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How long does it take to create a new habit? (2015)

thelogicaloptimist.com

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Re: How long does it take to create a new habit? (2015)

#21

Post by Jhsto »

cryptoz wrote: post #2

Oh, that kind of habit. The good kind. It can take much less than 1 day to form a bad habit. I wonder how that asymmetry really is - were ancient humans less exposed to addictive substances and had no need to evolve a way to stop that? I have no idea what I'm talking about so, I'll end the comment here.

Maybe it's still a honeymoon thing for me but I've been trying out keto diet for few weeks and, anecdotally, now whenever I eat carbs I get a weird high. If you told me that people started farming to do it consistently, I'd believe you. Similarly, if I avoid carbs at all cost even for a day, by night I feel so bad that I must have some. Point is that as far as I can tell eating carbs is a habit/addiction as well, but much good has come from maintaining it.

Re: How long does it take to create a new habit? (2015)

#22

Post by aaronbaugher »

Jhsto wrote: post #21
cryptoz wrote: post #2

Oh, that kind of habit. The good kind. It can take much less than 1 day to form a bad habit. I wonder how that asymmetry really is - were ancient humans less exposed to addictive substances and had no need to evolve a way to stop that? I have no idea what I'm talking about so, I'll end the comment here.

Maybe it's still a honeymoon thing for me but I've been trying out keto diet for few weeks and, anecdotally, now whenever I eat carbs I get a weird high. If you told me that people started farming to do it consistently, I'd believe you. Similarly, if I avoid carbs at all cost even for a day, by night I feel so bad that I must have some. Point is that as far as I can tell eating carbs is a habit/addiction as well, but…

I don't remember where I got this quote, but it makes sense to me: "Grains are a cheap caloric source that's allowed for the growth of tightly packed, heavily populated cities. Grains are good for civilizations. They are bad for individuals."

Re: How long does it take to create a new habit? (2015)

#23

Post by tombert »

I lost about 60lbs last year because I was officially "obese" and I wanted to be a bit healthier.

While the exact time that I formed the healthier "habit" is harder to quantify, I definitely felt like the first three weeks were the hardest. It did feel, almost overnight, by the beginning of week four it was relatively easy to keep my calorie intake lower.

Re: How long does it take to create a new habit? (2015)

#24

Post by hammock »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #3

>"If you’re trying a new diet, attempting to quit smoking or changing any daily routine, don’t expect new habits to be created in a week, or two or even three. Research suggests that the process requires 66 days (on average) and up to 8 months." Something about the title suggested it was going to be much less than 21 days; maybe it's the domain name biasing my reading of the title.

Effort is usually quoted as a minimum ("It takes 20 minutes to drive there" "It costs $100 to buy this") which leads to a strange quirk that the negative is then interpreted as being a lower minimum, rather than a higher one ("It does not take 20min to drive there, "it does not cost $100 to buy this")

Re: How long does it take to create a new habit? (2015)

#25

Post by rzk »

voidhorse wrote: post #20
pbhjpbhj wrote: post #3

>"If you’re trying a new diet, attempting to quit smoking or changing any daily routine, don’t expect new habits to be created in a week, or two or even three. Research suggests that the process requires 66 days (on average) and up to 8 months." Something about the title suggested it was going to be much less than 21 days; maybe it's the domain name biasing my reading of the title.

Yeah same here. I think it's because (most of the time) headlines are optimized for sentiment. I would have expected a title like "It takes more than 21 days..." to indicate it takes more

But it doesn't necessarily take more than 21 days. According to the linked article, the average modeled time to plateau was 66 days, but the range was from 18 to 254 days.

Re: How long does it take to create a new habit? (2015)

#27

Post by rpmisms »

Swizec wrote: post #17
HankStallone wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jan 1, 2024, I made a resolution to change my diet (basically small, very simple meals with one cheat meal a week). I'd probably made a dozen such resolutions before without much success, but for some reason this one stuck right away. I never even had trouble sticking with it, and lost a pound a week over the next 10 months. Then I met my girlfriend and we went out to eat a lot, and that broke the habit. It seems lik…

> I wish I knew how I did it, because I've been unable to regain that same "this is just what I do now and it's fine" level of acceptance that seemed to be the key. Sometimes it’s as simple as “doesn’t hurt enough yet” My grandpa was a liter of wine per day (or more) kinda guy. Then he hit his 70’s and it didn’t feel good anymore. So he stopped and hasn’t had a glass of alcohol since. Just doesn’t feel like it. Even…

Actually making decisions is pretty great. I quit a really heavy nicotine addiction by simply deciding I wasn't going to use nicotine anymore.

Re: How long does it take to create a new habit? (2015)

#28

Post by lolinder »

0xTJ wrote: post #10
pbhjpbhj wrote: post #3

>"If you’re trying a new diet, attempting to quit smoking or changing any daily routine, don’t expect new habits to be created in a week, or two or even three. Research suggests that the process requires 66 days (on average) and up to 8 months." Something about the title suggested it was going to be much less than 21 days; maybe it's the domain name biasing my reading of the title.

I agree that the title implies (or even declares) that it takes fewer than 21 days. I'd argue that the articles says that it does take those 21 days, plus many more, making the title deceptive.

Exactly, English semantics dictate that if it takes more than 21 days it must first take 21 days.

Re: How long does it take to create a new habit? (2015)

#29

Post by OnionBlender »

PaulRobinson wrote: post #6

It took me a few days to become a smoker, and a few weeks to get to the point of not wanting to smoke again (some decades later). It took me a week or so to start having a healthier breakfast and it become part of my routine, and I've been trying to have healthier lunches for years now (and still regularly fail, normally because at lunchtimes I'm tired, stressed and yearning for comfort foods like sandwiches and snac…

What is your healthier breakfast? I never really learned what is considered a healthy breakfast.

Re: How long does it take to create a new habit? (2015)

#30

Post by taeric »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #3

>"If you’re trying a new diet, attempting to quit smoking or changing any daily routine, don’t expect new habits to be created in a week, or two or even three. Research suggests that the process requires 66 days (on average) and up to 8 months." Something about the title suggested it was going to be much less than 21 days; maybe it's the domain name biasing my reading of the title.

Glad it wasn't just me.

I have to think the research shows tighter distributions for some forms of habit?

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