How to break bad habits keeping you from weight loss

This habit of eating candy every afternoon can sabotage weight loss and affect all aspects of health – from a spike in blood sugar to brain fog to tooth decay – and if it feels impossible to break through, that’s intentional.

The brain is a “habit machine” that evolution built in this way to help navigate life, said Russell Poldrack, a neuroscientist and professor of psychology at Stanford University in California.

Habits automate routine tasks such as preparing breakfast or choosing the way to work and help us avoid decision-making paralysis at every step, he writes in his recently published book “Hard to Break: Why Our Brains Make Habits Stick,” says TODAY.

“People sometimes think of habits as a bad thing, but habits are there because they don’t make us think about what we’re doing while we’re going around the world,” said Poldrack TODAY.

Habits are “sticky” or hard to break down once you have them because our brains evolved to believe that the world would be the same from day to day – so why change? Studies show that only about a third of people who make a change in their life can make it for a year, he found.

Habits can serve us well, but what goes wrong is modern people face temptations that are incredibly rewarding – like these sweet or salty processed goodies that are very palatable in an almost addicting way.

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“The habit systems in our brains evolved in the context of a world where we didn’t have potato chips and all those things that our brains find so stimulating compared to the little piece of fruit we might find when we walk around, wherever we’ve evolved. “Thousands of years ago,” said Poldrack.

“(It’s) one of the reasons bad habits are so common in today’s world.”

Willpower doesn’t play a huge role in changing a habit, it turns out. The following works:

Change your mindset

Poldrack was a vegetarian for about 20 years but decided to switch to a carnivorous, low-carbohydrate diet for health reasons. After the changeover, he longed for the praline he had eaten that afternoon for a long time.

“The only thing that was strong enough to overcome it was that kind of fundamental belief that I had to change – not because I was dieting and having to do it to lose weight, but” because I was basically thinking that this new way of eating is the only kind of healthy diet, ”he said.

“It is a kind of religious conversion in the sense that it is a profound change in the way you think about the world, what is right in the world, what is good in the world, and how you should live your life. “

He still has an occasional dessert, but generally adheres to a low-carb diet and has been on it for 10 years because of that mindset.

Do not rely on willpower

The common view of willpower is simply wrong, writes Poldrack in his book.

It’s not that people with high self-control have a lot of desires and are really good at saying “no” to them right now – it’s just that they don’t have as many desires to begin with as research shows. They seem better at developing good habits that might protect them from temptation.

So don’t think that it is just a matter of willpower to resist a donut that is right in front of you.

“Our prefrontal cortex is just weak compared to our desires and habits – and it’s only worse when we’re tired or stressed,” said Poldrack.

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Plan ahead so as not to trigger the habit

Once in the moment, it is often too late. Design your life to avoid this moment in the first place by removing cues that trigger the behavior.

“Probably the best strategy we know of for overcoming a habit is to figure out what the temptations are and then get them out of your life as much as possible,” he noted.

“Think about how you want to keep yourself from getting sucked into the habit instead of worrying about whether you can stop yourself when you’re in the middle of it.”

Don’t go past the candy vending machine in the afternoon. Avoid the break room when a box of donuts is on display. If you like to go to the fridge for an ice cream at night, you don’t have ice cream in the house. Once the goodies are within reach, the game is as good as done.

Moving to a new location

It’s obviously not workable for everyone, but moving to a new city seems to be helping people change their habits, Poldrack said. It is a new location-new-you-kind phenomenon. One study found that people who had successfully changed their lives moved almost three times as often as “non-changers,” he writes in his book.

Try “Temptation Bundling”

The idea is to get yourself done what you shouldn’t in exchange for more desirable behavior. So if I have to eat something unhealthy, don’t do it until I come back from the gym.

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Create memories to help build good habits

Often times, the hardest part of developing good habits is remembering to “do the thing,” Poldrack said.

He started wearing a bite guard to prevent teeth grinding a few months ago, but sometimes he would wake up to find he’d forgotten to put it in. A sticky note on the mirror can make a huge difference in keeping you on track.

Likewise, visual reminders to eat more fruits and vegetables, or take a walk to the store instead of driving – all you can do to develop regular behavior that can ultimately become a habit.

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Think about the big picture

Nobody is perfect, so there will be setbacks in your quest to change a habit. Do not give up.

“People should give themselves and others a break from changing their behavior and changing bad habits because our brains are designed to make it difficult,” said Poldrack.

A. Pawlowski is a senior editor at TODAY who is focused on health news and features. She was previously a writer, producer, and editor at CNN.

source https://dailyhealthynews.ca/how-to-break-bad-habits-keeping-you-from-weight-loss/