Obesity - Behavior Change

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The weekly meetings we had planned also gave me the opportunity to give him the motivation that he needed. He would talk to my grandchildren about the progress he had made, and they would tell him how proud they were, and that they were looking forward[at] to seeing his transformation. I really believe the weekly meetings were helpful in keeping him on track. [au][av][aw]

My strategy plan was to use self-reevaluation, social liberation, self-liberation, and helping relationships. The self-reevaluation strategy involves realizing that the new healthy behavior is important in who they want to be. Social liberation is a strategy that helps the individual see that society is more supportive of the new healthy behavior. This strategy works well for my father since he is a nurse, and he is well aware of the need to “practice what you preach." It is hard to tell a patient they need to lose weight when you're overweight as well. Getting healthy makes his nursing education to patients more trustworthy and valued. Self-liberation will come easy for my father. He has always believed he could do anything. He has never doubted himself on anything. This strategy focuses on his ability to change and commit to that change. Lastly, the helping relationships will be a huge strategy I will use. Everyone needs support during a time of change or transition. By having multiple phone calls throughout the week and weekly FaceTime calls, my family and I were able to show him the love and support he needed to stay committed and strong throughout this behavior change. [ax][ay][az][ba][bb]My plan was to utilize the helping relationships in addition to one other strategy every week to keep him motivated.

Progress Report

Week

Diet

Exercise

Weight

Strategy

Week 1

followed

5 days

262

Social Liberation

Week 2

followed

5 days

261

Self-Reevaluation

Week 3

followed

4 days

259

Social Liberation & Self-Liberation

Week 4

followed

5 days

259

Self-reevaluation

Week 5

followed

5 days

255

Social Liberation

Week 6

followed

4 days

252

Social Liberation

Week 7

followed

5 days

250

Self-liberation

Week 8

followed

5 days

247

Self- Reevaluation

Week 9

followed

5 days

245

Social Liberation

Week 10

followed

5 days

243

Self-Liberation

As you can see in the chart above my father was able to follow the agreed upon diet without any problems. This is how it was reported to me on a weekly basis, but there is always the possibility of some dishonesty in a self-reporting situation.[bc] During week three and week six he only made it to the gym four days instead of the five days that were originally planned. He states the reason was due to late days at work. No interventions were needed during the 10-week behavioral change due to his strict adherence to the plan of action. Again, I think we can attribute his ability to stick to a routine without straying to his years in the military.

Final Subject Disposition

My father was able to stick to the plan of action we had laid out, and although he was one[bd] pound shy of meeting his 20-pound goal, it was still a big deal to lose 19 pounds in 10 weeks. I was able to use the strategies as a guideline for topics to discuss each week, which was beneficial in motivating my father to stay on track. The strategies were relevant and were a constant reminder of why he was doing the behavior change in the first place. I used Helping Relationships throughout the entire behavior change, as I felt this was a way to show him family support through the ten weeks, and family is the most important thing to my father.

Final Summary

The Trans-Theoretical Model was very easy to understand and implement. At the end of

The ten weeks my father told me that the [be][bf]weekly strategy topics helped him tremendously as they were a frequent reminder of why he needs to get healthy. The model provided me with a perfect templet to help facilitate a lasting behavioral change. I think my father will continue on this journey, and I plan to continue our