Behaviour change

In order to manage your weight you need to think about changing the behaviours which have caused you to gain weight.

On a typical slimming plan, you are asked to change a number of different aspects of your eating all at once, for example eating different types of food and eating less of them.

For many people, each one of these changes it difficult enough. They feel overwhelmed by the number of changes they have to make and will often give up before they start.

Setting goals around behaviour change

Setting yourself small achievable goals means that you are more likely to succeed. We talk about SMART goals, this means

S for Specific

M for Measurable

A for Achievable

R for Relevant

T for Time specific

Example of SMART goal:

To eat a total of five portions of fruit and vegetable every day

Specific steps to reach goal:

• To buy more fruit and fewer biscuits when I go shopping
• To take a piece of fruit to work each day
• To start every meal with a small salad on at least 3 days of the week
• To have some dried fruit after my meal on at least 2 days of the week
• To try new recipes using different kinds of fruit and vegetables

Click here to find out about some of the factors that affect food choice.

Download a pdf of a SMART goals worksheet