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An article I found.....WW7
Change your body for life
<I>Nanci Hellmich USA TODAY</I>
Losing weight sounds simple: It's a matter of eating less and exercising more. But most people have to make drastic changes in their lives to drop a significant number of pounds and keep them off.
The need for change is more urgent than ever: Almost 65% of people in the USA are at least 10 pounds over a healthy weight, which increases their risk of serious health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis.
''One of the interesting contradictions of life is that we want to change, and yet at some level, we want to stay the same. But you can't do both,'' says Bill Phillips, author of the best seller <I>B</I><I>ody-for-Life</I> with Michael D'Orso (HarperCollins, $26). ''You have to want to change more than you want to stay the same.''
It takes dramatic changes in your lifestyle to make dramatic changes to your body, he says. ''People have to understand that exercise and nutrition are a 1-2 punch.
''If they change their exercise and don't change their nutrition, they're not going to transform their body.
''If they're changing their diet and not bringing in some intense exercise, they're not going to see the results,'' says Phillips, who has written a new book, <I>Body-for-Life Success Journal</I> (HarperCollins, $25.95). His program includes strength training, vigorous aerobics and a relatively strict diet.
People sometimes underestimate the number of things that need to change and the level of change that really needs to occur, he says. He believes success on any plan requires carefully planning what you're going to eat and how and when you're going to exercise. ''If you fail to plan, you're planning to fail,'' he says.
There is no magic bullet. ''A lot of people would like to take a pill, go to sleep and wake up and have weight loss,'' says Linda Webb Carilli of Weight Watchers. ''But you really have to be willing to make the changes, and you have to stick with them.''
She says the key for many people is to break the pattern of emotional eating, eating when depressed or stressed. Carilli also says people have to be willing to try different foods, and they must be more active.
Carlo DiClemente, chairman of the department of psychology at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, has just finished a study of 2,000 women in which he and other researchers tried to get participants to eat less fat and increase their intake of fruits, vegetables and fiber.
Many women weren't willing to make any adjustments in their habits; others made small but significant changes over six months, he says.
Not everyone is ready to begin altering their lifestyle. In the book <I>Changing for Good</I> (Quill, $12.95), written by DiClemente, James Prochaska and John Norcross, the authors outline the six stages of change:
<B>*</B> <B>Precontemplation.</B> People at this stage usually have no intention of changing and typically deny having a problem. They don't want to think, talk or read about weight loss, because they might feel the situation is hopeless or they might not see the extra weight as a problem. They might be happy the way they are or feel that this is the way their entire family looks, so there's no need to change.
* Contemplation. People acknowledge they have a problem and begin to think seriously about solving it. Contem- plators typically are considering taking action sometime in the next six months or so. But people sometimes spend years in this stage, DiClemente says.
* Preparation. Most people in this stage plan to take action within the next few weeks and are making final adjustments before they begin to change their behavior.
To be successful, they need to be committed and develop a firm, detailed and viable action plan. Sometimes it helps to make the commitment public, such as saying, ''I'm going to stop overeating Monday,'' or ''I'm going to start exercising today.''
Many people get tripped up by setting unrealistic goals. They say, ''I'm going to get up and jog every morning at 5 a.m.'' But after a day or two, they find themselves falling asleep at work and they say, ''I can't do this.''
People too often give up when they really just need to revise their plan, DiClemente says. Maybe a better idea would be to take a 30-minute walk during lunch break.
<B>*</B> <B>Action</B><B>.</B> This is the time that people modify their behaviors and surroundings. This stage takes the greatest commitment and energy.
Losing weight often requires a host of changes, DiClemente says. People might need to cut down on portions, start buying skim or 1% milk instead of whole milk, cut back on desserts and snacks, eat more fruits and vegetables, buy a good pair of walking shoes and begin exercising, and keep a food diary.
It usually takes three to six months to get a new habit stabilized, he says.
<B>*</B> <B>Maintenance.</B> People have to consolidate the gains they made during the action stage and prevent relapses. People often go back to their old ways, keeping only one or two of the changes or not doing them regularly enough, DiClemente says. For example, they might exercise once a week instead of daily. If they relapse, they need to recycle through the stages, he says.
<B>*</B> <B>Termination.</B> This occurs when the new patterns become a way of life. People no longer have to put as much thought and energy into their habits unless their routine is disrupted.
