By Kaye Spector
Plain Dealer Health and Medical Reporter
Why is it that every January, people are eager to make a change, but by Valentine's Day, the urge has evaporated?
It's not unusual for Jazzercise classes, for example, to double in size after Jan. 1. "They usually come after the first of the year because everybody feels that finally, this is the year we are going to do it," says Judy Saletel, a Jazzercise instructor in Mentor for 23 years.
But after six weeks, most people's drive to change is gone, along with any hope to get in shape, slim down, stop puffing on cigarettes or change bad habits.
What can you do to keep the fires of motivation lit?
Psychologist Jeffrey Janata, division chief, psychology, at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, offers some perspective.
In general, motivation can either be positively or negatively reinforced: We go toward the positive -- such as fitting into a fabulous dress for your class reunion -- and away from the negative -- like hating how your thighs look.
What seems to predict success in behavior change is the immediacy of that reinforcement, Janata says.
"If the reward or punishment is coming right now, we're more likely to be motivated than if it's in the distant future," he says.
That's why your goal of a significant weight loss by June is trumped by the New Year's Eve buffet table: Good-tasting food is an immediate reward.
So the trick, Janata says, is to turn those long-term goals into smaller, short-term goals with either immediate consequences or positive reinforcement.
week and be disappointed with a one-pound loss -- even though that's a completely reasonable amount to lose in seven days.
Rather than quit, "focus on the one pound to get there, not on the 30," Janata says. "Make your [short-term] goal to lose a pound a week with reasonable calorie intake and exercise. It's the immediacy that counts for most people."
With that overall approach in mind, Janata offers these six strategies that can keep you moving toward your objective:
Set attainable goals
The first and most important step -- and it might be worthwhile to get some professional advice on what is realistic.
Weight loss and fitness are two classic examples where people often set high goals, then give up after being unable, predictably, to achieve them in an impossibly short time.
"Most people, when they join a fitness center, they want it now. We say, 'Let's just stretch this out for the entire year,' " says Rich Zatta, fitness and personal training manager at Mandel JCC. "We don't want you to feel so overburdened that you don't come back."
About 80 percent of newcomers to the JCC who meet with a professional, set specific goals and have a custom program become longtime users and achieve their results, Zatta says.
"Shape" your behavior Many parents and, yes, animal trainers are familiar with this technique. It rewards attempts, even if they are not right on the mark initially. The idea is that your continued efforts will hone your habits until you achieve your goal.
Say you want to work out every day. Your initial action should be to simply get yourself to the gym, even if you don't do much once there. After you reliably achieve that baby step, then you can further shape your habit by focusing on your workout -- which you also could break down into smaller goals.
The important thing is that lots of little changes can eventually add up to something bigger.
"If our goal is to reduce portion size, we don't want to only give ourselves credit if we get to the nutrition size," Janata says. "If we cut back only a little bit, that's a good thing."
Reward yourself
When you achieve a short-term objective, reinforce that victory with a goodie -- particularly if the behavior you're trying to eliminate, like overeating, is something you enjoy.
Important: The reward should be as valued as the behavior you're trying to abolish.
"We must be careful not to eliminate pleasure without introducing an alternative," Janata says. "That treat is a way of maintaining the same level of reward/pleasure."
Monitor yourself
We engage in much behavior, like overeating, automatically.
Using this technique, you try to pin down and understand the conditions under which you engage in the behavior you're trying to eliminate: When do I tend to light up? In the car? After a meal? When I'm drinking beer?
Once you've figured out your cues and habits, "Now you can set up a plan to overcome the obstacles," Janata says.
Monitoring also leads to insight into internal and external cues, which helps us to change behavior.
And then there's the "reactive effect" -- we can change our behavior merely by becoming aware of exactly how many cookies we are eating at the party, rather than mindlessly munching away.
"Just the act of writing it down, merely the act of paying attention, will accomplish some behavior change," Janata says. "After a while, it takes on a rewarding context."
Disrupt learning chains
Typically, our actions have triggers, either internal, such as thoughts or emotions, or external, such as times of day.
A sample chain: Boredom as a trigger to overeat, which causes you to gain weight.
Find ways to create a new association to that triggering event that will result in a healthier response: When you're bored, go for a walk instead of eating, which will help you to lose weight. Shape in the new association and then reinforce it with rewards.
Proximity of distress
One way to motivate yourself is to use stress: Stay focused on the behavior you are trying to eliminate -- especially if it makes you feel bad.
So put that unattractive photo of you in a bathing suit on your refrigerator door to remind you of why you want to slim down. Or tape stories about lung cancer around your favorite smoking spot.
"If we put it out of our minds, we won't change behavior," Janata says. "If we know that stress is one of the things motivating people to actions, then one tool is to keep stress fresh. Then you are more likely to finish your pills, go to the gym or lose those last five pounds."
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