The aim of this study was to propose an educational intervention based on social representations from a review of models of behavioral change. To illustrate the model we used part of the empirical representations of identity and feeding of 34 users with type 2 diabetes mellitus in a primary care unit in Belo Horizonte/Brazil. We selected to adopt the health approach process action, because this model considers the motivational stage the social representations about the contingencies that influence health behavior desired, expected outcomes, risk perception and intention as a decision-making process by which an individual may adopt a preventive measure or change risk behavior for others. In the volitional phase we included the resolution of problems. Social representations of acceptance to be diabetic and those related to feeding and self-efficacy influence the cognitive construction of action plans.