Monitoring And Modifying Health Behavior Essay.

This assessment task will provide you with first-hand experience of health behaviour change by practicing self-monitoring using a health behaviour change diary.

You will explore examples of the types of behaviours you may choose to monitor.

You will choose a health behaviour that you wish to change, and you will monitor this health behaviour change from Week 2 until the end of Week 6.

In your Week 2, you will:

•  Identify your current baseline for the behaviour you plan to change (e.g. I currently drink 3 largecoffees per day).

•  Develop a SMART health behaviour goal (e.g. reduce my current intake to drink one small coffeeper day).

•  Develop an action plan, including SMART short term goals (e.g. each week I will reduce my intake by half a cup of coffee per day, until I reach my goal of drinking one small coffee per day)

•  When designing your plan include rewards for each goal (and ones that don’t counteract what you have achieved).

•  Identify potential barriers and possible enablers/social support which would help you achieve your goal.

You will then:

•  Complete a weekly diary in table format, monitoring your progress. Include any barriers and enablers that were experienced.

•  In your week 3 – 6 tutorials, discuss people’s progress towards their goal and provide feedback.

You will also discuss your progress and receive feedback.

•  Explore and document your experience, including discussion of how it relates to the Transtheoretical Model.

•  Your completed weekly health behaviour change diary to monitor your progress (in table format).

•  Weekly reflections on your progress and plan, including discussion of how your experiencerelates to the Transtheoretical Model

•  A final reflection on your overall experience and its potential to assist you as a health practitioner

Baseline behaviour pattern

Health behaviours and promotion of health is one of the most crucial concerns in the current health care scenario (Lee et al., 2011). The importance of health behaviour change is crucial in the development and promotion of health (Romain, 2014).The promotion of health behaviours is given significant importance in the professional health practice sector. The information of health and promotion of healthy lifestyles are essential for the empowerment of common individuals in developing health and a healthy lifestyle. Some of the common behaviours of health concern include harmful habits such unhealthy dietary habits, consumption of alcohol, smoking, or lack of adequate physical activity (Davis et al., 2014). The concerns related to ill-health resulting from similar unhealthy lifestyle practices is a critical concern in the health promotion in most countries.

I shall focus on the health behaviour of healthy dietary habits and the importance of regular exercise. The most important concern in the development of healthy dietary habits and exercise is the need for sincere and undeterred commitment to the lifestyle change. Whilst making the modification is challenging and demanding, it has a high value in terms of the development and protection of health (Romain, 2014). The current article discusses the health behaviour of healthy dietary and exercise habits along with evaluating the enabling factors and constraints present in the incorporation of the health behaviour change. The current article provides a detailed journal account of the modification and periodic and overall reflections of the health behaviour change.

Obesity is regarded as a major risk factor for most chronic and terminal illnesses, sometimes even fatal (Gillision, 2015).

Although I was well-informed and aware of the critical importance of a healthy lifestyle and dietary habits, my baseline health behaviour largely comprised of minimal exercise and unhealthy diet. The primary risk involved with the presence of excessive body weight is the development of cardiovascular diseases (Gillision, 2015). The aetiology of the development of cardiovascular diseases resulting in cardiac arrest all include the risk of being overweight and presence of obesity. The attainment of a healthy weight of the body is dependent on the modification of dietary habits and physical activity patterns. My baseline health behaviour included a sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy or binge eating patterns. The core reason for this was my busy work schedule along with regular consumption of fast food due to lack of time. The habit has caused an increase in body weight over several years. Based on the afore-mentioned baseline health behaviour, I decided to incorporate a health behaviour change with the primary goal of weight reduction and the achievement of a healthy lifestyle.

Desired health behaviour – goals and plan of action

My desired health behaviour is to completely curb the consumption of fast food and eat healthy food by reducing the consumption of carbohydrates and harmful fat. The increase in the consumption of proteins and roughage in my diet is an important step in the development of my desired health behaviour. Additionally, the plan includes the increase in durations of dedicated physical activity and exercise.

