The path to changing our behavior has very little to do with resolve. We achieve control, not through willpower but by finding ways to take willpower entirely out of the equation. The central force for eliminating bad habits, according to social psychologist Wendy Wood, author of “Good Habits, Bad Habits,” is friction. In other words, making bad habits inconvenient. She cites the ways in which increased friction has produced a decline in smoking: laws that ban it in restaurants, bars, airplanes, and trains; taxes that have helped triple the price of cigarettes in the U.S. in the past twenty years; the purge of cigarettes from vending machines, and of tobacco ads from TV and the radio. We can apply the same concept to eating … [Read more...] about Eliminating Triggers
Habits
Punk Rock Eating
Why is the obesity epidemic continuing to spiral out of control? We know that being obese makes us more likely to have heart disease + high blood pressure + diabetes + sleep apnea. It raises our risk of stroke and some cancers. It puts constraints on our lives and what we’re able to do physically. Yet nothing has changed. Despite all we know and all the money we’ve spent, we are getting fatter and sicker as a society. I was listening to a podcast while hiking yesterday and something clicked. We don’t need more awareness or more programs or more funding. We need a new normal. The way of eating that contributes to the ever-evolving health crisis we’ve found ourselves in is NORMAL. As human beings, we want … [Read more...] about Punk Rock Eating
The Freeing Power of Personal Rules
Without reminders + gentle nudges + bumpers to keep us in our lane, we will inevitably default to autopilot mode. In other words, we will do what we’ve always done. Autopilot works brilliantly when we have zero interest in changing our actions - but when it comes to self-improvement, it’s kryptonite. If you're serious about getting better at something, you’ll need.. 1. Self-awareness2. Accountability tools3. Personal rules Yes --- rules. Guidelines. Instructions. Behaviors. Habits. Whatever you want to call them. The idea of setting rules to live by strikes fear in most people. We immediately recall all the times unfair or cruel rules were forced upon us - or the times we attempted to live under unbearable … [Read more...] about The Freeing Power of Personal Rules
The REAL Reason Healthy Eating is Hard (and how to do it anyway)
The benefits of good nutrition and maintaining a healthy weight are clear. There’s no need to provide yet another list. With so many compelling reasons to eat a healthy diet, why is it so difficult to actually do? Hint: the answer is not more willpower or greater motivation. One of the MAIN reasons eating a healthy diet is difficult is because JUNK FOOD IS DELICIOUS (+ widely available + inexpensive). Steven Witherly is a food scientist who has spent the last 20 years studying what makes certain foods more addictive (and tasty) than others. Much of the science that follows is from his brilliant report, Why Humans Like Junk Food. According to Witherly, when you eat tasty food, there are two factors that make the experience … [Read more...] about The REAL Reason Healthy Eating is Hard (and how to do it anyway)