The past decade has brought dramatic changes to the culture of diet, fitness, and health. There is an increasing demand for wearable devices such as Fitbits and a resounding acceptance of Athleisure that has made work out clothing ubiquitous in all settings outside of the gym. While I’m happy that fitness and eating healthy are now considered “cool”, many people turn to social media to learn how to be healthy from people who aren’t required to have any health-related qualifications. Furthermore, this new culture has put an unprecedented pressure on women to look both skinny AND strong.
Social media posts of “Fitspiration” can be beneficial in increasing access to health information and providing social support, but several studies have shown that they can actually make body image worse. Researchers from universities in Canada analyzed posts from Instagram, Tumblr, and Twitter with the hashtag #fitspiration and indicated that these posts commonly promoted messages of guilt related to body shape and weight. Researchers assessing surveys from females who utilize fitspiration content concluded that this type of media may be simultaneously conveying “unreliable health information” and “endorsing unrealistic appearance-related goals”. Similarly, female undergraduate students exposed to fitspiration Instagram images/posts were observed to have worsened mood, body dissatisfaction, and appearance-related self-esteem. While there are many ways to successfully change behavior, strategies promoting fear and regret for an individual’s actions have been found to be the least effective.
Although it is incredibly challenging to avoid the influence of social media, try to set your own goals and find positive sources of motivation that are meaningful to you. As I progress through my degrees in exercise and nutrition science, I continue to learn about the importance of preventative behaviors that reduce risk for disease later on in life. Also I recently experienced a period in which my mental and physical health were at an all time low, and I never want to compromise myself like that again. Instead of dreaming about an ideal body type, I now use personal experience and knowledge of prevention to motivate me.
To help you make your health-related dreams come true, I have compiled some of the many effective behavior change tools promoted by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the American Psychological Association, and Harvard Health Publishing.
- Behavior change is a process. Reflect and figure out the stage of change you are in and proceed accordingly.
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The stages of change encompass contemplation (you are considering change but not ready for action yet), preparation (you are ready to take action), action (you have started working on your goals but you are still adjusting), and maintenance (your changes have become a normal part of your life). Recognizing which stage you are in can help you pick the most realistic steps to take first. For example, if you are in contemplation, it is recommended that you identify ways in which the changes will improve your life as well as barriers that you perceive as preventing you from taking action. However, if you are in preparation, it is recommended that you set goals and develop a plan of action that will help you overcome your barriers.
- Identify your goals and then break them into smaller, specific tasks.
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Perhaps your goal is to meet the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ physical activity guidelines of 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75-150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity per week (or some combination of activity level). Instead of jumping immediately into exercising 30 minutes a day every week day, identify one or two days of the week that you want to exercise for 30 minutes. Once that has been integrated into your routine, you can move onto the next task of exercising on a third day.
- Focus on one thing at a time.
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You may overwhelm yourself if you try to change too many things at once and will end up feeling discouraged. The overall goal for behavior change is to incorporate new changes into your routine so that they become a normal part of your life. Attempting to change many things at once can add a lot of stress to your life, which is not sustainable.
- Prepare for and accept setbacks.
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No one ever said behavior change could be easy. If you have identified that buying lunch at work is a barrier to your goal of eating better, you may plan to meal prep and pack lunch regularly. However, it’s reasonable to anticipate setbacks such as coworkers coercing you into going out for lunch or still feeling hungry after eating the food you packed. You can prepare for these by planning ahead to choose a healthier option when you go out or having extra snacks stored in your desk for the days you need that extra energy boost.