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

1. Make a Resolution• A habit that you have not been

able to change• A repetitive event

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

Loosing Weight By Joining a Car Pool

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

Who Eats? Are we responsible for our

actions?

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”