Basic Pursuits

Ten years ago in the late spring I decided that I was going to lose all the weight that I put on the previous winter. Furthermore I determined to develop a plan to keep the weight off, particularly the pounds I tended to gain during the holidays.

Years ago I learned about Skinner Behaviorism. This early experimental psychology focused on positive and negative reinforcement. For example, you might ring a bell, a stimulus. If the rat did what you wanted, you'd give the rat a treat. That's positive reinforcement. If he did something that you did not want, you'd give him a mild electrical shock. That's negative reinforcement.

Experimenters figured out that positive reinforcement produced faster learning. That discovery hugely influenced the ending of corporal punishment in schools.

Yesterday was "Death of the Diet Day." Yesterday was the day when more people gave up the diets that they started New Years than on any other day of the year. This according to a survey by Britain's PruHealth.

I learned this from an article by the BBC. The article pointed out that one of the reasons is that people tend to behave as a herd. One person quits. She's seen by another who quits too. And on and on.

We know this to be true: we are overweight because of bad eating habits. Therefore the solution is to change the habits.

NOT go on a diet. Change the eating habits.

Here's a strategy for doing it.

Habit formation takes planning and repetition. But like any good story, good habits have a beginning. Good habit formation requires that you make a plan, write it down, refine the plan, make mini-plans to cover details and contingencies, and repeat, repeat, repeat.

Here are ten nutrition practices that you'll want make a habit over time. Pick ONE and start today. Work on it until it becomes part of you. Then pick another.

Brad Isaac learned something from Jerry Seifeld, "...that would benefit me a lifetime."