Weight Loss Program: Behavior Modification Project for a College Class

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Table of Contents

Abstract
Introduction
Method
Results
Discussion
References

Abstract

The paper is a behavior modification program in which behavioral change techniques were utilized to achieve weight loss. This was a case study analysis of single subject’s efforts to lose weight through diet and exercise. The subject was myself. The program entailed a change of diet which consisted of sixty percent vegetables and fruits and forty percent proteins and carbohydrates. It also involved a change of eating habits such as having three meals in a day and getting rid of junk food.

I also participated in an exercise program consisting of cardio, aerobics, yoga, and weights each taking 3, 2, 1, and 2 days in a week respectively. The behavior modification program design involved a plan on how I would distribute my exercise and dietary efforts over a period of four weeks. These were done in order to change my unhealthy eating habits as well as my sedentary lifestyle i.e. failure to engage in regular exercise. The behavior was changed by participating in an intense exercise regimen as well as changing a number of habits that I had been engaging in. I prepared a diet plan for three meals in a day. My efforts were successful as I recorded a total weight loss of ten pounds.

Introduction

The latter paper is a behavior modification project designed for a college class. Its aim is to reinforce healthy behavior geared to cause weight loss. In other words, the project will identify all the antecedents that caused weight loss in the subject; it will also analyze the process of weight loss as well as the consequences of the latter occurrence to the subject. At the end of the project, I intend on changing all my unhealthy eating and living habits. The plan was to adopt a new exercise and diet routine that would assist me in achievement of my desired outcome.

Prior to the project, the subject (myself) was not loosing any weight and even recorded some periods of weight gain. In fact, weight loss has been a daunting challenge for me over the past ten years. Unhealthy habits have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember yet I was well aware of the problems that these habits could cause to my health as well as to my well being. Most of this behavior was adopted from my friends and family who possess the same traits. Also, media advertisements, television shows, school routines, and failure to commit have all contributed towards this problem.

I have therefore decided to change my dietary as well as my exercise habits because these negative traits have taken a toll on my outward appearance and have therefore reduced my self esteem. On top of that, if I continue with these habits, then I may develop several health complications such as stroke, diabetes, or high blood pressure.

In the past, I have tried loosing weight several times, however, these attempts have failed because of numerous reasons: I did not understand the causes of my unhealthy habits (antecedents), I did not make a clear cut plan to change my lifestyle, I did not have a sufficient motivator to loose weight as is the case now (to go on a vacation at the Virgin Islands), I was not committed to the lifestyle change, I did not adopt an all round approach to weight loss i.e. diet and exercise as I often relied on either one, I was expecting immediate or unrealistic results and lastly – I was driven by emotions, cravings and urges. (Pear & Martin, 2007)

There were several antecedents to my eating and exercise behaviors in the past. Most of my habits were formed as a result of repetition. For example, every time I was cooking dinner, I used to eat portions of that food, also, when watching television and when I had just come from a night out with my friends. This created an unhealthy routine that became part of my bad behavior. Aside from that, I also found that whenever I was in a negative mood, then I would engage in unhealthy behavior such as trigger eating or lack of exercise. This occurred when I was fatigued from school. Also, whenever I was angry or bored, ice cream and chocolate were my best companions.

Consequently, new antecedents had to be introduced in order to curb the negative occurrences. For instance, boredom, anger and loneliness were replaced by anticipation and occupation with exercise. Additionally, poor eating habits were to be replaced by a number of substitute activities such as taking a walk, reading books, calling friends, taking a bath as well as getting out of the house. These activities were introduced in order to avoid heading for the refrigerator every time I got into the house or when watching television.

The actual behavior being reinforced is a healthy lifestyle. For weight loss to occur, I needed to control, my food intake by following a strict diet plan. Additionally, this was to be combined with a balanced exercise plan. Almost all dieticians, physicians, exercise instructors, as well as nutritionists, claim that weight management is best carried out through a combined approach of exercise and diet.

They assert that when one takes in more than they actually need, then those calories are changed into fat and stored as adipose (fatty) tissue – this is what is often manifested as weight gain. On the other hand, when one eats much less than they require, then the opposite occurs in that fat is then converted into calories required by the body. These experts also add that the first step in behavior modification is to stop weight gain through physical activities and a serious diet program. (Goodrick & Foreyt, 1993)

These goals can be achieved through adoption of healthy choices and by motivating oneself to stick to the latter issues. Monitoring one’s calorific intake is an essential part of this behavior modification as it helps one to keep tabs on what they are doing; this can be achieved through a diet journal. One is also recommended to reduce sedentary activities as well as snacking and other unhealthy methods.