My health goal is to achieve the healthy body weight range by means of changes in dietary habits and exercise routine.The achievement of a reduction of about 10% of the target loss of body weight in any weight reduction intervention is considered appreciable (Lindstrom et al, 2013). The achievement of the maximum weight loss typically occurs in the initial duration of the intervention. However, the substantial weight loss reaches a stagnation in the long-term plan.

Discussion of health behaviour pattern – review of literature

The epidemic of obesity is a factor that results from the lack healthy habits and most of these habits are modifiable (Gillison et al, 2015).The health interventions that target the reduction of weight primarily target the modification of health behaviours and lifestyle habits including dietary changes as associated with the excessive body weight (Gillison et al, 2012).The significant contributors of ill health and obesity are poor dietary habits and lack of exercise (Laatikainen et al, 2012).

The development of a regular modifiable dietary habit with the recording of initial calorie intake and a diet chart are important considerations in the development of a health behaviour change. The clinical interventions in the health care centres primarily focus on the incorporation of lifestyle habits and dietary habits. The effectiveness of the health behaviour change results from the design of the intervention and similar behaviours of population (Marteau et al, 2012; Hoffman et al, 2014).The outcomes of the strategy results from the refinement of the strategy. Most interventions focus on obtaining an accurate analysis of the baseline characteristics in health behaviour along with the incorporation of the regular display of changes. The modification in the health behaviours need to be regularly noted and evaluated. The design of the health intervention is an important aspect of the effectiveness of the change.

The transtheoretical model states that the changes in health behaviour can achieve progress through six definite stages in the overall health behaviour change. The identified stages include: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination phases. The processes of change in health behaviour thus progresses through several stages of temptation and self-efficacious nature of incorporation of the health change (Hardcastle et al, 2013). The precontemplation and contemplation stage mainly focus on the identification of the baseline behaviour pattern. The preparation includes an elaborate action plan and weekly intervention strategy. The action and maintenance include a regular maintenance of the health change pattern. The final stage includes termination of the weekly plan along with the incorporation of the habit in daily life (Helm et al, 2012).

Discussion of health behaviour pattern – review of literature

The intervention is regarded successful with the recording of regular health plans and the incorporation of the dietary habits on a long-term basis. The regularisation of the habit includes the total consumption of food and the health habits formed at the stage of termination. The transtheoretical model stresses the need for the formation of the six consecutive stages in order to maintain the health behaviour change. The model focuses on the appropriate identification of the baseline characteristics and the changes to be gradually incorporated. The precontemplation and the contemplation stage therefore play a vital role in the development of the health behaviour change. Most interventions focus on the development of a significant modification based on the regular monitoring of weekly behaviour patterns. The appropriate identification and combating the barriers along with enhancing enablers or motivating factors plays an important role in the effectiveness of intervention.

The potential rewards for the successful incorporation of health change include 2 days of rest every week (with light exercise) and one day of week for consuming my favourite food (with compensation in the diet chart) upon achieving my target weight.

Identification of potential enabling and obstructing factors:

I foresee several limiting barriers in the journey of weight reduction by incorporating several drastic changes in my baseline health behaviour. I am likely to experience severe cravings due to the significant reduction in my daily dietary intake. The hunger is likely to cause a severe reduction of dietary intake patterns.The exercise is likely to result in body pain. Since the health behaviour change requires me to awake earlier than the usual time, there is a likelihood of increased sleepiness and exhaustion at work.

The primary enablers are the motivation that I receive from the estimation of the desired weight and healthy lifestyle. The upliftment of mood from the regular exercise and a sense of satisfaction can lead to behaviour changes as well. The regular recording of data on my patterns of diet and exercise are factors that enable completeness in the routine. The regular monitoring of my progress incorporates a sense of compulsion which provides additional motivation to remain focused on the health behaviour change.

