Big results require big behavior.
A couple weeks ago, Jasmine and I realized that we hit a wall. That is, her current physical activity and fitness environment was not promoting a more active lifestyle.
Catch phrases, like “move, more” or “Take 10,000 steps per day” were not enough to prompt the desired behavior.
Take a look at the baseline data:
Compared to where we started, we plateaued in a 6,000 – 8,000 step range. This range is acceptable to general activity, however, she wanted to lose more weight.
Enter Behavioral Assessment
This is where the magic of applied behavior analysis comes in. First, we needed to assess the current and future environmental variables that contributed to her current lifestyle.
Plus, we are working on a very key, individual variable, Jasmine did not want address eating goals but felt confident that her eating consumption habits were fairly consistent. Working from the evidenced-based finding, when you burn more calories than you consume – you will lose weight.
Calories in, calories out.
After thorough assessment and weekly coaching sessions for 5+ months, here are the potent variables for Jasmine, she:
- Wants to lose weight
- Consistent strength-training routine
- Dislikes calorie monitoring; previous aversive experience
- Enjoys walking, jogging, and being outside
- Works remotely; has a flexible schedule
- Has an upcoming life-event; moving out of the country
Big Results Require Big Behavior
Faced with a desire to lose weight, get out this plateau, and prepare for her big move, I introduced this idea:
To Expect Extraordinary Results, We Need To Do Extraordinary Things
After coaching, we landed on taking a big leap, Jasmine approved:
To take 15,000 steps per day for the next 4 weeks.
15K A Day For 3 Weeks.
That’s the plan? Why? Because Jasmine is moving to another country in May! Knowing that we had limited time to best prepare her for success, we developed this intervention plan:
- Each day I would prompt and give her feedback asking for her step count
- She would increase her weigh-ins to once per week
The First Week’s Results
To both our satisfaction, Jasmine took 10,000+ steps 6 days in a row! Check this out:
(The gap represents Spring Break 2023 with no step count monitoring)
Now, she didn’t hit the general 15,000 step goal on any day, but there is much to celebrate:
- When we set out this new plan, her behavior (more steps) changed right away!
- Jasmine took steps near our goal
- She had most consecutive days of 10K+ ever!
- Jasmine learned about how much more deliberate (physical) effort is required to reach her goals.
The next challenge will to see how the next two weeks shake out. With two more weeks ahead of us, I anticipate a weight decrease and consistent physical activity.
Stay tuned!