There are several reinforcements that were utilized in this program as the problem (weight gain) has many triggers that should all be addressed. First, eating three meals is essential in reinforcing the diet plan as it encourages food discipline. Additionally, meal prolonging is also another essential tool. Here, I made sure that there was adequate time given in between bitings by placing spoons, forks or any other cutlery down whenever I was taking a meal. This helped to condition the mind into thinking that it was doing the same thing before embarking on the diet program. Also, I chose a specific location in the house that was to be used solely for the purpose of eating.

This ensured that I did not eat while carrying out activities thus minimizing my calorific intake. I also gave all meals special precedence in that I did not allow other activities to interrupt them such as television watching, telephone conversations and others. This was done in order to become fully aware of the food I was taking and also to monitor the quantities. I also made sure that all the snacks in my house were found in the kitchen inside drawers. This enabled me to resist the temptation of testing those snacks. To reinforce this even further, all cookies, chocolate, candy, and the like were placed in nontransparent containers so as to eliminate the triggers.

Junk food became a thing of the past since these foods are high in sugars, high in fat, and hence obvious sources of weight gain. I bought a smaller plate for myself and started serving food from the cooker and not ‘self service style’ from the table. These actions ensured that I only consumed small quantities that would lessen the amount of fat within my body. Besides this, it was also necessary for me to start leaving at least one item on the plate. By doing this, I was training my body to get used to a state of not being full.

My diet was largely made up of all the major food nutrients. However, carbohydrates took up 20% of the plate; proteins took up another 20% while vegetables and fruits covered the remaining percentage. This diet plan applied to all 3 meals regardless of my situation or my responsibilities at that time.

The latter-mentioned reinforcements were all related to food. Another very essential part of the plan was the exercise regimen. This tool was essential in eradicating some of the earlier-mentioned triggers such as anger, loneliness and boredom. In other words, exercise was a substitute for eating as it provided me with something to do, was a source of fat burn out hence weight loss, it also gave me a new lease in life. The following was a summary of the program

Cardio – 3 times a week
Weights – 2 times a week
Yoga – once a week

Self-talk was also another essential part of this lifestyle program because it eradicated some the attitudes that were causing my indiscipline in the past. (Ferguson & O’ Donohue, 2006) (Below is a list of self-talk phrases)

Excuse list

I will not eat food just because I am angry; it is better to burn off that negative energy.
Snacks and junk food do not erase my loneliness, they only make it worse.
When entering my house, I will not go straight to the kitchen.
It is okay to leave food on my plate.
I will not lose hope even if my weight does not reduce drastically.
I am a confident, wonderful, self-assured person and I do not need food to make me feel that way.
I will not deviate, postpone, or even think about quitting my exercise program.
My friends and family will not make me quit my program because in the future I will face the negative consequences alone.

The hypotheses for this project paper is as follows: the weight loss plan will reduce the amount of time spent doing sedentary activities, it will reduce the amount of food I take, it will enrich the type of diet I consume, it will increase the amount of time I spent exercising, it will increase my level of discipline when it comes to a weight loss program.

Method

Participant – (Please include your gender, age, ethnicity, SES, status as a college student and any other characteristics that are relevant to your project)

Design – this project entailed a four week plan for a change in the amount and type of food as well as the amount of exercise activity that I engaged in as well. Every day, I had a different exercise activity that was to be carried out. Also, each day, there was a household habit change I instated and its purpose was to ensure that I maintained a low calorific intake as well as nutritionally rich foods. These were all written down in an excel worksheet. In the excel worksheet, I recorded all my dietary practices, and exercise plans as well as the amount of weight that I lost as result of it.

Materials – An Excel worksheet recording all my dietary activities, eating schedule as well as self-talk responses, a gymnasium with yoga, weights, aerobics, and cardio classes, nutritionally rich foods such as oats, cabbages, broccoli, fish, brown bread, and other high fiber and low-calorie foods, exercise gear, novels for occupying my free time, a weighing scale for an analysis of the status of my weight.