Week 1

	Accomplishment	Barriers	Enabling factors	Remarks	Alterations (if any)
Monday	I was able to accomplish the daily calorie intake reduction	Constant feeling of hunger and cravings	Motivation from the desired result according the chart	Lack of motivation periodically and mood swings	none
Tuesday	Reduction of daily calorie intake and exercise	Craving and feeling of hunger and tiredness	Chart and the desired result procurement	Mood swings and lack of health motivation	none
Wednesday	Achievement of target calorie intake and exercise hours	Exhaustion	Satisfaction with improved health feeling	Happiness and lightness in the body	None
Thursday	Target exercise and diet routine incorporated	Body pain	Happiness and motivated feeling	Upliftment of mood	none
Friday	Target exercise and diet routine incorporated	Body pain	Motivation and happiness	Uplifted mood	none
Saturday	Dietary modifications achieved	Tiredness and exhaustion	improved self-esteem	Nil	none
Sunday	Day of rest	Lack of confidence	Motivation	Nil	Nil

Week 2

	Accomplishment	Barriers	Enabling factors	Remarks	Alterations (if any)
Monday	daily calorie intake reduction and exercise	Adaptation to lower calorie intake	Motivation from the desired result according the chart	Lack of motivation periodically and mood swings	none
Tuesday	Reduction of daily calorie intake and exercise	Nil	Chart and the desired result procurement	Nil	none
Wednesday	Achievement of target calorie intake and exercise hours	Exhaustion	Satisfaction with improved health feeling	Happiness and lightness in the body	None
Thursday	Target exercise and diet routine incorporated	Sleepiness	Happiness and motivated feeling	Upliftment of mood	none
Friday	Target exercise and diet routine incorporated	Nil	Motivation and happiness	Uplifted mood	none
Saturday	Dietary modifications achieved	Tiredness and exhaustion	improved self-esteem	Nil	none
Sunday	Day of rest	Nil	Satisfaction	Nil	Nil

Week 3

	Accomplishment	Barriers	Enabling factors	Remarks	Alterations (if any)
Monday	daily calorie intake reduction and exercise	Mood swings	Motivation from the desired result according the chart	Lack of motivation periodically and mood swings	none
Tuesday	Reduction of daily calorie intake and exercise	Tiredness	Chart and the desired result procurement	Mood swings and lack of health motivation	none
Wednesday	Achievement of target calorie intake and exercise hours	Exhaustion	Satisfaction with improved health feeling	Happiness and lightness in the body	None
Thursday	Exercise routine incorporated	Body pain	Happiness and motivated feeling	Upliftment of mood	none
Friday	Weight loss up to 3%	Body pain	Achievement of target	Uplifted mood	none
Saturday	Lightness in the body	Tiredness and exhaustion	Achievement of target	Nil	none
Sunday	Day of rest	Nil	Motivation	Nil	Nil

Week 4

	Accomplishment	Barriers	Enabling factors	Remarks	Alterations (if any)
Monday	I was able to accomplish the daily calorie intake reduction	Nil	Motivation from the desired result according the chart	Lack of motivation periodically and mood swings	none
Tuesday	Reduction of daily calorie intake and exercise	Nil	Chart and the desired result procurement	Mood swings and lack of health motivation	none
Wednesday	Target exercise achieved	Exhaustion	Satisfaction with improved health feeling	Happiness and lightness in the body	None
Thursday	Target exercise and diet routine incorporated	Body pain	Happiness and motivated feeling	Upliftment of mood	none
Friday	Target exercise and diet routine incorporated	Body pain	Motivation and happiness	Uplifted mood	none
Saturday	Weight loss up to 5%	Tiredness and exhaustion	Achievement of target	Nil	none
Sunday	Day of rest	Nil	Improved self-esteem	Nil	Nil

Week 5

	Accomplishment	Barriers	Enabling factors	Remarks	Alterations (if any)
Monday	I was able to accomplish the daily calorie intake reduction	Mood swings	Motivation from the desired result according the chart	Lack of motivation periodically and mood swings	none
Tuesday	Reduction of daily calorie intake and exercise	Tiredness	Chart and the desired result procurement	Mood swings and lack of health motivation	none
Wednesday	Achievement of target calorie intake and exercise hours	Exhaustion	Satisfaction with improved health feeling	Happiness and lightness in the body	None
Thursday	Target exercise and diet routine incorporated	Nil	Happiness and motivated feeling	Upliftment of mood	none
Friday	Target exercise and diet routine incorporated	Nil	Lightness	Uplifted mood	none
Saturday	Weight loss up to 7%	Tiredness and exhaustion	improved self-esteem	Nil	none
Sunday	Day of rest	Nil	Motivation	Nil	Nil

