The health issue chosen for the assignment was losing weight by increasing the level of physical activity and cutting down on junk food. The main problem was that I could not lose weight due to neglecting my health habits. Besides, adhering to the new healthy habits would be beneficial for restoring my well-being. I think it is very important to maintain such a routine not to have severe conditions later in life.
I was at the Maintenance Stage at the end of the final week. At first, I thought I got back to the Relapse Stage since I did not feel any motivation to keep up with my new habits (Zimmerman et al., 2000). However, I still decided to continue with the walks schedule and the calorie counting in order to sustain the result. In addition, I am determined to keep my BMI healthy and continue my well-being improvement journey.
My most significant motivator was the thought that I could become an improved version of myself. For instance, the idea of looking in the mirror and seeing how my body can be modified fascinated me. In addition, I often thought of the reward I could get after achieving mini-goals that I set. I was extremely driven by the thought of going on a vacation after a four-week body improvement journey.
There were several stumbling blocks on my journey towards improving my health; however, I cannot claim them to be significant. The first block I encountered was counting calories, which seemed unbearable to me; however, I installed an app that alleviated my problem. Besides, my studies were a bit of a struggle for me. For instance, during the final week, my biggest impediment was writing a long report which made me stay awake till late at night.
I firmly believe that logging helped me focus on working on my problem because documenting every little detail was effective in identifying weaknesses. That is how I realized that at first, my calorie counting activity was inefficient; but later, I noticed that I started doing it automatically. Besides, tracking my weight dynamics helped me ensure that I was keeping up with the minor goals that I set. It also reminded me to reward myself for small achievements.
I think I started documenting my studying issues that were impeding my health improvement process. In addition, I paid some attention to my sleeping schedule, which somehow altered for the last month. Nevertheless, I did not notice that I drastically changed the topic of my weight loss journey while describing my issue.
The conversation with myself included the idea that I can be the best version of myself. I also had a serious motivation to prove to myself that I can lead a healthy lifestyle just because I can do it. Throughout the whole process, I supported myself and sought to get rewarded as soon as I achieved my goals.
I assume that the journaling results will keep me motivated to continue documenting my process. I surely know that I will update my journal till I achieve my set goal, that is, losing 10 pounds. Even if I stop keeping track of my healthy habits in a textual form, I will still stick to my new daily routine.
I would not like to take any medications that would have a similar effect as journaling since it may be harmful to my health. I believe no medications can alter one’s body, and only a well-elaborated schedule and routine are the keys to success. Besides, no medication can guarantee a long-lasting effect, unlike a healthy lifestyle.
Reference
Zimmerman, R., Olsen, C., & Bosworth, M. (2000). A ‘stages of change’ approach to helping patients change behavior. American Family Physician, 61(5), 1409-1416.