11–20 of 180 posts
I’ve found committing a large chunk of money, in front of friends, to causes I detest it I don’t hit my goals, to be like a magic wand for this stuff. UKIP haven’t yet received £1,500 from me, and each week I’ve been tremendously productive and done everything I set out to with that as a threat
I think attacking one problem at a time is the best way to go about (at least for me). I noticed that many people try to make drastic changes all at once and then fail at all of them. I'd recommend trying one thing and just doing that one thing above all else. IE, don't try to exercise and diet at the same time. Pick one and when you've firmly established the habit, start the next change.
I tried to "turn things around" and failed.
First step first 6 months - I cut back on fried foods, salty foods, burgers, and sweets and kept a sane calorie budget. Along with medication that brought my high blood pressure down from a walking heart attack level to elevated but still didn't do much for my cholesterol or weight (5 pound weight loss).
Second Step 3 months and counting - It was a simple matter of increasing my exercise regimen from non existent to a relative intense resistance based regimen that's now up to around 2 hours four times a week. I've lost about 10 pounds but I've probably platued.
The third step is going to be the hardest for me, cut back on meat and start eating more vegetables and fruit and cut out non diet sodas (yeah I know about the studies with diet sodas.) Goal is about another 10 pounds of weight loss.
I think attacking one problem at a time is the best way to go about (at least for me). I noticed that many people try to make drastic changes all at once and then fail at all of them. I'd recommend trying one thing and just doing that one thing above all else. IE, don't try to exercise and diet at the same time. Pick one and when you've firmly established the habit, start the next change.
I agree completely. I spent years as a fitness instructor and worked out regularly. Life happened, I stopped teaching and working out consistently for five years and everything went south, weight, blood pressure, strength, cardio, cholesterol, etc. I tried to "turn things around" and failed. First step first 6 months - I cut back on fried foods, salty foods, burgers, and sweets and kept a sane calorie budget. Along w…
I can attest to the relative ease his method provides, over quitting cold turkey. Essentially, he uses tools of psychology to reinforce his points, such as spaced repetition, but he also dissects the psychology at play inside the smoker's mind.
He frames nicotene addiction as a state of brainwashing, and enumerates all sorts of behavior as examples.
When smokers begin, usually as teenagers, there is a lot wrapped up in, or at least was 20 years ago, the coolness of it. This is precisely why you see actors and actresses smoking cigarettes with exotic technique of holding the cigarette, or generally looking intriguing, it is an extremely effective heuristic. Everyone who smokes their first cigarette obviously has immediate negative physical effects. They cough, it burns the throat, they get nauseous, or just a plain nicotene buzz, etc. Yet since they know that cigarettes are so cool, or otherwise lent social proof, all of this is rationalized and minimized, in the goal of validation of your peers.
A lot of the other information contrasts nonsmokers behavior to also shatter these illusions. Smokers lie to themselves that the cigarettes are what is keeping them together. But nonsmokers don't seem in the aggregate less confident, or less healthy, or less mentally stable, or any of these lies we tell ourselves. That means that controlling for the cigarettes reveals them to be the causal factor.
One of the low level rationalizations daily smokers make on an hourly basis or so, is that they are ready for that next cigarette. It is time. To the extent that they can't close that loop, this is where the _true_ stress from nicotene addiction happens. They've essentially built up experience of a heuristic for long enough, of the feeling coming, the smoking, and the feeling going away. In the smokers mind, actually smoking the cigarette is what curbs the craving, thus, the smoking is necessary.
There are a myriad other rationalizations made, all in the name of not having to go through what we assume will be a hellacious withdrawal, because we wont be able to stop thinking about it. But thats only because we trust this faulty heuristic that says stress -> smoke -> no stress.
