Each weekly session, or “Step,” introduces a new concept and key behavior for lifestyle change. Sessions are highly interactive and incorporate group discussion, role play, problem solving and more.
Each session provides a “road map” for content delivery, including the following:
Key behavior and concept: ‘Why This Will Help You Lose Weight’
Self-assessment: ‘Where Are You Now?’
Hands-on practice: Activity that reinforces concepts
Action planning: Nutrition and physical activity behaviors
The LifeSteps® Leader serves as a facilitator for change while providing information, support and guidance. Participants adjust their goals and action plan as they gain new insights and practice new behaviors.
Pre-program Sessions: Orientation Session and Initial Interview
These two sessions are a win for you and win for your participants. Participants who attend both these sessions are more likely to stick with the program, make lasting lifestyle changes and lose weight.
Group Orientation Session – Individuals who are interested in LifeSteps® learn about what’s involved and decide if they are ready to make lifestyle changes that will lead to weight loss.
One-on-One Initial Interview – This interview helps you determine whether the client is ready to embark on a lifestyle change journey. Using motivational interviewing, you assess:
Health status and weight history
Readiness for change
Willingness to do required activities, including daily food tracking and regular physical activity
Steps 1-5: Learning the Basics
Knowledge is key to successful behavior change. Learning the basics of nutrition and physical activity sets the foundation for creating a personal plan for lifestyle change.
Step 1: Monitoring – Learn the importance of monitoring in making lifestyle changes and how to keep a Food and Activity Record.
Self-assessment: Current eating habits
Step 2: Physical Activity – Learn the importance of physical activity and make a plan for increasing activity levels.
Self-assessment: Current activity level
Step 3: Guide to Daily Food Choices – Learn the importance of eating a variety of foods from the Five Food Groups and develop a healthy eating plan based on the MyPlate recommendations.
Self-assessment: Five Food Groups
Step 4: Serving Size – Learn how to weigh and measure food and develop an eye for standard serving sizes.
Self-assessment: Serving size awareness
Step 5: The Calorie Connection – Learn about the calorie content of foods to make more informed food choices.
Self-assessment: Calorie awareness
Steps 6-8: Individualized Action Planning
Participants’ lifestyles are all different. These three “Steps” help them identify and prioritize nutrition, activity and behavior changes that meet their needs.
Step 6: Putting It All Together – Create an individualized plan based on personal assessments and information learned in the first five “Steps”.
Self-assessments: Behaviors, weight, calories in, calories out, awareness of other factors including sleep, hormones, stress, microbiome.
Step 7: Mid-Program Interview – One-on-one interview based on motivational interviewing to evaluate progress and provide feedback.
Self-assessment: Maintaining motivation
Step 8: Eating Styles – Identify eating styles that lead to overeating and discuss, mindful eating, hunger and satiety.
Steps 9-13: Managing Lapses: Emotional, Environmental Issues and Eating
Lapses can be small or large. Successful behavior change requires managing lapses to stay on track and reach established goals.
Step 9: Managing Lapses, Dealing with Your Environment – Learn what constitutes a “lapse” and how environmental cues, such as the availability and visibility of food, affect how much we eat and strategies for eliminating or decreasing them.
Self-assessment: Visibility and availability of food
Step 10: Managing Lapses, Dealing with Social Events – Identify personal, high-risk social situations and develop strategies for managing them.
Self-assessment: How do social events affect your eating?
Step 11: Managing Lapses, Dealing with Feelings – Identify how feelings affect eating behavior and develop plans for handling a variety of situations.
Self-assessment: How do emotions affect your eating?
Step 12: Managing Lapses, Dealing with Other People – Develop strategies for dealing with people who overtly or unconsciously encourage eating and identify steps for soliciting support.
Self-assessment: How do other people affect your eating?
Step 13: Managing Lapses, Eating Out– Plan strategies for staying on track while eating away from home in a variety of settings.
Self-assessment: How does eating away from home affect your eating?
Steps 14-16: Preparing for the Future
Weekly classes are coming to end; however, the goal of LifeSteps® is to guide participants to establish behavior changes that last a lifetime. These final “Steps” help participants take pride in the progress they’ve made and take ownership of their healthy lifestyle changes.
Step 14: Staying Active – Develop a personal physical activity program for maintaining weight loss and cardiovascular fitness.
Self-assessment: Visibility and availability of food
Step 15: Final Interview – One-on-one interview to review progress, provide feedback and set goals for the future.
Self-assessment: What behaviors are working?
Step 16: Staying in Step – Learn a six-step process for maintaining behavior changes and how to continue setting and achieving lifestyle change goals.
Self-assessment: Review my results
Maintenance Sessions
LifeSteps® includes 11 additional Maintenance Sessions that you can use to offer continued support after your LifeSteps® Program ends. These sessions extend the program’s 16 core steps and provide additional support, skill building and practice.
Maintenance Session Topics
Learning to Anticipate High-Risk Situations
Handling Cravings
Keeping a Thought Journal
Creating Positive Affirmations
Managing Stress
Setting Up Your Own Lapse
Enlisting Support
Picking Effective Rewards
Developing a Reward Contract
Developing Menus
Modifying Recipes
Need more details about the LifeSteps® program?
This brochure is an overview of the program that you can bring to management and decision-makers to help build your LifeSteps® business.
