I have no problem with willpower during the day. Like a vampire, I am dangerous at night.
During that time is when I eat my healthy snacks. Primarily nuts, fruit, and the occasional piece of dark chocolate. All healthy stuff, because I’m a healthy guy. I play a mind game with myself: “It’s not like I’m eating junk.”
One day, I decided to count the calories I was eating before I sleep and was shocked to find out they were over 1,000 calories. Suddenly the fact that I couldn’t lose those stubborn 10 pounds made sense.
The following day, armed with this knowledge, I did exactly the same thing. My thirst for salted cashews couldn’t overcome my desire to save my midsection. This continued for months. Until this month, when I finally conquered it as I studied behaviors and habits.
My Habit Loop
My will power and desire to change were not strong enough to overcome my nightly habit loop.
Trigger: Sit on the couch after a long day
Routine: Tell one of my family to grab me some fruit and nuts
Reward: Dopamine hit of a fatty, salty, and sugary snack
I decided to try a different habit loop using the knowledge I gained from the different books I read this month.
To change the habit, I used the knowledge that I needed several things to overcome my urges. Namely: be part of a tribe, A constant supply of dopamine, a new trigger, routine, and reward habit loop.
I found that I could cover most of these things using the Zero fasting app. My wife and a close friend also began to fast with me. They along with the millions of others using the fasting app became my tribe.
My routine became:
Trigger: Click start fasting on the app at 6 pm.
Routine: Intermittent fast for 18 hours
Reward: The dopamine hit of clicking the end fast 18 hours later.
For the first couple of days, my mouth would start to salivate at around 8 pm. Rather than fight it, I know from the work of Charles Duhigg that I should change the routine. I will have some sparkling water or chamomile tea instead.
The intermittent fasting coupled with my normal habit of zone 2 cardio, paid dividends in the long run. As with most things, good habits have delayed gratification as opposed to bad habits. I lost those stubborn 10 pounds in a month.