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Changing your habits for better health: the four stages, the pros and cons, the roadblocks, and keeping it up
For anyone who wants to eat better, move more or change another health habit: who keeps meaning to start, has just started, or has slipped. It passes on, by name, what the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says: the four stages of change and how to tell which one you are in, the pros and cons of healthy eating and physical activity, the common roadblocks (no time, the cost, doing it alone, not liking exercise or healthy food) and NIDDK’s solutions, a plan with small goals, tracking your progress, rewards that are not food, setbacks, and keeping it up. It builds the words to say to your health care professional, and prints a card. It is about habits, not about the size of your body.
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Other guides on this site that go with this page
Free to read. We chose these ourselves; no professional did. Each guide was written with AI and has not been reviewed by a professional. They are general information, not advice.
- Eating well and moving more: what to eat more and less of, what can affect your weight, the two kinds of activity, how much, and getting started: eating well and moving more: the foods to have more and less of, what can affect your weight, the two kinds of physical activity and how much, getting started, and being good to yourself.
- Myths about food and moving: favorite foods, grains, gluten-free, fats, dairy, eating vegetarian, short bursts of activity, and lifting weights: NIDDK’s eight myths about food and moving: favorite foods, grains, gluten-free, fats, dairy, eating vegetarian, short bursts of activity, and lifting weights, and what it says instead.
- Healthy eating and staying active as you get older: food, fluids, salt, the five kinds of activity, and being good to yourself: healthy eating and staying active as you get older: the foods to have more and less of, fluids, salt, the five kinds of physical activity, staying safe, and being good to yourself.
- Staying active at any size: staying safe, why move, walking, dancing, biking and water, strength and daily life, and getting past roadblocks: staying active at any size: who should check with a health care professional first, the signs to stop and seek help, why moving matters even if your weight doesn’t change, walking, dancing, biking, water workouts, strength, and NIDDK’s ways past the usual roadblocks.
- Medicines for weight: who they are for, how they work, the seven medicines, side effects, how long, and cost: prescription medicines for weight, such as semaglutide (Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Zepbound): who they are for, how they work, NIDDK’s table of the seven medicines, side effects, how long to take one, and cost.
- Helping your child eat well and move more: healthy habits, what to eat and drink, snacks, staying active, screen time, and weight: helping your child eat well and move more: healthy habits together, what to eat and drink, snacks and choking hazards, how much to move at each age, screen time, and loving your child at any weight.
- Choosing a weight-loss program: what one is, what to look for, programs online, warning signs, and the questions to ask: choosing a weight-loss program: what a real program is, talking with a health care professional first, what to look for, what an online program should include, the warning signs, and NIDDK’s questions about studies, cost, staff, results and risks.
- Food portions: portions and servings, how much is enough for you, reading the label, at home, eating out, and on a tight budget: food portions: the difference between a portion and a serving, servings per container, how much is enough for you, reading the Nutrition Facts label, and tips at home, eating out and when money is tight.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor, nurse or dietitian has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 19, 2026 on NIDDK’s (NIH) page Changing Your Habits for Better Health (last reviewed November 2020) and its Spanish page Cómo cambiar sus hábitos para tener una mejor salud (April 2019), which say the same. The numbers (four stages; the last 6 months or so; more than 6 months; 10 minutes, three times a week; one shopping day and one potluck a week; a cup or two; 5 days a week; twice a week) are NIDDK’s, and we add none. Ours: “if you believe it is an emergency, call 911” and 988 (NIDDK names neither on this page); that this page is about habits, not the size of your body; that food is not a prize or a punishment; the pointer to our eating disorders page; asking your health care professional which activity is safe for you; that not having enough food is not a habit to fix; the questions to ask; the links to our other pages; and the order of the steps. What we left out: NIDDK’s line that new habits may help you “look better”; the NIH Body Weight Planner (a weight-loss planning tool); the section on clinical trials; and NIDDK’s links to other sites. NIDDK’s lists of pros keep “maintain a healthy weight” as one item among many. Nothing you tick or type here is saved or sent.