I am now reading The Power of Habit<\/a> in an attempt to work with these principles and develop a resource both for myself and to help my patients make long lasting positive life changes.<\/p>\n The entire book is based on this one simple yet powerful principle:<\/p>\n Which states: To change any habit we must keep the same cue and the same reward, then a new routine can be inserted.<\/strong><\/p>\n There are a lot of habits we need to change. Today we are going to focus on something perfect for the new year. Creating a Slow Carb Diet Habit!<\/p>\n An action or event that is a signal for somebody to do something.<\/p>\n A set of normal procedures, often performed mechanically.<\/p>\n The result of an action, whether good or bad.<\/p>\n To want strongly as to satisfy an appetite. To long for, to yearn.<\/p>\n *Mental acceptance of a claim as truth regardless of supporting or contrary empirical evidence.<\/p>\n notes: <\/em><\/p>\n *I highlighted routine because this is where we will be focusing the majority of our attention!<\/em><\/p>\n * Remember that to believe something you do not have to have any evidence that it exists. You can believe that you have the potential to be thin, healthy and sexy despite any physical proof to the contrary.<\/em><\/p>\n This is the habit loop: Cue, Routine, Reward<\/strong>! Craving <\/strong>drives the loop and Belief<\/strong> is the secret juice that makes it all possible.<\/p>\n Find a Cue, Create a Habit, Experience the Reward, Make it a Craving!<\/strong><\/p>\n To change a habit, you must keep the old cue, and deliver the old reward, but insert a new routine.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the rule: If you use the same cue, and provide the same reward, you can shift the routine and change the habit.<\/span> Almost any behavior can be transformed if the cue and reward stay the same. <\/strong><\/p>\n The Golden Rule has influenced treatments for alcoholism, obesity, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and hundreds of other destructive behaviors, and understanding it can help anyone change their own habits. (Attempts to give up snacking, for instance, will often fail unless there\u2019s a new routine to satisfy old cues and reward urges. A smoker usually can\u2019t quit unless she finds some activity to replace cigarettes when her nicotine craving is triggered.)<\/p>\n As much as I love The Power of Habit<\/a> I didn\u2019t feel that the author provided many easy to digest action steps. The process is easy . Today we are going to go through the steps of our new Habit for 2013:<\/p>\n Where should a would-be habit master start? Understanding keystone habits holds the answer to that question: The habits that matter most are the ones that, when they start to shift, dislodge and remake other patterns.<\/p>\n In the case of Slow carb we are looking at changing the keystone habit of eating.\u00a0 It sounds complex but it is not.<\/p>\n [box title=”The Slow Carb Diet Habit Loop” color=”#4b7c7c”]<\/p>\n Here was your damaged habit loop before:<\/p>\n All you are really doing is creating a new habit loop. We are keeping the same \u201ccue\u201d <\/strong>(in this case hunger\/mealtimes) and replacing it with a new habit: slow carb foods.\u00a0 The \u201creward\u201d<\/strong> actually stays the same, you eat to feel satiated.<\/p>\n Important Point:<\/strong><\/p>\n Many people stop the slow carb diet within the first month or two claiming the reward is not the same. People often feel unsatisfied after or during meals when beginning a slow carb diet.\u00a0 They complain that the food is \u201cboring\u201d or \u201cfeel a lack of energy\u201d or \u201clow blood sugars.\u201d\u00a0 In this case both the habit and the reward have been changed which is a recipe for disaster. <\/strong><\/p>\n Your Goal:<\/strong><\/p>\n Keep the Cue <\/strong>and the Reward<\/strong> exactly the same. Thus you must find slow carb foods that make you feel satiated and content.\u00a0 The Craving <\/strong>will be the healthy feeling you will start to develop, but you have to Believe<\/strong> in the process and give it time.<\/p>\n This is the final ingredient: you need to believe that this diet will work. This is not placebo effect, this is just pure fact. In order for something to work you have to give yourself over fully to the process.<\/p>\n Take it from me THIS DIET WORKS. I have given this to well over 100 patients and the ones who believed in the process have done very well. Several have gone on to lose over 100 pounds. Others have lost less but developed a leaner more sculpted body.