Behavior Change Project - Caleb Lack



Behavior Change ProjectVanessa FunkUniversity of Central OklahomaBehavior Change ProjectVanessa has struggled with her weight as an adult. While she was athletic and played many sports in high school, after starting college and no longer playing sports or working out, she began to gain weight. At her heaviest, she weighed as much as 160 pounds. For a woman of her height, 5 feet 2 inches, her maximum weight put her bordering on obesity at the age of 20 with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 29.3. For as long as she can remember, her parents have been overweight or obese, and always trying the newest fad diet. Knowing the potential of what lies ahead, Vanessa has committed to change. She decided to take action in June of 2009 after seeing pictures of herself from her wedding reception, where she weighed 155 pounds. This gave her a BMI of 28.3, placing her in the overweight category (a BMI of 30 or more is considered obese). With diet and exercise, she was able to lose 15 pounds rather quickly. She has now been stuck at 140 pounds for the past three months. According to the BMI chart, a healthy weight for Vanessa ranges from 105 to 135 pounds. Ultimately, she would like to lose 10 pounds and weigh 130 pounds and fit into her size four jeans by finals this semester, the week of May 3, 2010.MethodTo obtain her target weight, Vanessa must consume fewer calories in a day than she expels through a combination of eating lower calorie foods and exercising. The official start date of this project will be Monday, February 1, 2010, giving her 13 weeks to reach her fat loss goal. Vanessa will use her weight, height, age, and gender to calculate her Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Her BMR is the number of calories her body uses at rest. In other words, it is the number of calories Vanessa’s body needs to operate while lying completely still for 24 hours. For women, the BMR formula is as follows:BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years). Using her weight of 140 pounds, height of 5.2 feet, and age of 25 years, Vanessa’s BMR is 1,437.9. For a lightly active person the BMR is multiplied by 30 percent equaling 431.37. Then, this is added to the BMR to obtain her daily caloric needs, 1869.27. Therefore, in order to maintain her current weight of 140 pounds Vanessa can eat 1,869 calories, to lose weight she will have to eat less. There are 3,500 calories in one pound of fat. If she has 13 weeks to lose 10 pounds, she must create a daily calorie deficit of 385 calories. In other words, in order to reach her fat loss goal Vanessa must not consume more than 1,484 calories per day unless she plans to work any additional calories off through exercise. However, weight is not always the most accurate reflection of fat loss, especially when it comes down to the last 10 pounds a person wants to lose. Weight gain from increasing muscle mass can be misperceived as fat gain. Therefore, measurements in inches of her waist, hips, thighs, and upper arms will be recorded every Friday when she weighs herself to monitor progress. Vanessa will record everything she eats on a daily basis along with any exercise she engages in with its corresponding caloric value or deficit. In the past, Vanessa has been able to consume 1,600 calories a day without much of a problem. However, 1,484 calories per day is much more difficult to survive on. So, Vanessa will need to create a calorie deficit through exercise. If she works out three times a week, she would need to burn 270 calories each workout session. If she works out four times a week, she would need to burn 203 calories at each session. Vanessa will need to reward herself for attaining her weekly goals. Knowing short term rewards increase motivation, she will reward herself on a weekly basis. If she has kept to her calorie consumption and exercise goals, Vanessa will be allowed to purchase three new songs to workout to through . If she has reached her ultimate goal, Vanessa will purchase a necklace for herself she has wanted for some time. ResultsThe first week Vanessa weighed 140 pounds. She lost 1.5 pounds in the first three weeks. At the start of the project, Vanessa’s right thigh measured 21 inches and her left arm measured 11 inches. At week 3 they measured 22.5 and 11.5 inches respectively. However, there was no change in waist or hip measurements until week 6 and week 13 (See Table 1). Her body measurements in inches increased, which at first was attributed to muscle gain. However, looking at the overall data set, it is more likely she was measuring different places on her body.Table 1Body Measurements in Inches and Weight in Pounds______________________________________________________________________________Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 6 Week 8 Week 12 Week 13Waist28.5 28.528.5 28.5 28 28 27.5Hip34.5 34.5 34.5 34 34 34 34Right thigh21 22 22.5 21 21.5 22 22Left arm11 11.5 11.5 10.5 11 10 10Weight (lbs.)140 139 138.5 136 133 131 130______________________________________________________________________________Vanessa gathered her body measurement data by measuring herself with a tape measure. She would place the tape measure around the smallest portion of her waist while relaxing her stomach. Then, she