phase, where you implement and put into place your strategy to achieve your goals, here you are actively modifying your behavior. After this stage you will enter a maintenance phase, adapting to your new behavior and structure. Ending with relapse phase resulting in a collapse of the entire circle sending you back to pre contemplation. The whole circle can happen very quickly or over a period of time. Usually post Christmas it will last a few weeks for most people who don’t make solid enough plans and changes.
So my advise to help avoid the relapse phase are as follows.
- Identify triggers - be aware of what is likely to cause you to fail. Not planning ahead, not diarizing and prioritizing your exercise and diet. Plan your workout days and visit to gym/park/pool etc. Make a weeks plan of your meals in advance and shop ahead to avoid bad eating habits.
- Recognize barriers to success and how to overcome them - it’s easy to make excuses and let things like work and time cause issues, we can all find time if we really want so that’s no excuse. Having a meal out doesn’t mean you have to give up on your eating plan, you are in control, accept there will always be times you have to make adaptions, that doesn’t mean failure.
- Reaffirm you commitment to goals and change - keep reminding yourself why you are doing it. You want to feel better, mentally and physically, have more energy, feel less pain, be healthier. Don’t lose sight of why you started to make changes. Keep adjusting or adding new goals and motivational factors.
Remember we are all individuals what’s most important is remembering this, you are unique and there’s only one of you. Be the best possible version of you!
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