Week 6

	Accomplishment	Barriers	Enabling factors	Remarks	Alterations (if any)
Monday	I was able to accomplish the daily calorie intake reduction	Nil	Motivation from the desired result according the chart	Lack of motivation periodically and mood swings	none
Tuesday	Reduction of daily calorie intake and exercise	Nil	Chart and the desired result procurement	Mood swings and lack of health motivation	none
Wednesday	Achievement of target calorie intake and exercise hours	Exhaustion	Satisfaction with improved health feeling	Happiness and lightness in the body	None
Thursday	Target exercise and diet routine incorporated	Body pain	Happiness and motivated feeling	Upliftment of mood	none
Friday	Target exercise and diet routine incorporated	Body pain	Motivation and happiness	Uplifted mood	none
Saturday	Weight loss 7.5%		Achievement of target	Nil	none
Sunday	Day of rest	Nil	Improved self esteem	Nil	Nil

Week 7

	Accomplishment	Barriers	Enabling factors	Remarks	Alterations (if any)
Monday	I was able to accomplish the daily calorie intake reduction	Nil	Motivation from the desired result according the chart	Lack of motivation periodically and mood swings	none
Tuesday	Reduction of daily calorie intake and exercise	Nil	Chart and the desired result procurement	Mood swings and lack of health motivation	none
Wednesday	Achievement of target calorie intake and exercise hours	Exhaustion	Satisfaction with improved health feeling	Happiness and lightness in the body	None
Thursday	Target exercise and diet routine incorporated	Body pain	Happiness and motivated feeling	Upliftment of mood	none
Friday	Target exercise and diet routine incorporated	Body pain	Motivation and happiness	Uplifted mood	none
Saturday	Weight loss up to 8%	Body pain and exhaustion	improved self-esteem	Nil	none
Sunday	Day of rest	Nil	Achievement of target	Nil	Nil

At the beginning, I started with the identification of short and long-term health goals. I redorded the regular intake of calories at the beginning. I started with recording the baseline calorie intake by developing diet chart and recorded the initial body weight. At the end of the first week, the average intake of calories (daily) was 1400. I Walked 1.8 miles in an average of 30 mins, 5 days in the week. I experienced low levels of motivation and lack of confidence in the goal. At the end of second week, the Average calorie intake (daily) was 1350. I walked 2 miles in an average 40 mins, 5 days a week. There was some improvement in the level of motivation with the gradual achievement of the weekly goal. At the end of week 3, the average calorie intake (daily) was 1320.I walked 2 miles in an average 35 mins, 5 days a week.  I experienced great improvement in the motivation and some joy at the accomplishment of the weekly goal. At the end of week 4, the average calorie intake (daily) was 1250. I Walked 2.2 miles in an average 35 mins, 5 days a week. I experienced happiness and satisfaction at the maintenance of the health goal and desired lifestyle. At the end of week 6, the average calorie intake (daily) was 1115. I walked 2.2 miles in an average 32 mins, 5 days a week. I experienced the regularisation of the health behaviour habit. At the end of week 7, the average calorie intake (daily) was 1100. I walked 2.4 miles in an average 30 mins, 5 days a week. The health behaviour habit had formed and the change is successfully incorporated with successful reduction of body weight.

Rewards

The overall experience has taught me that the regular intake of healthy food and the reduction of calorie intake on a daily basis can be challenging due to the cravings accompanied by sudden dietary changes. The constant limiting factors are the cravings, the feeling of hunger, and body pain and exhaustion caused by exercise. However, the enabling factor was the maintenance of a regular diary record of the improvement and weight loss journey. Throughout the schedule, I experienced a constant feeling of lightness and satisfaction at the newly developed lifestyle. I additionally experienced times of low self-confidence and mood swings. However, remaining motivated was the key enabling factor in the journey of weight reduction and health behaviour change.

References

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