Let’s use an exchange circle – to get back to fitness:

Ex-changing something that didn’t work for something that will “for you”.

I have devised what I call an exchange circle which is based on theories and things that I learned in the last ten years about health and fitness. It relates to work done by health psychologists Prochaska and Di Clemente who wrote about how people change, but it adds several things I’ve learned on my journey through fitness. I chose to use a circle as I‘ve come to realise that ex-change is continuous:

AN EX-CHANGE CIRCLE:

THINKING ABOUT Ex-CHANGE WEIGHING UP THE BENEFITS AND COSTS

BELIEVING YOU CAN

MORE CHANGES

SEEKING HELP

COPING WITH SETBACKS

DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY

KEEPING IT GOING

REWARDING YOURSELF ACTING AS IF –

SEEING RESULTS

Deciding to try again: Weighing up the benefits and costs

PROS vs CONS

Devise a future photograph of yourself in your head or on paper: (5 years from today)

Based on your current lifestyle, weight, height and level of physical and mental fitness – living for the moment: let’s just say that you do not plan to make exchanges in your current lifestyle -

What will you look like and how will you feel in 5 years?

Include your BMI, Body shape, Clothes and Shoe size in this photograph - (yes shoes – my shoe size widened when I gained weight) Movement, Flexibility, Medical status.

Now do the same activity again – this time devise a 5 year photograph of a “healthy fitter you”.

If you decide to make exchanges in your current lifestyle

What will you look like? How will you wish to feel? Again include your 5 year BMI, clothes size, as before.

Now write a personal promise indicating your decision – remember doing nothing is a decision.

If you move on to the next step in the exchange circle - I would guess that you have decided to make some ex-changes.

Enjoy and read more about this in my forthcoming e-book…………………………………….

Michelle!