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Re-structuring your life Re-structuring your life for More Exercise & Dietfor More Exercise & DietRe-structuring your life Re-structuring your life for More Exercise & Dietfor More Exercise & Diet
Farrokh Alemi Ph.D.Farrokh Alemi Ph.D.falemi@gmu.edufalemi@gmu.edu
How?• Interested in weight loss? Lost
weight and gained it right back?• Want to exercise more? Joined the
gym but never went to it?By end of this lecture you will learn how to diet and exercise in a fashion that is sustainable across time
An ecological An ecological approachapproach
An ecological An ecological approachapproach
regards weight gain and lack of regards weight gain and lack of exercise as a normal response to an exercise as a normal response to an
abnormal environment.abnormal environment.Based on workplaceprocess
improvement
Evidence• Cocaine and heroin addiction
cured through change of environment
• Elderly patients who made life style changes
Not More Effort but More System Change
• Personal improvement that relies on motivation requires constant effort & optimisms in face of failures
• Changing the environment makes success more likely– Failures are opportunities for problem
solving– Environment pushes for success
despite wavering motivation
Fooling Yourself • Your motivation waivers• You need an environment that
forces you to act according to your resolution despite yourself
• Ponzi Scheme in which you are the manipulator and the victim
System Solution not More Effort
More personal
More system
oriented
I will exercise more
I will prepay my club fees
I will make a standing appointment in my calendar to run with a work colleague
I will buy the equipment and arrange for the shower so that I can bicycle to work
I will sell my car and have no choice but to bicycle to work
Step By Step to Step By Step to Environmental Environmental
ChangesChanges
Step By Step to Step By Step to Environmental Environmental
ChangesChanges
Coming upComing up
Personal Improvements1. Make a resolution2. Put together an improvement team
of process owners3. Study your routines4. Engage in cycles of problem solving5. Gather data & focus on delaying
next relapse to poor habits
2. Put together an improvement team
• Not buddies but process owners• Do not work on relationships• Focus on problem solving• Meet regularly
– Agenda– Time– Postpone discussions– Make lists
3. Study your routinesTable 1: List of Routines and Periods of Reoccurrences
Activities that repeat on or near daily basis
Activities that repeat on or near weekly basis
Activities that repeat less often than weekly
Time of dayDescription of
activityDay & time of
weekDescription of
activity PeriodDescription of
activity
5 a.m.
6 a.m.
7 a.m.
8 a.m.
9 a.m.
10 a.m.
11 a.m.
Can alsodo flowcharts
4. Select cycles of improvement
• Make a list of solutions• Identify which ones are more based on
your initiative• Identify which ones can be parceled
into other existing daily routines• Identify which ones are more likely to
have an impact• Select several improvements all at once
ThinkingIs Hard
5. Gather data & think again
• Measure time to relapse• Focus on increasing time to next
relapse• Plot your data• Share your data
Examples• Putting up signs in bathroom to
reduce compulsive obsessive behavior
• Lower house temperature• Raising a desk to loose weight• Joining a car pool to loose weight
Time to next junk food
Relapse chart
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36 41 46 51 56
Days since start
Len
gth
of
rela
pse
Mary Looses Weight Through Exercise
Weight Loss During Exercise Program
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
Time (3 measures per week x 42 weeks)
We
igh
t C
ha
ng
e
Fro
m B
eg
inn
ing
(in
po
un
ds
)
Wt Loss
Summary of Experience
with Our Advice• Data from 12/5/2001 to 3/24/2004• 196 students in graduate level classes
– George Mason, Vanderbilt, Case Western Reserve universities
• Not graded on success• Followed for 15 weeks, required to provide
data for claims of success• 6.43 years of education post high school
– May not generalize to general population
• No controls, findings may be an artifact
Summary of Experiences
of 196 Participants• Resolutions varied: 33% to change
diet, 16% to exercise & rest other • Participants had tried 3.12 times before but
failed • After 15 weeks:
– 92% made a measured improvement– 41% made a measured and significant
improvement– Participants who changed their environment
were 2.39 times more likely to make a significant improvement than those who relied on motivation
Was it helpful in learning Was it helpful in learning work place process work place process
improvement?improvement?
Was it helpful in learning Was it helpful in learning work place process work place process
improvement?improvement?87.3% said “Yes” 87.3% said “Yes” or "a lot helpful”or "a lot helpful”
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