COH 604 Theories of Health Behavior Assignments

I believe that saturated fats are bad fats, however, I also believe that they taste really, really good.  Usually fried foods and other good tasting food includes saturated fat.  I tend to enjoy these types of foods.  I also believe that I am at risk for CVD since it runs in my family, and therefore, I need to make changes to my diet.

I know that CVD is a serious disease, and than I am at risk for it.  Not only is my lifestyle a factor, but also heredity, age, and biological sex (Glanz et al., 2015).  I cannot change the latter, but I am able to modify the former.  This is what I know about my behaviors and lifestyle.

I value my health, and a value my family.  I want to be healthy and able to do the things that I like to do such as hike, travel, and play with my children.  I also really love my family.  I have an amazing husband, and two beautiful daughters.  They are my life, and I do not want to leave them too early by having a heart attack or other problems associated with heart disease.

Challenging Current Cognitions

My current cognition on how I eat is not usually mindful. I eat mindlessly because of various reasons such as availability and distractions such as television and the Internet (especially Facebook and blogs). I need to challenge my mind to be more aware of the items I put in my mouth and by being consciously aware I can pick and choose how much I eat and what I eat.

Restructuring Cognitions

My thoughts are very negative when I think about making changes and adjusting.  I can begin and start a new diet however.  Unfortunately, sticking with the behavior for a long period of time is the difficult part. I can say that even though I am unlikely to maintain a constant (daily) behavior change, I can try to implement the behavior a couple of times a week, or even for a least one meal per day. I can restructure my thoughts on this behavior by implementing a permanent change in the household meal plans. Getting everyone on board for the reason of my behavior change will not only get everyone else involved, it will be imbedded in my mind the more that I mention it.  In addition, I can put a limit on the number of times we eat at restaurants or take out during the week.  Currently, we are eating out at least 5 times a week.  I can reduce this to 3 at first, and then 2.  I believe that I can start rethinking or restructuring how I view eating out.  Right now I view it as a necessary part of my week in order to keep things moving in my house.  I also see eating as something that is less important to other things like school and work.  I can start thinking about eating as being important, and I can plan time for it as I plan time for other things.  I can also start thinking about food and eating out as something that costs money.  I can save our family a lot of money by making food at home.  This will give us more money to do the things that we love.