In his groundbreaking book, “The Power of Habit”, Charles Duhigg writes about keystone habits. He defines keystone habits as “small changes or habits that people introduce into their routines that unintentionally carry over into other aspects of their lives”. When people want to change their lives, especially their health, think they must overhaul everything at once. Changing your health or losing weight is about building healthy habits. Those healthy habits start with one keystone habit.
Keystone Habits And The Butterfly Effect.
Keystone habits mimic a concept in meteorology known as the Butterfly Effect. The Butterfly Effect is about small changes in a complex system that can cause results that are hard to predict. A very small and insignificant change in one place could result in a large difference somewhere else or at a later stage. If you want to change your life it is better to take it slow. Instead of eating the entire elephant at one go. It would be better to take it one bite at a time.
Why People Quit Change Initiatives?
Many people start weight loss and diet programs every year. However, it is only a couple of people who stay committed, lose weight, and keep it off. The large majority of people quit along the way. There are a couple of reasons why people quit their diet or weight loss programs, here are the top three.
Unrealistic Expectations.
Many people expect a week of eating healthy to fix 10 years of unhealthy habits. People need to have a reasonable outlook when they want to lose weight. 0.5 to 1 kilogram a week is a reasonable expectation with a clean diet and exercising. People who weigh more may lose more weight in the beginning. However, it will slow down. If you are on a weight loss journey forget about immediate results and stepping on the scale. Focus on developing keystone habits such as eating healthy and exercising than the results will start showing up.
Changing Too Much At Once.
Going cold turkey and making 180 degrees may work for some people. Many people will find giving up on all unhealthy habits very difficult. When people have been used to sitting all day and eating junk food it may be difficult transforming that lifestyle all at once. Instead of trying to change all your habits at once, it is better starting with one. After you perfect, it, move to the next one
Looking At Changes As Temporary.
The dieting world is filled with many disappointed people. Thinking that changes are temporary will produce temporary results. We have all heard stories of people who lost a lot of weight and then gained it back. Changing your life should be a lifestyle change, not a temporary change. Many people change their behavior for a couple of weeks and once they get results, they fall back on old habits. Once you start working on keystone habits, losing weight will be easier. Building habits is hard and will take longer. However, once they are established they become a part of your lifestyle.
Keystone Habits Benefits.
A keystone habit is a fundamental part of building a permanent change in your life. They lead to the development of other habits. Keystone habits start a chain effect in our lives that produces positive outcomes. Keystone habits are made up of three components. Firstly, they need to be very small actions. It is not about how big the action is, but how consistent you can do it. Secondly, they need to be aligned with your goals. If your goal is to lose 15 kilograms, eating healthy may be a keystone habit you choose. Thirdly, keystone habits need to be repeated daily. John C. Maxwell said you will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The small actions we take daily compounds into future results. Imagine the results you could achieve if you made exercise a keystone habit for the next 5 years?
The #90DaysWithoutSugar Program was built with the keystone habits principles in mind. Firstly, we focus on one keystone habit for three months. The one habit of removing processed sugar and food from our diet has helped us lose weight. The small habit of eating healthy has helped people lose weight, defeat processed sugar addictions, and develop long-lasting habits. The best part about this process is how this one habit overflows to other areas of people’s lives. If you want to change your life, start with one habit, master it, and add another one. It will happen quicker than you thought possible!