In Part 2 of 3 of this blog series we mentioned that you’ve probably heard of the “stages of readiness” for making actual behavior change based on the work of Prochaska & other colleagues. In Part 1 of 3 of this blog series we talked about what to expect from a professional resource and even touched on the subject of health coaching.

In Part 1 of 3 of this blog series we also cited an example of a chance encounter we had in the produce section of a supermarket highlighting that timing is everything and how it provided an opportunity to support someone who was ready to make a positive choice for behavior change at the point of purchase.

Opportunities for making small changes in life can occur at any time on any day.

We also mentioned a simple downloadable pdf with some family stories focusing on “A Year of Being Well” that mention how anyone can implement small changes and have those steps add up in improving the quality of their lives. The family members kept some key points in mind as they engaged in behavior change that made it easier for each of them to be successful.

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In Part 1 of 3 of this blog series we mentioned a chance encounter in a supermarket with a man who had reached the produce section and wanted to buy more salad vegetables, but was stymied once he was actually in the store at the point of purchase.

He almost walked away without any salad ingredients because he was still going through the stages of making an actual behavior change.

All he needed was a little encouragement, information & support in his decision making once he was right there in the store. Timing can make such a huge difference in life!

He’d been thinking about eating more vegetables as one of his New Year’s Resolutions for 2013, but hadn’t yet gone through all of the stages of readiness to really be fully prepared to follow through on such behavior change.

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We’ll start off this blog post with a true story about a chance encounter with someone in the supermarket who appeared to be ready to make behavior change just this week.

While shopping on the day before New Year’s Eve, a fellow shopper was staring at various salad making packages in the produce section.

He seemed to be trying to decide if he should get a package and if so, which one to get.

He had put a package with added seasoning packets into his cart, then just as our cart was reaching that section, turned right around and put the package back onto the produce cooler shelf. His hands were then moving around between two other packages and he was hesitating before he drew them back. His body language indicated it was likely he was about to leave the produce area with no selection made.

Noticing our cart, he offered to get out of the way, saying he knew he should be eating more vegetables and was thinking of getting some salad greens, but he really was unsure of what to get. “I know I should be eating more vegetables and I really want to, but I’m not much of a cook” he said.

This was a split second opportunity to support him in what he really wanted to do, before he wheeled his cart away due to self doubt in his own food shopping & preparation skills and missed the chance to turn his intent into action. Fortunately he had no dietary restrictions to consider.

Asking him if he preferred any type of salad green(s) over others, it turned out he did prefer the mixed baby greens. Next we determined if he had any seasonings already at home and he remembered he had some Italian Seasoning blend he liked–so we discussed quickly how he could sprinkle that on a plate of mixed baby greens.

Then it was time to determine if he liked his salad with anything else in it or on it. Once it was clearer what he enjoyed, it was easy to discuss how to simply add some of those other raw vegetable items he liked that were right there ready-to-use, and then working with some other preferences he expressed, review options for a touch of a more healthful salad dressing with taste and flavor elements he liked to top it all off.

This discussion in total literally took just about a minute, but in that time he was able to move into preparation for behavior change and then next hopefully take action and actually change his behavior since he left the produce section with ingredients in his cart and a big smile on his face and said “thanks” for the help.

He appeared ready to make behavior change–he just needed to see how he could successfully do it. He verbalized a stumbling block to making change was his doubt of his own food shopping & preparation skills. He just needed a little help when shopping in order to feel confident about making fresh produce choices in the supermarket.

Coping With New Year’s Resolutions That Involve Behavior Change

Yes, it’s that time of year again when people begin the annual cycle of making New Year’s Resolutions that might involve behavior change.

It happens every new year. Just as life is a cycle, so is each year. Sometimes failed attempts at previous New Year’s Resolutions are “recycled” and sometimes new resolutions that involve behavior change are contemplated.

Many people have probably been going through thinking about making some 2013 New Year’s Resolutions, just as this man stated his desire to start eating more vegetables in the new year. Some might even be considering exactly how they might implement such behavior change.

The man in the supermarket went shopping without a grocery list, so he hadn’t taken all the steps necessary to help himself once he got to the supermarket to shop more confidently and purchase the items that would allow him to make the behavior change to eat more vegetables.

Others may not yet have fully crystallized their thoughts on the topic. They may not realize what is actually involved in making serious behavior change or they may not yet be convinced they need to make any serious behavior change.

(Image of “A Year of Being Well” property of & courtesy of the Michael and Susan Bell Foundation and shown here for illustrative purposes only).

Many New Year’s Resolutions have to do with behavior change involving food consumption +/or fitness. Keep in mind that for an approach to work long term, you will probably have to adopt some new behaviors.

If you seek professional advice and assistance, just what should you expect to receive?

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Looking for some real food recipe ideas that kids can enjoy preparing with the family in the kitchen?

Here are some suggestions from totally free, “kid friendly” eCookbooks you can easily view or download from the www.

Enjoy!

(Image of cover of  “Fuel Up to Play 60 Beyond PB&J: Cooking with Kids” shown for identification purposes only)

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