Using Lent to achieve self-efficacy

In my first week back at work and home in the UK, I am finding myself reflecting on my experiences learning about Lifestyle Redesign,sometimes in unexpected ways. This post is a bit of a personal reflection on one of these.

For the last few years I have given up something for Lent- chocolate or alcohol for example- not as a penance in any way, but as a little exercise in being more mindful about my everyday routines (and in the case of alcohol, just to make sure I can!). It is interesting to see how little changes impact on daily life and how you have to plan and arrange things slightly differently. I have wanted to try giving up wheat before, but always decided to opt for something easier, I just love toast and pasta too much. However, I have always stuck to my resolve on the things I did give up.

 

This year though, I have finally done it and given up wheat for Lent- and so far so good. I felt able to do it this year because of my experience of being in LA, I roomed with someone who ate no white carbs at all- and decided to try to embrace that while I was there, at least at home. Also, I found there was such an emphasis on nutrition and healthy eating in many of the Lifestyle Redesign sessions I observed, not just the Weight Management Group, and I read the books by Kessler and Willett (see books tab at top of page) that I was primed with information and motivation and ready to make a change. In change theory terms I had moved beyond pre-contemplation and contemplation, through preparation and into action.




I was talking to someone at work about this and their response was "I can't give anything up for Lent, I haven't got any willpower", I was about to smugly reply that you just have to make your mind up to do it when I realised that actually, it is not as simple as that at all.

My previous experiences of giving things up successfully that were a bit of a challenge but not really very difficult, had shown me that I could be successful- building my sense of self-efficacy. I still would have found giving up wheat very difficult, but  found myself in a situation where there was a positive role model and an opportunity to try it out without committing for any length of time- an opportunity to take a calculated risk. I was armed with a lot of affirmative information. All these combined to give me enough of a sense of self-efficacy to believe I could make this change. A small personal experience of Lifestyle Redesign- and I'm feeling healthier as a result!