Change your body for life
<I>Nanci Hellmich USA TODAY</I>
Losing weight sounds simple: It's a matter of eating less and exercising more. But most people have to make drastic changes in their lives to drop a significant number of pounds and keep them off.
The need for change is more urgent than ever: Almost 65% of people in the USA are at least 10 pounds over a healthy weight, which increases their risk of serious health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis.
''One of the interesting contradictions of life is that we want to change, and yet at some level, we want to stay the same. But you can't do both,'' says Bill Phillips, author of the best seller <I>B</I><I>ody-for-Life</I> with Michael D'Orso (HarperCollins, $26). ''You have to want to change more than you want to stay the same.''
It takes dramatic changes in your lifestyle to make dramatic changes to your body, he says. ''People have to understand that exercise and nutrition are a 1-2 punch.
''If they change their exercise and don't change their nutrition, they're not going to transform their body.
''If they're changing their diet and not bringing in some intense exercise, they're not going to see the results,'' says Phillips, who has written a new book, <I>Body-for-Life Success Journal</I> (HarperCollins, $25.95). His program includes strength training, vigorous aerobics and a relatively strict diet.
People sometimes underestimate the number of things that need to change and the level of change that really needs to occur, he says. He believes success on any plan requires carefully planning what you're going to eat and how and when you're going to exercise. ''If you fail to plan, you're planning to fail,'' he says.
There is no magic bullet. ''A lot of people would like to take a pill, go to sleep and wake up and have weight loss,'' says Linda Webb Carilli of Weight Watchers. ''But you really have to be willing to make the changes, and you have to stick with them.''
She says the key for many people is to break the pattern of emotional eating, eating when depressed or stressed. Carilli also says people have to be willing to try different foods, and they must be more active.
Carlo DiClemente, chairman of the department of psychology at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, has just finished a study of 2,000 women in which he and other researchers tried to get participants to eat less fat and increase their intake of fruits, vegetables and fiber.
Many women weren't willing to make any adjustments in their habits; others made small but significant changes over six months, he says.
Not everyone is ready to begin altering their lifestyle. In the book <I>Changing for Good</I> (Quill, $12.95), written by DiClemente, James Prochaska and John Norcross, the authors outline the six stages of change:
<B>*</B> <B>Precontemplation.</B> People at this stage usually have no intention of changing and typically deny having a problem. They don't want to think, talk or read about weight loss, because they might feel the situation is hopeless or they might not see the extra weight as a problem. They might be happy the way they are or feel that this is the way their entire family looks, so there's no need to change.
* Contemplation. People acknowledge they have a problem and begin to think seriously about solving it. Contem- plators typically are considering taking action sometime in the next six months or so. But people sometimes spend years in this stage, DiClemente says.
* Preparation. Most people in this stage plan to take action within the next few weeks and are making final adjustments before they begin to change their behavior.
To be successful, they need to be committed and develop a firm, detailed and viable action plan. Sometimes it helps to make the commitment public, such as saying, ''I'm going to stop overeating Monday,'' or ''I'm going to start exercising today.''
Many people get tripped up by setting unrealistic goals. They say, ''I'm going to get up and jog every morning at 5 a.m.'' But after a day or two, they find themselves falling asleep at work and they say, ''I can't do this.''
People too often give up when they really just need to revise their plan, DiClemente says. Maybe a better idea would be to take a 30-minute walk during lunch break.
<B>*</B> <B>Action</B><B>.</B> This is the time that people modify their behaviors and surroundings. This stage takes the greatest commitment and energy.
Losing weight often requires a host of changes, DiClemente says. People might need to cut down on portions, start buying skim or 1% milk instead of whole milk, cut back on desserts and snacks, eat more fruits and vegetables, buy a good pair of walking shoes and begin exercising, and keep a food diary.
It usually takes three to six months to get a new habit stabilized, he says.
<B>*</B> <B>Maintenance.</B> People have to consolidate the gains they made during the action stage and prevent relapses. People often go back to their old ways, keeping only one or two of the changes or not doing them regularly enough, DiClemente says. For example, they might exercise once a week instead of daily. If they relapse, they need to recycle through the stages, he says.
<B>*</B> <B>Termination.</B> This occurs when the new patterns become a way of life. People no longer have to put as much thought and energy into their habits unless their routine is disrupted.
