Reshape Your Butt Using the Stages of Butting Out – Part 2

In my previous post in thgis series (Reshape Your Butt Using the Stages of Butting Out – Part 1), we looked at the first two stages of quitting smoking and how they could be altered and applied to getting fit. In this installment, we will look at the next three stages: Preparation, Action, and Maintenance.

Preparation

In the Preparation stage, you have made the decision to get fit and are getting set to begin. You feel that the ‘pros’ in favor of fitness outweigh any ‘cons’ and you may be gathering information, purchasing equipment like a skipping rope or free weights, signing up for a gym or calorie-conscious cooking class, or brainstorming a few ways that you will improve your day-to-day fitness levels.

People in this stage are more resolved about their fitness. They may have a good grasp on what they will begin doing, and/or have set a date to begin.

As with the previous stage, if you are in this stage, be careful not to linger here too long. Making plans, looking up recipes, buying exercise equipment or DVDs, or gathering information can feel very productive, and it is, as long as you don’t stay stuck at this stage, planning and preparing, instead of ever beginning.

The trap in this stage is that you feel good taking these steps, and you should, but you will actually need to begin for those steps to bear fruit.

The 5 Stage Plan Will Help You Reach Your Weight Loss & Fitness Goals & Then Maintain Them

The 5 Stage Plan Will Help You Reach Your Weight Loss & Fitness Goals & Then Maintain Them

Set a Date To Begin

If you are in this stage, set a date to begin, and make it within the next 7 days. Don’t wait until your birthday, Saint Valentine’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, or any other milestone. This adds more pressure than you need and can contribute to perfectionist thinking.

Did the thought of starting in the next seven days sound impossible to you? Then you may be over-thinking things and over-planning. Fitness really isn’t that complicated. Our free “7-Secrets to Getting Fit and Losing Weight – Fast!” report available on this site is full of information presented in a clear and succinct way. It’s all the information you need to get started (and a little extra to keep you improving).

So there’s no excuse to spend the next 4 weeks “researching” instead of starting. And you don’t need to buy any equipment to begin either. For cardio, you can power-walk around your neighborhood, borrow your child’s skipping rope, or just dance to music in your living room.

For a weight training component, while many second hand stores carry sets of extra free weights, and a 3-weight set can be very reasonable even if you have to buy it new, you can begin improving muscle tone without buying a single item.

You can record the next Yoga or Pilates workout on cable TV and use it to help you strengthen those muscles. So make the commitment today to move on to the next stage by this time next week.

Action

The Action stage has a misleading name. I prefer to think of it as the Habit-Building stage, or even the Productive Mistakes stage. This is the stage in which you are putting in a deliberate effort and are actively trying to change behaviors and keep old habits from creeping back in.

Some people think of this stage as the stage when they are “on” a diet and fitness program, but I think that kind of black-and-white thinking misses the mark on what this stage is actually about. People with this view often see mistakes as failures or setbacks; but that’s what the Habit-Building stage is for.

This is the stage in which you notice the problems that come up, and you problem-solve ways to get around them next time. And problems will come up; things you don’t expect will challenge your goals in ways you aren’t necessarily prepared for.

That’s why it is also the Productive Mistakes stage. Every “mistake” along the way prepares you for similar situations down the road because you come up with better ways to handle them and you find yourself encountering fewer and fewer situations that you aren’t prepared for or that throw you off.

It’s also the stage in which you need to keep your motivation high and deal with resistance (both inner and outer) to your new habits. (We will talk more about resistance in an upcoming post.) Thankfully, it only takes about 21 days to solidify new habits, so the first three or four weeks of your program is a great time to reward yourself often, and to reinforce the reasons you are trying to change your habits to begin with.

Make lists of the reasons you want to be more fit often. Write out how things will be different when you are fit and what being fit will feel like for you. Whenever your motivation starts to lag, read a few of your entries to remind yourself.

Finally, get a lot of support in this stage. Whether it’s from an online community; a healthy and motivated friend; or even a good blog, magazine, or fitness-oriented television show.

Maintenance

The light at the end of the tunnel is the Maintenance stage. At this point, you are ready for most situations that come up, your habits have changed, and you don’t have to think about it much anymore, if at all. A slip or situation that catches you off guard may send you back to the Action stage, where you will be more vigilant for a short period, but for the most part, fitness has become second nature to you, and you are one of those people that inspire others to move forward in their own trip through the stages.

The maintenance stage isn’t about having reached your ideal weight or your final goal, it’s about having incorporated and solidified the habits that will get you to your ideal weight and keep you there for the rest of your life.

And this holy grail stage, this point we all want to be in, is really only a few short weeks away from this very moment, no matter what stage you’re in right now.