Five Stages of Behavioral Change

My doctor mentioned something about the five stages of behavorial change, so I decided to see what I could find, and there it was, a conceptual model devised at the University of Rhode Island [this model was created in the cancer research department, but clearly applies to serious weight loss].

Transtheoretical Model
Stages of Change

Five stages of change have been conceptualized for a variety of problem behaviors. The five stages of change are precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. Precontemplation is the stage at which there is no intention to change behavior in the foreseeable future. Many individuals in this stage are unaware or underaware of their problems. Contemplation is the stage in which people are aware that a problem exists and are seriously thinking about overcoming it but have not yet made a commitment to take action. Preparation is a stage that combines intention and behavioral criteria. Individuals in this stage are intending to take action in the next month and have unsuccessfully taken action in the past year. Action is the stage in which individuals modify their behavior, experiences, or environment in order to overcome their problems. Action involves the most overt behavioral changes and requires considerable commitment of time and energy. Maintenance is the stage in which people work to prevent relapse and consolidate the gains attained during action. For addictive behaviors this stage extends from six months to an indeterminate period past the initial action.

It fairly jumped out at me that steps 1 - 3 of the "Road to Reduction" are a combination of contemplation and preparation, while step 4 is clearly the transition between perparation and action. Maintenance, of course, is built in and is not a separate step in the road to reduction. Little wonder that I haven't had much trouble with the "action" part of the plan - I had twelve years of contemplation!

Anyway, a more complete overview of the model can be found here - haven't read it yet myself.