Are Information And Willpower Enough To Support Lasting Behavior And Lifestyle Change?

Here’s another great one from Chris Kresser (repost) and down below I discuss how we overcome the "Old Way" at Thrive Nutrition:

This is another installment in the “Old Way, New Way” series I started last week. In this email, we’re going to talk about behavior change. 

The Old Way is to assume that information and willpower are enough to support lasting behavior and lifestyle change. 

Take weight loss. The idea is that if someone understands (information) how unhealthy it is to be overweight, then all they have to do to succeed is commit to going on a weight loss program.

Of course, we know this isn’t true. We know that about 80 percent of people will eventually gain it back—and many will gain even more weight than they lost. 

Same thing with exercise. Virtually everyone knows that exercise is essential to health. Yet according to the American Fitness Industry, the vast majority of people who sign up for gym memberships in January have quit or stopped going after six months. 

The Old Way solution to this problem is to pound people with more information, and/or to guilt-blame-shame them about their lack of willpower. 

And how has this strategy worked out?

It has been a complete failure. According to the CDC, only about 6 percent of Americans consistently engage in the top five health behaviors: maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, not drinking excessively, getting adequate exercise, and getting enough sleep.

So, if the Old Way isn’t effective, what’s the New Way?

The New Way starts with the understanding that the primary driver of poor behavior and lifestyle choices is not a lack of willpower, but a mismatch between our genes and biology, and our environment.

Let’s go back to the two examples above, starting with diet and weight loss. 

Human beings are biologically programmed to seek out calorie-dense foods. This protected us in the natural environment we evolved in, which would have been characterized by periods of food scarcity. Our ancestors that were most successful in obtaining and storing these excess calories are the ones who survived and passed their genes down to us.

But this biological programming that served us in the Paleolithic era backfires on us today, in a world with a 7-eleven on every corner and virtually unlimited amounts and types of food that can be delivered to our door with a few taps on a screen.

It’s a similar situation with exercise and physical activity. In our ancestral environment, we had to expend a lot of energy just to survive—hunting, gathering, building shelter, and fighting for territory. Whenever we weren’t doing any of those things, it was important for us to rest and conserve energy, so that we had it when we needed it for survival. 

In other words, we’re hardwired to conserve energy when our life is not at stake. If you’ve ever wondered why you resist exercising, there’s your answer!

In the New Way, we understand how our biological programming influences the choices we make. We know that if we fail to make a behavior or lifestyle change, it’s not because we’re weak and something is wrong with us. On the contrary, our bodies are responding to their environment in exactly the way that they were designed to. I’m not saying that we aren’t responsible for our choices as individuals. But I am saying that, in most cases, if we want to be successful we have to go beyond information and willpower. 

We have to outsmart evolution by leveraging evidence-based strategies for behavior change. 

Here at Thrive Nutrition, we combine nutrition and lifestyle education with health coaching. We give you handouts and have conversations around what an ideal diet is for your situation and then we set specific goals. People generally want to “eat better” or “exercise more,” but that is too vague and has no structure. How would you know if you are eating better overall? It would be hard to tell after multiple weeks.

Our first steps in the goal setting process is to build upon what is already going well (what would also be the easiest) and what you are most excited to change. These are small goals that should feel pretty easy to accomplish. Most people want to set grandiose goals, because it feels like something worth being proud of. However, it’s the small goals overtime will snowball into your larger, long term goals. And because the first goals aren’t as daunting, you’ll be more likely to see success. Success breeds more success.

When there are setbacks in your wellness journey (there will be setbacks), we offer a supportive role to help you learn and grow through each of those experiences. We don’t believe that you are either “on or off the wagon,” but rather each new situation you encounter that can throw you off is a way to create a game plan to be victorious in the future.

Though a standstill or setback can be frustrating, we don’t live in a bubble so living your life through vacations, sicknesses, changing seasons, new relationships or jobs, etc. it is the only way you can see how you react in a variety of situations and grow the proper wellness skills you need for a lifetime. And because we are you partner, we give you ideas if you feel stuck or unmotivated, to help you along your way.