A 10-week program of self-discovery, education, skill-building, & support

Reality Check

Only 5% of successful losers can keep weight off at least 2 years

3 Essential Elements: How much you eat. How active you are. How you feel.

You Create Your Reality You will learn about yourself. You will learn about food. You will learn about activity. You will create and improve YOUR program.

Weight ~ The Reality Seriesis about what will work for YOU.

What has worked for others: Keep trying, don’t give up. Don’t deny yourself. Weigh yourself often. Exercise 1 hour per day. Have an active day. Eat low-fat, moderate carbohydrate,

lean protein foods. Eat 5 small meals a day.

National Weight Control Registry, University of Colorado

Learning to manage body weight by changingeating and activity behaviors is like learning any new skill. It takes time, effort, and the rightframe of mind.

Are you ready? Using a scale of 1 to 5,

answer the following questions.

1 = not at all 5 = more than ever

Are you ready for reality? Compared to past attempts to change, how

motivated are you to succeed over the long term this time?

Eating right and exercising when you’re feeling down takes real effort. How willing are you to take the time and effort to change?

Are you ready for reality? Changes in behavior require time and

focus. How willing are you to take it slowly – maybe a year or more – to work toward a healthier you one behavior at a time?

Learning new behaviors requires time. How much time do you have to try new food and physical activity approaches?

Are you ready for reality? The process of self-examination can be

unpleasant. How willing are you to do the mental work required to examine why you overeat and are inactive?

How much support for your efforts can you expect from your family, friends, & community?

Ready or Not? 6 to 16: reflects low commitment and high

probability of failure, try another time. 17 to 23: a moderate commitment, will

need to work on motivation in addition to new skill development.

24 or higher: high motivation, chances for making meaningful, long-lasting changes are good at this time.

If you are ready for reality…

Commit to 10 weeks Be ready to learn:

about yourself about food & nutrition about activity & exercise how you can help you

Prepared by:

Janet Tietyen, Ph.D., R.D., L.D.Associate ProfessorDepartment of Nutrition & Food ScienceExtension Specialist in Food & NutritionFamily & Consumer Sciences ExtensionThe School of Human Environmental Sciences

May 2008

The development of the HEEL program was made possible by Senator Mitch McConnell with funds earmarked for the University of Kentucky,College of Agriculture, Lexington, KY and budgeted through the CSREES/USDA Federal Administration.

 Educational programs of Kentucky Cooperative Extension serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability, or national origin.