<\/p>\n It is easy to be beaten down by the world. It could be work, our love life (or lack there of) our kids, families, responsibilities, coping with loss, illness or injury, a lost job or fear of future uncertainty. It doesn\u2019t really matter. The point is that a craving comes from a sense of enjoyment or pleasure.<\/p>\n After watching my sister go from 289 pounds to a light and lean 165 pounds she gets nothing but compliments. She feels and looks great this = craving.<\/p>\n Many of my patients who have successfully transitioned to a slow carb diet say now when they eat unhealthy foods they feel horrible. This is not a simply mental. It is your body working in a new and renewed state of health.<\/p>\n Myself personally, being able to run like the wind, feel healthy, play with my kids, know that I am treating my most important asset (time) with care makes me crave healthy living. For the first time in a long time I feel good about myself and this is a huge reward.<\/p>\n Final Note:<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n The line separating habits and addictions is often difficult to measure.\u00a0 And in the case of food the lines become blurry. I will talk more about this in my next post and give you some tools to help you kick the food \u201caddiction\u201d. <\/em><\/p>\n But believe me when I say. There is a healthy new you inside just waiting to come out.<\/p>\n Start today, change your HABIT. Define your Cue, Routine Reward Cycle and Believe in yourself and the process!<\/strong><\/p>\n Resources:<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Charles Duhiggs\u2019 wonderful new book on behavior is outstanding. I listened to the audible version several months ago. When Derek Halpern from Social Triggers interviewed the author recently I started to have renewed interest. I am now reading The Power of Habit in an attempt to work with these principles and develop a resource both […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[167,272,190,3],"tags":[637,639,634,636,635,633,1130,638,23,20],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1tiSR-1xr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.4hourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5917"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.4hourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.4hourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4hourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4hourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.4hourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5917\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.4hourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4hourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4hourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Golden Rule of Habit Change<\/h2>\n
Lets take a moment to focus on the key players of any habit change: Cue, Routine, Reward Craving and Belief. <\/em><\/h3>\n
CUE<\/em><\/h3>\n
*ROUTINE<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n
REWARD<\/em><\/h3>\n
CRAVING<\/em><\/h3>\n
\n
BELIEF<\/em><\/h3>\n
Cue, Routine, Reward, Craving, Belief\u2026 Oh My!<\/h2>\n
![\"Cue](\"https:\/\/www.4hourlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Cue-Routine-Reward-Running_thumb.jpg\" "\\"Cue")
<\/a>I want you to repeat these 5 words until you can recite them without looking at this page.<\/p>\nHow to Make a Habit Loop:<\/h3>\n
4 Easy Steps to Creating a Slow Carb Diet Habit Loop!<\/h2>\n
Let\u2019s look at one habit loop: Beginning a slow carb diet.<\/h4>\n
![\"The-4-Hour-Body-Habit-Loop---Slow-Carb-Diet\"](\"https:\/\/www.4hourlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/The-4-Hour-Body-Habit-Loop-Slow-Carb-Diet_thumb.jpg\" "\\"The-4-Hour-Body-Habit-Loop---Slow-Carb-Diet\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nStep 1<\/h2>\n
Identify the keystone habit you wish to change<\/h3>\n
Step 2<\/h2>\n
Identify and sketch the habit loop of\u00a0 our keystone habit: Identify the Cue, Routine Reward cycle.<\/span><\/h3>\n
In this case:<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
Step 3:<\/h2>\n
Belief<\/span><\/h3>\n
Step 4:<\/h2>\n
Reinforce the\u00a0CRAVING<\/span> for health.<\/h3>\n
\nADDICTION VERSUS HABIT<\/em><\/h3>\n
\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=4hourlife00-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1400069289\")