Count Your Way to Change

There is research evidence that the simple act of counting can help one accomplish his or her change objective (contact me if you are interested in additional reading on this subject). Whether you are interested in "decreasing" a particular behavior or "increasing" one, if you count the number of times you engage in the behavior you are likely to move towards your goal. For example, let's say you wish to ADD exercise to your daily routine. First, identify a particular physical activity that will be "your exercise," say, walking. Next, identify a target goal of a number of steps you would like to take each day, say 7,500. Get a pedometer to count your steps - numerous choices online, many for under $10 but the easiest way to count steps is if you have a smartphone, use the "health app" or, if you have one already, use your "FitBit." With the goal of "X" steps/day, you will find yourself making an effort to increase the number of steps you take to get the reward that comes when looking at your phone, FitBit, or pedometer and seeing how far you have walked and how close to your goal you are...not to mention how many miles you have walked. A variation on counting steps is to pick a period of time to represent a "unit exercise," say 10-min." Count the "number of units of exercise" you accumulate in a day doing your favorite type of exercise...kayaking, tennis, jazzercize, swimming, "whatever." If your goal is to "lose weight," count calories...or if you can, "count points" as recommended in some diet programs (this necessitates becoming familiar with what foods represent how many points, but there are charts online what can help with this). Again, if you have a smartphone you can download an app that can help you track calories consumed. My favorite is MyFitnessPal. These apps not only provide a convenient way to track calories consumed, but they can also tell you how many calories are in a portion of just about any food, including items on a specific restaurant's menu! Related examples of how counting can help with behavior change: * Want to reduce your tendency to cuss - count (and keep score on a piece of paper) each time you cuss * Want to increase your frequency of handwashing - count the number of times you wash your hand for 20-seconds * want to slow down your eating - chew your food at least "X" times and count before swallowing * want to decrease interrupting others when speaking with them - do a slow count to 3 when the other person pauses before speaking BONUS TIP: want to stop hollering at your kids, spouse, or "whomever," count the number of times you holler AND count the number of times you say something positive instead... Counting is a simple and easy way to "stack the deck" in your favor when it comes to realizing change in a patter of behavior. If you have specific change questions, comments, or suggestions, please feel free to share.

Dr. Robert