would measure her hips by placing the measuring tape around the fullest part of her hips, taking care to make sure the tape was lined up correctly and not twisted with the use of a mirror. To measure her thigh, she would stand with feet hip width apart and measure the middle of her thigh. Measuring her arm was the trickiest part. She would have to hold one end of the tape measure and wrap the remaining portion around her arm. She tried to hold her arm at shoulder level each time and measure around the largest portion of the bicep muscle. Vanessa used the same scale to weigh herself each week at her gym. There are some problems with the method of body measurement data collection. First, there is no way to be sure she is measuring the same exact place every time, especially on the arm when measuring with one hand. In addition, there is no way to know Vanessa’s stomach was relaxed to the same degree during every measurement, which could cause the measurements to be inaccurate. Vanessa found there were days when she just could not limit herself to eating the allotted number of calories for the day. For this reason, she decided her calorie goal could be met on a weekly basis. Therefore, if she was guilted into having a piece of cake brought to her as a surprise by her in-laws from their favorite bakery in Tulsa, she could make up for it the next day by eating less and still making her calorie goal for the week. This method proved very successful. Vanessa logged over seven weeks of calories without going over her weekly goal. (See Table 2). As a reward for staying within her calorie goal for the week, Vanessa can play Bejewled at night before she goes to bed. In the future, if she exceeds her goal then she will not get to play. Table 2Calorie Chart and Workout Log for February 1st through May 2nd 2010______________________________________________________________________________ Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4Monday(1) W, 1310(8) W, 1600(15)1600(22) W, 1365Tuesday(2) 1766(9) 1600(16)2295(23)1535Wednesday(3) W, 1320(10) 1645(17) W, 645(24)1795Thursday(4) 1580(11)1600(18)1693(25)1830Friday(5) W, 1455(12)W, 1305(19)W, 1385(26)W, 980Saturday(6) W, 1403(13) W, 1455(20) W, 1375(27)W, 1152Sunday(7) W, 1345(14) W, 1100(21) 1360(28) W, 1436Total*10,17910,30510,35310,093 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8Monday(1) W, 1,385(8) 1050(15) W, 1000(22) W, 1515Tuesday(2) 1,635(9) 1740(16) 1700(23) 1620Wednesday(3) 1915(10) 1420(17) W,1510(24) W, 1575Thursday(4) W,1254(11) 1331(18) 1600(25) 1541Friday(5) W, 980(12) 1303(19) 1300(26) 1720Saturday(6) 680(13) W, 1450(20) 1720(27) W, 1400Sunday(7) 860(14) W, 1260(21) 1535(28) W, 1190Total*8,709955410,36510,561Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Week 13Monday(29) 1260 (5) W, 1275 (12) W, 1343 (19) W, 1110 (26) W, 1255Tuesday(30) 2317 (6) 1893 (13) 1570 (20) 1705(27) 1833Wednesday(31) W, 1720(7) 1680(14) W, 1270 (21) W, 1720(28) 1725Thursday(1) 1242(8) 1631(15) 2140 (22) 1635(29) 2180Friday(2) W, 1385(9) 1170(16) 1640 (23) 1500(30) W, 1296Saturday(3) W, 1040(10) W, 1351(17) W, 1055 (24) W, 1116(1) W, 996Sunday(4) 1565(11) 1420(18) W, 1212 (25) W, 1590 (2) 1820Total*10,52910,42010,230 10,37611,105______________________________________________________________________________Note. * Goal < 10,388, (#) Date of the month, W denotes a workoutDiscussionVanessa was successful at her weight loss attempt. She now weighs 130 pounds and fits into size four jeans. Although she was successful, her reward and punishment system was not very effective, as they were rarely implemented. At first, rewarding herself with workout music was fun and effective. But, three songs may have been a too many as she ran out of music to buy after only a few weeks. One song a week would have been better. As discussed before, the measurement system was flawed. Eventually, after seeing no change in her body measurements in inches, she became frustrated and would not measure for a week or two. If this was done in the future it would be better to measure at intervals further than a week apart. The weekly weigh-ins were very helpful and motivating. For maintenance, Vanessa will continue to work out three to five days a week and monitor her calorie intake. This project was helpful in seeing how important effective rewards and punishments are when changing a behavior. Vanessa had an unusual amount of motivation that may not be seen often in a client population. For that reason, it is important to develop meaningful rewards and punishments that are powerful enough to facilitate change. To maintain her progress when her motivation starts to wane, Vanessa may need to implement the project revisions as discussed above. The most important thing learned through this project was that a person cannot change their behavior perfectly; there will be slipups and weeks where you do not lose weight or achieve your desired behavior. Knowing that can help to lower frustration levels not only with clients, but with the therapist as well.ReferencesBMI Calculator: BMR Formula. Retrieved January 28, 2010 from website: , J. (2009, June 13). How to calculate your caloric needs and lose weight. Retrieved January 28, 2010 from website: ................
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