Stage 5 — Maintaining a Good Thing
Regular physical activity has become a part of who you are. You have kept the commitment to include activity in your everyday life and are a source of encouragement to others. The benefits of good health are important to you. The steps you've taken have been major and now you are physically active on 5 or more days of the week. Congratulations!
Look back to when you first started to become physically active. Do you remember some of your early struggles? You made the decision to overcome the barriers and succeeded in finding ways to increase your energy level and physical skills. One of the most important steps in maintaining your current success is anticipating minor slips.
Threats to success
It may be difficult for you to imagine a time when you will not want to
continue regular physical activity. Repeat this next sentence three times
(out loud and with feeling). "Minor slips will happen."
The greatest threat for relapse is overconfidence or believing it won't
happen to you. It will happen and you have to plan for it. List two
situations where you may be tempted to stop your regular activity, if only
for a few days (e.g., vacation, a bout of flu, demands of work and
family).
It's important to plan how you will handle these interruptions in your daily routine. If you know they will happen, you can plan around them. What can you do to reschedule physical activity during one of the situations you listed?
You have special friends and co-workers who have been encouraging you. Often as your activity level increases and becomes routine, this support stops. Because you're doing so well and exercise now is part of who you are, your friends may not believe you need the extra encouragement. Re-examine what you need from them and ask them to help you again. They can be the first ones to see old behaviors coming back. Ask them for continued feedback.
Tell-tale signs of danger
"I've got nothing to worry about."
"I'll never be a couch potato again."
"Nothing will stop me from including physical activity into my
day."
"I'm safe. My friends or family won't let me quit."
"I've only missed a few days and will start back soon."
Have you heard yourself say any of the above sentences? These are signs that you may be in danger of overconfidence. Old habits die hard. Watch for times when temporary lapses lead to disappointment or giving up. That old couch will be calling you and reminding you of its comfort and support for your weary bones. What will you say back? Remember how hard it was in the beginning. Keeping up your commitment to physical activity today is as important as it was when you started.
Keep your balance
Just as you planned how to remove your barriers to physical activity
months or years ago, it's time for you to do so again. Review the benefits
and barriers from when you assessed the "pros and cons" earlier.
How have your barriers changed from when you started becoming physically
active? What are some of the things you can put around your home or office
to reinforce your efforts? What are some of the things you can remove that
contribute any threat to your activity? List two plans of action you can
take to support your continued goals.
Maintain self-confidence
You have a sense of confidence that regular physical activity brings into
your life. You have more energy and are also adding health benefits such
as reducing the risk of developing or dying from some of the leading
causes of illness and death. Maintaining this sense of well-being is
important. When you are confident that you will continue to remain
physically active, your success rate goes up.
How confident are you of participating in regular physical activity under the following conditions:
- When you are tired?
- When you are in a bad mood?
- When you feel you don't have time?
- When you are on vacation?
- When it is raining or snowing?
Mentor others
Look back at how others helped you adopt new behaviors. Their support and
encouragement may have made a difference in your efforts. Did someone offer
to show you the ropes or share a new technique that worked for you? It's
time you become part of the buddy system but on the other end. You have
made progress through the transition of adding regular physical activity
into your life. It's been both hard and rewarding, even fun on most days.
Share your skills with someone else. Having others depend on you will
increase your likelihood of continued success. Being a role model will
bring good feelings from helping others and will reinforce your motivation
to stay with your active lifestyle.
- Stage 1: Not Ready for Change
- Stage 2: Thinking About Change
- Stage 3: Preparing for Action
- Stage 4: Taking Action
- Stage 5: Maintaining a Good Thing
- When is a medical evaluation necessary?
References
Information in the "Where are you?" section was adapted from:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention & Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research. Personal energy plan-physical activity: steps for adding PEP to your life. Dallas: Cooper Institute; 1999. To order a printed copy, contact 800-635-7050, x-3230 or E-mail: bshp@cooperinst.org.
Please note: Some of these publications are available for download only as *.pdf files. These files require Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to be viewed. Please review the information on downloading and using Acrobat Reader software.
* Links to non-Federal organizations found at this site are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at these links.
Page last updated: March 24, 2008
Content Source: Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