Procedure – the first step in the weight management program was to measure my weight so as to know my starting point. This was done on the first day of the first week. On that very day, I also informed my friends and relatives about my project and the need for their support. Thereafter, I bought a smaller plate that would ensure I only eat minimal portions. I also purchased novels that would serve as a substitute for boredom. All the junk food that was in my room was immediately thrown away. I made a food timetable for three meals in a day and each meal maintained the 1: 1: 3 ratio of carbohydrates, proteins and vegetables, and fruits. I began serving food in the kitchen and I also established a specific place for eating all my meals. Bitings were small and done after a long break. I carried out all these activities on a daily basis.

The exercise program consisted of cardio in Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, yoga on Tuesday, aerobics on Thursday and Saturday, and weights on Monday and Friday as well. At the beginning of every week, I would measure my weight to assess the effectiveness of my efforts.

Choice of Reinforcers – My choice of reinforces were the exercise program, purchasing smaller plates, taking small and prolonged bitings, hiding all junk food away, selecting a specific place for eating, avoiding interruptions during meals, avoiding bites in the kitchen when hungry as well as self-talk to push away the urge to eat snacks or eat in between meals. Engaging in alternative activities was also instrumental as I frequently opted to go for walks, read a novel, catch up on my mail, or make telephone conversations whenever I felt bored enough to eat.

Results

Data was collected through personal observation of the subject and measurement of the subject’s weight on a scale. Also, dietary entries were done frequently to ensure that there were effective ways of dealing with it. After the first week, I lost four pounds, during the second week, I lost another two pounds, in the next week, I lost three pounds and on the final week, I lost one pound. Consequently, after the entire program, I ended up losing a total of ten pounds as indicated below

Week I – 4
Week 2 – 2
Week 3 – 3
Week 4 – 1
Total – 10

I also stuck to my three meals in a day plan, however, during the first three days, I took a morning snack, a night snack and another morning snack on each day. After trying self-talk responses for those three days, they began to bear fruit as I avoided all other nonessential meals. The last week I was interrupted during my meals on Monday and I exceeded my food intake quantities on Wednesday. (Refer to Table 1 to see a schedule of my dietary reinforcements)

Table 1. Exercise and Dietary Observations

	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4
Sunday	Morning snack, making preparatory efforts, three meals	three meals	three meals	three meals
Monday	Attended Cardio, weights, three meals, morning snack	Attended Cardio, weights, three meals	Attended Cardio, weights, three meals	Attended Cardio, weights, three meals, meal was interrupted
Tuesday	Attended yoga, three meals, morning snack	Attended yoga, three meals	Attended yoga	Attended yoga, three meals
Wednesday	Attended Cardio, three meals	Attended Cardio, three meals	Attended Cardio, three meals	Attended Cardio, three meals, excess food quantity
Thursday	Attended aerobics, three meals	Missed aerobics, three meals	Attended aerobics, three meals	Attended aerobics, three meals
Friday	Missed Cardio, Missed weights	Attended Cardio, weights, three meals	Attended Cardio, weights, three meals	Attended Cardio, weights, three meals
Saturday	Attended aerobics, three meals	Attended aerobics, three meals	Attended aerobics, three meals	Attended aerobics, three meals

With regard to the exercise program, in the first, I attended all my classes expect for a weight session as well as one cardio class. In the second week, I missed an aerobics class, the third and fourth weeks went smoothly as I stayed committed to the plan. (Refer to Table 1 for a summary of the exercise plan efforts) All these observations were noted in a journal on a daily basis.

Discussion

I did relatively well in this project because I achieved my goal of losing weight. However, the amount lost could still be increased if I paid more attention to calorific intake, also if I followed my exercise plan to the letter. In other words, there should be no excuse for missing out on even a single activity. It would also be necessary to include more aerobics exercises in the plan as this has been shown to reduce weight substantially.

Also, the type of diet that I was following may have to be improved. I could try purchasing and eating foods whose calorific values are well known. The purpose of doing this is to choose a calorific value that will serve as the maximum amount I can consume in a meal. I found that observing and recording my behavior played a great role in making me stay committed to the program. However, this level of success was not easy especially because I was the only person in my household who was watching my weight. Next time, I need to convince someone else in my family to join me while undertaking this program.

Graph. Weight Loss Graph.

References

Pear, J. & Martin, G. (2007). Behavior modification. NJ: Pearson Publishers.

Ferguson, K. & O’Donohue, W. (2006). Evidence-based practice in psychology and analysis of behavior. Behavior Analyst Journal, 7 (3), 335.

Goodrick, G. & Foreyt, J. (1993). Evidence for success of behavior modification in weight loss control. Annals of Internal Medicine Journal 1 (119), 698.

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