Self- Efficacy- Say WHAT?

I learned a new word today: self-efficacy.
It means, the belief that one is capable achieving their stated goal.

Almost everyone has one or more area that they feel inadequate to the task. If you don't, perhaps you aren't reaching for high goals. But some goals will come to a screeching halt if you lack "Self-Efficacy." Feeling capable of being successful is critical to maintaining motivation, especially as it relates to weight managment and fitness.

We stare in the mirror, and staring back are 30, 50, 100 pounds. The goal of carving that away seems just too lofty to feel we will EVER be sucessful. Where do we start? How long will it take? What will I have to change? What if I hate yogurt? Suddenly the heart starts racing, and we start backpeddling and finding excuses on why we ought not start, lest we fail. We can give you 100 reasons why we need to and want to lose that weight and yet-we actually talk ourselves out of our goal-a goal that means the difference between health and illness.

If you are to reach your goal, you absolutely must believe it can be done, not by other people, but by YOU.

So how do we establish "self efficacy"?

1. Set realistic goals. You've heard it said "you didn't gain it in a week, don't expect it to come off in a week" What is realistic, do-able and sustainable over a year is 1 pound a week for women, 2 pounds for men. Some weeks you might see more, many weeks you will see less.
2. Concentrate on developing behaviors, not on the scale. How many days did you do cardio this week? Do you read labels now? Is fast-food infrequent? If you are consistently doing these and other healthy behaviors, the weight will come off and more importantly- STAY off.
3. Cut your goal into many pieces and concentrate on the smaller, more attainable subgoal. give yourself something to celebrate and feel successful at. Success breeds success. As you see yourself making strides, the next challenge becomes easier, WHY?

Because you.....

NOW BELIEVE YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH THE GOAL

Self Efficacy, How empowering is that!