The book simply goes through all of these rationalized fallacies, as the author smoked for 33 years, and used them all himself. The process of reading all of this information in short succession, in addition to some of the coping mechanisms that are essentially more tricks of the mind, or ways to frame the thoughts that inevitably arise when a smoker quits, I believe has sort of a triggering effect, not unlike juicy gossip and the 24 hour news cycle. However, the reader is triggered to parry each nagging thought with the context in which it is a fallacy. If this can be successfully done, the normal feelings of dreading the withdrawal can be replaced with almost a sadism for the part of your mind that is receding in its influence, abstracting the sum of this brainwashing to a monster in your mind. He is the one who wants the nicotene, he is the one freaking out, not me. I'm breathing deeply, and smelling food again.
I think I understand a lot of the general underpinnings, but I have yet to find the EasyWay to do anything else. I still contend at least part of the answer lies in this psychological realm, if not almost all of it.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and if you are suffering emotionally/mentally please seek professional help. ---- My anecdote: I used to frequently suffer from (undiagnosed) anxiety and depression. For about a year, I would respond to sudden anxiety by seeking comfort in various forms of isolation/depressed behavior (watch TV as a distraction, try to take a "nap", etc.). The most insidious thing about this was how it s…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree completely. I spent years as a fitness instructor and worked out regularly. Life happened, I stopped teaching and working out consistently for five years and everything went south, weight, blood pressure, strength, cardio, cholesterol, etc. I tried to "turn things around" and failed. First step first 6 months - I cut back on fried foods, salty foods, burgers, and sweets and kept a sane calorie budget. Along w…
Cutting out meat is not significantly associated with weight loss. Cutting out simple carbohydrates, especially sugar, is.
Honestly, my biggest concern is not losing weight at this point just being healthier.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and if you are suffering emotionally/mentally please seek professional help. ---- My anecdote: I used to frequently suffer from (undiagnosed) anxiety and depression. For about a year, I would respond to sudden anxiety by seeking comfort in various forms of isolation/depressed behavior (watch TV as a distraction, try to take a "nap", etc.). The most insidious thing about this was how it s…
I've discussed this in the context of transportation cycling at HN in the past:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16515129
> As a transportation cyclist, some people I know think I must have superhuman willpower. But the reality is that I don't own a car, don't like the bus, and live too far away for walking regularly to be practical. I structured my life so that cycling is the most convenient option.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16450267
> No excuses are valid. Don't feel like it? Doesn't matter. I don't want to ride most mornings. Cold weather or rain? Too bad, no choice still. Sick? Take a day off for your health.
> I am no more successful at maintaining other exercise in my life. I used to run more regularly, but I haven't had the time for a while. So I understand how difficult maintaining an exercise habit is. That's why I leave nothing to chance.
I’ve found committing a large chunk of money, in front of friends, to causes I detest it I don’t hit my goals, to be like a magic wand for this stuff. UKIP haven’t yet received £1,500 from me, and each week I’ve been tremendously productive and done everything I set out to with that as a threat
That’s cool and all, but doesn’t really work if you’re trying to, say, stop being anxious on public transit.
I think attacking one problem at a time is the best way to go about (at least for me). I noticed that many people try to make drastic changes all at once and then fail at all of them. I'd recommend trying one thing and just doing that one thing above all else. IE, don't try to exercise and diet at the same time. Pick one and when you've firmly established the habit, start the next change.
I agree completely. I spent years as a fitness instructor and worked out regularly. Life happened, I stopped teaching and working out consistently for five years and everything went south, weight, blood pressure, strength, cardio, cholesterol, etc. I tried to "turn things around" and failed. First step first 6 months - I cut back on fried foods, salty foods, burgers, and sweets and kept a sane calorie budget. Along w…
That's the only 100% banned item in my diet because fried stuff makes my skin look ashen and ugly. Whenever fried foods come up in conversations everyone immediately assumes I am talking about fats vs carbs and proteins. Google does too. I can eat most any fats, even butter sticks, no problem. I was wondering if anyone knows why fried foods are so bad.