Unhealthy Behavior
Health is a basic requirement for human beings that enable people’s sustainability. In light of this, it is always advisable for an individual to lead a healthy life by observing good healthy behaviors. I noted recently that I was addicted to taking sugary junks each moment of the day. The reason why I identify my unhealthy behavior as an addiction is due to the fact that I have a tendency of taking chocolates, cookies, and sodas almost after every hour. I discovered this unhealthy behavior approximately two weeks ago and I decided to improve it. However, before initiating the process I identified baseline data for three days. Notably, junks are easily available and do not require preparation; therefore, I took them immediately when I arrived at home when completing my assignments when watching a movie among other times. This affected my appetite for complete and heavy meals.
Thereafter, I started the intervention process where I choose the social cognitive theory to serve as the foundation for my behavior change. Social cognitive or the social learning theory denotes that health behavioral change resultant from the human interaction with the environment, individual factors, and attributes of the behavior itself. It states that a person can acquire knowledge by directly observing others either directly or through social interactions. Social cognitive theory propagates that an individual should learn from other people’s experiences and outside media influences. According to this theory, outsourced information plays a greater role in changing people’s behavior. They do not wait to experience the consequences, but they learn from others. Obesity and other lifestyle diseases are a threat to numerous American populations. The initial stage of acquiring these diseases is unhealthy eating. I have been cautioned severely in regards to my addiction to junk foods. According to numerous health websites and documentations, junk foods have a high concentration of sugar and other chemicals that are detrimental to human health. They should be consumed as luxurious or lifestyle foods to avoid adverse effects. I wanted the theory to be a pillar towards my behavior change desire.
The social cognitive theory employs learning and health education that influences c. It incorporates cognitive and biological events in relation to the environmental factors that affect a person’s behavior. My ultimate goal was to consume junk food at least once a day or even once in two days. It was an addiction and I knew it will be challenging to stop an acquired habit. The other objective was to engage my family members in this unhealthy behavior change. One of the significant things is that stopping an addiction leads to getting absorbed into an alternative behavior. I had to start an exercise program that would ensure that I desist from junk food and that my body would require heavy food to survive. Therefore, the collective goal would be managing to desist from junk food and be able to exercise each day after school.
The first building block of social cognitive theory is the desire to embrace change and make effective achievements. Desire is an intrinsic aspiration that drives an individual into engaging in certain behavior. My desire to stopping the addiction is the pillar towards changing my unhealthy behavior through the social learning model. Similarly, the model propagates for end objectives or goals that are pushing an individual towards behavioral change. My goals are to shun consistent consumption of junk foods and embark on healthy behaviors such as having complete meals and exercising. In order to make these achievements, I had to implement effective strategies that are in line with the social cognitive theory. The first strategy entailed joining the school’s soccer team to ensure that I engage in exercise activities on a daily basis. The second strategy involved convincing my parents to be preparing family meals each day that made the whole family converge for supper. The last strategy involved convincing the parents to minimize the shopping of sodas and cookies and instead concentrate on kales and milk among other foods with less chemical concentration. These activities were influenced by other people who had taken similar measures in order to control their unhealthy behaviors. Similarly, the online platform emphasized the need for exercise and workout activities. The social cognitive theory required a lot of research in order to understand what entailed in the intervention of unhealthy behavior.
My first day was quite challenging since I had been addicted to staying with a can of soda, cookies, and chocolates. It was funny how I was tempted to open the refrigerator, but I remembered that I was in an intervention process for my unhealthy behavior. Similarly, I did not have an appetite for cooked meals since I was not used to them. The field events were the most challenging because I could not even run for ten minutes. However, the social learning theory readings encouraged me to pursue whatever I wanted. One thing I noted after the first day was that the intervention process required a lot of psychological readiness. I had to balance my mind in a way that elicited concern for whatever I was doing. As a result, I woke up energetic and jovial to start the following day’s activities. I took milk in the morning with other snacks, but I did not carry them to school. However, I was disturbed by my appetite and decided to purchase some junk food from the school cafeteria. In the evening, I was very much prepared to start my soccer training since I had bought exercising suit. The training went on well and by the time we finished my body was much deprived that I only needed to rush home and get food to energize my body. Similarly, my body became dehydrated that it required regular replenishment with water. I started carrying a water bottle to quench my thirst. After only three days, I had started experiencing changes as my addiction reduced significantly and I could take complete meals without difficulties.
The behavior change process carried on for two weeks and each day there was a new achievement. One important thing is that the activities influenced my academics in a positive way. Firstly, I developed a reading culture due to the research that I engaged in in order to fathom information regarding unhealthy behavior. Secondly, the exercises helped me to plan my team since I had a weekly schedule of my activities. Additionally, I slept very early reducing the time I wasted watching movies and on social media. These activities also required a lot of motivation either intrinsic or extrinsic. My parents were excellent in encouragement and motivation aimed at pushing me to achieve my objectives. One week marked a milestone achievement as I started forgetting the snacks at all and I ate heavily. By the end of two weeks, I had achieved my goal; however, I am still continuing with the exercises in spite of complete the unhealthy behavior change program.