We are proud to say it! “Not just anyone can teach LifeSteps®! Only Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs) and qualified health professionals can become LifeSteps®Leaders.” . It’s what sets LifeSteps® apart from other weight management programs and one way we maintain the integrity and quality of the program.
Non-RDN Applicants
All non-RDN applicants must demonstrate ongoing continuing education in nutrition through workshops, seminars, conferences, etc. within the last five years and meet one of the following criteria:
Hold a degree in nutrition from an accredited college or university, OR
Hold a 4-year degree in a related health field and have completed a minimum of one college- level course in human nutrition, OR
Hold a 4-year degree in a non-related field, have five years’ work experience in a health-related field, and have completed a minimum of one college-level course in human nutrition from an accredited college or university within the past five years.
Intellectual Property Rights
(CDR #LS001)
All applicants who are accepted into the course must sign and return a LifeSteps® Leader Agreement that outlines LifeSteps® intellectual property rights.
LifeSteps® is a Continuing Professional Education Accredited Provider through the Commission on Dietetic Registration
Want More Information?
Are you an RDN or health professional interested in learning more about LifeSteps®?
Get our Program Overview.
Interested in participating in a LifeSteps® group? Contact us…
LifeSteps® is designed for groups of 10-18. This size allows for a healthy combination of discussion, content review, sharing, accountability and group support. This size group is small enough to provide personal contact that supports successful behavior change, but big enough for dynamic and robust interaction.
Why Leaders Like Them
Cost and time effective
Fun and enjoyable to facilitate
Participants come up with answers and solutions, too
Two-way learning – The leader learns from the group and the group learns from the leader
Problem solving and accountability that is not available with one-on-one counseling
Peer modeling that makes your job easier and has a profound impact on the entire group
Why Participants Like Them
Everyone shares the common goal of lifestyle change and weight loss
Everyone works on similar challenges
Participants benefit from the shared experience and learn from others in the group
They’re “part of something bigger”
Find new support and feel understood knowing they are not alone in this challenge
Motivate and empower one another
Leader Training
What You’ll Learn
The course covers everything you need to know to launch a successful LifeSteps® program. It:
Develops your skills in behavioral techniques, behavioral feedback and group management.
Certifies you to deliver LifeSteps® in a variety of setting, including worksites, private medical practices, fitness centers and wellness and bariatric clinics.
Provides RDNs with 15 CPEs that can be completed on your schedule, in your home or office.
Course Objectives:After completing the Leader Training, you will be able to:
Identify all components of the LifeSteps® Weight Management Program.
Know how to use each component effectively.
Apply cognitive-behavioral strategies and group facilitation skills in a weight management setting.
Understand when and how to provide behavioral feedback to clients.
Apply goal setting concepts to specific client situations.
Function as an independent contractor of the LifeSteps® Weight Management Program.
Market and promote the program.
What’s Included
Both course options include the following:
Required, background reading
PowerPoint presentations
“Hands on” assignments using the LifeSteps® program materials
Review through quizzes and tests
Idea sharing
How It Works
If you’re qualified to become a LifeSteps® Leader, choose from two options:
Scheduled Course – Join in and interact online with others who are taking the course at the same time.
Individualized Self-study – This is a great option if scheduled course dates don’t work for you. Contact tracy@lifestepsweight.com for more information.
The course is taught entirely online. All you need is:
A computer
An internet connection and
6 weeks to complete the LifeSteps® Leader Training Course!
No matter which option you choose:
You complete the course at your own pace, on your own time, in the convenience of your home or work setting.
The course is open and available for you 24/7.
There is no set time to log-in and you can work when it fits your schedule.
Plan for about 3 hours per week to complete the tasks.
How Do I Start? Apply to Be a Leader
We are proud to say it! “Not just anyone can teach LifeSteps®!
Only Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs) and qualified health professionals can become LifeSteps®Leaders.” It’s what sets LifeSteps®apart from other weight management programs and one way we maintain the integrity and quality of the program.
All non-RDN applicants must demonstrate ongoing continuing education in nutrition through workshops, seminars, conferences, etc. within the last 5 years and meet one of the following criteria:
Hold a degree in nutrition from an accredited college or university, OR
Hold a 4-year degree in a related health field and have completed a minimum of one college-level course in human nutrition, OR
Hold a 4-year degree in a non-related field, have 5 years’ work experience in a health-related field, and have completed a minimum of one college-level course in human nutrition from an accredited college or university within the past 5 years.
(CDR #LS001)
LifeSteps® is a Continuing Professional Education Accredited Provider through the Commission on Dietetic Registration
Target Audience
LifeSteps® is appropriate for a wide ranging audience of people who want to lose weight for any number of reasons. It’s for people…
With medical conditions, such as prediabetes or diabetes, hypertension, knee and joint issues, sleep apnea or any condition where losing weight – even small amounts – can make a big difference.
Who suffer from “diet burnout” and have tried numerous diets without success.
Who simply want to look and feel better.
Readiness Is Key
Regardless of the motivation for losing weight, a person has to be READY for LifeSteps®. It is for the individual who WANTS to lose weight for personal reasons, not because someone has told them they “should” or “need” to lose weight.
They have to be willing to:
Commit to healthy, moderate eating habits and regular physical activity.
Be accountable and keep daily food and activity records.
Attend LifeSteps® classes and be part of a group that can support them.
Commit to healthy, realistic weight loss goals and take the weight off slowly.
Challenge their current attitudes and beliefs about food, physical activity and weight.
Engage family, friends and others who will support their lifestyle changes.